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“Go on.”
She lifted her gaze to his, a plea in her eyes.
“Norma must be beside herself.”
“Right now, my only priority is locking up the guy who’s made your life a living hell.”
“I want that too, but there’s no way it’s Edward. I’d know if he was dodgy.”
“Has he ever shown any romantic interest in you?”
Max’s cheeks flushed with warmth. “A long time ago. He asked me out on a date, I said ‘no’. He made some joke about it always being worth the gamble and wandered off. That was it – no big deal, no hurt feelings.”
“Why did you turn him down?”
“I don’t even remember. I might have been seeing someone? Or just not interested? It honestly wasn’t a big thing. I wasn’t even sure if he remembered asking me out the next time we saw each other.”
“I suspect he did.”
“Why in the world are you going on like this? What evidence is there you’re not telling me about.”
He placed a bowl in the microwave and set it going, before turning back to Max with a serious look on his face. “The call you received was placed using internet software to block the voice and number, and to scramble the IP, but my software unscrambled it as you spoke. Police were able to track it to Norma’s house. They interviewed Norma yesterday, and discovered that not only was Edward at her house that night, he went to dinner at a restaurant in Soho, just a hundred metres from the gallery.”
She stared at Noah, some of her certainty slipping away. “But surely –,” She shook her head. “What did Edward say? How did he explain that?”
“He didn’t. He kept swearing he knew nothing about any of this, saying it made no sense, saying he thought you were perfectly nice but that he’d never stalked anyone in his life.” Noah leaned forward. “Denial is not uncommon, given the circumstances.”
“Really?”
He lifted his shoulders. “It varies. Some are so deranged they see no fault in what they’ve done; in fact, they’re proud of it.”
“I just don’t see – why would he do this?”
“There are two drivers in this kind of obsession. The first is jealousy – a belief you have something they deserve, a feeling that your life is so much better, and they should have what you have.”
“Well, Edward’s rich and successful, I mean, his family owns one of the oldest banks in Europe, so I think we can rule that out.”
“Jealousy can take many forms. He might be jealous of your social ease, your confidence, your relationship with his grandmother – any number of things.”
She frowned. “Honestly, I’ve never got that vibe from him. I feel like I’d be able to tell if he was seething at me behind my back.”
“Psychopaths are pretty good at concealing their thoughts,” he contradicted gently. “But I agree with you; jealousy doesn’t make immediate sense with Edward.”
“So what does?”
“Unrequited love, a certainty that you belong together. This is much more worrying, because the average stalker works on the basis that their love will one day be returned – until they accept the futility of that and then they decide that if they can’t have you, no one else will. That’s the most dangerous kind.” He removed one dish from the microwave and replaced it, fishing a fork from the drawer. Even in the midst of their conversation, Max couldn’t help but notice how at-home he seemed in her kitchen.
“You think Edward has a crush on me?”
“It’s more than a crush. It’s like this whole alternate reality bubble stalkers exist in, filled with fantasies that make it seem as though your love is real. Everything’s okay until the bubble bursts, love turns to hate.”
She shivered. “I understand that, in principle, but the idea of Edward secretly pining for me is absurd. I barely see him. Surely if he was infatuated with me he’d be at Norma’s house every second night.”
Noah’s lips compressed into a tight line. Max ignored the plate of food he’d placed in front of her and leaned forward a little. “What is it?”
With a terse nod, he reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a piece of paper and unfolding it. He stared at it a moment then placed it on the counter and slid it across to her. “They found this photograph in his car.”
Max dropped her gaze to the page and then, as her eyes focused and she realized what it was, let out an involuntary gasp, clasping her hand over her mouth. “Noah…”
