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I glanced down at the rock garden in front of the building. One rock was missing. I knew exactly where it was.
Fuck.
Now, he was angry.
Angry, crazed, obsessed people were not good.
I had to find him. Fast.
* * *
Officer Canbury snapped his notebook shut. He met my eyes, his own frustrated. “Not much to go on. No witnesses, nothing tying him to being here. No idea who he is.”
“It was him,” I stated firmly.
“I can’t bring someone in for questioning when they don’t seem to exist.”
“I know.” Exasperated, I ran a hand through my hair.
“I know this is upsetting. And I agree it sucks, but all we can do is give a report for insurance and canvass the neighborhood.” He met my eyes again. “Not that it will help much.”
“I have a sketch I can send you. It’s at the office.”
“That might help.”
I wanted to punch a wall. Scream at the injustice. Women, anyone, shouldn’t have to put up with this sort of behavior. But Andy had covered his tracks. The police could do nothing.
But I could.
I glanced at Raven. She had gone from ashen to ghostly, her gaze never staying in one spot, her knee bouncing. She gripped the arms of the chair she sat in so tightly, I was surprised she had any blood circulation left in her fingers.
The officer and I exchanged cards. After examining the scene outside, agreeing with my hypothesis, he had come upstairs, talked to Raven and me. After he left, promising to keep in touch, the super brought a piece of wood upstairs, and I helped him cover the window.
“I’ll get it fixed as soon as possible.”
“She’s staying with me for a while,” I informed him.
He glanced at Raven and nodded. “Good idea.”
He left, and I turned to Raven. “Did you pack?”
“Um, yes.”
I looked over at the kitchen. She had cleaned it up as well.
“I’ll get your bag.”
Her voice stopped me before I went down the hall. “Why is he doing this? He agreed to friendship. He’s the one who crossed the line and changed the rules.”
I kneeled in front of her. “He never wanted friendship, Raven. He uses sites to find lonely women and take advantage of them. He locked on to you and became obsessed.”
“But I’m no one. Nothing special. And I never encouraged it. I asked him to leave me alone.”
“You did nothing wrong. It’s him. Not you. He’s at fault.” I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m going to be blunt here, Raven. You’re in danger. He’s fixated on you. He saw us kissing tonight, and now he’s angry. So until we find him, you need to stay with me.”
“Or you need to walk away and forget you met me,” she shot back. “When he doesn’t see you anymore, he’ll calm down. You can move on with your—”
I laid a finger on her mouth, silencing her.
