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Remaining at her apartment when someone might want to harm her would fall into that too-stupid-to-live category. Hiding at her brother’s place wouldn’t be any safer. This person knew where Trent lived. And she wasn’t going to ask if she could stay in Beth’s spare room and put her in danger.Crap.
When the doorbell rang, she jumped.Nervous much?Ariel wasn’t sure if it was the idea of a stalker or that the men might suggest she stay with them that made her so jumpy. But why would they ask that she stay with them? The Grangers had a ton of family members, many of whom were females.
Preston and Benson might be noble and all, but they barely knew her. If it was because they felt sorry for her, she couldn’t handle that.
“Are you going to answer the door or not?” Beth asked.
Ariel jerked. “Yes.”
She rushed to the entryway, moved Trent’s box off to the side, and actually had the wherewithal to look through the peephole. Ariel blew out a breath when she saw it was Benson and Preston. The quick shot of relief was mixed with a bit of excitement, tinged with dread. She opened the door.
Benson was the first to pile in. “Are you okay?”
Before she could answer, he hugged her. “Yes. I’m good.”
When he leaned back and lowered his arms, she wished the hug had lasted a little longer. To her, that implied she was truly afraid.
“Come in, everyone,” Beth said.
Bless her for taking charge. Ariel’s first floor apartment seemed a lot smaller now that these two large men were there, but somehow she experienced a sense of calm. On the table sat two more plates.
“We have too much pizza,” Beth said. “I hope you can help us eat it.”
Preston was the first to grab a slice and sit down. “Don’t mind if I do. The extra carbs will help with my workout tomorrow.”
He worked out on Sundays? Of course he did. A person couldn’t look as good as he did and lounge around even for one day.
Benson pulled out a seat but didn’t grab a slice of pizza. “I want to see the photos.”
“Of course.” Ariel pulled them up and handed him the phone. “I have no idea who sent them.”
Benson studied the pictures but didn’t say a word. He then passed the phone to Preston, whose jaw hardened as he flipped from one to the next. “I trust neither of you sensed you were being followed?” Preston asked.
She shook her head. “No. At first, I thought it could have been taken by a drone, but I would have heard the whirring noise. Besides, these are from eye level.”
“Can you send these to me?” Benson asked. “I met a man today who knows a guy who is a computer expert. He might be able to figure out where the photos were sent from. Nothing in this day and age is really anonymous.”
“Sure.” Once he gave her his email address, she forwarded the photos.
“Have you given much thought as to who might be stalking you?” Benson asked.
“Beth and I were about to come up with a list of people who I might have mentioned I was looking into my brother’s case, but I have no way of knowing who those people told.”
He nodded. “Who was the first person you questioned? Was it Preston?”
“No. He was the second person I contacted. I spoke with Sherry Clark first.”
“Samantha’s good friend. Did she have any suggestions as to who might have killed her friend, other than Trent?”
This was embarrassing. “Yes. She pointed a finger at Preston, but she had no proof.”
Preston blew out a breath. “I’ve been given the evil eye for the last two days. I have no idea why I’m being targeted. I was merely Sam’s trainer. Being a waitress, she’d have interacted with a lot of people.”
“While true, I can’t imagine that giving someone bad service would warrant killing her,” Ariel said.
“Agreed,” Benson said. “Ackerman briefly explored Samantha’s enemies during the trial, but there wasn’t any concrete proof that someone had even wanted to harm her. Claiming Peggy might have been jealous because Sam wanted Walter wasn’t brought up since it would have been based on pure speculation.”
“Did your uncle check to see where Peggy was the night of the murder?”
