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It was a quiet day after that. Leigh, Jake and Mike spent the morning and afternoon poring over their calendars, trying to make an exact list of everyone they had come into contact with. Morgan checked in with the police, who still had no leads.
That wasn’t entirely surprising, given that the police only knew half of the situation, but there was nothing to be done about that. Telling the police was out of the question, as it was sure to get back to Leigh’s mother.
“What’s next?” Leigh asked that evening, when the lists were finally complete.
“Now, the slog starts. I need to go through these and follow with every one of them. In cases like this, with so many potential suspects, I’d usually ask Gray to send a few others to help me, but given your situation, we can’t risk introducing anyone new, not if we want to keep your and Jake’s secret.”
“Jake and I can help. Mike works during the day, but my and Jake’s schedules are pretty open. We basically cancelled everything after that attack in favor of staying home.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” Morgan said firmly. “Either of you. The threats may be against you, but it’s clear that Jake is also involved, which means he’s also in danger. I’m not sending you out to interview possible suspects.”
“There have to be other ways we can help, though, right?” Jake asked hopefully. “Maybe make phone calls to check out alibis, or stuff like that?”
He had a fair point. A lot of the work Morgan had to do could be done from here. She didn’t usually involve clients in her investigations, but she could usually outsource some help, which wasn’t an option here.
“If you’re sure. It’ll be very dull work.”
“I could use a dose of dull, after all the excitement recently.” Leigh chuckled ruefully. “Bring on the dull.”
“Alright. I’ll do the first interviews tomorrow, and I’ll bring back some stuff for you and Jake to check. If I’m lucky, I can get through four to five interviews in a day.”
Jake grimaced. “There are at least four dozen names on those lists combined.”
“I know. Like I said, it’s a slog, but this is the job. We just have to keep plugging at it until one of our potential leads pans out. Don’t worry, I’ll make detectives out of you yet.”
The next morning, Morgan anxiously checked all the cameras and locks on the doors. “You don’t open any doors while I’m gone, you understand? Don’t even go near the windows. Definitely no going into the garden. If the doorbell rings, ignore it. If there’s anything that looks even vaguely out of place, you call me, understand?”
“We understand, Morgan. Don’t worry, I’m not going to put Leigh’s life in any more danger than it already is. We’ll err on the side of caution.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to have Gray send someone over to protect you while I’m gone?”
“We’re sure,” Leigh said at once. “You know now why we were so reluctant to take on new bodyguards in the first place. Someone Gray sends would be particularly dangerous, what with the investigation skills you’re all trained in. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine for a couple of hours.”
Morgan could only hope that was true. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to Leigh while she wasn’t there to protect her. She couldn’t think of a way around this, though and the house was very secure now at least. She had to do the interviews if she was to have a hope of catching the person after Leigh, and such interviews couldn’t be done over the phone.
Morgan needed to be able to judge whether the person she was talking to was telling the truth or not and seeing their body language was essential for that. She checked the locks on the doors once more before reluctantly going to her car. She made sure her phone was on loud so she would be sure not to miss a call from Leigh.
She was already anxious and on edge, and she hadn’t even left yet. She’d better get her head together if she was going to do her job properly. She had to present a calm front when interviewing suspects, even if internally she was far from calm and worrying about Leigh’s safety.
One thing was for sure, today promised to be a long day.
8
Leigh
Leigh knew she was in trouble, and not just because Morgan and the police were no closer to finding her stalker.
No, she was in trouble because she was falling for Morgan in a way she’d never fallen for anyone before. Every time they were together, Leigh was consumed with bliss that threatened to overturn the way she lived her life.
She started having crazy, dangerous thoughts—thoughts like doing as Morgan suggested and studying so that she could get a job and support herself in order to come out to her mother. She wanted to be able to walk through a mall holding Morgan’s hand. She wanted to be able to kiss her without worrying about who was watching.
Morgan had been more than understanding about Leigh’s need for secrecy, but Leigh was all too aware that she was forcing Morgan into a life she’d never asked for.
Morgan had been out for as long as she knew she was gay, since her early twenties. She’d never hidden before and had never had the desire to do so. She insisted that Leigh was worth it, but Leigh still felt bad every time they had to act like they were nothing more than acquaintances in public.
She wanted to be able to show the world how proud she was to have Morgan as her girlfriend.
For that matter, she wanted to be able to call Morgan her girlfriend. They still hadn’t discussed exactly what they were. For now, they were both focusing on the threat facing Leigh, but sooner or later, they would need to have that conversation.
