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Paisley groaned. “Right, because my years of working with them all means nothing?”
Mick shifted, looking like he felt bad for having to lay the truth out so bluntly. “Sometimes the closer we get to people, the easier it becomes for them to hurt us without us knowing. It’s been my experience that a little too often, the calls come from inside the house.”
“I just want to get this over with,” Paisley sighed. “Fingers crossed someone tries to kill me so we can catch them.”
“Never thought I’d be rooting for an attempted murder,” King commented as they made their way for the door.
“Thanks for saying attempted,” Paisley said, breathing out a laugh. “That’s a very important distinction.”
CHAPTER21
PAISLEY
She’d only stood in front of a podium like this twice before. One was when accepting an award and the other when giving a speech at an all-girls college about the importance of safety and vigilance as they moved through life. It’s was laughable now that she had any advice at all for those girls. She couldn’t even keep herself safe.
The cameras flashed and a hush fell over the small crowd of news organizations and some local residents who had gathered. Ben was a few feet to her left. King was down in the crowd. She couldn’t spot Mick at all, but she assumed that was by design.
Her team was off to the side. She’d hugged them all on her way by but didn’t stop to say much before walking up the steps of her old high school to give her statement. She’d gotten comfortable enough with public speaking over the years but this was entirely different. It was personal in a way she wasn’t ready for. But there was no more time to waste. It was now or never.
“Thank you all for coming today. As some of you may know, my friend Doug Barrister died, and I’m in town to pay my respects. It’s been an incredibly difficult time and the loss feels unbearable. My heart goes out to Doug’s parents during this horrible time. I wanted to take this time to share with you something that’s been going on in my life for the last eighteen months. This is a difficult situation, so I ask that you hold any questions until the end.” She straightened her back, fought the tears, and drew in a deep breath.
“I have been targeted by unknown individuals who have shown a disturbing interest in my life, my career, and my future. This relentless pursuit has taken the form of menacing messages, acts of vandalism, and a profound violation of my sense of security. Originally, I, along with investigators, believed it would be better to keep what I was experiencing private. Now, after the latest escalation, I am compelled to speak out. I believe the death of my oldest and dearest friend, Doug, was a direct result of a planned attack on my life. I was the intended target and unfortunately Doug had the misfortune of being with me that night.” She cleared her throat nervously.
“While I understand the natural curiosity that arises from being in the public eye, I implore you to approach this matter with sensitivity and respect. This is not a mere spectacle or gossip-worthy story; it is now a homicide investigation as well as an ongoing genuine threat to my life. I am standing here today, not as an actress seeking attention, but as a human desperate for justice for my friend and safety for myself and others involved.
“I want to speak directly to those responsible for these heinous acts. I want to make it clear that your actions will not break me. I won’t hide or cower, no matter how many times you try to attack me. I refuse to be silenced or intimidated. Every measure necessary to ensure my safety and those closest to me will be taken. Rest assured, I will not stop until the people responsible are brought to justice. Thank you all again for helping me get this message out. I have time for a few questions.”
Paisley pointed to one of the dozens of reporters who threw up their hands and started shouting. Martha Willabee, the reporter who Paisley woke up watching every morning when she was young, was the first she pointed to.
“Paisley, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been dealing with this. Do the police have any leads on who might be behind this?”
“Unfortunately these attacks and threats have happened all over the country, some even out of the country. With so many jurisdictions involved, I can’t say there has been much progress. The police handling the homicide investigation would have to provide an update to you, but to the best of my knowledge, they don’t have any suspects.”
The hands went up again and Paisley pointed to the next reporter. “Can you tell us the cause of death for Doug?”
“I want to respect his family’s privacy. I understand you all will be dogged in your attempt at gathering facts, but I implore you to please allow his family to mourn in peace. They have been through enough, don’t add to their pain with prying questions and camping out on their lawn. It’s an ongoing investigation and not many details will be released. I’d like to keep the focus on finding the people responsible and bringing them to justice.”
Hands flew up again and she saw King’s signal to wrap it up with just one more question. She pointed and the reporter shouted out over the now frantic crowd. “What types of events have occurred over the last eighteen months?”
“Too many to list here,” Paisley reported somberly. “Since arriving in town I’ve received threatening messages via flowers waiting for me at a florist shop they anticipated I would visit to purchase something for Doug’s grave. Somehow, they have known where I will be and what I will be doing every step of the way. I have not felt safe in over a year and I am exhausted. I implore anyone who might have any information or resources to assist, to please call your local law enforcement. Thank you all very much; that’s all for today.”
Ben wrapped his arm over her shoulder and, though the press kept shouting, she walked off the steps and around the side of the building. King charged up behind them, breathless.
“I think I saw someone ... a woman. The second you spoke about Doug, she looked completely freaked out and left. Everyone else was completely glued to what you had to say but she couldn’t get out fast enough. I have a description, and I snapped a picture on my phone.”
“Where was she?” Ben asked as they moved quickly toward the car. “Did you see what direction she left in?”
“She was outside the press area with some people who I assume were locals. They were by the parking lot to the left, watching from there. Maybe twenty-five feet from you. She headed toward a car. I think it was red. I was trying to keep an eye on the rest of the crowd.”
Ben moved her so quickly it felt like her feet barely touched the ground as they reached the waiting car. “Let’s stick to the plan and meet up with Mick at the location. He can look through the footage to see if they can spot her in the crowd or get a license plate off the car.”
“I didn’t get a chance to check in with anyone,” Paisley groaned disappointedly. She’d never treated them like this before. They were all so close: laughs over dinner, trading secrets in the makeup trailer, inside jokes. Now she’d just blindsided them with a news conference and then allowed herself to be whisked away. It was so out of character for her. An abrupt change to their relationships. Unfair. All of this was unfair.
Once they were all in the car, Ben put it in reverse and pulled away from the school. “It’ll be a media circus for a little bit. You couldn’t stay. We did exactly what we set out to do. Now we’ll meet up with Mick and see what to do next.”
“I’m not dead,” Paisley said, half surprised.
“Thank God,” Ben replied with a long sigh. “Let’s keep it that way.”
