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Once he’d climbed over the fence and into his car, John finally dared to look behind him. Nearly hidden behind a cluster of huge bushes covered with large pink blooms were three structures: one in a natural finish, a taller one with yellow siding, and a boxy blue one. They looked more like oversized kid’s playhouses than sheds. He glimpsed movement of the blinds in the blue one closest to Elizabeth’s house.
“I’m guessing you know who that was,” he said when Elizabeth approached. She clutched Boss’s collar with one hand and held her phone near her face with the other. “Good, boy.” He patted Boss’s head to calm him.
Elizabeth stepped closer to the fence as the sedan peeled away, sending gravel flying. “Did you see the make of his vehicle?”
“It was a gray Hyundai. Sonata, I think.”
She nodded as if impressed. On assignment, details like that could mean the difference between life and death.
“He left driving a gray, four-door Hyundai, heading toward Fayetteville,” Elizabeth relayed to someone on the other end of the line. Hopefully, the police.
A woman in her early twenties with long, black hair emerged tentatively from the little blue structure. She hugged herself as if she was cold, despite temperatures in the mid-eighties.
“He’s gone.” Elizabeth walked toward the woman. “Was that J.R.?”
“Yes. I swear I did not tell him I’m living here.”
“He came up on my tail and tried to ride through when the gate opened,” John said. “He probably followed you if he knows where you work or your patterns.” Maybe over several days since he appeared to be waiting for somebody to come through the gate.
“Thank you for not letting him through,” Elizabeth said to John, then turned to Ariana. “I’ve called Officer Lewis. She’ll put out an alert for the authorities to look for him.”
“The officer from the park? Do you have her on speed dial?” He was going to be seriously worried if that was necessary.
“She’s a personal friend.”
“If the police pull J.R. over, it will piss him off and make things worse.” Ariana’s fear was palpable.
“He was clearly high or drunk.” Or both. “If they pull him over, he may end up in jail,” John pointed out.
“That could keep him there until the trial,” Elizabeth assured Ariana.
Trial? Interesting. J.R. getting arrested sounded like a good thing. “If it happens a few miles away from here, he may not even make the connection.” He hoped to reassure the young woman.
Ariana glanced down the road, then slipped back inside the little blue house.
John surveyed the area. “Does this fence surround the whole property?” Not that it would keep out anyone determined to get in.
“No. Jillian can have patrols cruise by.” Her sigh was not a happy one as she stared from the fence to the woods and worried her bottom lip.
“What is this place?” John studied the row of three—he guessed they were houses.
“I call these tiny homes The Oasis. It’s a place for women who’ve left abusive situations to help them get a fresh start.”
“And that guy’s her ex? What’s he about to stand trial for? Battery? Or assault?”
Elizabeth nodded. “He’s probably hoping to intimidate or sweet talk her out of testifying.”
“Does he have a record?”
“Other than the battery charge he’s facing, I think he’s got a drunk and disorderly.”
“Does she have a protection order?”
“Not yet.”
“The police should have his address. I’ll hang out here and eat with Boss until you hear from your officer friend.”
“That’s a good idea. Thank you. I’ll check on Ariana.”
