“Yes.”
“Just keep your doors locked. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Stella hung up and looked around. She grabbed the poker from her fireplace and stealthily retreated upstairs. From a guest bedroom, she crept toward the window overlooking the backyard. In the darkness of the room with the curtains drawn, it was hard to see so Stella moved slowly. Anger was beginning to replace the fear as she ever so slowly moved the curtain so she could look out into the yard.
She swallowed as she saw the phone screen lighting up from where it lay on the grass about fifteen feet from the porch. Stella scanned the backyard as Jimmy leaned against her. His tail was tucked and his ears were pinned down as if he, too, were on edge.
“I’m sorry, buddy. You’re a good boy.”
Stella went from window to window upstairs, searching the darkness outside. There was no movement. No shadowed figure standing in the yard staring up at the house. Nothing.
Jimmy’s ears went up and Stella moved to a front-facing bedroom to look out. Two headlights appeared on the horizon and Stella tightened her grip on the poker. Suddenly red and blue lights flashed from the car and Stella knew it was Andy. She ran down the stairs and stood by the window, looking out until he was only feet from the door. Only then did she finally unlock the door and open it.
Andy looked like a nice guy. He was the same height as Stella and had shocking, carrot-orange hair and bright blue eyes. While his rounded face made him look as if he were sixteen, his body told her he was older. He might be small, but he wasn’t soft. He was lean, and muscles of his exposed forearms showed strength. It wouldn’t be long until his baby face caught up with the rest of his body and Andy went from geek to stud.
“Thank you for coming out. I’m sorry I freaked out. It’s not like they threatened me. I think,” Stella told him as she opened the door and let him into her house.
“I’d rather have you call and feel better and nothing be wrong than not call and worry all night. Now, who texted you?”
“I don’t know. My caller ID said Unknown.”
Andy held out his hand after giving her a single nod of understanding. “Can I see the phone?”
“Um, I kinda threw it into the backyard.”
“That’s okay. I’ll find it. I want to look around anyway.”
Stella walked him to the back door and unlocked it. “It’s right there.”
“Thanks. Lock the door behind me and I’ll be back after I have a look around.”
Stella did as she was told and watched Andy from the window as he picked up the phone and saw the latest message. His head turned to look back at the house before he pulled out his flashlight and walked about the house. He looked in every shadow, every nook, and every cranny. He examined every lock and every window before knocking on the door at the same time she saw her brother’s minivan racing up her drive. Andy had his hand on his gun as he turned around to see who was coming.
Stella unbolted the door quickly and opened it as Andy stepped to put himself between the car and her. “Deputy, that’s my brother.”
His hand dropped from the gun as Karl’s door was flung open. He raced out with questions pouring from his lips as he ran. “Are you okay? What did you find? Did they contact you again? Did you see anyone?”
“Mr. Winters, I’m Deputy Andy Sharp. I just searched the outside. Why don’t we go inside and talk?” Karl nodded and quickly hugged his sister. The steam seemed to rush from her and anger turned to exhaustion and confusion.
“Can you unlock your phone for me, Miss Winters?” Andy asked as he followed Karl inside. Stella held out her thumb and unlocked the phone. Andy walked into the living room as he read the texts.
Stella sat next to her brother who put his arm around her shoulder and protectively pulled her against him. Stella watched as Andy’s kind eyes turned cold. White lines formed around them and around the corner of his lips as he pressed them tightly together.
It seemed as if they sat there in silence forever as Andy read the messages. He finally looked up at her, and Karl gave her a little squeeze of support. “I’m glad you called. There were a hundred an’ sixty-three messages after you stopped reading.”
“What did they say?” Stella asked, knowing her brother could feel her starting to shake again.
“Whore. Over and over again. I saw the first message. It was from someone who was watching you tonight. This person was very upset that you were with Jace. Do you know anyone who would take issue with you being on a date?”
“Rick,” Karl cursed.
“Who’s Rick?” Andy asked as he pulled out a small notebook.
“Rick Hudson is my ex-boyfriend. We broke up months ago, though,” Stella told Andy. “He didn’t put that much effort into our relationship. I don’t know why he’d put this much into it now.”
“Who ended it?” Andy asked.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because Rick is an egotistical user who only cares about how he looks and the names he can drop,” Karl spat angrily. “I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”
“Why don’t we make sure it’s him first,” Andy said so kindly that once Stella realized he hadn’t said not to beat him up, she actually laughed.
“I broke up with him because he didn’t like any of the things I like. We weren’t compatible. He liked to be flashy. I don’t like being in the spotlight. He hated the outdoors and I love it. The list goes on and on. In our case, opposites might attract, but they don’t stick once you realize you don’t have anything in common,” Stella took a deep breath and watched Andy write in his pad.
“When did he last contact you?”
Stella felt her stomach twist. “Today. He wanted to know how the opening went. Who showed up, did it go well, that kind of thing.” Karl cursed and Stella realized why. It wasn’t normal for him to continually be reaching out to her after they broke up, after she had told him several times to leave her alone.
“What’s his address and phone number?” Andy asked.
“It’s in my contacts if you’d like to copy it.”
“Do you mind if I take pictures of the texts?” Andy asked as he set down his pad and took out a cell phone.
“Go ahead.” Stella watched as Andy set her phone down on the table and snapped a series of photos. Then she saw him go into her contacts to find Rick’s information. He read over some of the texts before writing down his information and handing her back the phone. “What’s next?” Stella asked.
“We have some friends in the Lexington Police Department. I’m going to have a chat with them in the morning and pay Rick a visit to ask him about this. In the meantime, keep everything locked and call us if you get any more texts. I’m usually on nights. I can drive out a couple of times a night just to check on the house. If anything’s the matter or you just want to talk, leave a light on and I’ll come see how you’re doing.”
“Okay. I never leave any downstairs lights on so if you see them on, you’ll know I’m awake,” Stella said as she and Karl stood up.
Andy was about to put away his pad when he stopped. “Can you think of anyone else who wouldn’t like to see you dating?”