Stalker In the Shadows Read online

  Since it was Saturday, Melinda settled in at a small two-top table next to the kitchen with Ainsley’s phone for playing games, a pack of crayons and several coloring books, and colored pencils with drawing paper. Melinda was always good about keeping herself occupied on Saturdays when Ainsley worked and Melinda was out of school.

  As Ainsley started her workday, she couldn’t help but speculate about the sender of the roses. When she told Lana that Hunter hadn’t sent them to her and the local florist hadn’t delivered them, Lana played sleuth with her.

  “Maybe Jim Nelson sent them to you,” Lana said when the Ainsley met her at the coffee machine. “You know that man thinks the world of you.”

  Ainsley thought of the elderly man who she served breakfast to each morning. “He’s a sweet man, but I don’t see him sending me roses for getting his order right each day. Besides, he also doesn’t strike me as a man who has that kind of money to throw away. I’m sure a dozen roses aren’t cheap.”

  “That’s true. Hell, most of the men in this town wouldn’t spend the money to send a woman a dozen daisies. Bunch of cheapskates, if you ask me,” Lana grumbled and then brightened. “What about Jimmy Miller? You know that boy makes a good salary working for Eva and Jake Albright, and he definitely acts like he might have a crush on you.”

  “Lana, order up,” Big Ed hollered, effectively halting their conversation.

  Was it possible Jimmy had sent the flowers to her? He was definitely a flirt when he came in. He also always sat in her section. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that Jimmy had bought her the roses. He’d told her that Hunter was a hard man to challenge...was he attempting to do just that by sending her the flowers? When he came in for lunch today, he’d probably confess that he’d sent them.

  She smiled when George Calvert walked in with another man she didn’t recognize. The two remained standing and talking to each other just inside the door. She assumed the two were together, but then George took a seat in her section and the other man sat in Lana’s.

  “Hi, George,” she said. “For a minute I thought you would be sitting at a table for two with a friend.”

  “Nah, I just met that gentleman outside the door. He’s new in town and his name is Hank Bridges,” George replied. “He’s single and bought the old pig farm just outside the city limits.”

  “Well, it’s nice to see you again,” she said. “You look good.”

  “I’m feeling pretty good. I decided I needed one of Big Ed’s breakfast specials this morning.”

  “Would you like the one with the pancakes or the biscuits and gravy?”

  “I have a hankering for pancakes, so I’ll take the special that includes them.”

  “And to drink?”

  “A cup of coffee will be just fine.”

  “I’ll put your order in and get your coffee right away.”

  Ainsley placed George’s order and then once again met Lana at the coffee machine. “Don’t look now, but the new man in town has been checking you out,” Lana said. “I swear, Ainsley, you could have your pick of a dozen single men in town.”

  Ainsley laughed. “I’ve got the single man I want.”

  “And a good one he is,” Lana replied.

  Suddenly Ainsley was reminded of what Juanita had said about Hunter’s past, something Hunter hadn’t shared with her yet. Everything had been going so well with Hunter, she’d forgotten what Juanita had said.

  What could it be that Hunter hadn’t told her yet? They’d shared so many conversations, shared so many things about each other. What might he be hiding? And was it something that might play a negative role in their relationship?

  Ha, she was worried about him having secrets when she probably had more secrets than anyone else in town. Definitely double standards. She expected him to come clean about everything while she was lying to him about almost everything.

  As she served George his coffee, she glanced over to the new man in town. The single ladies should be happy with a new, attractive man in town.

  His dark brown hair was nicely cut, and he had high cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose. When he smiled at Lana, his teeth were straight and white...altogether he was quite a hunk.

  But, despite his good looks, he stirred absolutely nothing in her. Her heart was already completely taken by a very hot deputy sheriff named Hunter.

  The breakfast rush passed, and then it seemed like just a minute went by and the lunch rush was on. Ainsley scooted from table to table along with Lana and two other waitresses who worked on the weekends.

  “How’s the best-looking waitress in the county doing today?” Jimmy Miller greeted her with his usual smile when she arrived to take his order.

  “I’m doing just fine. What about you?” If he’d been the one who had sent her the roses, surely he’d say something about them now.

  “I’m doing pretty good, although it sounds like we’re supposed to get some nasty wet days next week.”

  “I hate to see the weather turning cold,” she replied.

  “Me too. Winters in Dusty Gulch can sometimes be pretty brutal,” he replied.

  “What can I get for you, Jimmy?”

  He ordered, and if he was the one who had sent her the roses, apparently he wasn’t ready to confess to her yet. If not Jimmy, then who? The question continued to haunt her.

  With a pause in the patrons, Ainsley went over to Melinda’s table. “Hey love bug, are you ready to order some lunch?”

  “Yes, but first look at the picture I drew for you.” Melinda scooted over a picture of a pink house with lots of purple flowers amid a bright green lawn.

  “That’s awesome, honey.”

  “Do you think we could find a pink house for our forever house?” Melinda asked.

  “It might be easier to plant pretty pink flowers in front of our forever house. Would that be okay, too?” Melinda nodded. “Now, tell me what you’d like for lunch.”

  “Grilled cheese with chips,” Melinda said.

  “How about grilled cheese with an apple?”

  “Okay,” Melinda replied. “But I’d rather have chips.”

  “Maybe tomorrow you can have chips,” Ainsley said. “While you wait for your lunch, I want you to think if maybe you could give Hunter another chance if we all go out for pizza. We can talk more about it later this evening.”

  Once Melinda was finished with her lunch, she returned to the apartment to watch television. She knew the rules as far as keeping the door locked and not answering it if anyone knocked.

  While they’d been in town with Ainsley working the hours she did, she and Melinda had fallen into a good routine for Saturdays.

  Melinda spent the mornings in the café and then got to watch television in the afternoons until Ainsley got off work before the Saturday evening rush. Throughout the afternoon it was easy for Ainsley to step into the back to check on her daughter.

  Hunter came in for his lunch break, and as usual, he flirted with her as she took his order and then served his meal. “I’m hoping maybe Thursday we could try to do pizza with Melinda,” she said.

  He looked at her in pleased surprise. “That would be nice. I’m willing to do and try whatever to make her like me. Maybe I should get her a pink teddy bear.”

  “No more gifts for her,” she said sternly. “I don’t want you trying to buy her affection.”

  She didn’t hang around for more conversation with him. The café continued to stay too busy for chitchat. “Fifteen more minutes and then the two of us can get out of here,” Lana said as the two stood side by side and watched the diners. “You have any plans for the rest of the weekend?”

  “Tomorrow I’ll probably take Melinda for a drive around town just to get out of the apartment for a little while. We’ll shop a bit and then wind up at the ice cream parlor for a treat,” Ainsley said. “W
hat about you?”

  “I figure it’s time for me to do a changeover in my closet. You know, pack away the summer clothes and pull out the winter,” Lana replied. “In other words, I’m going to have a damned boring day.”

  “Sometimes boring is good, especially after the busy day we’ve had here today.”

  “Hey, Ainsley.” Rhonda Carlton, one of the waitresses who had come in to work the dinner rush, hurried toward her.

  “Hi, Rhonda. What’s up?” Ainsley’s smile faded as Rhonda didn’t offer her one in return.

  “Uh...I was cleaning off the table back by the restrooms and I found this.” Rhonda’s blue eyes were troubled as she held out a folded piece of paper.

  For a moment Ainsley didn’t want to take it from her. The look in Rhonda’s eyes scared her. Finally she took the note and opened it. A frightened gasp escaped her as she read the bold block letters.

  AINSLEY MEADOWS. YOU ARE A WHORE AND WE DON’T LIKE WHORES IN THIS TOWN.

  Chapter Seven

  Hunter held the offending note in his gloved hand. Around him the sounds of people laughing and glasses clinking sounded like a normal Saturday night in the café.

  But this note wasn’t normal, and he hated to see the fear that kept Ainsley’s eyes darkened. “How about we go into your apartment where things will be quieter,” he suggested.

  “Okay,” Ainsley agreed.

  He looked at Rhonda. “If you could come back with us, I’ll just keep you off the floor for a minute or two.”

  Rhonda shot a look at Big Ed and then looked back at Hunter. “Can’t I just talk to you right here? My section is full of people.”

  “Okay, just tell me exactly where you found the note,” Hunter said.

  She pointed to a two-top table in the back. “It was just sitting there. I thought it was just somebody’s trash, but then I opened it.” She frowned. “I don’t even know who has sat at that table today. I had just come in for work when I found it.”

  “Thank you,” Hunter said. “I may need to talk to you later, okay?”

  Rhonda nodded. “Can I get back to work now?”

  “Yes, that’s fine.” Hunter turned back to Ainsley. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She led the way through the door that entered into her apartment. “Melinda, could you please go play in your bedroom for a little while? I need to talk to Deputy Churchill.”

  Once Melinda was gone, Hunter gestured Ainsley toward her small dining table. He placed the note into an evidence bag he’d carried into the café when he’d arrived and then set the bag down.

  “What’s happening, Hunter? Why would somebody leave that note for me?”

  “Did you have any problems with anyone today while you were working?” he asked. He hated the tension that wafted from her and the simmer of fear in her eyes.

  “No...nobody. It was a good day. First the roses and now this... What is going on? Why is somebody doing this to me?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to figure it out.” He pulled off his gloves and then reached across the table to cover her hands. They were icy cold. He rubbed them in an attempt to warm them, even though he knew their coldness had nothing to do with an outside chill.

  “I just can’t imagine who would think such a terrible thing about me. What have I done that would give anyone the impression that I’m a whore?”

  “Nothing...absolutely nothing,” Hunter replied. “Ainsley, I don’t want you to overreact to this. It’s not a threatening note, it’s just a nasty one, and I’m going to do my very best to try to figure out who left it.”

  She pulled her hands from his and instead wrapped her arms around herself. “Whore...that’s what my husband used to call me when he was angry with me.”

  “Well, then he was a nasty man, too. But as far as I know, your ex-husband is nowhere around. Was Ben Wilkins in to eat today?”

  “He was in for lunch. He seemed sober and he sat in Lana’s section.”

  “Then I’ll be having a chat with him today. Do you remember who sat at that specific table during the day?”

  She frowned. “I don’t think anyone did. We try not to seat anyone there unless we absolutely have to. It’s so close to the restrooms.”

  “So it would be easy for anyone who went to the restroom to just drop the note on the table,” he said.

  She nodded. “And that’s going to make it impossible to find out who left it,” she replied. “It’s probably not even a crime.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to investigate it,” Hunter countered. “But you’re right. No crime has been committed, and at least the note isn’t threatening.”

  “It’s definitely character assassination,” she replied darkly.

  He laughed. “Honey, anyone who knows you knows what kind of good woman you are, and you are not what that note said. That note was just somebody venting in a childish manner. It definitely sounds like something Ben Wilkins might do.”

  Hunter rose from the table and then pulled her up into his arms. She remained stiff against him for a long minute and then released a deep sigh and rested her head against his chest.

  He stroked her hair, and when she looked up at him he kissed her gently. After the kiss, he held her gaze. “I don’t want you to worry about this. I don’t want you to give it any more thought. Deal?”

  She hesitated a moment and then nodded. “Deal.”

  He released her, and together they walked to the door that would take him outside. “Now, before I leave, can I see one of your sunshine smiles?” he asked.

  She smiled, but the gesture didn’t quite lighten her eyes. “You’ll let me know what you find out?”

  “Of course. And even if I don’t have any answers, I’ll call you before bedtime.”

  “I’d like that.” This time her smile was more relaxed.

  Once he left he immediately drove back to the station to speak to Sheriff Black. He had a good working relationship with Wayne, mostly because Wayne was a hands-off kind of boss. He trusted the people who worked for him, but Hunter knew Wayne could also be a bit lazy.

  Once back he knocked on Wayne’s private office door. “Enter,” Wayne yelled. “Hunter, isn’t it time for you to be heading home?”

  “Yeah, but something has come up and I just wanted to discuss it with you.”

  “Well, sit down and discuss.”

  Hunter sat in the straight-back chair facing Wayne’s desk and explained about the note directed at Ainsley that was found in the café. He relayed his feeling that Ben Wilkins could have left it.

  “What I’d like to do is hunt Ben down tonight and question him about it and also question anyone else who might possibly be responsible for it. Naturally it has Ainsley a bit upset.”

  Wayne frowned. “A nasty note isn’t a crime.”

  “I’m aware of that, and I certainly won’t take away any time from my normal duties. Tonight I’ll be on my own time, but I just wanted for you to be aware of what I’m doing about this.”

  Wayne shook his head and then leaned back in his chair and scratched the top of his head. “Why would Ben have it in for Ainsley?”

  “He went into the café drunk and disorderly one morning, and she basically had to kick him out.”

  “I wish when Ben left town a couple of months ago he would have stayed gone.”

  “That makes two of us,” Hunter replied.

  “Your plan to do a little sleuthing on the side is fine with me. So, go...get out of here so you can get to it.”

  “Thanks, Wayne.”

  Minutes later Hunter was in his patrol car hunting down Ben Wilkins. His first stop was the Dusty Gulch Motel, a sad six-unit that rented out nightly or monthly to whoever would make the choice to live here.

  He parked in front of the office and stepped out of his vehicle. The air smelled faintly of ma
rijuana and spoiled garbage, of hopelessness and neglect.

  The motel was owned by Jeb Harness. When Hunter entered the office, the old man sat behind the counter reading a tabloid magazine. “Deputy,” he said in greeting. He didn’t bother to get up. “Who you looking for tonight?”

  “Ben Wilkins. What room is he in?”

  “What’s that drunk done this time?” Jeb asked.

  “Just the kinds of things that drunks do,” Hunter replied.

  Jeb shook his head. “He’s in unit three.”

  “Thanks, Jeb.”

  Hunter left the office and walked the short distance to Ben’s room. No lights shone from the window to indicate that anyone was inside.

  Hunter knocked on the door and waited. No answer. He knocked again, this time harder. Still, there was no response. He was just about to knock a third time when the door to unit four opened and Jane Landers, an older woman who also liked her booze, leaned out.

  “He ain’t there. He took his bottle and went off somewhere. His stingy butt didn’t even want to share with me,” she said, her voice slurred enough to let him know she’d been drinking heavily as well.

  “Thanks, Jane.” At least when she got drunk, she didn’t leave her room. She didn’t cause issues like Ben often did.

  Hunter got back in his car and headed for Main Street. He knew the places where Ben often parked himself to drink his bottle. He didn’t find him on the bench in front of the post office or in the doorway of the grocery store.

  He did find him seated in the alcove in front of the drugstore. Hunter parked his vehicle, got out and approached him. “Hey, Ben,” he said in greeting.

  “Ah, Deputy Churchy, are you here to arrest me?” Ben asked, his voice heavily slurred.

  “I don’t know, Ben. Do you need to be arrested?” Hunter asked.

  Ben frowned. “I don’t think so. I’m just sitting here not bothering anyone,” he replied. “I’m being quiet, so I’m not disturbing the peace.”

  “That’s good, Ben. So tell me, what do you think of Ainsley Meadows?”