The locket, p.14
The Locket, page 14
“I told you I was quite a tomboy growing up. I learned when I got older, though, that my looks…well, that I could pretty much get whatever I wanted. Kinda sad, really.”
“To use your looks while pretending to be something you’re not?”
“Yes. Pretense. Like the movies. I had lots of practice.”
“I don’t get the impression that you’re pretending with me. Am I wrong?”
Dani wasn’t afraid to meet her eyes, holding her gaze once again. “For the first time in…well, forever, I guess…I feel completely comfortable around someone—you. I don’t have to pretend to be Danielle Stevens with you.” Dani sat up and leaned forward, resting her arms on her thighs. “I like you a lot, Harper. You’re…you’re real to me. You don’t know me and you don’t owe me anything, yet, here we are…together. Because you care.” She smiled. “You probably wished you didn’t care, but I know you do.”
Harper smiled too. “Yes. Guilty.”
Dani surprised her by moving closer and kissing her on the cheek. “I’m very, very glad I chose you,” she whispered before pulling away. “You have the most honest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
Harper sat still, paralyzed as Dani’s hand—her fingers—touched her cheek.
“You’re a good person, Scout. I’m so lucky.”
Harper swallowed, not knowing what to say. Then Dani smiled and took her hand away.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so melodramatic with you.”
“It’s okay,” Harper said with a quick nod. “I’m glad we can talk like this.”
“Yes. Like friends.”
“Yeah…like friends.”
Later, however, while she lay wide awake, listening to Dani’s even breathing, she felt the fingers of attraction start to claw at her. Dani was on her side, facing her. Her head was touching her shoulder, her hand holding lightly to Harper’s arm. Dani hadn’t started out in that position, no. She’d first laid on her back as idle chitchat passed between them. Then she’d rolled away from Harper. In a matter of minutes, though, she turned again, moving closer to Harper. In sleep, she’d moved closer still to where she was now.
Harper closed her eyes, trying to find an image of Jan in her mind. It was a struggle, but finally one came—the mess of unruly brown hair, the laughing eyes, the teasing smile. Jan. Then the image slowly faded, replaced with another: blond hair, guarded blue eyes, a hesitant smile. Then that changed too…blue eyes that now twinkled, a smile turning into a laugh.
She opened her eyes, moving her head a fraction to look at Dani. The light from the bathroom made a streak across the bed, illuminating Dani’s hair. Her lips were slightly parted, and Harper’s gaze locked on them for countless seconds before she made herself look away. She blew out a heavy breath, wishing sleep would claim her already.
Chapter Thirty
Dani woke with a start, which was odd for her. She lifted her head from Harper’s shoulder, quite embarrassed for having been caught using it as a pillow.
“I heard it too,” Harper whispered. “Stay here.”
Dani scooted up to the wall, covering herself with the blanket as if it could offer some protection. Harper didn’t bother with her jeans, simply walking quickly to the window. She moved the curtains aside—hideous faded yellow ones—and looked out. Dani was comforted to see the gun in her hand. With the security chain still in place, Harper opened the door and peeked outside. Dani could see Harper relax as she closed the door again.
“Nothing.”
Dani let out a relieved sigh. “It was loud enough to wake me up. Whatever it was.”
Harper got back in bed. “I know. You normally sleep through anything.”
“It was a bang or something.”
“Yeah, sounded close. Let’s hope Reid doesn’t have a hooker in his room.”
Dani smiled at that as she scooted back down into her spot and settled beside Harper again. “Umm, I guess I was using you as a pillow. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I’m getting used to it. You’re quite a snuggler.”
Oh, God. Dani felt a blush light her face, and she was glad it was too dark for Harper to see. She was embarrassed, yes, but she was also a little frightened. Frightened by the noise that had awoken her so suddenly…and frightened by the attraction she felt to Harper. She decided to focus on the former rather than the latter.
“Do you think the noise was from one of our neighbors?”
“Probably not.”
“So that noise could have been…it could have been him, right?”
“Maybe. Are you worried that it was?”
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I just…”
“Are you scared?”
“Yes.”
“I think we’re okay here, Dani. We’ve got detectives on each side of us. The officer at the desk—if he’s not watching TV—is supposed to be monitoring the parking lot. I think it’s covered.”
“I guess so.” She could feel her thundering heartbeat, and she wondered if it was still the fear of the stalker that had it beating so. There was a chill in the room, but she could feel the warmth from Harper’s body. She longed to know what it would feel like to be held by her. Despite the warnings dancing through her mind, she moved closer to her, the whispered words out before she could stop them.
“Would you hold me?” She could sense Harper hesitating, and she mentally slapped herself. “I’m…never mind,” she murmured, although she couldn’t bring herself to move away from Harper.
“No…I’m sorry, Dani. I…”
Dani stared at the ceiling. “You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?” She heard Harper take a deep breath.
“I probably always will be.”
Dani nodded in the darkness. “I’m so sorry, Harper. I didn’t mean to make you feel…well, uncomfortable.”
“I know. You’re scared.”
“Yes, I’m scared.” She bit her lower lip. “I’m scared of my stalker, and I’m…scared of…well, it’s been so long since I’ve had physical contact with anyone,” she admitted. “It’s been a rather lonely life, to say the least.” She turned to glance at Harper, deciding to be honest with her. “It’s probably best that you don’t hold me. I’m already attracted to you. You should probably keep your distance.”
“Oh, Dani,” Harper whispered. “I don’t have anything to offer you. Inside…I’m just, I’m just empty still. You don’t need that kind of a complication in your life.”
Dani squeezed her eyes shut. God, what were you thinking? She’d been attracted to the woman in the photo from the start. She told herself she’d picked Harper Jeremiah because of her eyes—those honest, trustworthy eyes—but she knew that wasn’t the sole reason. Still, she shouldn’t have said anything. She should have left things as they were. She managed a quick nod, wishing she could take back her words. “You’re right. And again, I’m sorry.”
She waited what she thought was an appropriate amount of time before rolling onto her side, her back to Harper. Harper said nothing else, but a few minutes later, Dani was surprised to hear the covers rustle, surprised to feel Harper shift beside her. An arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back into a sturdy, warm body. She sucked in a quick breath of air as Harper spooned behind her.
“How’s this?”
With her heart still hammering in her ears, Dani’s only answer was to take Harper’s hand and pull it more tightly around her.
Chapter Thirty-One
Harper feared it would be awkward between them. Or worse, she feared her guilt would be eating her alive this morning. After all, she’d just spent the night holding another woman in her arms—a beautiful, vibrant woman who said she was attracted to her. But there was no guilt. Jan wasn’t haunting her. And Dani seemed perfectly normal, not mentioning their talk at all. She sat at the edge of the bed and stretched her arms over her head with a pleasant moan.
“I slept like a rock.” Dani glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you, Harper. You make a great security blanket.”
Harper smiled at that. “My pleasure,” she said with a wink, hoping to keep things light between them.
“Can I have the bathroom first or would you rather?”
“No, go ahead. I’m going to take a look outside, make sure everything’s okay.”
Dani raised both eyebrows. “You won’t go far, right?”
“No. Promise. I’m just going to check in with Reid.”
She went to the window and slowly moved the curtains aside. The sun was barely up and she saw no activity outside. Not that she expected much. There had been only five vehicles in the parking lot when they’d gone to bed, three of which were police. She did a quick count now and saw six. She heard a door slam down the way from their room and she watched as a man hurried to a truck. He was hunched over with his collar turned up, most likely to avoid the wind. On impulse, she touched the windowpane, surprised at how cold it was. She hadn’t bothered with a weather forecast in days and she assumed a front had come in during the night.
She let the curtain fall back into place and went to the door. She opened it as far as the chain would allow. She wouldn’t have been shocked to find a doll leaning against the door, but there was nothing. She grabbed a sweatshirt off the chair, slipped it on then went outside. It was definitely colder than it had been last night. She was about to go over to Reid’s room when something in the parking lot caught her eye. There, on the windshield of one of the cars was a doll. It was the tangled mess of red hair that made her gasp—a Raggedy Ann doll.
She hurried back to their room, slammed the door quickly and locked it, then took three or four steps away. Her heart was pounding loudly and she sucked in several deep breaths. It was a coincidence, of course. He probably had to buy a doll and this was all he could come up with.
She ran her fingers through her hair nervously. Right? A coincidence?
“Yes, surely,” she whispered to herself. Jan’s killer was still out there somewhere, but she had no illusions that she’d stumbled upon him. The Raggedy Ann Killer didn’t stalk, he didn’t play cat and mouse games. The Raggedy Ann Killer forced his way into bedrooms, then raped and tortured his victims before killing them.
“Harper?”
She turned toward Dani, seeing the frown on her face.
“You’re as white as a ghost. What is it?”
Harper cleared her throat. “There’s a…there’s a doll out there, on one of the cars.”
Dani’s shoulders sank. “Oh, no. So he did find us.” She came closer and touched her arm. “Something else is wrong. What is it?”
Damn, but Dani could read her. She pointed to the door. “The doll…well, it’s different. It’s a…it’s a damn Raggedy Ann doll.”
“Oh, my God.” Then Dani’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. You don’t think—”
“No, no. It’s a coincidence only. It’s got to be. It just freaked me out there for a minute.” She held her hand up. “And don’t say you’re sorry.”
“Okay. So now what?”
She picked up her phone. “Call Reid. Then check with the desk guy, see who came in last night. Check security tapes.” She took a deep breath. “Damn.”
* * *
“You didn’t see anything?”
“No. One guy came in about ten thirty for a room. Older guy in a truck. He’s on his way to Lubbock. He left already this morning.”
Harper nodded. “Yeah, I saw him.” She stared at him, narrowing her eyes. “So if no one came in, how the hell did a goddamn doll get on one of our cars?”
“I don’t know. I swear, I was…I was alert all night.”
“There was some kind of a noise, it was after midnight,” Reid said and Harper nodded.
“Yeah, we heard it too. I looked out. I didn’t see anything.”
“Me either.”
Harper stepped back, knowing that Officer Sorrell—the desk clerk guy—was technically off duty. His replacement was already behind the desk, idly flipping through his phone.
“I guess we look through the surveillance video and see what the hell it was you missed.”
“I swear, nobody came in. At least not in a vehicle.”
They’d chosen this particular motel not only for its meager occupancy rate but because it was horseshoe-shaped with only one entrance. Apparently, if Officer Sorrell was to be believed, their stalker had slipped in on foot.
Harper rubbed her eyes as they went back outside. The doll was still on the car, and she turned away from it.
“Do you have an evidence bag?”
“Yeah, there are some in my car.” He touched her arm. “What’s wrong? You look a little freaked out by that thing.”
She glanced back at the doll. “Had a case in Tucson. Serial killer. Left a Raggedy Ann doll at each scene.” She turned away from the doll again. “Bad memories.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of it. You want to watch video with Hernandez?”
“No. I want to check on Dani. I’ll meet you back in the office. Have Hernandez take this thing to the lab. Maybe we’ll get lucky this time.”
She watched Reid for a minute, then turned away when he reached for the doll. She tapped quickly on their door, hearing Dani on the other side.
“Is it you?”
“Just me.”
Dani released the chain, then opened the door, her eyes first meeting Harper’s before traveling to the lot…and the doll. She then took Harper’s arm and tugged her inside.
“I’m so sorry about the doll, Harper. Of all the dolls he could have picked—”
“I know. Reid is going to get Hernandez to take it to the lab. I’m fine.”
Dani nodded and Harper knew she didn’t believe her. “If you say so.”
Harper held her questioning gaze, softening her expression some. “Dani…I’m fine. It just…it was a shock, that’s all. It’s a doll, part of his game, nothing more.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, then Dani surprised her by moving closer and pulling her into a tight hug. There was nothing professional whatsoever about their relationship any longer and she didn’t pretend that it was. The position that she found herself in at that moment was far too intimate to pretend. She relaxed, letting Dani hold her for as long as she wanted. There was no guilt, no images of Jan flashing before her eyes. There was just this woman who was offering her comfort…and something more.
She closed her eyes, pulling Dani a little tighter against her, then she gently pushed her away. Now wasn’t the time to explore this.
Dani seemed almost embarrassed by the hug and she wouldn’t meet Harper’s eyes. Harper didn’t say anything. Dani had her own demons to deal with.
“We’re…we’re going to look at the video from last night. Do you want to come with me or stay here?”
Dani looked at her then. “I’ll go with you, if you don’t mind.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Dani stood behind Harper and Reid, who sat near the desk, the security surveillance video already up and running. She watched the dark, shadowy entrance to the motel for several minutes, then found her attention shifting from the stalker to Harper…and the hug they’d shared. She fingered the locket at her neck absently, her mind replaying the events of last night and this morning. Things had changed between them in a matter of hours, it seemed. Changes that she was responsible for, not Harper. She never would have thought she’d be bold enough to initiate any physical contact between them, but it had come so naturally, she hadn’t had time to think it through.
She also hadn’t had time to really sort out these feelings she was having. Was the attraction she felt for Harper simply a result of the situation she found herself in? Harper was a cop, her protector, her security blanket. Was that why she was feeling this affection for her? Or did it still stem from when she’d first seen her picture? She thought back to that day when she’d been flipping through the profiles of the female detectives they’d sent her. Her intention had been to select someone who had a lot of experience, someone who was well-seasoned, someone she could learn from. No one jumped off the page at her until she came to Harper Jeremiah. She remembered staring into her eyes, wondering what she’d been thinking in that instant when her picture was snapped. She’d dutifully gone through the profiles of each one, but she kept going back to Harper. She knew then that even if Harper had been a rookie, she’d still have chosen her.
“Fast forward to midnight,” Harper said. “It was after that when we heard the noise.”
Reid nodded and Dani forced her attention back to the monitor, pushing her thoughts of Harper away…at least for the moment.
“There! Did you see it?”
Reid shook his head. “It was just a shadow.”
“Right. Go back. Play it again.” Harper pointed at the bottom left of the screen. “Watch here.”
Dani kept her eyes glued to where Harper had pointed, anticipation making her heart beat just a little fast. Reid played it at real speed and it was just a blur on the screen, as if a shadow flew by the camera.
“That’s nothing,” Reid said.
“Slow it down. It’s a person.”
Reid played it again, this time in slow motion. He paused the video as the shadow materialized. “Son of a bitch,” he murmured.
Harper tapped the screen. “A person. Half a head, shoulder.”
“Too dark for any ID.”
“What’s the timestamp?”
“Twelve twenty-two.”
“Okay. Let’s check the parking lot feed at that timestamp. See what we get.” Harper glanced back at Dani. “You okay?”
Dani nodded. “Just trying to stay out of your way.”
But Harper scooted her chair over. “Come sit with us. You might catch something that we miss.”
Dani seriously doubted that, considering Harper had been able to spot the shadow of half a person—a shadow that was on the screen for all of a nanosecond. She pulled up a third chair anyway, sitting down beside Harper. Their knees touched as they both leaned forward, closer to the monitor. Neither of them pulled away and she wondered if it was only her imagination that she felt Harper press a little harder against her.
