Always Watching (15 page)

She heard Martha's startled exclamation as Olivia bolted for the door.

Wade stepped into the den and stopped. Turned and found Martha coming from the kitchen.

He glanced behind her. “Where did Olivia go?” Immediately her pretty face came to mind, the way she'd worked to find a way out of the radio station, her determination to save them. Her expression as she put him firmly in his place.

Martha's frown deepened. “She's outside.” She glanced at the clock on the mantel. “Has been for the past fifteen minutes or so.”

He stiffened. “What? Why?”

“She thought she heard or saw something at the window and went to look.”

“Fifteen minutes ago? Saw something at the window? Why didn't you come get me?”

“I didn't want you to worry. You've had to deal with so much . . . I was just trying to protect you. And besides, I was standing right there and didn't see anything but a shadow. It could have been anything and is probably nothing.”

“I don't need that kind of protecting.” He changed direction and headed for the front door.

“Wait a minute, Wade. You can't go out there. What if it's your stalker?”

He paused. “What if it is and she's found a way to slit Olivia's throat too, Martha? I can't hide out in here when Olivia might need help.” He opened the door and stepped onto the front porch.

Olivia could hear Katie through the Bluetooth device inserted into her ear. She stood at the edge of the trees that had been strategically planted to offer a semblance of privacy in the backyard. The black fence that she knew was on the other side of the trees blended with the night.

Automatic lights had come on when she'd walked in front of the sensors, which made her believe no one was in the back. And yet she'd seen someone staring at her through the kitchen window. Or had she just imagined it? Granted it had been a blink-of-an-eye moment, but she had to check it out.

“Katie? Where are you?” she asked, her voice low, almost nonexistent.

“Pulling up to the front,” Katie said. “So far all is clear from where I am.”

“All clear in the back as well. The officer watching the front didn't see anything either. He's looking too.”

Olivia moved along the edge of the perimeter. She was now out of range of the sensor for the floodlights and they'd clicked off. She paused and turned her back to the side of the house, backing up until she felt the brick. She paused and considered the lights again while she waited for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness.

Had the lights clicked on when she was in the house and she hadn't noticed? Had the person at the kitchen window just done what she had? Waited for the lights to go off, then moved to the window?

With her back against the side of the house, the area in front of her was bathed in darkness.

She stayed still, ears tuned to the area.

“Liv?”

“Just a second,” she whispered.

“Wade's coming down the front porch.”

“What?” Olivia froze.

“He just disappeared around the north side of the house, probably coming your way. I've parked and am going to follow him.”

“What is he thinking?” she hissed. She moved quickly yet silently, hoping to intercept him before whatever possible danger that was outside got him.

She heard footsteps coming her way. She pulled her weapon as a precaution. It could be Wade. It could be Katie. It could be someone else. She took a deep breath. “I've called for backup!”

She moved fast, away from her current location, expecting to hear the blast of a gun and feel the air broken by the whine of a bullet. She heard nothing except retreating footsteps. Her statement about backup seemed to send the person running. She kept her Bluetooth on. “Katie?” she whispered. “Location?”

“Eyes on the client.”

“Stay with him. Call for backup, I'm going after her.”

“He's headed your way. I am too.”

Olivia bit her tongue on a few choice words that wanted to escape. She held them back with surprising effort. Ever since her foster mother had gently told her real ladies didn't cuss, she'd done her best to make the woman happy. Wade was the
first client who tempted her to renege on her promise to keep her language clean.

The figure slipped down the sloping hill toward the lake. She was in the open for a brief minute and then disappeared behind the boathouse. Olivia kept going, not liking the exposure at all, but she wasn't sure the person knew she was following her. And she wasn't sure where the person thought she was going. The boathouse ended at the water. Olivia used the concrete walkway instead of the grass.

She picked up the pace and came to where the intruder disappeared. She kept her weapon ready, aimed toward the sky, as she moved to the edge of the building. She peeked around the corner and could see pretty much nothing, even though she could hear the water lapping against the sides of the structure. No lights came on. Her nerves danced. Had someone disabled the sensors she'd just had installed on the boathouse? Her heart pounded in her throat, but the calm, clearheaded coolness she always felt on the job was there.

Olivia made her way down the wooden dock attached to the boathouse. Mentally, she pictured the layout. At the end of the dock was the water. The rest of the structure housed three boat slots. There was nowhere to go at the end of the dock. If she turned right, there was a bit more dock, then the power doors that would open for the boats to glide in. But there was no way to cross to the other side of the dock without getting in the water.

Which she had no intention of doing. She shuddered and focused on developing a plan. So unless the person took a swim, Olivia should have her trapped just ahead and hiding around the corner of the building with the water in front of her, the water to the right and left of her. Cornered.

Or was she? There was no way to know if someone waited in
the darkness beyond. The moon tossed shadows in a haphazard manner. She took a deep breath and planted her back against the building. She listened and could hear faint commotion up near the house.

But no more sounds from the person she'd been chasing. Olivia had no choice. She moved on silent feet to the end of the dock, brought her weapon down to eye level, and rounded the corner.

Only to find it empty. Her breath whooshed out. The woman had gone into the water.

But had she attempted to swim cross the lake? Or had she ducked under the boathouse door and come up on the other side? Was she now inside the boathouse?

Olivia swallowed hard. Only one way to find out. She retraced her steps back down the dock to the grassy area and slipped across to the front door. She placed her hand on the knob. It was wet.

Movement to her left. She ducked.

A quiet
swish
near her ear and then a heavy
thunk
next to her. She swiveled in time to see the person disappear into the treeline at the edge of the property.

She gripped her weapon, but didn't fire it. She had no identifiable target and she wanted to know without a doubt who or what she would hit when she pulled the trigger.

“Katie?” Olivia whispered.

“I'm here. Told Wade to get back inside but he ignored me. He's coming down the hill now. Stay alert and don't shoot him. I'm near the trees on the west side of the property. I think I saw some movement.”

“You did. She's closer to you now. See if you can grab her. I'll take care of Wade.”

“Copy that.”

She stopped talking and just listened while she tried to look for any movement, any shadow that shouldn't be a shadow.

A noise beside her made her spin and drop to the ground even as she lifted her weapon.

“Olivia? Are you all right?”

Wade stood next to the corner of the boathouse. He raised his hands, the flashlight he gripped now pointed toward the sky. She lowered the muzzle of the gun at the ground. Fury rose hot and swift, churning the acid in her stomach. She swallowed once. Twice. Filtered her words as she rose to her feet. “Are you
trying
to get yourself killed?”

“No. Are you?”

“What?”

He nodded to the ground and aimed the flashlight on the object at their feet. “Someone just threw a knife at you.”

Olivia released a breath and let some of her anger go with it. “Katie?” she spoke into her Bluetooth. “Did you find her in the trees?”

“No. He . . . she . . . whoever . . . was just gone. It was a little freaky actually.”

Freaky? “Gone? How?”

“I had her in my sights, she vanished into a cluster of trees, and then she wasn't there. I searched, but came up with nothing.”

Olivia's blood chilled. “We need to do a sweep of the houses nearby.”

“There are no houses nearby.”

True. The houses were spread out, each piece of property ranging in size from eight to ten acres. “Nevertheless, we need to alert the neighbors. She could be making her way to one, and if she finds a house unlocked and enters . . .”

“Yes. Or she could have gone into the water.”

Olivia grimaced. “Keep searching, I'm calling Quinn.” She hung up and dialed Quinn, who answered on the first ring. “I
need you here.” She paused. “And a crime scene tech. She threw her knife at me, maybe we'll get a print. She also touched the doorknob to the boathouse, but so did I, so I probably smeared any prints there.”

“Everyone all right?” Quinn asked.

“Fine for now.”

“You plan to go back to boring anytime in the near future?”

“ASAP. See you soon.” She hung up and assessed the situation.

The intruder had run to the end of the dock, slipped into the water, up under the electric door, and out the other side of the boathouse. She had taken a chance on throwing the knife at Olivia and leaving evidence behind. What had she hoped to gain? Time? A chance to escape? Probably. And she'd gotten what she wanted.

Olivia held on to the anger that burned a path from her stomach to her throat, and looked at a still silent Wade. “Go back in the house. I don't want you out here where you're a target.” She looked back at the fence, her tension an almost tangible thing.

He shook his head. “I was worried about you. Martha said you'd been out here for almost fifteen minutes and that you thought you saw someone in the window.” He ran a hand over his face. “I kept thinking about Maddy and—” He broke off and looked away.

Olivia felt her anger dissipating and found herself strangely touched at his concern. She frowned and instead of snapping at him again, made sure to keep her tone even. “This is what I'm trained for, Wade, I don't think you've allowed yourself to accept that. But you need to let me do my job. Now go in the house. Check on Martha and the girls. I don't want to leave this evidence and I can watch you enter the back door from here.”

He shook his head. “I'll wait here with you.”

Olivia pulled in a deep breath and stopped her prayerful plea for patience before it slipped out. “Wade—”

“She's gone.”

“She could come back. She could have a rifle with a scope and a bead on your head at this very moment.” Olivia didn't bother to keep the resurrected anger from her voice. She blinked. What was wrong with her? She didn't act this way. She was a professional and stayed cool no matter what. Yet Wade's stubbornness raked over her nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard.

He studied her, then looked back at the knife. “I wasn't the one she threw the knife at.”

Olivia paused. Looked down at the weapon. He had a point. Sirens in the distance caught her attention. Finally. “She only threw it at me because I was the one after her. She didn't know you were being stubborn and refusing to stay inside where it was safe. Otherwise I feel sure her aim would have taken a different direction.”

He tilted his head. “Okay. If you say so.”

Katie's voice came through her earpiece. “It's all clear in the front. The officers are arriving. Quinn's here too, as well as Haley. I explained to Quinn about the need for a house-to-house search. I think it's a long shot, but he's putting together the manpower to do it.” Olivia glanced out over the water as Katie talked. “Officers are also going to search the other side of the lake as well, just in case she decided she could swim across.”

“Good,” Olivia said. She looked at Wade. “Please. I really need you to go inside. Law enforcement is going to be all over this place and we need you to be out of the way.” She turned to see Quinn headed her way down the hill, then spun back to Wade. “And when the crime scene folks get here, they'll probably need impressions of your shoes.”

He nodded. “Process of elimination?”

“Exactly.”

“Dad?”

Wade flinched and turned. Amy was bolting toward him with Katie on her heels and Martha not far behind.

Amy launched herself at her father and wrapped her arms around his waste. “What's happening? What's going on?”

Olivia figured his daughter would be the catalyst to get him inside the house. She caught Katie's eye with a raised brow.

“She slipped out,” Katie said. “By the time I realized what she was doing, she was already coming down the hill.”

“Get her back inside.”

Katie nodded and touched Amy on the shoulder.

Amy shrugged her off, still looking up at Wade. “The lights woke me up.”

Wade hugged her, then guided her toward Katie. “Go with her to the house. Someone was snooping around outside, but it's safe now.”

“Who was it?”

“I don't know. Could have been a nosey neighbor. When I find out, I'll tell you.”

Amy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “No you won't.”

Wade took a deep breath and looked his daughter in the eye. “I will. I promise.”

Amy's defiance faded and she dropped her arms. “Really?”

“Really. Go with Aunt Martha and Katie and I'll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” She took three steps backward, as though still judging Wade's sincerity about telling her anything, then turned and started back up the hill next to Martha. Katie followed behind.

“What's your favorite movie?” Olivia heard Katie ask.

Their voices faded and Olivia turned to Quinn, who'd just signed in with one of the first officers who'd arrived on the scene.

Wade's house—and now boathouse—was a crime scene once again. She wanted it treated that way so as not to compromise any evidence that might lead back to his stalker. Once they caught the person, Olivia didn't want her getting off on a technicality. “We've got to stop meeting this way,” she said to Quinn.

“I'm all for that.”

“Do you have an update on Maddy?”

“Still critical, but seems to be slightly better. What do you have?”

She nodded to the knife. “Someone was looking in the window. I came outside to investigate, followed her down to the boathouse, and she tossed that at me.”

“She?”

Olivia shrugged. “If it's Wade's stalker, it was probably a she.”

“You're assuming again.”

She nodded. “I am, yes. Might not be the smartest thing to do, but until proven otherwise, I'm going with that deduction.”

“CSU is on the way.”

“They keep having to make the trip out here, they might as well just set up camp.”

Quinn blew out a breath and knelt to get a good look at the knife. He aimed his maglight at the weapon. “Looks sharp. That would have hurt a bit. Glad it didn't hit you.”

She shot him a sour look. “Yeah, me too. Thanks.”

He pulled gloves from his back pocket and snapped them on. Next he snagged a digital camera from the other pocket and took several dozen shots of the weapon and the area around it. Quinn would want his own pictures if at all possible. The crime scene photographer would take some, of course, but Quinn was a lone ranger. He did things his way while staying just on the inside of the law.

“You going to bag it too?”

Olivia turned to find Sarah Baldwin watching them. Quinn gave the petite woman a wry smile. “Naw, why would I do that? That's your job.”

Sarah stood five feet two, if that. A little on the heavy side, she carried herself like a queen. One didn't notice her height or her size. Her eyes were magnets. Once they landed on you, they drew you in and you immediately felt like you were her best friend. “Yeah? So when has that made a difference?”

Quinn gave her a rueful smile. “Can't argue with that.”

“About the only thing you don't argue about.”

“Come on, guys,” Olivia said, amused and annoyed at the same time. “Can we get this done and end this night?”

Sarah and Quinn were like brother and sister. Always snipping and sniping at each other, but if push came to shove, they would have each other's back. And Sarah knew that if Quinn collected the evidence, it would be done right. Sarah sobered. “How's Maddy?”

Quinn's lighter countenance darkened. “Critical.” The same answer Olivia had gotten. “But still alive. That's the good news.”

A black crime scene van pulled to a stop under the covered area where Olivia had parked earlier. Haley pulled up next to the van.

Olivia waited for her to join her. “I have an idea.”

“What's that?” Haley asked.

“Let's find Wade and I'll run it by you at the same time.”

They found him in the den staring at the pictures on the mantel. “Do you have a minute?” Olivia asked.

He turned, eyes shadowed, expression tight. “Of course.” He gestured for her and Haley to have a seat. “Katie's upstairs with Amy, Martha's in the kitchen, and I'm at a loss as to how to keep them safe.”

“Maybe my idea will help with that,” Olivia said.

Wade wasn't sure he liked the look on her face. “What's that?”

Olivia tapped her lips with her forefinger as she stared at him. “I think it's time to take this whole protection detail in a different direction.”

Haley lifted a brow and Wade shot Olivia a wary look. “What direction would that be?” he asked.

“I think you guys are overdue for a vacation.”

“Vacation?” He gave a short laugh, but there wasn't any humor in it. “What kind of vacation?”

“We take you to a place where nobody can find you and no one can track you. A place where no one comes in or goes out without proper identification.”

Wade's frown grew. “I can't just leave, I have responsibilities. I have a charity dinner and the radio show and Amy has school.” He paced to one side of the den, then back, his face flushed, breath quickening as his temper shortened. “Look, I agreed to this bodyguard business because I was under the impression that you could keep us safe without massively disrupting our lives.” He ran a hand through his hair and turned his back on the two ladies as he thought. Then he spun and pointed a finger at Olivia. “There's no doubt that the threat is real and danger is present and that I need help because this stalker stuff is way over my head. But I will not give this person the satisfaction of making me run.”

“What if running is the only thing that keeps you alive?” Olivia asked.

Wade stared at her, her words resonating within him. The anger drained. What if she was right? He closed his eyes and
asked for divine guidance. A minute ticked by. He finally looked at her. She'd simply waited him out. Because she knew he'd come to the same conclusion she had? “Okay. Say we go somewhere for a week or even two. When we come back, she'll still be waiting.”

“Or she'll be in custody.”

“How?”

“They're still testing the gift from the porch,” Haley said, “trying to track down the store that sold the teddy bears, analyzing the GPS tracker found on your vehicle. All of those are things that could lead us to the person—or persons—responsible.”

Olivia was nodding.

Wade sighed. “I don't know. I don't want to cancel the Thursday night charity event.” He ran a hand over his head. “I've got parents and kids counting on me. The money the charity brings in funds some of their daycares and after-school programs. If I start canceling, then the kids lose out. And I lose credibility.”

Olivia straightened. “Not if you use this to your advantage.”

Wade tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you tell everyone exactly why you're canceling the event and ask them to give anyway.”

He was already shaking his head. “They'll think it's some gimmick. My reputation is spotless. I had all kinds of sympathizers when Justine died. The money poured in.” He looked away, feeling the sting that always came with memories of Justine. He cleared his throat. “But if I do this, there will be questions, speculation, the money will fall off, and families will suffer. I just can't take that chance.”

Olivia pursed her lips and paced the den, her actions mimicking his from only moments ago. She came back to him. “You're right, of course. It could backfire.” She rubbed her chin and nodded. “All right, we'll do it your way for now. Charlie and
Lizzie have the time to help. We'll put them on the schedule and double your coverage.”