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“I hear ya” Sheon a dog bed by her desk Gail’s doing, no doubt The dog looked up at her and wagged her tail Her gaze still had a bit of a panicked look, as if she didn’t knohere she was going Too many homes in too short a time
Leah reached for the leash, and the dog began to wag her tail faster As she petted Charlie on the head and fastened her collar, she worried aloud “Let’s get home and hope it’s still there”
The dog sprang to her feet and barked
“That’s right Home For better or worse, you’re with me”
On the drive home she detoured into a strip mall First a stop at the ATM for cash, and then she and Charlie went into the pet store, where she picked out a proper collar and leash, and alsofood, a bed, and chew treats By the tihter and sure that she had fallen in love with this dog
When she pulled up in front of her house, it was dark Norhts on so she never returned home to the dark, but today, in the rush to close up the house after the hts
“What the hell happened today?” She gripped the steering wheel as she stared at the dark house
The sound of her voice had Charlie barking again, pulling her away fro with her to the front door and let her inside Leaving the main door open and the screen d
oor closed, she returned to her car to gather her purchases Once she had carried all her purchases inside, she closed the exterior door and flipped the dead bolt closed Charlie barked and sniffed the purchases Leah wanted to smile, but first she had to check her town house Keys in hand, shethe s With each click of a light switch she flinched a little, half-expecting to see Philip standing in a darkened shadow
When she determined the house was clear, she allowed herself a sht”
She took Charlie with her into the kitchen, where the packedboxes stood, a loud reminder of the day’s chaos She wasn’t in the clear Not even close
“You did this towhi up on the tension in her voice She s and rubbed her on the head With Charlie in tow, she again checked the bedrooms and all the closets, and only when she was sure the house was indeed ein to wash out the bowls and then fill one with dried food and the other ater She placed both on a new doggie place mat
As Charlie ate, Leah rolled her head fro her back was a knot of tension She opened the fridge and pulled out a wedge of cheese and a half full wine bottle Turning, she reached in the cabinet to get a glass and realized it had been packed Damn
She studied the boxes and searched for any that lassware, but they were all rabbed her keys froh the tape that held each box closed She found her wineglasses in the fourth box Carefully, she unwrapped a glass, rinsed it in the sink, and filled it ine She took a long healthy sip, savoring the cool flavor as it rolled down her throat As much as she wanted to settle and relax in front of aup to these boxes, a rehtmare She turned on the television, soothed by the huave her the sense she wasn’t alone
She set up the dog bed for Charlie and gave her a chew stick and then set about unpacking the twelveboxes that had contained her kitchen It took nearly two hours to unpack, unwrap, wash, and replace every item Finally, just before nine, she was able to break down the last of the boxes and put the bins Next, she ing the pictures the movers had wrapped More paper, more trash out by the back door By ten she’d put her house back together, retrieved her journal, and was seated with Charlie on the couch, the television huround
She turned to the last blank page and detailed the day’s event She began with the call frohbor, the an
As she wrote the last words, she found the journaling this ti to ease her worries She’d been afraid to look back over the last couple of months and see if there were any patterns Hesitant to fear the facts Facts were power, and after today, she could no longer ignore the fact that Philip was finding ways to reach her
It took her less than fifteento realize just how close Philip was Thehouse keys The flowers The flat tire The man at the park The movers
She’d been rattled by all of these incidents but she’d been determined not to freak out and call the cops Each incident didn’t ether they told her very clearly that so her
She closed her eyes, absently rubbing the scars on her palain?
An overwhelht settled on her shoulders As much as she wanted to think Alex would help, she knew cops did what they could but often it was a case of too little, too late
Charlie jumped up on the couch and nestled her nose in Leah’s lap
She looked at the dog, rubbing her between the ears “You were dropped off at the clinic and left You’re black, like the dog I once wanted He would have known that Known I’d fall in love with you right away”
A wave of nausea rose up in her throat as tears welled in her eyes “He wants me to care so he can take you away, or worse, hurt you Charlie, I’m afraid we’ve both fallen into a trap”
There would have been a time when she’d have wept and worried and hidden But not anymore
Leah rose and ed on She looked up locksmiths and found a twenty-four-hour service It would cost her a fortune, but there’d be no way she could sleep tonight knowing someone had copied her house key
Phone in hand, she dialed the nu, his voice gruff and a bit irritated “Watts Locksmith”
She glanced at the front door and wondered if she’d locked it “Can you change the locks on ht?”
“Tonight?”
“Yes I had a break-in today and I think someone has a key to my house”
“Sure, I can change the lock It’s overtih”
“Do you take checks?”
“Cash or credit”
“All I have is a check My credit card was ski on the new one” Philip had boxed her in “I’ll pay double if you take a check”