A Profiler's Case for Seduction(36)
“She is well published in psychiatric journals, but I get the feeling that this is for something much bigger than just an article. It’s just my guess, but I think it’s a book. Maybe she was offered a big deal after her kidnapping.” She checked her watch and frowned. “And I better get going.” A tired smile curved her lips. “It was nice seeing you again, Dora, and nice meeting you, Agent...Mark.”
As she hurried out of the door, Dora watched her go with concern. Amanda was a sweet girl and Dora hated to see her so harassed and stressed-out.
“Poor thing,” she said, more to herself than to Mark. “She looked so exhausted.”
“Professor Grayson seems to be a tough taskmaster,” Mark observed.
“I know she’s a tough teacher,” Dora replied, always more than a little bit uncomfortable when it came to talking about Melinda with anyone else.
“I should probably get home,” she said as she stood. It was time for the coffee shop to close and time for her to allow him to walk her home and then go on about his own official business.
“I can’t thank you enough for doing this,” she said as they hit the sidewalk outside. Night had tumbled down, darkening the area except for where an occasional streetlamp pooled a halo of light to the ground.
“Believe me, I know what it’s like to be scared, and it’s not a feeling I’d want anyone to experience if I can help it.”
She looked at him, his features cast in darkness. “Does your work sometimes scare you?” she asked curiously.
“Scares me lots of times,” he admitted easily. “But, fear is a good, healthy response to a perceived danger. It’s a primal response that helps keep us alive.”
“In any case, I appreciate you helping to alleviate some of mine even though I can’t imagine why I’d be in any danger. I still think it’s possible I’m just a little bit on edge and imagining things because of what’s happened here in town.”
They had almost reached Dora’s house when Mark stiffened beside her and grabbed her arm with a sense of urgency. “Your imaginary stalker is at the window on the side of your house,” he said softly as he reached inside his jacket.
Dora released a startled gasp as she spied the dark figure at the side of her house.
“When I say go, you run straight to your front door, get inside and lock the door,” Mark whispered.
“What are you going to do?” Dora asked in alarm. She wanted him to come with her, to run inside the house and lock the door against any danger to either of them.
“Go,” he replied, and gave her a little shove as he took off running toward the house. Dora ran just behind him, her heart beating frantically, her gaze focused entirely on her front door.
Get inside and lock the door. Her brain screamed the command as she hit her porch. Mark had disappeared in the darkness, and the fear that screamed inside her begged to be released as she realized her fears were true...somebody was really stalking her.
* * *
Amanda raced back to her apartment, coffee already half-gone and her thoughts spiraling out of control and shooting in all directions. The day before, Melinda had given her the assignment to research everything she could find on the internet concerning sociopaths. Initially Amanda hadn’t thought it a big deal...until she’d actually started the daunting task.
There were thousands of articles about the mental illness, thousands of pages about killers, child abusers and other criminals who had been diagnosed with the personality disorder.
Much of it Amanda knew Melinda already had in her books and papers on the subject, so she didn’t understand why she had been given a task that felt remarkably like stupid busywork.
And something was definitely going on between Ben and Melinda. Something wrong. Amanda reached her apartment and sank into the sofa, sipping the last of the coffee as she thought of her boss and her coworker.
Secrets. They seemed to share secrets that didn’t include her. If she entered a room when the two of them were there, there was a sudden pregnant silence. They didn’t seem to want her to hear them.
Things had just gotten weird and Amanda couldn’t quite place her finger on what was going on. She only knew that for the first time since she’d started working for Melinda she’d begun to see some flaws in her idol.
The fact that Amanda was relatively certain Melinda had invited Ben into her bed wasn’t just nauseating, but so beneath the brilliant woman Amanda had thought she’d known.