Page 46 of In the Line of Ire

"Couldanything have possibly altered his feelings? Perhaps a new partneror a change in career circumstances?"

"No, weworked out an agreement when we split, one that he's never deviatedfrom. He's always been very reliable that way. He's a good dad anda good ex. Not many women can say that."

"Iagree," said Hugo. "I met the guy and he seems pretty decent. Wespoke on the phone when Natalie told him what was going on. He'svery concerned about Natalie and the girls and offered to pay rentfor them to stay here, on top of his child support payments! Irefused his offer of course."

"Youpersonally spoke to him?"

"Briefly, last night."

"Whatabout anything happening in the girls' lives recently that was outof the ordinary? Have they ever mentioned a disgruntled boyfriend?A frenemy of some kind? Or anyone giving them unwanted attention?Something that might seem significant now?"

"Youthink this is about the girls?" Hugo glanced out the window wherethe girls were lying on sun loungers, their heads bowed towardtheir cellphones as they chatted animatedly. "They're onlyteenagers."

"No. I think this is more about Natalie. The coffee was madethe wayyoulikeit, and ready whenyougot home. Someone was lying inyourbed. Excluding the otherincidents you mentioned, that's very specific andpersonal."

"Someonewas in your bed?" Hugo jumped up and paced the floor a few steps,stopping to run his hand over his hair as he turned back, his facefull of disgust.

"Therewas an indentation in the pillow that looked like someone was lyingon it," Natalie explained.

"Youcan't go back there now! Lexi is right. That's very personal. Whatif this creep wants to hurt you?"

"I'm notbeing scared out of my home, Hugo! Plus, what if I move out and thecreep just follows me to the next place I rent? Not to mentionlosing my deposit and I'm already tied into my lease for a wholeyear! I can't afford to move. I want to find the guy behind thisand stop him. That's why I hired Lexi."

"Whatever it takes to find and stop him, go ahead and do it,"said Hugo. "If it costs extra, just call me and I'll gladly pay."He pulled a business card from his jacket pocket and passed it tome. According to the card he was both surgeon and owner of theclinic.

"Hugo,you can't do that! I can't afford that!"

"I knowbut I can!"

"I don'twant you to. You've been generous enough already."

"I'drather pay a few extra dollars than see you headlining the eveningnews one day," he said. The pair of them stared at each other,breathing hard, without saying anything. Their expressions said itall. These were two people who cared very much about each other butfor whatever reasons, didn't declare it. They weren't angry witheach other; they were scared.

"I'llneed access to the house tomorrow," I said, interrupting theirpoignant moment.

Natalietore her eyes away from Hugo's. "I'll meet you there. I need topick up a few things anyway," she said.

"If yougive me the keys, I can go inside and collect anything you needwhile we set the camera up. I don't think you should go there incase the perp hasn't figured out where you are yet."

"I agreewith Lexi," said Hugo.

"Fine,"she acquiesced. She reached for her purse and fished out her keys,sliding off one and pushing it across to me.

"Send mea list of what you want me to get and I'll pack."

Taking adeep breath, "Thank you," said Natalie. "I'm sorry if I got alittle antsy. This has been keeping me awake at night and I'm sotired and worried all the time. I panic that something will happento the girls when I'm not with them; or the house will burn downwith all of our things inside; or I'll wake up and he'll be righthere, in my bedroom."

Before Icould reach for her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze, Hugodid. "We can drive the girls to school and pick them up too; no onecan enter here uninvited. I'll make sure the gates are locked andyou can set the alarm code every night. Remember, I'm only acrossthe garden. You're never alone here, I promise."

Ipocketed the key and the business card. "If you think of anythingelse or see anything strange, give me a call. Otherwise, send methat email, listing whatever you need and I'll be back soon. Don’tworry; we'll figure this out."

As Ileft, I hoped I was right. So far, I had more than one mystery tosolve and no idea who could be behind any of them.

Chapter Eleven

Insteadof driving straight home, I meandered around the streets ofpost-rush hour Montgomery, thinking about Natalie. She seemed likesuch a lovely woman with nice kids and a healthy attitude towardsher ex. The guesthouse was delightful, and I sensed her bossharbored romantic thoughts towards her although he appearedcompletely pleasant and supportive. Nevertheless, I couldn't seehim as the type who’d want to scare a woman and her kids out oftheir home as some kind of weird courtship ritual. Then again, itwas hard to know what some men thought was okay as far as flirtingwas concerned.

Beforedetermining where I was driving, I found myself only a couple ofblocks away from Solomon's house in Chilton. Making a snapdecision, I executed one turn, then another and pulled into a spacedirectly in front of the house. Turning off the engine, I sat therefor a moment just looking up at the steps on the porch. "It's justa porch," I said out loud. "Just a few steps and a doorway. Nothingto be afraid of. I can do this." I popped the door handle before myfear overtook me and I decided against it. I stepped out into thelast of the warm sunlight and strolled around the car, my heartbeating a little faster than normal as I paused on the sidewalk,looking up.

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