Page 52 of Secret Stalker

Chapter Sixteen

Bex twisted her hands together, the bad memories washing over her from that awful night ten years ago.

“He harassed me, as usual. Grabbed my arm, rubbed up against me.”

Max’s pen stopped, his knuckles whitening around his pen. “Was anyone else in the store?”

“The sales clerk. I don’t know his name. Oh, and Marcia.”

“Marcia Knolls?”

She nodded. “She was following Bobby around as usual. And he was ignoring her, bothering me instead. I told him to leave me alone and I hurried to the register to buy Mama’s pills. After paying, I ran out to my car and left.”

“Where were Bobby and Marcia at that time?”

“Marcia came out shortly after me, drove off in her car. I remember she ended up behind me at a stoplight and gave me the finger. I didn’t see Bobby come out of the store. I’m not sure where he went right after that.”

“You drove straight home?”

She shook her head. “No. I realized I was almost out of gas and was worried I wouldn’t make it home, so I stopped and filled up.” She told him which station she’d used.

“Did anyone see you?”

She waved toward the manila folder on the table. “If that’s the case file, don’t you know this part? I’m sure the chief had his men comb the town to create a timeline for his persons of interest. And with me as the number-one suspect, you probably know exactly how many gallons of gas I got and how I paid for it.”

“I knew you were at the store and got gas. But I didn’t have your side, that Bobby was harassing you. And I didn’t know Marcia was at the store. I’m not trying to be cruel by taking you through every step. I’m just trying to ensure that we don’t miss anything, okay?”

“Okay.”

“You filled up, went inside to pay?”

“Had to. I didn’t have Mama’s credit card, didn’t expect to need gas. She only gave me five bucks for the pills. Luckily I had some of my babysitting money in my purse. But, yeah, I had to go inside to pay. Mr. Alverson was the one working that night. That one’s easy to remember. He’s there all the time. Even now. I saw him there last week.”

Max’s mouth quirked in a half smile. “He runs that place like his own little fiefdom. How long were you inside?”

“Not long. Maybe five minutes. I drove home, gave Mama the pills, put her to bed. I was about to go to bed myself when I heard a soft knock on the door. But no one was there. That’s when I saw the note. Someone had slid it under the door.”

He stopped writing. “A note? Who was it from?”

“You.”

His head jerked up. “Me? I didn’t send you a note.”

“I know that now, of course. The note was supposedly sent through one of your friends. It said your dad was mad at you for something and took your phone. But that you really needed to talk to me, that it couldn’t wait. I figured you were still angry at me turning down your proposal, that maybe you were going to try to convince me to say yes. But I was also worried that something else had happened, that maybe you were in trouble. The note said to meet you at a cabin on the Caldwell property. It even had a little hand-drawn map.”

“You didn’t think that was odd? You didn’t think to call me?”

“Why would I? I had no reason not to believe the note, that your dad had your phone. We’d met in that barn on the Caldwell property a dozen times. I figured the cabin was somewhere new you’d discovered, yet another building close to the border of your dad’s property where we could meet without being caught. It really didn’t seem any different than meeting you in our usual spot. And, well, after we’d left on such bad terms, I figured maybe you didn’t want to meet at the barn. Karma and all that. I was anxious to try to smooth things over. I didn’t want you to hate me.”

A pained expression crossed his face. “I could never hate you, Bex. I assume that was the same cabin where Bobby’s body was later found?”

She nodded.

“Please tell me you kept the note.”

“I had it with me when I went to the cabin. But not when I left.”

“I didn’t see it listed in the police report of items found.”

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