Page 86 of Ms Perfectly Fine
Elijah took her hand, sitting beside her.
Autumn shook her head. “Are you kidding? They would be on the doorstep and have my bags packed within the hour. They never got over my accident. They hated the thought of me returning to the stage, but they’ve come around some in the last two years.”
“And it’s only been in the last year that the roses have started to appear more frequently?”
Relieved that he hadn’t urged her to tell her parents, Autumn thought it over. “I think it was after it was announced that I would be making my solo comeback, about two months before Elijah moved in. Does this matter when we’ve already caught Heather?”
Aiden leant on his elbows. “The vase was wiped clear other than Heather’s prints, which should confirm it was her, but because the rest was wiped clean and she says she only touched the vase to see what was in it when she found them, we can’t be sure.”
Autumn’s stomach dropped, and she tried not to fidget.
“However, we did find a partial print on the inner rim that the culprit might have left by accident. It usually takes about two hours to identify when we have a print to compare it to; however, we are having a problem with our processing system, and unfortunately, we have to wait for tech support, so it may be a while before we get an answer. Before everyone left the theatre yesterday, they consented to have their prints taken. Heather said she never touched the rim, so if it matches her, good chance it was, but we need to know for sure.”
“What about the letter?” Elijah asked while Autumn gathered her composure, her mouth dry.If she was smart enough not to leave prints, why would she not wipe it down again? Maybe I discovered her before she could?The questions gnawed at her certainty that Heather was the culprit.
“The only prints we found on the letter were yours and Autumn’s,” Aiden said. “Is there anything else you can give me that was left?”
“I threw out the roses. They would be long dead anyway, and they never came with a note,” Autumn said, wishing she had kept everything.
“Were any of the roses labelled or de-thorned?”
Autumn had to think. “They didn’t have a label, but I think they were de-thorned—I didn’t really pay attention. Why does that matter?”
“Most florists would label them and make you sign for them, which leads us to believe they were all hand delivered. Florists also usually de-thorn them before sending them out; the fact that the culprit took the time to trim some of them might mean they don’t wish to harm you,” Aiden reasoned.
“That might be a bit of a stretch. The note was clearly a threat, and this isn’t the first,” Elijah said. “When I first moved in, I found a rose with a note but I threw it away, thinking it was just the wrong address. I don’t recall what it said.”
Autumn placed her hand on his knee to stop it from shaking. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”
He ran his hands through his hair. “I didn’t think—it just came back to me.”
“Okay, so this would make this the second note you’ve received? Has anything changed since you received the last rose that had no thorns or note?”
Autumn was about to say no when she realised that there was a six-foot change sitting beside her. “Elijah moved in—and Brinkley,” she added, smiling at the pile of fluff who was sniffing at Aiden.
“And in three years, has anyone else come and gone that they might have become aware of?”
“My friend Nina, my landlord, and my physio. All female, except my landlord. I don’t think Tim would be sending me roses,” she said, noting how the last part caused Aiden to look at Elijah. Clearly, he knew Tim was his father.
“Any other visitors?”
“No. I mean, Nina’s boyfriend Garrett was here once or twice to pick her up? I don’t like strangers in my house.” She noticed that Aiden tried not to smile. Elijah must have told him everything.
“Do they have keys to the house?” he asked.
“Nina does for emergencies, and so does Tim, but that’s it,” she said. “Neither one would do anything to hurt me.”
“No one-night stands? Partners?”
“Not in the last year or so, and they wouldn’t have come here. I don’t like people knowing where I live.” She glanced at Elijah, but he didn’t react. It was nice to know he didn’t judge her. She was a woman in her twenties living alone, not celibate.
“And apart from that, your schedule was routine?” Aiden asked. “It would be easy for someone to figure out your comings and goings?”
“Sadly, yes. Rehearsals or the same weekly appointments…and I do my groceries in the same place around the corner on the same day. It wouldn’t have been hard for Heather to know when I was going to be out if she watched the house for a week or two, and she’d know my address from my personal file; she literally made my work schedule.” That would have also given Heather her number and her parents’ information.
“That could explain the escalation. Stalkers can obsess over a routine to make them feel connected to you, and when Elijah moved in, it could have felt like a threat to them.”
The thought of being watched for so long sent shivers down her spine.
