Page 9 of Crossing Paths
“Don’t let me stop you from working.”
Chloe waved a hand toward her laptop, sparking a flare of panic in Norah. She pictured opening up Devon Leifsen’s file, the information she’d gathered on Chloe in full view, and her stomach twisted with hypothetical embarrassment.
“That’s okay.” As she closed her laptop with a firm click, her brain hunted for some reason to keep it shut. “I’m trying to avoid work, actually. I have a stalker who keeps sending me messages.” She held her breath, waiting to see how the other woman responded.
Chloe’s happy expression disappeared, replaced by a concerned frown. Either she was a good actor, or she didn’t know about Leifsen’s messages. Despite herself, Norah hoped it was the latter. Chloe was just so easy to like.
“A stalker? Have you reported him to the police?”
Norah couldn’t imagine giving the Denver detective investigating her mom’s case any more ammunition against her family. “No, but it’s fine.” Even as she said the words, she could feel how thin and untrue they were. It reallywasn’tfine. “Just some guy online, and he never really says anything threatening. Just overuses smiley face emojis.”
“Hmm…” Chloe didn’t look convinced. “Well, keep a record of everything he sends you. And if you need me to kick his ass, I love a good brawl.” Her contagious grin returned.
Even the thought of Devon Leifsen couldn’t kill Norah’s answering smile. She promised herself she was staying skepticalabout Chloe’s motives, even as she allowed herself to answer honestly. There was no harm in becoming friendly with a possible lead to Leifsen after all. It would only help her research. “I’m actually learning to fight,” Norah said, enjoying the chance to talk about that without having to worry about giving away her true motivation to her sisters.
“Of course you are,” Chloe’s tone made it clear she considered Norah a budding badass. “If you ever need backup though, I’m your woman.”
“Nice.”
The unexpected male voice made Norah flinch, afraid that Devon Leifsen was standing right in front of them. When she looked up, her shoulders dropped in relief. The man there was a white guy, but he was taller than Leifsen and had darker hair and a thick beard.
“There room for me in the middle?” the stranger asked with a leer. “I’d love to be the middle of a hot blond sandwich.”
Norah instantly tensed again. He might not’ve been the specific creep she’d expected, but he was definitely a creep. Her throat closed as she scrambled for the best way to offend him just enough to make him go away but not so much that he made a scene or waited for them outside or anything. As she hesitated, his smile grew, as if he was enjoying her mute panic.
“Zero room.” Chloe, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate. Her flat, disinterested tone was the perfect dismissal, and Norah tried to tuck the memory of it into her brain so she could use a replica next time someone hit on her. Chloe moved closer so her leg was just an inch from Norah’s, bending her head in a waythat completely shut the looming man out of their conversation. “You were telling me about your self-defense training. Have you gotten to the knee-to-the-balls move yet?”
Norah was shocked she was holding back a laugh. Normally, she would be stressed and anxious for hours after some guy tried to hit on her, but Chloe made her feel like the guy’s approach was nothing—less than nothing. She felt a surge of liking for Chloe, although she quickly tempered it with the reminder that she didn’t know the other woman’s motives yet. Chloe was—or at least had been—friends with Leifsen after all.
Chloe gave her a subtle nudge, reminding Norah to answer the question. “Oh yes. We spent several sessions on our knee-to-the-balls technique, as well as elbow, fist, and foot. We even worked on headbutts to the balls, though the logistics of that move aren’t usually as useful as the other four.” She peeked sideways, relieved to see the guy was gone.
Chloe erupted into giggles, leaning into Norah’s side in a way that should’ve felt intrusive. Instead, it seemed like they were a connected team, working together to get rid of the creepy guy, rather than feeling like Chloe had shooed the guy off while Norah’d sat passively.
“That was perfect,” Chloe told her, still grinning in that wonderfully conspiratorial way. “I knewimmediatelythat you were amazing, and I’m always right about these things. My people radar is on point. We’re going to be best friends. I can feel it.”
Norah wasn’t sure how to respond. Even despite knowing Chloe likely wasn’t what she appeared to be, Norah desperatelywanted it to be true.
“You don’t believe me yet,” Chloe said, not sounding offended as she reached out a hand. “But you’ll see. When we’re eighty and starting brawls at the nursing home, I’ll be able to tell you I told you so.”
The mental picture of exactly that was so vivid Norah couldn’t hold back her smile.
“Give me your phone.”
Tentatively, Norah handed it over and watched as Chloe entered her number.
“There,” Chloe said with satisfaction, handing it back. “Now you can text me when things are about to go down, and I’ll come running to be your backup. Less dramatic than the bat signal but more efficient.” Chloe’s phone rang, and she bounced up from the couch as she answered it. “Mom! I just randomly met the nicest person at Chico’s. Hang on. I’m heading outside. It’s rude to talk in here.”
With a wave, she headed for the door, leaving Norah feeling stunned and ebullient and fighting to stay objectively suspicious. After all, it was just as likely Chloe was talking with Leifsen. Norah just really wished that it was in fact Chloe’s mom. Even if shewastalking with Leifsen, however, Norah was proud she’d made a connection with Chloe as a possible lead. She’d actually done fieldwork successfully, and that was something to celebrate, no matter Chloe’s motives.
It took several minutes before Norah remembered the work she needed to do and opened her laptop again. Resisting the urge to pull up Chloe’s picture just in case she returned afterfinishing her phone call, she opened the file with Leifsen’s financial records instead. It was less than a minute before the dreaded text box popped up on her screen.
You met Chloe! Isn’t she hot???
Norah’s fingers lifted from her laptop, hovering above the keys as she stared at his latest message. Her heartbeat picked up as her breath caught in her chest. Her gaze flicked up to the tiny, neat square of electrical tape she’d used to cover the laptop camera, and she ran her thumb over it to make sure it was securely in place. It was, which somehow made Leifsen’s knowledge even more disturbing, and her fingers shook slightly as she returned them to the keyboard.
How do you know that?
The thought that Chloe had told Devon Leifsen about her made Norah’s stomach churn with an odd betrayal. It seemed that the whole meetup had been engineered by Leifsen after all.
