Page 16 of Crossing Paths
Using the username and password she’dborrowedfrom one of the sheriff deputies, Norah logged into the DMV database and checked to see what vehicles were registered under Devon Leifsen’s name. When that search turned up empty, she tried his parents. They had five—two newer luxury SUVs, a vintage sports car, a utility trailer, and an older Toyota Corolla. Norah noted all the colors, models, license plates, and VINs, but she circled the information on the green Toyota. Unless it was the car they let their housekeeper drive, it had to be the one they got for their failed-to-launch adult son.
When the dreaded text box popped up in the corner of the screen, Norah jerked back as if Leifsen had reached through the monitor and slapped her.
Hey Norah!
Are you trying to avoid me? LOL
Instinctively, she moved to sever the internet connection and then shut down Cara’s computer, but she hesitated and just logged out of the DMV site instead. With late-evening sunlight still filtering through the window above the sink, she felt braver than last time, when darkness had surrounded the house. Now that she wasn’t visible through a window, safe behind locked doors and an armed security system, the urge to ask questions permeated the heavy layer of anxiety she felt.
Her hands hovered over the keys, her gaze locked on the blinking cursor.Just ask.Channeling the self-confidence she felt during her sessions with Dash, she hammered out a quick question.
Where are you?
There was a tiny pause before he responded.I can’t just TELL you. That would be too easy. What’s the fun in that?
Biting the inside corner of her lips, her brain raced as she tried to come up with the best line of questioning. Usually, she had plenty of time to develop a plan and finesse it until all the details were perfect. Thinking on her feet wasn’t her strongest skill. She finally typed one word, hoping it created the reaction she needed.Scared?
The pause before his answer was longer this time.No. LOL. I’m not the one who should be scared. You don’t even know where I am.
Norah cocked her head as her gaze ran over his words. She wasn’t the best when it came to reading people, and this format made it even harder to judge his emotional state. Had she made him defensive? She wondered at the sudden lack of exclamation points and happy faces. As she considered his answer again, more words appeared in the text box.
I know exactly where you are. Are YOU scared?
Swallowing down the sudden lurch of panic his question caused, Norah hurried to type, not wanting her hesitation to read as fear.Not really. Why would I be scared of some dude who hides behind a computer?
Her heart hammered from the confrontational words she’d just typed, and she forced down a semihysterical laugh. Leave it to her to be more afraid of arguing with Leifsen online than the possibility of him breaking in and killing her.
The longer the pause continued, the faster her breathing got until her brain was buzzing with too much oxygen. When his response finally appeared on the screen, she had to blink a few times before she was able to read it through the black spots dotting her vision.
What are you saying, pretty Norah? That you WANT to meet me? Want a more intimate repeat of our date last night?
Her heart skipped before taking off again, even faster thanbefore. Her eyes shot to the small kitchen window, but all she could see was a square of the dusky blue sky. It reassured her that there was no way for him to see her, and she pressed the tape a little harder against the covered camera lens underneath.
Realizing she’d never responded, she typed,Sorry. Got interrupted.She paused for a second, trying to think of how to answer his earlier question in a way that was least likely to get her killed but at the same time would annoy him enough to make him careless and maybe let some helpful information slip. Nothing immediately came to mind, and she frowned, wishing one of her sisters were there to help. Giving up, she ignored his previous question and asked another of her own.Why are you so interested in me anyway?
Because you’re just like me.
She frowned at the line. Why would he think she was a creepy stalking hacker?Why would you say that?
It’s true. We’re both too brilliant to bother with the rest of the peons.
They’re not peons.Norah knew it was futile to argue, but she couldn’t stop her fingers from flying over the keys.Why would you think we’re better than everyone else?She couldn’t imagine having that kind of misplaced confidence.
Because we are. It’s obvious. You’re trying to fit in, butyou don’t see how we’re miles above all those cockroaches.
Annoyance flared as she read his words, and she quickly wrote,You better not be calling my sisters cockroaches. How are you any better than them…specifically?
We’re on a higher cerebral plane. Have you read Plato? The allegory of the cave?
Norah hoped he couldn’t see or hear her, because she rolled her eyes and muttered, “A higher cerebral plane? Please.” Feeling like she finally might be able to get some useful information out of him, she played along.Sure.
Everyone else is a prisoner, staring at shadows, but the two of us…we’ve managed to break our chains and turn around. We see the truth.
With a snort, Norah paused to think of a leading response rather than telling him that she could barely muddle through life as one of those shadow-watching peons he was so disdainful of. She was pretty sure if she suddenly knew the secrets of the universe, she would hide under her bed with Warrant and a bag of peanut M&Ms and never come out.
Don’t you have any family or friends who are enlightened like us?she finally typed, not thrilled with her response but knowing she couldn’t delay any longer without seeming like shewas working too hard. She didn’t want to have a philosophical discussion with him about what was “the truth.” She wanted to figure out where he was so she could send Molly after his stalking ass.
You’re not paying attention, Norah. I already told you you’re the only one.
