Page 72 of Waitress at the Shadow Ridge Inn
“You managed to stay one step ahead of her, however. She didn’t learn of your whereabouts until after you’d already moved on. Until recently, anyway.”
Until I stopped in Shadow Ridge.
Aaron continued. “My friend believes—and I agree—that Angela was your stalker all along. She was the one sending flowers and cards. She had even paid a neighbor kid twenty bucks to take random photos of you and her. And ultimately, she was the one behind your abduction.”
I heard what he was saying, but I was still having trouble reconciling it with what I knew. “But she was attacked in our apartment,” I said weakly.
“Was she?” he mused. “Was there any evidence, other than her version of events and the bump on her head?”
I thought back on the events of that day, then shook my head.
“It would have been easy enough to stage. She could’ve slammed her own head into the wall, for all you know.”
The possibility had never even crossed my mind. I mean, who would do something like that?
“Someone who’s not right in the head,” he said darkly, making me realize I’d voiced my thoughts aloud.
“When word got back to me that Angela had left work abruptly one day last week after receiving a phone call, I feared the worst. I contacted my guy and he tracked Angela here. I knew I had to warn you.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“And tell them what exactly? That your friend was coming to visit you? Or that the only reason I knew that was because I’d hired someone to keep tabs on her?”
I saw his point. “So, you came to the inn, looking for me that Friday.”
“Friday? No, I didn’t arrive until Saturday morning. It must have been the PI. He got here before me, and I asked him to stick around and keep an eye on you until I could get here.”
Aaron was throwing even more pieces of the puzzle onto the table, and I had no idea where they fit.
“What happened to him? Your friend, I mean.”
“He left once I arrived. While he was willing to help a friend, he wasn’t particularly keen on sticking around. I suspect not all of his methods for obtaining information are completely legal.”
This, I understood. Since his efforts had saved my life, I was perfectly okay with keeping my mouth shut. “His secret’s safe with me,” I said.
Relief passed over Aaron’s features. “Thank you.”
“You’ve already spoken to the sheriff, I take it?” I asked.
“At length,” he said with a wry smile. “He came by last night, listened to what I had to say, then stayed and played cards with me. I like him.”
“I don’t know him well, but he seems like a good guy.”
“So … you and his nephew, huh?”
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. “Yes.”
“Does he make you happy?”
“Yes, he really does.”
“Good. You deserve happiness.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely.
“What are you going to do now? Will you return to Chicago?”
“Only long enough to take care of things,” I told him. “Then I’m coming back. I like it here. Shadow Ridge has really grown on me. Who knows? I might even open an office here. Apparently, this town doesn’t have a CPA to handle small business accounting needs.”
