Page 39 of Mending Fences
Mandy bit her lip. There were some things on her phone that were personal. “I’ll bring my phone to the station. I’d rather know what you are looking at.”
“Fair enough.”
Mandy eyed the truck in her rearview mirror. It had been following her since she left the police station. Two hours of her life she would rather forget. The truck was identical to the one Daniel drove, but the driver was not Daniel. When she pulled into the parking lot of the cell phone store, so did the truck.
Should she go back to the police station?
The driver exited the truck and came to stand by her door. Mr. Alexander. Mandy opened her door and glared. “You nearly had me driving back to the police station. Are you going to follow me everywhere?”
The big man crossed his arms. “Only until you get home and I can speak with you and your roommate. I meant to let you know before you left the station. I didn’t intend to worry you. I’ll wait out here.” The man returned to the truck. Mandy was sure it was the one Daniel drove.
She was the only customer. Within minutes they assigned her a new number, and she left the store.
Mr. Alexander followed her home.
Mandy parked in the garage next to Candace’s car. Shouldn’t Candace be in class?
Mr. Alexander followed her into the house.
Mr. Alexander followed her into the kitchen.
At the table sat Candace with a man in his fifties who must be Mr. Alexander’s workout partner.
The man stood and extended his hand, Mandy shook it out of politeness. Could this day get any weirder?
“I’m Jethro Hastings of Hastings Security. Have a seat, and I’ll catch you up on what your roommate and I have been discussing.”
Candace’s mouth opened slightly as she ogled Mr. Alexander. “Mr. Hastings was going over the security measures he would like to add to the house and the alarm system.”
“Alarm system? Seriously? No one needs an alarm system around here. Have you ever read the police report in the newspaper? They literally answer calls for barking dogs, and cats in trees. The most excitement they have had in months was the vandalism of my classroom.” Mandy realized her voice was rising with each sentence.
“Miss Fowler, there have been credible threats made against you in the last twenty-four hours. Mr. Crawford feels an obligation to make sure you are safe.”
Mandy mouthed “obligation.”
“If you will please sit, I’ll let him explain for himself.”
Mandy took the seat next to Candace, and Mr. Hastings turned his laptop to face them. The C&O logo was replaced with a video feed of Daniel. Drat, he looked hot in a suit. It took Mandy a second to remember she was furious with him.
“My apologies in advance for cutting this short. They want me in the courtroom in ten minutes. Amanda, will you please hear me out?”
She would have to in front of his security men, so she nodded. Besides, she was powerless against those eyes. The screen must be HD.
“Yesterday when I called, I was trying to apologize for taking you out where people photographed us together, not for taking you out. It was irresponsible for me not to realize what might happen. I don’t expect you to believe it, not with the new photos of Summerset trying to kiss me. Right now my main concern is keeping you safe.”
Candace shrugged her confusion to Mandy’s unasked question. New photos?
“First, let me have you meet Colin, my quasi-silent partner, friend, and ‘techno geek’ extraordinaire.”
The video screen split, and they were joined by a man in glasses with messy hair. Candace grabbed Mandy’s arm under the table. Definitely Candace’s type.
“Hi, Mandy, Candace, nice to meet you. Although you are probably going to hate me in a moment.” Colin’s voice was seductively smooth, like a voice actor in an audio book, the hot-romance type.
Candace gripped Mandy’s arm tighter. Hate was not on her mind.
“For the past thirteen days, I have had a bot monitoring Mandy’s social media accounts. Yesterday when things started going crazy, I took the liberty of trying to further secure your email and blog.”
“You have been spying on me? Isn’t that illegal?” Only Candace’s hand on her arm prevented Mandy from walking out.
