Page 24 of The Flame of Carson
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Walt paid the cab driver, gave a little wave, and headed for the door of his apartment building.It had been a busy day at the publishing house, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.Taking the elevator to his floor, Walt was already going over his schedule for the next day.He had a meeting with one of their financial guys first thing, followed by the monthly board meeting.His mind was so preoccupied that he never saw there was something wrong till it was too late.
“Hello Walter.”
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“When did you get this?”Gage asked.
“A few minutes before I called you.It popped up, I opened it but refilled my coffee first.I sat down, read it, and then called you.”Stacey answered pacing her office.
Gage frowned and read the email again.He didn’t like what it implied.He pulled out his phone.“Hey Tony, listen I need you to get over here to Stacey’s place.And bring your tools.I have an email that was sent to her, and we need you to work whatever magic you can for us.Yeah.Yeah.Thanks man.”
As Gage gave Tony her address, Stacey sighed and walked out of the office.She was mentally kicking herself for thinking she could put this behind her.Sighing heavily, she dropped onto the sofa in the living room and her head fell into her hands.She couldn’t even look up when she felt Gage sit beside her.Gage slipped his arms around her and pulled her into him, gently stroking her back.
“I’m so stupid Gage.I honestly believed if I left New York, he’d leave me alone.”
“You’re not stupid Stacey.You hear me?From what you and Walt told me, it made sense for you to leave.Walt even told me that when you took the head of editing here, your name wasn’t announced and the email simply said head of editing.There was no indication that the head editor was you.”
Stacey lifted her head and met his gaze, “So what now?”
“First things first, we let Tony look and see what he can find.After that, we’ll see what he suggests.This sort of stuff is Tony’s forte and he’s damn good at it.”Gage stated.
Stacey nodded.It reassured her hearing the confidence in Gage’s voice.She pushed off the sofa and started pacing as she thought.Was she scared?Not even a little.Was she pissed?That would be a big hell yeah.Whoever this was, was hiding behind the screen and targeting her specifically.After telling Gage about it, she started thinking and had concluded that this person had to be someone that either she knew or at least knew her.Not that it helped much in identifying them.She would wait till Tony was finished before she voiced her theory.The million-dollar question was who was it?
“Hell Gage, why can’t he just leave me alone.Find a damned hobby or something.”Stacey replied as she continued pacing.
“Stacey, you can never know how psychos like this will react.Each one is different and has their own methods to their madness.Look at Ingram, with Krista.His OCD compiled with his delusions of self-importance, were what triggered his actions.It just happened that they converged the same day he took his wife to Krista’s signing.”Gage explained.
She stopped her pacing and faced him, “I know.I just wish this creep would give me some clue as to who the hell he is.”
Before Gage could respond, they both heard a vehicle pulling into her drive.Stacey turned and walked toward the front door.She peered out the peephole before opening it and smiled at Tony, “Hey Tony.Thanks for coming over so fast.”
“No problem, Stacey.So, where are my skills needed?”Tony replied.
“It’s back here man.”Gage said, leading Tony toward the office.
Needing to stay busy, Stacey left the living room and headed into the kitchen to make some fresh coffee.During her encounter with Ingram, Krista had confessed to being paranoid and a little scared on top of being pissed.However, Stacey wasn’t feeling the fear or paranoia.She was just feeling pissed.All her life she had been strong.There were very few things or situations that scared her.She sighed as she sat on her kitchen island.Would this guy make a move to physically approach her or would he remain hidden behind a keyboard and screen?
When she heard footsteps approach, she didn’t even look up, “Tony got everything he needs?”
“Yeah.You?”Gage countered.
“What I need right now is to know who he is and what he wants.”
“I know.It’s okay to be scared...”
“That’s just it Gage, I’m not scared.Since this started, I’ve never been scared.Call me strange, but there are only three things that actually “no shit” scare me.Losing my parents to a violent crime, spiders, and high-rise fires.”
Gage frowned, “High-rise fires?”
Stacey nodded.What she was about to tell him only four people knew about.Jerry, her parents, and her uncle.“You will only be the fifth person who knows this story.I was about eight blocks away from the Trade Center on September 11th.I had gone with my dad to see my Uncle Roy.At the time, he and dad were in business together and I was there to get details for a project I was working on for economics.We were on the tenth floor of a twenty-story building when the first plane hit.”
Gage was shocked.He had never met anyone who had actually been in New York during the attacks.He had just walked into his second period class when the news broke and by then it was after the second plane had hit.He saw a shiver ripple through her and reached out to pull her into his arms.He said nothing as he held her.After several minutes, she began to speak again, her voice laced with the fear she had no doubt felt that day.
