Page 66 of Mistletoe and Malice
She nodded, and he grabbed his cell phone, making a circling gesture with his hand as he put it to his ear. Keep him on the line. She needed to somehow keep this creep on the line, as if it wasn’t bad enough she already heard his voice in her nightmares.
“I need a trace on Riley Hudson’s office line right now,” he said to somebody on the other end.
She hit the speaker button on the phone base so Colton could hear both sides of the conversation and quietly hung up the handset. “I just like to know who I’m dealing with. Seems you have the unfair advantage, knowing me but me not knowing you.”
“I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to know you.”
Unable to stand on her quaking legs any longer, she sat back down in her chair. “You know, it’s never too late to turn to God. Whatever you’ve done, He?—”
“Spare me the sermon. I’ve heard it all before. And since I’m clearly on speaker now, I assume your hired thug is standingthere with you. Like he was at the shelter. You sure know how to work a white apron, Riley Hudson.”
Startled, her gaze shot up to Colton’s. A muscle worked in his jaw as he kept the cell phone to his ear. This guy had been right there, despite all their precautions.
“I … um … I hope you were able to enjoy some Thanksgiving dinner. That’s why we were there, to feed folks.”
“The turkey was a little dry, but all in all, it wasn’t bad. Oh, and by the way, I sent you a little something.Ciaofor now, Miss Hudson.”
“Wait!” The line went silent. “Hello?”
Colton frowned. “Okay, thanks.” He disconnected and put his phone on her desk. “Close but no go. Needed about thirty more seconds.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. You did fantastic. Honestly. Although, seeing how composed you are in court, I’m not surprised.” His gaze traveled to her stack of mail. “Check that real quick.”
Her hands shook as she leafed through her mail until she came across a padded manila envelope with her name and office address hand-scrawled on the front.
“Don’t open it.” He picked up his cell phone again. “John. Colton Blankenship. Riley received another envelope. Large and has something in it.” He nodded as John spoke. “Sounds good. See you in a few.” He clicked off and stuck his phone back inside his suit coat. “He’s about ten minutes away, so he’s coming himself.”
“So, the creep’s mailing them now? You think he knows about the plainclothes officer planted downstairs?”
“I don’t know how he could. But I think he probably knows we’d be smart enough to do something like that and isn’t taking any chances.”
She shook her head. “This is my fault. If I’d told you about them sooner, we might’ve had someone down there last Monday when the fourth one came.”
“This isn’t your fault, Ri. None of it.” He scanned her desk. “Why don’t you go ahead with what you were doing? Concentrate on something else and try not to think about it.”
“I can’t help it.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Okay.” He walked around her desk, kneeled in front of her, and took her hand. “Let’s pray about it.”
Pray about it? Colton wanted topray about it?
He bowed his head. “Heavenly Father, You know Riley’s scared right now, so if You could give her a measure of peace, we would sure appreciate it. Please help us find this guy who’s targeted her for reasons we don’t know so she can get on with her life the way she wants to live it, without constantly being under guard. We thank You for Your presence, even in these difficult circumstances. In Your name we pray. Amen.”
When she opened her eyes, he was staring down at their joined hands before he let her go and stood. Still reeling from everything that had happened—the phone call, the new package, Coltonprayingwith her—she wasn’t sure what to say.
He’d been more focused on the pastor’s message the past two weeks at church. A departure from the first service they’d shared, where he’d sat next to her stiff as a board. Had he been making his way back to God after their middle-of-the-night talk?
There hadn’t been a day since she hadn’t talked to God about him, praying he’d bridge the gap he’d let grow between him and the Savior he used to trust. That he would rediscover the faith he’d left behind.
She started at the light knock on her doorjamb, and her attention snapped to the detective whose gaze traveled from Colton to her and back again.
Colton backed away and moved to the side of the desk. “John. Thanks for coming so quickly.”
“Sure thing.” John peered down at her. “Your secret admirer decided to reach out again, I hear.”
She cleared her throat. “Secret, maybe, but no admirer.”
