Page 76 of The Midnight Lock (Lincoln Rhyme 14)

Though usually her radar was correct.

Damn it, was he now looking out at her through the milky plastic window of the deli?

She chatted with a few of the other moms, also picking up their middle-school children.

Checked her phone for emails and texts.

A man’s voice behind her. “Oh, you’re Roonie’s mom, right? Hi.”

The parent had stepped out of the front door of the large redbrick school. He wore the sticky visitor’s ID badge plastered to a very nice suit.

“Ben.” They nodded. “I’m Meghan Nelson’s dad. We met a month ago. PTO. Before the great schism.”

She laughed, with a shake of her head. The power play among the parents in a middle school had all the high drama of a royal court coup.

“Is Meghan in Roonie’s class? I don’t remember, sorry.”

“No, she’s sixth grade.”

Soames’s eyes returned to the vegetable stand. The stalker was either gone or had walked deeper into the deli.

Ben said, “We went to the gymnastics meet. The one at Hunter. Meghan thinks Roonie totally rocks.” He laughed at his dip into teen speak.

Soames smiled. “Really, how sweet. Is that her sport too?”

“She wishes but she’s big-boned. And too tall.”

His daughter, he explained, wasn’t into sports, but she was a wiz at singing and dancing. “Meghan’s the theatrical one in the family.” He gave a laugh. “Second only to my ex.”

Then Ben looked past Soames—toward the deli.

“All okay?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just … this guy was staring at me.”

“Was he wearing sunglasses?”

“Yeah, like he was some kind of player. He stepped back inside.”

“And a raincoat and baseball cap?”

“That’s him, yeah,” Ben said.

“I think he was looking atme.” She explained about the suspected following.

“Well … you want me to go talk to him?”

“God no.”

Ben offered a smile.

“I knew a stalker once,myex.” Soames was feeling relaxed talking to him. “It was just that he wasn’t inspired to stalkme, only his secretary.”

He touched his bare ring finger. “Five years for me.”

“Three.”

Ben was a good-looking man; his thick dark hair was swept back, with premature gray streaks. Which, Soames had always felt, added to the sexy quota. And the suit was truly gorgeous. He had money.

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