Page 7 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Richmond Valley Sheriff’s Office,” a man said as soon as the call connected.

“Hi. I’ve been receiving letters from someone I believe is stalking me, and I’d like to file a report.”

“Alright. What’s your address? I’ll have an officer come and meet with you.”

“Thirty-two Crestwood Street.”

“One of our officers will be there shortly,” the man said before he ended the call.

I took a deep breath and grabbed the other letter, piling them on the counter before getting Trinity’s chicken nuggets ready.

Trinity was dipping her chicken nuggets in sauce at her little dining table when the officer showed up. We stood in the hallway where I could still see her, but she couldn’t hear anything I was saying. Even though she was still young, I didn’t know how much a four-year-old could understand what was happening.

“I’m sorry, Haley,” Officer Maxwell said as he looked down at the letters. “There’s nothing I can do with these. We don’t have the technology to check for DNA, and you’ve said that the stalker isn’t threatening you in any way other than sending you two letters that don’t contain threats, either. Without the threat, I can’t do anything other than open a report.”

“That’s it?” I asked, trying to control my anger as I stared at him. “I tell you that someone is threatening me, and you tell me that all you can do is file a report? What am I supposed to do with that? I have a child in my home. I need you to find out who is sending these letters and make it stop.”

“I’m sorry. As I said, there’s nothing that I can do beyond opening the report. Please call the office back if anything else happens, and we’ll try to do more.”

“That’s it? You’re going to do more then but not now? Take the letters and figure this out! I don’t want to have to watch my back every single fucking day to make sure that my child is safe!”

“Miss Carver,” he said, switching to a tone that was all business and no small-town warmth. “I am not going to stand here and listen to you speak to me this way. I have told you that I will do all I can, and that is exactly what I plan to do.”

“Look, I understand that you can’t do a whole lot, but how can you say that you have to wait until there’s an active threat? I’m telling you that whoever is sending these threatens my child’s wellbeing.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Carver.”

I watched in disbelief as Officer Maxwell turned on his heel and left my house with nothing even remotely close to being resolved. I understood they were a small department with limited resources, but I expected more than just filing a report. He didn’t even take the letters with him.

Scowling, I grabbed my phone and sent a message to Bret seeing if he was already on his way. He had been my closest friend since high school and the only person I had bothered keeping in contact with after I left Richmond Valley. When I moved back, he came over right away to help me unpack and get things settled.

A few minutes later, Bret walked through my front door, pulling me into a tight hug. Trinity squealed when she saw him, racing down the hallway to hug him tight, chicken nuggets dangling from both hands.

“How about you go finish your lunch, and you can play with Uncle Bret after you’re done,” I said as Bret scooped Trinity up and carried her back to her table.

“Okay, Momma.”

Bret grinned and ruffled Trinity’s hair before taking a seat with me at the kitchen island. He glanced at the letters as I dropped them back on the counter.

“Problems?”

“Stalker is back in my life apparently, but the police in this town can’t be bothered to give a shit,” I said, trying to keep my voice low so Trinity wouldn’t hear me. “That and I slept with Tyson last week and gave him my new phone number, thinking he would call me or something, but he hasn’t.”

Bret groaned and ran a hand down his face. “First of all, are you alright with the stalker situation? You know you can call me any time, and I’ll be here in the blink of an eye, right?”

“I know,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “I appreciate it.”

“Good. Now, secondly, what do you mean you slept with Tyson? I thought that the last time was the last time.”

“So did I,” I said. “And then I saw him in town last week after I got the first letter, and I was feeling vulnerable and wanted to take my mind off of it, and he was looking better than ever.”

“Of course he was,” Bret said, shaking his head. “He’s been attractive for years. I’ve seen the pictures of him splashed all over social media. He’s done well for himself but wasn’t he an arrogant asshole when you saw him last time? I have a hard time believing that anything’s changed since then.”

“He was sweet. He’s going to be moving back to town, but I thought that he was going to call me, and he didn’t. So, maybe you’re right. The boy I dated back in high school would have pulled the same shit, saying he was going to call me and then never doing it.”

“You two were better off once you dumped him and moved on with your life, you know that, and so do I, but there’s also been a lot of years since then.” Bret drummed his fingers on the counter, looking thoughtful. “Why was he in town?”

“He wants to start working with small businesses. Apparently, he’s going to be taking over one of the failing ones on Main Street and fixing it up.”

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