shot her a grin. “Hopefully it’s contagious, too, Miss Cooper. Take all you want.”
She smiled, genuinely amused despite the lingering worry shadowing her green eyes. “Thanks.”
As they walked back, she slid her hand into his. That expression of budding trust slipped over him, made him feel ten feet tall and invincible. This wasn’t the first time he’d made a promise with no foolproof plan for how to back it up.
He wouldn’t let this be the first time he let someone down.
*
With his hockey team ball cap turned backward today, Leo Falk watched Miss Cooper exit the Marburg offices with a man he didn’t recognize. They looked cozy heading down the same route she’d used on every clear day for her lunch break. In another deviation from her regimented schedule, today they stopped at a food truck. Watching the new guy pay the bill, he gave her credit for finding someone to ease the bite of the cash flow crisis he’d created.
He’d followed her for two weeks straight before deciding the young associate could expedite his plans and assist in his brother’s acquittal. She’d proved to be more work than play, keeping her nose to the grindstone at Marburg except for short jaunts to the park for lunch and three visits each week to her health club. She lived alone, didn’t have regular contact with family by mail, phone or email, and, until now, her social life had been limited to only two obvious friends, both from the law office.
He’d assumed the trek to the nightclub last night had been an effort to blow off steam after he’d seized control of her finances and convinced her to cooperate. The idea that his careful investigation of her life had missed a detail as big as a boyfriend troubled him. He preferred to view this as some demonstration of her resourcefulness.
How unfortunate for her if this new man turned out to be someone significant, someone she cared for. He’d chosen Julia because her loner tendencies and lack of a support network worked to his advantage. His plans to help his brother beat the multitude of criminal charges could work regardless, but her isolation had been a distinct benefit to their unified cause.
Now, when he was ready to advance, he had to pause and reassess the angles and potential pitfalls of his plan.
He used his phone to snap a few pictures of them in the park before moving along to find a better vantage point for their return to Marburg. When they walked into his view, he used his camera and telephoto lens to get better close-ups for his investigator’s benefit. They needed to know everything about this man as soon as possible.
Who is your new friend, Miss Cooper? Leo’s thumb hovered over the send button for a long moment. Rethinking his approach, he deleted the text.
No sense wasting a move too early in this game. He’d wait until he understood what sort of player she’d added to the board.
Chapter 4
T he conversation with Mitch prickled at the back of Julia’s neck throughout the afternoon. The notion that she’d been chosen because of something other than her skill and dedication to the law rocked her confidence. The stalker might not be in the building, but why did he believe she was weak enough to be manipulated?
It worried her that she was missing a critical connection. She reviewed every name associated with the case from petty thieves all the way up to Falk himself, including the missing and dead witnesses. She couldn’t find a point where she’d crossed paths with any of them. What did the stalker expect her to share?
To and from lunch she’d seen flashes of orange everywhere and yet no one she could point to as her stalker. It felt as if the whole world had decided to support the hockey team today and the season hadn’t started yet. Though she knew it was a symptom of her fear, the feeling that she was being watched followed her through the building. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t shake the image of someone lurking in the shadows,
She smiled, genuinely amused despite the lingering worry shadowing her green eyes. “Thanks.”
As they walked back, she slid her hand into his. That expression of budding trust slipped over him, made him feel ten feet tall and invincible. This wasn’t the first time he’d made a promise with no foolproof plan for how to back it up.
He wouldn’t let this be the first time he let someone down.
*
With his hockey team ball cap turned backward today, Leo Falk watched Miss Cooper exit the Marburg offices with a man he didn’t recognize. They looked cozy heading down the same route she’d used on every clear day for her lunch break. In another deviation from her regimented schedule, today they stopped at a food truck. Watching the new guy pay the bill, he gave her credit for finding someone to ease the bite of the cash flow crisis he’d created.
He’d followed her for two weeks straight before deciding the young associate could expedite his plans and assist in his brother’s acquittal. She’d proved to be more work than play, keeping her nose to the grindstone at Marburg except for short jaunts to the park for lunch and three visits each week to her health club. She lived alone, didn’t have regular contact with family by mail, phone or email, and, until now, her social life had been limited to only two obvious friends, both from the law office.
He’d assumed the trek to the nightclub last night had been an effort to blow off steam after he’d seized control of her finances and convinced her to cooperate. The idea that his careful investigation of her life had missed a detail as big as a boyfriend troubled him. He preferred to view this as some demonstration of her resourcefulness.
How unfortunate for her if this new man turned out to be someone significant, someone she cared for. He’d chosen Julia because her loner tendencies and lack of a support network worked to his advantage. His plans to help his brother beat the multitude of criminal charges could work regardless, but her isolation had been a distinct benefit to their unified cause.
Now, when he was ready to advance, he had to pause and reassess the angles and potential pitfalls of his plan.
He used his phone to snap a few pictures of them in the park before moving along to find a better vantage point for their return to Marburg. When they walked into his view, he used his camera and telephoto lens to get better close-ups for his investigator’s benefit. They needed to know everything about this man as soon as possible.
Who is your new friend, Miss Cooper? Leo’s thumb hovered over the send button for a long moment. Rethinking his approach, he deleted the text.
No sense wasting a move too early in this game. He’d wait until he understood what sort of player she’d added to the board.
Chapter 4
T he conversation with Mitch prickled at the back of Julia’s neck throughout the afternoon. The notion that she’d been chosen because of something other than her skill and dedication to the law rocked her confidence. The stalker might not be in the building, but why did he believe she was weak enough to be manipulated?
It worried her that she was missing a critical connection. She reviewed every name associated with the case from petty thieves all the way up to Falk himself, including the missing and dead witnesses. She couldn’t find a point where she’d crossed paths with any of them. What did the stalker expect her to share?
To and from lunch she’d seen flashes of orange everywhere and yet no one she could point to as her stalker. It felt as if the whole world had decided to support the hockey team today and the season hadn’t started yet. Though she knew it was a symptom of her fear, the feeling that she was being watched followed her through the building. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t shake the image of someone lurking in the shadows,
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