Stalked by Brian Freeman

window. The vanilla oak door opened and closed with a shudder. He was surprised to see who it was. “Lauren.”
    “Hello, Jonathan.”
    He felt a chill blow into his office with Lauren’s arrival.
    “You’re looking good,” he told her.
    Lauren rolled her eyes at him. She had the clothes, jewels, and laboratory-tested blond hair to match her money, and her face was as smooth as makeup and plastic surgery could make it. She was attractive, but she made no secret of the fact that Stride’s charm went nowhere with her. The two of them shared an ugly history. Lauren was the only child of a father who had made millions in commercial real estate in northern Minnesota. In Stride’s early days as a detective, he had exposed a City Hall bribery scheme connected to an eminent domain condemnation for a huge new shopping center. Lauren’s father went to prison and died there six months later of a stroke. Lauren inherited everything, including a grudge against Stride.
    He waved her into a seat. She crossed her legs and steepled her fingers on the hem of her skirt. Her blue eyes were as fierce and intelligent as ever.
    “I’m sorry about Maggie,” she told him.
    “Sure you are.”
    “I just met Serena in Dan’s office,” she added cuttingly. “Where would she have been when you and I were in school? Playing with finger paints?”
    Stride ignored the jab. “I didn’t think you were speaking to me, Lauren.”
    “The past is the past,” she replied. “We need to move on.”
    “Really? That wasn’t your attitude last year.” Stride knew that Lauren had waged a campaign with the City Council to block K-2 from hiring him back.
    “I have more important things to worry about now.”
    “Oh?”
    “You obviously haven’t seen the news today.”
    “What did I miss?”
    “Dan and I are moving to Washington,” Lauren announced.
    “Permanently?”
    She nodded. “Dan’s been invited to be special counsel in a D.C. law firm as part of its white-collar crime practice. I’ve been out in Washington the last couple of days, scouting homes in Georgetown.”
    “So Dan’s becoming a defense lawyer,” Stride said. “I guess it’s always been about the game for him. It’s easier to switch sides that way.”
    “Yes, I know you’re only interested in truth and justice, Jonathan. Let me know when you find it.”
    He smiled, because she had a point. He was also pleased to think of Dan giving up his job as the county’s top prosecutor. He didn’t like having an enemy in that office.
    “Congratulations, that’s quite a coup,” he told her.
    “I’ve been pulling strings for a while,” Lauren admitted. “Dan doesn’t like Duluth. We only hung on here to get him into statewide office, but you erased that possibility for us, didn’t you?”
    “I think the voters had something to do with it,” Stride said. “When does the big move take place?”
    “Next month.”
    “Is that why you’re here? To say goodbye?”
    Lauren shook her head. “Gloating is just a bonus. Actually, I have to report a crime. Or what may be a crime. I don’t know.”
    Stride put aside their rivalry. “What’s going on?”
    “You know I own Silk, the dress shop on Superior.”
    Stride nodded. The store was another of her many tax dodges.
    “One of my employees is missing,” she said.
    “What’s her name?”
    Lauren smiled maliciously. “Oh, you know her very well, Jonathan. It’s Tanjy Powell.”
    Stride didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the words slipped out as he expelled a disgusted breath. “Son of a bitch.”
    “I knew you’d be pleased.”
    He wasn’t pleased at all. “Why do you think she’s missing?”
    “Tanjy left the shop early on Monday afternoon. She looked upset. According to Sonnie, my store manager, Tanjy didn’t show up on Tuesday or Wednesday, and she didn’t call. There’s no answer at her home.”
    “Why was she upset when she left?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Has she ever done this