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She understood where a predictable schedule might make it easier for someone to keep tabs on her, but it wasn’t her fault someone didn’t know how to behave like a decent human being. Still, she could do better.
“Right then. Deputy Burgess will escort you back to the front. If you’ll just wait there, I’ll have two officers join you shortly after I debrief them on the situation.” He sat back in his chair. “We’ll do everything we can, Miss Walsh, but like I said before, I can’t promise you anything.”
She pressed her lips together and gave a tight nod, standing. “I appreciate anything you can do.”
Deputy Burgess rounded the desk, motioning with her hand for Charlotte to go through the door. “Just a moment.”
Once Charlotte entered the hall, she turned back to find the door pulled to but left cracked open. The deputy’s argumentative voice caught her attention. She stepped closer.
“—honestly believe that, do you?”
“Maddie, it’s not a matter whether or not I believe it. We take every report that comes through this office seriously.”
“It’s a waste of resources. She has nothing to go on.” The deputy snorted. “Flower deliveries scaring her? Come on, Frank.”
“I’ll admit, weekly flower deliveries are strange at best—makes me lean toward secret admirer. It’s not too far-fetched in a college town to have an admirer, but if someone has broken into her home and is making threatening phone calls…”
“It was windy last night. Flower pots on railings fall. I had to clean the patio furniture off my back lawn this morning before coming into the office.”
A thump on the desk was followed by the lieutenant’s exasperated voice. “I know we’ve had this situation happen more times than I care to count—it’s a college town, but we can’t ignore it. If that little girl goes out there and something happens…”
“With all due respect, Frank, how many of these cases are college girls with egos the size of the Saluda wasting police resources?”
Charlotte wrinkled her nose in disgust. How could the deputy speak so callously about this kind of situation?
“Fair point, but I still can’t ignore this.” His voice hardened. “So you get out there, grab Hopper, go to that apartment, and do your job.”
“Sir.”
She scrambled away from the door when she heard movement on the other side.
Deputy Burgess stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door shut. The fluorescent lighting reflected off her hazel eyes, making them appear to glow a beautiful citrine. When she turned from the harshness of the light, and her eyes met Charlotte’s, they looked normal, but she failed to school her expression fast enough. Charlotte caught the sneer on the deputy’s face before she forced a strained smile.
“Ready to go?”
Charlotte pressed her lips together and inclined her head. It wouldn’t be smart to say anything to a woman who seemed to dislike her so much. Something about the way the deputy looked at her made a chill rush down her spine.
The deputy led her to the front of the station. “Wait here while I go get my partner.” Without waiting for an answer, the woman turned on her heel and walked away.
Charlotte lowered herself onto the chair and clasped her hands between her knees, staring at the floor. The lieutenant seemed concerned enough to follow up on the report, but even she recognized the skepticism in his voice. The deputy sure didn’t believe her.
If Rachel hadn’t listened before when she mentioned she thought they were being followed, what made her believe the police would care?
7
THE SHADOWS
Charlotte rubbed her tired eyes. She wasn’t in the mood for a group meeting, but it was almost over. After the day she’d had, all she wanted was to crawl beneath her sheets and sleep the rest of the night away. The entire weekend if she could. Friday was supposed to be resting and hibernating in her apartment, but she’d forgotten about their group meeting after how long the police took at her apartment.
“Shouldn’t take long” my ass.
As much as she wanted to be optimistic about the two deputies coming with her to her apartment, it turned out worse than she suspected. Not only did the lady deputy not believe her, but the other guy muttered comments along the same lines when they didn’t find fingerprints or any other physical evidence.
When they left, they informed her they would stop and pick up the security footage, but if they uncovered no leads, there wasn’t much they could do.
Noah sat in the chair next to her at Rachel’s dining room table. “You know pizza is better with stuff on it, right?”
She looked up from her dissected pizza. “Huh?”
