When the first note shows up at the restaurant where he works -- when he isn't designing costumes for a local theater -- Jim Foster laughs it off. When the notes keep coming, he doesn't find the fact that he might have a secret admirer quite so amusing. Alan North, a lonely, bookish customer at the restaurant, is too shy to even think of talking to Jim -- as much as he wants to. Then the killings begin. Two of Jim's friends are murdered in what appear to be muggings. However, the detective in charge of the cases believes they're more than that, and that Jim is either the killer ... or being stalked by one. When Jim and Alan finally connect, can they help find and stop the stalker, or will Alan end up dead before their budding relationship can become more than friendship?

His Secret Admirer

He read, afterward, then watched the news. It wasn’t until he was thinking about getting ready for bed that he discovered he’d forgotten something on his shopping trip—toothpaste. He looked at the tube by the bathroom sink, wondering if he could squeeze two more uses out of it. “I’ll be lucky if I can get one,” he grumbled in disgust. There were some things he could do without—brushing his teeth wasn’t one of them.


Chapter 22