Chapter 2
Carol grinned maliciously as she took the report, telling Jake to check his email. “Mr. Nichols sent a list of people he needs background checks on, and since Kelly’s not here…”
Jake groaned dramatically before he returned to his office to deal with one of his least favorite chores. He was halfway through when Carol buzzed him to let him know his potential new client had arrived.
“Mr. Sutton. Welcome. I’m Jake Marshall.” Jake said when Carol showed the man into his office. Sutton was in his late twenties, average looking, with blond hair and a small mustache. Jake gestured to the chair beside his desk.
“Please call me Alan,” Sutton replied as he sat.
After Jake retook his seat he said, “All right, Alan it is. From what you told Carol when you made the appointment you believe you’re being stalked. By whom—or don’t you know?”
“I have no idea. I’m not even sure it isn’t my imagination.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s just a feeling that I’m being watched, especially when Alex and I go out.”
“Alex?”
“He’s my…boyfriend sounds so high school but that’s what he is.” He smiled wryly. “No jokes about our names, please. We get enough of that as it is.”
“I wouldn’t think of it,” Jake replied. “What’s Alex’s last name?”
“Dyson.”
“Okay. Have you told him about this?”
Alan nodded. “He thinks I’m, well, as I said, that it’s my imagination and nothing more. Maybe he’s right but I get this creepy feeling sometimes. Like, I’m sure I’ve seen a car following me more than once, or I see a man when we’re grocery shopping or going to a movie that I’m sure I’ve seen before.”
“Can you describe him?” Jake asked.
“He’s pretty average. Dark hair, clean-shaven, usually in jeans and a T-shirt or sweatshirt. I only get a flash of him before he turns away or disappears, if you get what I’m saying.”
“I do. You’re certain it’s the same guy each time?”
“I can’t swear to it but…yeah, I think so. There’s something about him and how he acts, like he wants me to know he’s around but he doesn’t want me to get a good look at him.”
“Is there anyone in your past who might have it in for you?”
Alan shook his head. “I’m not the kind of guy who makes enemies.”
“What about someone who might have been interested in you, personally, and you turned them down?”
“Not recently. Alex and I have been together for well over a year, now, and we don’t hide it.”
“Okay, the same questions about him? Is there anyone who might have thought they had a chance with him before the two of you met, or someone he, or you, work with who might resent that you got a job advancement they thought they should have had? Anything along those lines.”
“I own a small jewelry store and have one assistant who’s been with me forever, and Alex works retail, so no on the job thing. As far as past romantic entanglements, he was with someone else before we met, but they split amiably. I’ve had casual flings I guess you’d call them but not with anyone who got upset when they ended.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yeah, I am. I always made it a point to let any man I was with know I wasn’t looking for more than friendship with benefits, and they felt the same. Besides which, I told you I didn’t recognize my stalker, if that’s what he is. I think if he were a past boyfriend I would have.”
“True. You can’t think of any reason why someone might be fixated on you?”
“No!”
Jake chuckled. “That was pretty adamant. Do you go to clubs or bars?” he asked, recalling what Paul and Todd had said the previous evening.
“Occasionally,” Alan replied.
“Has anyone hit on you, or Alex, while you were there?”
“They’re bars, it happens, if one of us is sitting alone while the other goes to get our drinks or to the john,” Alan said. “We turn them down, politely, and that’s that.”
“Have any of them reacted badly when you did?”
“Define badly,” Alan said with a brief smile. “A couple of them pushed or looked pissed, but that’s normal.”
“Okay. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not certain there’s anything I can do if you are being stalked, since the person hasn’t done anything overt.”
Alan sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
“If this person starts leaving you messages or sending you gifts, then I’ll have something to work with. If they do contact you, let me know immediately, because it means they’re taking things to the next level.”
“Trust me, I will. Thank you for at least listening and believing me. You do, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. All right, there is one thing I cando, if you want, which is sweep your car for any tracking devices. If he shows up regularly at places you go, he might have put one on your car to make it easier for him to find you.”
Alan grimaced. “I’ll hire you to do it, since I have no idea what I’d be looking for,” Alan said.