Page 98 of Under His Protection
My phone, along with Charlie’s and Mateo’s, beeps to alert us that someone’s at the back gate.
Mateo checks the camera view. “Jake and Mack are here,” he says as he pushes a button to open the gate remotely and watch them drive through. He gets up from the table to meet them at the back door. “Good morning, gentleman.”
Haley goes to hug her dad, who insisted on coming to the meeting this morning. I don’t blame him. He’s worried about his daughter.
Mack wraps Haley in his arms. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good,” she says. “A bit nervous, but otherwise I’m okay.”
“Are you ready for this evening?”
She shrugs. “Do I have a choice?”
Mack doesn’t laugh or even smile. It’s obvious he hates that Haley is going through something like this. Instead, he tightens his hold on her. “I’ll be there tonight, sweetheart, seated as close to you as possible, certainly not more than an arm’s length away. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Help yourselves to coffee, guys,” Charlie says as she points to the coffeemaker on the counter behind us.
Jake pours himself a cup and takes a sip. Leaning against the island, he says, “Shane has made all of the arrangements with the restaurant’s owners and the local police. We’re on for six o’clock this evening. We want everyone there and in place by five-thirty. Any more word from the stalker?”
Everyone looks at Haley. “Nothing new,” she says.
* * *
“I wonder what the penalty is for stalking in Illinois?” Haley murmurs aloud as she gets on her phone to do a quick search.
We’re on our way to campus.
“It’s a class four felony,” she says. “One to three years, or a twenty-five thousand dollar fine.” She frowns. “That hardly seems like an adequate punishment for making someone’s life miserable and threatening them. The jail time goes up if it’s a second offense.” She looks over at me. “He could be out in a year, and that’s if he even gets jail time. The judge could fine him instead. And all this depends onifhe’s convicted.”
“Hopefully if we get a confession on audio, a conviction will be guaranteed. Maybe he’ll get the maximum sentence. We’ll make sure you get a good attorney. Shane’s got an attorney on retainer.”
“You mean Troy Spencer?”
“You know Troy?”
She nods. “My parents are good friends with him.”
* * *
We arrive on campus at a quarter ’til nine, park in the student lot, and walk to Haley’s first class. This is her chemistry lecture class, so I’m on alert.
My money is on the stalker being in one of her chemistry classes.
I hand Haley her backpack as she’s about to enter the lecture hall. “I’ll be here in the back. Don’t forget your safeword.”
She smiles. “Dandelion. How could I forget?”
“If you see anything unusual, text me.”
When her lecture class ends, she walks to the back of the room accompanied by her friends Andrea and Christian. Andrea seems to be peppering Haley with questions.
“It’s only temporary,” I hear Haley say to Andrea. They must be discussing the fact Haley has moved out of her dorm.
“But why?” Andrea asks. “What happened?”
“I’ve got to run now,” Haley says as she joins me at the back of the room. “I’ll see you guys in lab, okay?”
“Okay,” Andrea says. Reluctantly, she turns away, and Christian follows her.
