resolved. Besides, they weren’t going to barricade themselves inside their home. Yes, Glen was out there, somewhere, but she had a life to live. Her bravado, while admirable, was also cold comfort. Glen must have been following her. How long had he been spying from the shadows? The question chilled her to the core.
Another thought came to Nina, this one more frightening. Perhaps Glen would come for the children, take them from her. Who knew what he was capable of? But there were steps she could take until his capture. She’d drive the kids to school and drive them home, or Simon could. She’d cut back on her hours, no problem there, but she wouldn’t quit. Better to be at work, Nina reasoned, than home alone where she’d be more vulnerable to attack. She and Simon could work out the logistics later. Right now, the more pressing task was getting her family situated into this new normal.
“How will you catch him?” Nina asked.
“We’re working on it,” Wheeler answered. “Look, it’s obvious that Glen’s in the area, and it’s obvious that he’s violent, and he’s probably been following you, Nina, for a while now. Maybe the attack on Dr. Wilcox was his way of punishing you for whatever it is he blames you for. We just don’t know his motives, but we do know that you’re going to need protection, and we’ll do all we can to provide that.
“We’re going to have a police detail parked outside your house. They’re on their way now. They’ll be here all night, maybe for the next couple days. Hopefully we’ll arrest him soon.”
Nina thanked the detective for his efforts, but she didn’t feel any safer. Compounding her anxiety, what Wheeler had said struck her hard. Was he right about Glen’s motives? Was there some twisted symbolism in his target? Perhaps. What better way to exact revenge on someone he blamed, erroneously or not, than harming the person committed to helping her? Nina believed—hoped—that Glen wouldn’t attack her, or Simon for that matter. They were providing for the children, and according to Maggie he wanted no harm to come to her or to Connor. But he could go after one source of comfort in Nina’s life. Would he threaten others—possibly Susanna or Ginny?
Grateful as she was for police protection, these past two years had taught Nina that anything was possible.
CHAPTER 49
Lunch again, eating with Ben like usual, only this time everything was different. It had been four excruciatingly long days since I found out my father was out there, somewhere, and the police considered him armed and dangerous. He wasn’t a missing person anymore or presumed dead. He was a wanted man. He had attacked a woman, nearly killed her. And now everyone—and I do mean everyone—knew my father was suspect number one in the crime. Once again, Maggie Garrity was the center of attention. Shoot me now.
Ben had been right about one thing: Dad was never in Vermont. He was nearby all this time. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. My father was sick and needed help; at least that’s what Mom said.
I took a bite of my sandwich and then a bite of Mom’s homemade brownie, all while watching Justin, Laura, and my former friends chatting it up three tables away.
“So what now?” Ben asked.
I gave him a brownie, that’s what, and gobbled down another. “My dad’s not answering any of my messages.”
“You’re still trying to reach him? Isn’t he, like, dangerous?”
“He’s still my dad. And he’s not dangerous to me, so yeah, I’m still trying. I’m using Connor’s phone now because the police have mine.”
“Crazy.”
“For sure. You know what else is crazy? Simon, that’s what.”
“Yeah, I guess this didn’t change any of that,” said Ben. “What about the camera?”
The camera was still operational, and Luke’s dad wasn’t missing it, so we didn’t have to return it anytime soon. The battery life was impressive—weeks, if not months, running on a bunch of AA batteries. We could look at the pictures transmitted via Wi-Fi to an app on Connor’s phone, but it wasn’t producing much useful information except that Simon was the only person who ever went to his house. We knew it wasn’t being rented—at least currently—but that’s all we knew.
“He’s really pissed that my mom won’t quit her job,” I said. “Like really pissed. He keeps telling her it’s not safe to keep working until the police get my dad.”
Ben cringed, which I interpreted to mean he partly agreed.