The Stares of Strangers (9 page)

Chapter 17

Carter, being the awesome man he is, let me sleep straight through until 6:30am. Again.

“
Has Penny left for work?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, putting my shoes on.

“
Yep. We can pack up now and head out.”

“
Thank God.” I was eager to get home and take a shower. Even though I felt rested, sleeping in a strange bed gives me weird dreams.

On the way back to my apartment, we stopped to pick up some bagels. We were so hungry, we devoured them in the car as we drove the rest of the way home.

“
I suppose you're going back to your house to get some sleep?” I asked when he pulled curbside next to my place.

“
Yeah. I feel okay right now, but I'm sure I'll crash hard as soon as my head hits the pillow. What are you going to do?”

“
After a shower, I'm going back to see if Karen will talk to me about her son. I'm not looking forward to it.”

“
Good luck with that.” Carter leaned over for a kiss and our lips touched for a few tender moments. I wanted to linger there for much longer.

“
I'll call you later this afternoon,” I said. “Hope you have sweet dreams.”

* * *

By nine o'clock I was back in Penny's driveway, sitting in my car alone. Jessica, Caleb and Penny were all at work and, I assumed, Josh was in school.

I also assumed Karen was home because her car was parked in the driveway. I took a deep breath and summoned all my courage, then went up to her front door and knocked.

When Karen opened the door and saw me standing there, she smiled in surprise. “Sarah Woods, right?”

“
Yes,” I said. “I'm awfully sorry to bother you again.”

“
No problem. Come on in. I just boiled some water for tea. Would you like some?”

I'd feel guilty accepting the kind gesture, especially after what I had to say to her. “No, but thank you anyway.”

Karen must have sensed something was wrong because she froze, an expression of restrained terror. “Oh dear, did something else happen next door with Penny?”

I usually don't have a hard time with face to face confrontation, but this was different. How do you begin to tell someone that you suspect their child of being a stalker?

I decided to start by asking a question. “Were you and your son here alone last night?”

“
Yes. Why?”

“
Last night, just after midnight, our surveillance camera caught an image of someone in Penny's backyard. Later, we discovered tracks in the snow that lead to your back door. Were you asleep at that time?”

She stared at me, eyes unblinking. “I suppose I was.”

“
Would your son have any reason to go into Penny's backyard after midnight? Maybe he was walking the dog?”

She blinked. “Seems awfully late. But I don’t know why he’d go into the neighbor’s back yard, unless Quimby was chasing after a squirrel.”

 “
Karen, I don't know how to bring this up without offending you. Maybe we should sit down while I explain.”

She cocked her head and regarded me with trepidation. “Okay. Let's go into the kitchen.”

Once we were sitting at the kitchen table, the kettle on the stove began to whistle and Karen jumped. “Oh shoot. I forgot all about the water. Excuse me for a second.”

I could tell she was nervous by the way her hand shook as she poured water into a teacup.

When she returned to the table, her breathing seemed to be labored. “Okay, please tell me what's going on.”

“
I wanted to come to you first,” I began. “To talk about Josh before I mentioned anything to Penny or the police. We found tracks in the snow last night that lead from your back door to Penny's backyard.”

She waited silently for me to go on.

I swallowed. “Josh seems like a great kid. I mean, I'm sure he's a great kid, but puberty is a confusing time for boys especially. I should know, because I have a son myself.”

Karen sat back, realization dawning on her face. “Are you saying what I think you're saying?”

“
I have to ask, do you think your son might be obsessed with Penny?”

“
Obsessed? That's absurd.”

“
I think it's possible he was the one who stole her undergarments.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “My son is not a thief. I can promise you that.”

“
I want to believe you but maybe you could take a look through Josh's room? Just to make sure?”

“
You want me to spy on my own son?”

I shrugged. “He's a teenager. Teenagers are notorious for keeping secrets.”

“
I can assure you, my son does not keep secrets from me.”

I wanted to tell her how naïve that sounded, but it would serve no purpose other than to hurt her even more. I raised my hands apologetically. “I don't blame you for being on the defensive but please just consider it. We could deal with this situation in-house and Josh doesn't have to get in trouble, assuming he's guilty. I hope he’s not.”

“
Do you have any proof that my son is involved? Is there a witness who actually saw him break into the house and take something? Or are those tracks in the snow the only thing you've got?”

She was right. I had nothing else but a feeling in my gut and, the last time I checked, a hunch wasn't considered hard evidence.

“
Look, I'm really sorry to have upset you,” I said, already getting to my feet. “Perhaps I should leave.”

“
Ms. Woods, wait. Please.” She grasped my hand with desperation in her eyes. “The past few months have been hell for both of us. After his father left us, Josh has become introverted and distant. He feels rejected. Mark didn't even call him on his birthday. Heck, he hasn't called since he left at the end of October and, now, Josh is being accused of deviant sexual behavior? I mean, really? This is all too much.”

“
I'm so sorry to hear about Josh's dad,” I said. “But this situation won't magically go away just by ignoring it.”

She exhaled a long breath and nodded. “I guess the only way I can convince you is to prove it. I'll look through Josh's room.”

“
Great, that's all I'm asking you to do.”

Karen stood up with a determined look on her face. “You plan to wait here or are you coming?”

“
If it's all the same to you, I'd like to join you.”

When I first walked into Josh's room, I couldn't believe my eyes. The place was immaculate. The bed was made, no dirty clothes strewn around, books neatly lined up on a bookshelf.  On the computer desk was a laptop and a printer. Inside the printer tray appeared to be a glossy type of photo paper. I wondered if the color ink cartridge was running low on ink.

She immediately began opening drawers and searching in a methodical fashion, as if she were hunting for a lost diamond ring.

I didn't touch a thing. I kept my hands in my pockets the entire time while Karen continued to search the closet, under the bed, and inside an antique wooden toy chest. After ten minutes, she turned to me with arms outstretched. “Well, are you satisfied? Or should I keep digging?”

There were many places a person could hide things, if they were creative enough but I certainly wasn't going to ask Karen to go tearing up the carpet or knocking down walls.

“
Yes,” I said. “I'm satisfied.”

She exhaled through clenched teeth. “Well, if that's all, then I really need to get back to work.”

“
I understand. And thank you for doing this. I'm sorry I had to ask.”

She said nothing as she walked me to the door. She was probably too embarrassed and pissed to look me in the eye. And I couldn't blame her.

Chapter 18

As I sat in my car thinking, I came to the conclusion that Josh could've hidden Penny's underwear somewhere outside his home. A friend's house, perhaps? A co-conspirator?  Karen would never allow me to talk to her son at this point and, if I tried to approach him on my own without his mother's consent, I could get in a lot of trouble considering he's a minor.

 
In my heart, however, I just wasn't convinced that Josh had the makings of a stalker. His mother seemed too involved in his life and I found it hard to believe that he could get away with anything without her knowledge. Of course, the flip side to that theory was; maybe she did know her son had deviant tendencies and was covering for him. Nonetheless, the question still remained; who had Penny's underwear?

Another disturbing theory materialized; Karen's husband.

Karen and her family had attended the Halloween party Penny and her housemates hosted a little over two months ago. Shortly thereafter, the husband left!

Trent's friend, Marcy Thayer, had indicated to me she'd witnessed Penny “kissing an older dude”. For a woman in her early twenties, older could mean thirties or forties. Could that have been Karen's husband and, if so, had Karen also seen the infamous kiss?

Considering Penny's track record for seducing men, would anything stop her from seducing a married man? Probably not if she thought she could get away with it!

Maybe the husband didn't leave his wife and child but, instead, was forced to leave because Karen found out that he was having an affair with Penny. If that were true, how could Karen stand to live next door to the girl who was responsible for breaking up her marriage?

Of course, this was all conjecture until I knew for sure that Penny and the husband had been involved. If I asked Penny about it, would she tell me the truth?

When I dialed Penny's cell number, it went to voicemail. I left a message for her to call me back as soon as possible. She was probably busy at work taking care of Janice.

Who else might know about the possible affair? Penny might've confided in Jessica or Caleb about it but, if I were to approach them on the topic, they might not be inclined to disclose anything to me.

The only other person I could think of who'd attended that Halloween party was Marcy Thayer. Maybe she'd remember what the guy looked like.

I checked my watch - 10:00 am. I hated to call Carter and wake him up but I speed dialed his number anyway. He picked up on the first ring.

“
Sarah, what're you up to?”

“
Hey, sorry to bother you,” I said. “But I need a favor.”

“
I wasn't sleeping anyway. What do you need?”

“
I need a photo of Mark Gibbs, Karen's husband.”

“
Why?”

“
I just spoke to Karen about her son and I don't think he's the stalker. I watched her  go through his room and we didn't find Penny's underwear. But ... I'm wondering about Karen. There's a chance her husband was messing around with Penny.”

“
Seriously? What gave you that idea?”

“
I'll explain later, I just need his photo to show someone. Can you email it to me?”

“
I'll do a quick search online,” he said. “Give me a few minutes.”

“
Thanks, babe. You're the best. I'll see you later today.”

“
Oh, by the way,” Carter said. “I spoke with Penny's parents this morning and we came to an agreement about the job. We'll cease the nightly stakeouts and they are going to pay us to install a state of the art security system in Penny's house.”

“
That makes sense. Well, I gotta run. Try and get some more sleep.”

Chapter 19

When I arrived at Riverview Terrace I parked my car in the lot, noticing that Trent's pickup was still there. It had only been a few days since his death and his family probably hadn't had time to move it off the property.

As luck would have it, Marcy was home and she seemed pleasantly surprised to see me.

“
Sarah, what're you doing here?” she asked, a big smile on her face. I got the sense that she didn't get many visitors if she was that happy to see me.

“
Just wondering how Ralph is doing,” I teased.

She laughed. “Oh, he's fine. I gave him a bath so he smells much better.”

“
I took a chance that you might be home but it looks like you're heading to work.” I gestured to her gray scrubs. “Are you in the medical field?”

“
Yeah, sort of. I work for a veterinarian. I'm just filling in for someone today, a four-hour shift.” Her expression suddenly turned somber. “So, you must know about Trent, huh?”

“
Yes. I'm truly sorry. I know you really cared about him.”

She nodded. “Yeah, he was one of the good ones. He's at peace now.”

“
Look, I know you probably have to head out but I was hoping I could ask you a quick question. Remember how you told me you saw Penny kissing an older man at the Halloween party?”

“
Yeah?”

I showed her my cell phone with an image of Mark Gibbs's face. “Does he look familiar to you?”

She took a few seconds to study it. “Don't think so. Who is he?”

“
Do you remember seeing him at the party? Is he the guy you saw Penny kissing that night?”

She shook her head. “No, definitely not the same guy.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
I'm sure.” Marcy brushed her long bangs away from her face to look at me. “What's this about?”

I slipped the phone back into my purse and sighed. “We're still trying to find the person who is taunting Penny.”

“
Ah, still haven't found those missing underpants?” she said, with a hint of spite.

“
Nope. Still missing in action.”

She chuckled with an eye roll. “Well, maybe Penny deserves her bad karma. If she's going to screw with people's hearts, then someone should teach her a lesson, don't you think? Personally, I think it's awesome.”

I couldn't disagree but I decided to keep my opinions to myself. “Well, I should let you get going. Thanks again for your help.”

As I turned to leave, Marcy said, “Hey, did you hear about Trent's wake? It's tomorrow night from four to seven at McCarthy's Funeral Home, just in case you wanted to go.”

“
Perhaps I will. You'll be there?”

“
Of course,” she said.

I went back to my car and just sat there, staring out at the dreary parking lot. 

My cell phone chirped and I noticed it was Penny.

“
Hey Sarah,” she said. “Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Your message sounded urgent. What's up?”

I wasn't going to say anything but, decided, why not? “You know Karen's husband left a few months ago, right?”

“
Karen next door? Yeah, why?”

“
Did you sleep with him?”

“
What? No way. Why would you think that?”

“
Just following up on a lead,” I said “which turned out to be a dead end.”

“
A dead end?”

“
Yep.” I didn't really feel like explaining it to her at this point. “Anyway, thanks for returning my call. I'll let you get back to work now.”

“
Okay, I guess. So, are you guys watching the house again tonight?”

“
No. Carter spoke with your parents and they decided a security system would be sufficient. Personally, I don't think you're in any real danger.”

“
Well, I think you're wrong, Sarah. I guess I'll have to convince my mom to hire somebody else to protect me.”

“
Okay,” I said. “Maybe you should do that.”

Ending the call, I realized that I had reached the point where I just didn't care anymore. I know that might sound harsh but I have a problem working for people I don't respect. This would be an easy case to walk away from and never look back.

Carter's and my obligation had been fulfilled. For two days and nights, we ensured Penny's safety - but now what? A perpetrator was still out there and I had no idea what he/she planned to do next. Unless, of course, there really was no perpetrator at all. Maybe Penny had staged the whole thing herself to collect sympathy and attention. Similar, in some ways, to Munchausen by proxy syndrome.

As I turned the key to start the engine, I noticed a woman standing near Trent's pickup with a plastic garbage bag in her hand. She opened the driver's side door and started cleaning out the trash. The forty-something woman appeared distraught as she kept pausing to wipe her eyes. Trent's mother? Or a close family member I guessed.

I couldn't even imagine the horror of losing a child, no matter how old. It made me think of Brian and how would I ever survive if I lost him? My heart went out to this woman and I felt compelled to approach her and convey my sympathy for her loss.

Instead, I just sat there and watched. At one point, she had to stop and blow her nose but she kept on working until her garbage bag overflowed.

She closed up the truck and began carrying the garbage across the lot toward a dumpster. Right before she got there, she must have slipped on a patch of ice because she landed square on her bottom, with the garbage spilling out onto the pavement. From inside my car, I could hear her cursing.

There was nobody else around that I could see. I got out of my car and rushed over. She was openly sobbing by the time I got there, making no effort to get to her feet.

“
Are you okay?” I asked. “I saw you go down hard. Here let me help you up.” I reached down to offer my hand.

She looked up at me with red swollen eyes and blinked at me as if I were an apparition. “Oh, thanks.” She took my hand and I hoisted her up. I didn't let go of her hand.

“
I noticed you were cleaning out Trent's pickup. Are you related to him?”

She nodded and swallowed hard. “I'm his mother - Jane Olson. Do you live here?”

“
I'm Sarah Woods and, no, I don't live here.”

She slowly let go of my hand. “Your name sounds familiar. Wait, you're the one who found my son, aren't you? The police officer mentioned your name.”

“
Yes.”

An awkward silence followed before she cleared her throat and made an effort to smile. “Well, thank you for being there and calling for help. It's nice to know that his final moments weren't spent alone.”

Her words struck me to the core. If she only knew. “Ms. Olson, I'm going to level with you. I had never actually met your son before that day. I had stopped by to ask him a few questions pertaining to a case. I'm a private investigator.”

“
Oh, I see,” she said, yet her confusion was obvious. “Gosh, I hope Trent wasn't in any kind of trouble.”

I shook my head. No point in giving her the sordid details.

She let out a sigh as she looked down at the mess. “Well, I should get this cleaned up.”

I helped her gather the scattered trash and together we managed to discard the load into the dumpster.

“
Thanks for your help,” she said. “I have a long day ahead of me. The property manager wants me to have Trent's apartment cleaned out by the end of the week.”

“
That's not much time. Don't you have anyone to help you?”

She shrugged. “A friend promised to meet me here but she just called to apologize. Something came up and, although Trent's father is flying out for the funeral, he's already made it clear that he can't stay for more than a day. His new wife is eight months pregnant.”

Why did life have to be so cruel sometimes? “Hey, you know what? I have the afternoon free.”

Her eyebrows rose up in astonishment. “You have?”

“
Sure. I'd love to help.”

She smiled appreciatively. “Well, to be honest, I could really use it.”