Obsession (13 page)

“He probably just didn’t know how to act around such a beautiful woman.”

Color crept into her cheeks, and her eyes dropped to the floor.

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Charlie found himself amused to see her embarrassed over such a simple compliment. His voice was light when he added, “Face it. Women like you can make men nervous just by breathing.”

Kendra just shook her head. Then she looked down at the cake, and her expression softened. “She remembered.”

“Remembered what?”

“My favorite kind of cake.”

Charlie looked up at her, trying to gauge her mood. She looked uncertain and still a little scared. She also looked like she didn’t want to be alone.

“At least we have dessert for tonight,” Charlie said casually. “Is it my turn to fix dinner?”

“Is that your way of inviting me over for dinner?”

“I guess so.” Charlie managed to smile at her. “But tonight I get to pick the game.”

The corners of her mouth lifted. “Does that mean you don’t want me to bring my backgammon game over to your place?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Charlie nodded. “I’m sure I have a deck of cards around somewhere. How are you at gin rummy?”

Her eyebrows lifted. “I can hold my own.”

“Tell you what.” Charlie moved toward the door. “I have to check in with my office, but after that, I’ll come back over and we can hang out. I’ll even bring over the steak I bought the other day, and we can fix it for dinner. That way you won’t have to go out in the snow.”

“I’d like that,” Kendra said. Charlie started to turn away, but Kendra reached for his hand. “Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I got so emotional earlier, but thanks.” She looked up at him, her eyes still red from crying. “Thanks for being here with me.”

Charlie stared down at her and felt himself wavering between his developing feelings for Kendra and his sense of propriety. He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you in a little while.” Then, before he could do something stupid, like lean in and kiss her good-bye, he turned and walked out the door.

* * *

Kendra picked up the printed article Charlie had given her and read it again, taking her time and absorbing the details. There weren’t any photos of the victims, but she knew who Joslyn Korden was. She had even met her a few times at charity events.

How was it that she hadn’t realized Joslyn was a victim of a serial killer, especially when the serial killer was targeting women who looked like her and lived in Malibu, where she had been raised?

That question circled in her mind, but she could come up with only one answer. She had been so busy living her own life that she hadn’t bothered to keep up with what was happening outside her own little world. Certainly her father would have known about the Malibu Stalker, but undoubtedly, he would have tried to shelter her and her sister from the cold hard reality that young women like them were being murdered. His viewpoint was that if they didn’t know about it, there was no sense in bringing it to their attention. Of course, Sienna didn’t have blonde hair like Kendra and the victims. But while her sister had inherited dark hair from their mother, Kendra had little doubt that Sienna had been sheltered from the information as much as she had.

She couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of person would do something like this. Why would anyone want to deliberately kill someone, to take another’s life, simply because they could?

The article revealed very little about any suspicions of who the killer might be, and Kendra could feel a huge weight settling on her shoulders as she considered her options. Moving back in with her parents would likely ensure her safety. It would also guarantee that her life would never move forward. Just the thought of living inside her childhood home, of dealing with the oppressive security measures her father had in place, made her stomach clench.

She wanted to be safe, but she also wanted to live. In the past three days, she’d felt like she was just beginning to discover who she was. She could make her own choices and tend to her own needs. Already, she had realized how much she liked keeping her own hours and eating when and what she wanted. She enjoyed cooking and the sense of satisfaction that came from preparing something herself and liking the results.

Even writing her music with no one around was a gift she refused to take for granted. She took pleasure in the clutter her work created and the knowledge that she was responsible for cleaning up her own messes.

No, as safe as her father could keep her, she knew she would suffocate if she moved back home. She thought of Charlie, of his suggestion of talking to the FBI. She tried to convince herself that she could work with them, but she knew from her grandfather’s days with the Bureau that their protection would only last for a short while unless she entered the Witness Protection Program. With her fame, she doubted she would be a candidate anyway.

The bottom line was that, eventually, she would have to deal with her father and the security force he was constantly thrusting on her. Kendra let out a sigh. It didn’t matter if it was the FBI or her father’s security team. Once she gave her freedom to someone else, she was afraid she would never find a way to win it back again.

She moved to the window and stared outside at the thick clouds looming overhead. The wind lifted some of the powdery snow, blowing it along the road, creating drifts against the pine trees on either side. Charlie’s SUV was still parked along the road, but it was completely covered in snow.

The snow gave her comfort for now. As long as it lasted, whether it was days or weeks, she would be safe. As long as the roads were impassible, she could continue to hide, continue to find herself again, to discover who Kendra Blake was when the spotlight was turned off. But then what?

As much as Kendra was enjoying her freedom and Charlie’s company, eventually she would have to face reality. She thought of her house in Malibu, the house that her father insisted she buy if she was going to live on her own. It was too big for her taste and too much of a showplace to be a real home. Not that she knew what a real home was.

Her parents had given her and her sister both love and all the material things they ever needed throughout their childhood, but the family house in Malibu wasn’t anything like the kind of homes she read about in books and had seen in the movies. Besides the constant presence of security personnel, her parents kept a full household staff, and from childhood, she and her sister had been taught not to touch anything outside of their bedrooms and playroom.

In many ways, Kendra had found what she considered her dream house in Nashville. It was much smaller, a lovely four-bedroom tucked away in a nice neighborhood not too far from the recording studio. Smaller still was the two-bedroom condo she had purchased in Phoenix. The condo had been her first purchase after she’d taken over her own finances from her parents. She had planned for it to be a getaway, a place for her to disappear when she needed a taste of normalcy. Unfortunately, she rarely found time to spend there.

The sudden realization that the women killed by the Malibu Stalker all lived in California struck her. She thought back to the night when she had turned to her grandfather for help and realized that his insistence that she leave California had been inspired. If she could just leave Malibu behind permanently, maybe she would be able to find both her safety and her freedom.

Charlie pulled out his phone the moment he stepped through his front door. Elias answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Charlie. I was just about to call you.”

“What about?”

“The LA office finished their analysis on the two explosives. They were definitely set by the same person.”

“That wasn’t the news I was hoping for,” Charlie told him. “Can I get you to run a background check for me? The name is Jed Burgess. His primary residence is here in Pinewood.”

“What’s his story?”

“His mom runs the general store here in Pinewood,” Charlie began. “He stopped by Kendra’s place today, and from what she told me, he’s shown some interest in her in the past.”

“You really think some guy living in the Arizona mountains could be a serial killer in Malibu?”

“I doubt it, but it’s worth taking a look at him,” Charlie said, feeling suddenly foolish to think that Jed Burgess could possibly be involved with the murders in California. “It should be easy to eliminate him from the suspect list since he lives here. If we don’t find any evidence of him being in California near the dates of the murders, we’ll cross him off the list.”

“All right. I’ll put Ray on it, and one of us will get back to you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“One question though,” Elias said. “You said he paid Kendra a visit. I thought you said the roads weren’t clear enough to drive on.”

“They aren’t. He came up the mountain on his snowmobile,” Charlie told him. “And he never saw Kendra. I was at her house when we heard him pull up so I went out and talked to him.”

“Kendra didn’t find that odd?”

“Like I said, she doesn’t feel comfortable around the guy. She was pretty upset. I had just shown her an article about the Malibu Stalker.”

“Did she agree to protection?”

“Not yet, but I think she’s considering it.” Charlie rubbed a hand over his face. “From what she said, her hang-up comes from the heavy security her dad has always insisted on. Sounds like she’s been feeling caged in for some time.”

“Then it’s a good thing Sterling Blake doesn’t know where she is right now.”

“Yeah, and I think it’s best we keep it that way for the time being.”

“Definitely,” Elias agreed. “Keep me in the loop with your situation up there, and I’ll get back to you about Burgess.”

“Thanks.”

Charlie hung up the phone and then dug out the business card in his pocket. He dialed the number for Eleanor Burgess. Six rings later, he was about ready to hang up when Mrs. Burgess’s voice came on the line.

“Mrs. Burgess? This is Charlie Whitmore.”

“Charlie! How are you and Kendra doing up there? Do you know if my boy dropped that cake off yet?”

“He did.”

Before Charlie could add his thanks, she started speaking again. “You know, I always hoped Kendra would take a shine to my boy, but the girl was never in town long enough for him to work up the nerve to talk to her, much less ask her out on a date.” Mrs. Burgess sighed into the phone. “Oh well. At least she’s got you up there to help look out for her.”

“Yes, she does,” Charlie said, not quite sure what to think about Mrs. Burgess’s revelation. Then he clued in on her last sentence. “Did you see the newspaper articles about Kendra?”

“Couldn’t help but see them, but don’t you worry. I won’t tell any of those reporter people where she’s hiding,” Mrs. Burgess promised.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a call if anyone comes looking,” Charlie told her.

“Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll make sure no one comes calling unexpectedly. Of course, with all this snow, I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about for a while.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Burgess,” Charlie said. “And thanks for the cake.”

“You’re welcome. You just give me a call if there’s anything else I can do for you.”

“I will. Thanks.”

* * *

He was nervous. Charlie let that thought work its way through his brain before he tried to decipher the reasons behind it. He was man enough to acknowledge his developing feelings for Kendra, even though he knew the timing was wrong for him to act on them. He was also experienced enough in dating to recognize that the attraction was mutual.

What he didn’t have experience with was being attracted to a woman who was off limits. He knew he couldn’t do his job properly if he started thinking of Kendra as more than just a person who needed his protection. He just hadn’t expected his protective instincts to turn so personal.

He had dated Lisa for more than six months, but not once could he think of a time when she had cried in front of him. Not once had she ever really
needed
him. In just a few days, he could feel the attachment between him and Kendra growing, and it scared him. If she had been a needy sort of woman, he could have brushed it off. In fact, that would have made him want to put some distance between them.

But Kendra wasn’t needy in that clingy sort of way. She just needed someone to confide in, someone to trust. Charlie felt both privileged and terrified that she had chosen him to be that person.

Just another few days
, he told himself. A few more days and the storms would be over, the roads would be passable, and, if all went well, Kendra would agree to protection. Then he could tell Kendra the truth. That he was her protection.

He shifted the bag of groceries he’d brought with him and reached up to knock on the door as snow began falling once more. The footsteps sounded immediately, and Kendra didn’t try to hide the relief that showed on her face when she opened the door.

Charlie walked inside and shut the door behind him. He looked down at her, not quite able to gauge her emotions. “How are you doing?”

“Still a little shaky, I guess, but other than that, I’m okay.”

He set down the grocery bag and took off his coat and boots. Then his eyes met hers, and he had to fight the urge to reach for her hand. “I’m really sorry that I upset you.”

“It’s okay.” Kendra managed a smile. “As scary as it is to think that someone would really want to hurt me, it’s better that I know about it.”

Charlie nodded and then picked up the groceries once more. He started for the kitchen and put the food on the counter. Then he turned to face her. “I know you haven’t had much time to think about it, but do you have any idea about what you’re going to do now?”

“You mean now that I know someone is trying to kill me?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know.” Kendra walked into the living room and sat down on the loveseat. She looked a little disappointed when Charlie sat opposite of her instead of taking the seat next to her. “I doubt anyone would look for me here, especially right now with all this snow.”