Two more such meetings ensued, both under the cover of night, both in out-of-the-way places. He decided not to pressure her for more; the right time for them to be together would come soon enough.

He’d wait.

The next time she wanted him to meet late at night, he asked if she was married.

”I’m not. But there is something I have to tell you. I’m going to my class reunion Saturday. If you can pick me up after the dance Saturday night, we can spend some time together and I’ll explain everything.”

Anticipating an intimate evening with her, he sloughed off her mysterious words and booked a hotel suite near the college. He imagined her in bed with him and could almost feel her silken skin against his; hear her crying out his name when he made love to her.

But another, darker, image kept imposing itself over the bedroom scene—an exciting image, enticingly wicked. He couldn’t wait to be with her.

15             

Friday morning when Lisa arrived at the office, Shannon stood waiting for her at the door with a cup of coffee. “I thought about calling you when I got home last night, but you said you were going out, so I waited until this morning to tell you the news.”

“Tell me what?”

“We had an intruder last night!” Shannon’s dark eyes sparkled with excitement.

“An intruder?”

“Sure seemed like it.” Shannon repeated what she’d seen and heard the night before.

“You must have been terrified. Did you call the police?”

“No, but I went to the station, and Stan was there. He promised he’d have whoever was on patrol last night check out our building every time they passed through town.” She paused, breathless. “He said we needed a security system.”

Lisa snorted. “For what? No one keeps money here and neither of our computers are anything a thief would want.”

“Yeah, I told him that.”

Frowning, Lisa looked around the room. “You’ve succeeded in spooking me. Now I’m seeing things that look out of place.” She glanced over at her file cabinets. Top-of-the line, they were equipped with an ultra-secure lock system, and appeared untouched. But some of her things looked out of order.

“Are you sure? Do you want me to call Stan?”

“No, I’m not sure, and don’t call Stan yet. Wouldn’t the lock be broken or something if someone had gotten in?”

Shannon’s pale complexion turned white. “Oh my god! What if when I thought I heard something, it wasn’t someone trying to get in but someone already in, leaving?”

“The door looks all right, and it’s still locked, so that couldn’t have happened.”

“But it could have,” Shannon argued, her voice rising an octave. “That door has the kind of lock you can lock on your way out.”

“Maybe you were just spooked by the wind.”

“Lisa, you haven’t got a real complicated lock on that door. I bet I could open it with a screwdriver and a credit card.”

Shannon had a point. Lisa hadn’t worried about security because she didn’t keep any valuables on the premises, but her files were another matter. “All right, but forget calling Stan. Nothing’s missing. Call a locksmith and have the locks changed to something more secure. It was probably just a kid from the neighborhood out for a thrill, but it feels intrusive.”

Shannon persisted. “There’s a good locksmith close by and I’ll call him right away, but we still have to tell the police. And you have to be sure nothing is missing. You know, the prowler could already have been in there when I came in. I had some errands to do so I left for a while about five. I stopped to eat and got back here about six-thirty. He could have gotten in while I was gone. I’m glad I had my Taser with me. I’m calling Stan.”

Shannon had purchased a Taser through an Internet dealer. Lisa had warned her about the illegality of carrying it and was waiting for Shannon to point out its usefulness now that here had  been an intruder in the office.

“Okay, call Stan, but try to get the locksmith here sometime after two.”

By the time Stan, a fiftyish, rather rotund police officer with thinning gray hair, arrived at the office, Lisa was sure they hadn’t taken anything, but someone had been in her office.

After hearing their story and carefully inspecting the premises, Stan said, “Whoever broke in was probably looking for cash. When he didn’t find any, he ran out when he heard someone else in the building.”

“We called a locksmith to have stronger locks put on, “Shannon offered.

“Good. We’ll keep a close eye on your building for the time being. Call us if anything else happens.”

Stan, visibly taken with Shannon and obviously trying to placate their fears, advised them to park on the street when they worked after dark. To Lisa’s relief, his cell phone buzzed, and he left before her first client arrived.

At noon Lisa and Shannon rewarded themselves with lunch at a lovely inn on the other side of the lake. Over the special of the day, a red pepper and sausage soup served with fresh, warm popovers and spinach salad, Lisa told Shannon about the group and what they hoped to accomplish. As Lisa expected, Shannon was eager to help with the online research.

She said, “You’ll get to go out on interviews with one of those guys that were in the office. Which one, the nerdy one or the older, dark, mysterious-looking guy?”

“This won’t be a social event, Shannon. I’m going with Eric Schindler, and on a personal level, I don’t really care for the man.”

“Who knows, he might turn out to be a real nice guy.”

“He isn’t. He’s arrogant and annoying. Not to mention the fact that he spent time in jail for murdering his wife. And even worse, he smokes cigars.”

“Are you afraid to be alone with him?”

“No. He’s irritating, not threatening. TJ has spent a lot of time with him and is convinced he’s innocent. I trust her judgment. For now.”

“Have you heard from Tyler?”

Lisa was trying to forget about Tyler, but it was difficult, especially on sleepless nights. “Tyler isn’t up for discussion. Back on the subject at hand, we’re meeting Sunday morning to go over what we accomplish in Saturday’s interviews. If you have anything for us that soon, let me know.”

Shannon nodded. “I have to go into the office tomorrow for a closing, and when I’m done I can get started. Just let me know what you need.”

              The locksmith arrived promptly at two. Lisa was working on a client’s file when the scream of the locksmith’s power drill masked the entry of a visitor. She looked up to see James Wilson standing in front of her desk. Startled at his presence, Lisa jerked back in her chair, reflexes on alert. “You frightened me.”

“Sorry about that. I got your call this morning and I decided to drop in since I was going to be in the area.”

Lisa had forgotten she called him before coming into the office that morning and wished she’d prepared for her talk with him. He wasn’t someone she wanted to reveal her hand to, merely wanted to maneuver information from.

“Have a seat, Mr. Wilson. I’d offer you coffee, but I’m afraid we don’t usually keep it going after lunch.”

He sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk, casually draping one long leg over the other knee. “No need for coffee. And call me James.”

James Wilson’s good looks and his surprising drop-in put her on edge. Lisa wasn’t sure whether her unease came from her libido’s response to him or if she just didn’t like him. The division between attraction and repulsion could be as narrow as the one between love and hate. He was engaged, she reminded herself—to the police chief’s daughter.

She’d limit her explanation to what had taken place at the center’s meeting. He’d find out about it soon enough. “I wanted to let you know I talked to Amanda Hawkins from the Center in Oconomowoc about the increase in missing women. She hadn’t been aware of it yet but moved forward with it and met with the heads of the other women’s centers in Milwaukee and Waukesha County. They’re all concerned. Unfortunately, the most they can do is caution women on developing new relationships.”