He understood her anger, but he didn’t think she was right. Not completely. “In my job, I’m not allowed the luxury of what I believe to be the case. Only what I can prove.”

“Which is a great concept if I were gathering evidence for a murder trial, but my goal is to prevent her from being murdered. Consider my services a preemptive strike.”

“The implication being that the police arrive at the party after it’s already over.”

She held her hands up and tilted her head to the side. “You said it.”

And unfortunately, there was a huge element of truth in the statement. Cops rarely actively prevented crime. They investigated it. Past tense. But if someone had the means to hire a private investigator, they could go on the offensive. “I’ll be the first to agree that having someone check into things gives Ms. Frederick an advantage most don’t have. But I also know more about the situation than you do. You see, Detective Vincent is my partner.”

“And you’re sitting here with me. Are you trying to piss him off?”

“Not directly, but if that’s a side effect of our conversation, I’m okay with it.”

She smirked. “We can both agree on that. Have you been partners long?”

“A year, but it feels like a ten-year journey through hell.”

“I can imagine. Did you work David Grange’s murder?”

Jackson nodded. “And I checked out Ms. Frederick’s house after she came in and claimed someone had been inside the night before.”

Shaye shifted in her chair, and Jackson could tell she was dying to let a million questions fly, but she was still playing it cool. He had to give her credit. She was doing a credible job of it.

“Is it like Vincent said?” she finally asked.

“Yeah. Not that he knows firsthand, mind you. He pretty much stood around in the living room and nodded. I did all the heavy lifting.”

“And there’s no way someone broke in?”

“There’s always a chance. Locks aren’t perfect. With the right tools, an expert could be inside in a second. But…”

“Nothing was stolen, so that lets out professional thieves, and locksmiths don’t usually let themselves in strangers’ houses simply to terrorize them.”

“Pretty much. None of the windows had been messed with, and I couldn’t see signs of tampering on the door locks, either. A pro wouldn’t leave signs, but most break-ins aren’t conducted by pros. No footprints in the backyard, and we’d had heavy rain earlier that evening. The backyard is covered with shade trees, so grass is at a premium. There’s no way to get to the back door without leaving footprints across the lawn.”

“So he entered through the front door.”

“If he entered, that’s the only option that I can see, but it’s not a great one. The front porch is visible by at least eight houses on the block, and Emma herself said she always leaves the porch light on.”

Shaye sighed. “You don’t believe her either.”

“I believe Emma thinks someone was in her house that night. I believe she thinks she’s being stalked, and she may be right.”

“But?”

“But if someone is stalking her, there’s no way it’s her husband. David Grange is dead. I saw the body myself, and trust me, no one comes back from a severed carotid. Not after he’s bled for as long as he did. I understand you believing that Emma is being stalked. She’s your client and it’s your job to take her at her word unless you have good reason not to. But given the evidence, you can’t possibly believe her stalker is David Grange.”

“I never said I did. I made the necessary phone calls yesterday. Everyone seems quite clear on the fact that David was dead before the paramedics arrived. And no one doubts that the corpse they handled was indeed David Grange. Honestly, I don’t think Emma believes David is her stalker either, but I do believe someone is following her. He’s just being very clever about it, because as long as Emma has no proof, she has no protection. But too many odd things have happened to her, and I’m not a big fan of coincidence.”

Jackson tapped one finger on the table. Sometimes he hated how the rules and the law tied his hands when he couldn’t find enough proof to back up his theories. The reality was, Emma Frederick had gotten to him. And if he was being honest, he believed someone was watching her. Despite the fact that she was clearly frightened, he found her logical and more importantly, sane. Maybe not every strange incident that had happened to her in the last couple of months could be attributed to PTSD or coincidence. Like Shaye, he wasn’t a big fan of it either.

“Can you tell me anything about David Grange?” Shaye asked.

“He was abusive. Ms. Frederick got a restraining order. He violated it and attacked her, and she killed him. One of her neighbors corroborated him striking her.”

“Really? She didn’t tell me that.”

“She might not know. The officers who worked the abuse complaint questioned them. A retired gentleman who lives next door was trimming his rosebushes and could see them arguing through Emma’s kitchen window. He saw David hit her.”

“Trimming his rosebushes, huh?”

“Ha. More likely, he was out pretending to trim the bushes so he could be nosy, but either way, it was a good thing for Ms. Frederick. Between the eyewitness report and her hospital records, we had no question of credibility, and because of that, it was easy to forgo any charges against her for David’s death. The DA took one look at the file and said ‘Thank her for her service to society and cut her loose.’”

“So you didn’t investigate any further? You didn’t check out David any further?”

“Why would we?”

She sighed. “You wouldn’t. Your case was closed.”

Jackson frowned. “Why do you want to know more about David? You’ve already agreed that he can’t be the stalker.”

“Yes, but someone who knew certain traits about David is, and no one was stalking Emma before she killed her husband.”

“Okay. I’ll give you the personal traits item. And I agree the timing is suspect, if we assume that the stalking is a recent occurrence. But it could be that someone was stalking Ms. Frederick before she killed David and she simply wasn’t paying close attention then because she was focused on her marital problems.”

“That’s fair enough,” Shaye said, but he could tell she didn’t like conceding the point. “But if we assume someone was stalking Emma before David returned from Iraq, then the question is why? She doesn’t strike me as the sort of woman who goes around making enemies.”

“Agreed. I don’t think Ms. Frederick is intentionally seeking out trouble, but by virtue of her job, she could have gotten a rise out of someone unstable…say someone who lost a loved one under her care and is looking for someone to blame.”

Shaye frowned.

“You’re wondering if someone would really take things that far over something so innocuous,” he said.

“No, not at all. I have a limited amount of faith in humans as a species, and have little problem imagining someone that petty and insane.”

Jackson marveled at the way she easily processed a diabolical mind. “You are a wealth of comfort, Ms. Archer.”

 “People can see their friends, mother, priest for comfort. That’s not part of my job description. But in my next meeting with Emma, I’ll ask about her patients.”

“Even though you’re still leaning toward the David connection theory?”

“Yes. Again, it’s the timing and the personal information, and that whole coincidence thing.”

If he was being honest, Jackson agreed with her. Assuming Emma Frederick had a stalker, it was more likely someone connected to her dead husband rather than a patient. But the thought of this young, inexperienced woman tangling with the kind of person who’d go on a revenge kick over a piece of shit like David Grange had him feeling more than a little uneasy.

“How old are you, if you don’t mind my asking? Jackson asked.