Free The Stares of Strangers by Jennifer L. Jennings

cameras?”
    “ No, I didn't tell 'em.” Penny lowered her voice to a whisper. “I feel a little guilty about it. I mean, this is their home, too and they have a right to know what's going on.”
    “ I understand,” I said. “Just hold off for another day or two. Hopefully this will all be over with very soon.”
     
    * * *
    Among Carter's many talents, lock picking is one of his specialties. We were able to get inside the foreclosed home within minutes. In order to keep a low profile, we decided to keep all the lights off as we set up camp in front of a small bedroom window. Carter's laptop was open and tuned into the streaming video feed from the hidden cameras set up at each door in Penny's house.
    “ Hey, at least they left some furniture,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “And it's relatively warm in here. Better than I expected.”
    “ Yep,” Carter said as he moved a chair over to the window. “This sure beats sitting in a cold car all night long.”
    “ I'm glad the electricity hasn't been turned off. I brought some instant coffee to heat up in the microwave.”
    “ Good thinking,” he said. “Nothing like a caffeine buzz to keep us alert on a stakeout.”
    “ Well, I can't imagine Penny's stalker is going to be making an appearance tonight. It's bitter cold and windy outside.”
    “ You might be right, but obsession often comes before comfort. That's the power of obsession, you have no control over it. It consumes you.”
    “ Have you ever been obsessed with a girl?” I asked.
    Carter gave me a sideward glance. “Why do you ask?”
    “ Well, you always seem so in control of your emotions. Like nothing could rattle you. Has a woman ever rattled you to the point where it made you feel desperate in some way?”
    He gazed out the window with a thoughtful expression. “The only time I remember feeling desperate was with my first girlfriend. I was sixteen and she was fifteen. Our romance only lasted a few months. When she broke up with me, I thought my life was over.”
    “ Were you in love with her?”
    “ I was sixteen. What do you know about love at that age?”
    “ Do you remember her name?”
    “ Barbara Cranton. I looked her up a few years ago, just out of curiosity.”
    “ Oh? Did you get in touch?”
    “ No. She's twice divorced and morbidly obese. The only pictures on her Facebook page are of her and her three cats.”
    “ Well, I bet she looks back and wishes she never broke up with you.”
    Carter snickered as he continued to look out the window toward Penny's house. “What about you?” he asked. “Ever been obsessed with someone?”
    “ When I was going to massage school, there was this guy I sort of became enamored with. Clay Mitchell. He was gorgeous and flirted with me constantly, but never made the moves. He was very private about his personal life, so I wondered if he had a girlfriend. I found out where he lived and I'd go out of my way to drive through his neighborhood to see if he lived with somebody. I felt like a stalker.”
    “ Did he live with someone?”
    “ Yes,” I said. “Another dude. Come to find out, his gay lover.”
    “ Ouch.” Carter made a pained face. “That sucks.”
    “ Actually, it was great. My obsession was instantly cured after that.”
    Carter tapped the window. “Speaking of casing the neighborhood, I've seen the same minivan three times now. It drove up the street about five minutes ago, came back, and now it's passing by here again.”
    “ Do you have a visual on the driver?”
    “ No. The windows are tinted.”
    Inching my face closer to the window, I could see the maroon colored minivan driving up the street, but it didn't seem to slow down as it went past Penny's house. “Maybe the person is lost.”
    “ You're probably right. But if it comes back again, I'm going outside to take a picture of the license plate.”
    There wasn't much traffic on the road at this time of night and nobody was out walking his/her dog or going for a