Free Pursued by Patricia H. Rushford

time, then laughed.
    His blue eyes sparkled and Jennie looked away. “I just wanted to apologize—for this afternoon. I hope I didn’t come on too strong. It’s just that when I saw you there with those flowers…well, with all that’s been going on and you not having been around, I thought…”
    â€œIt’s okay. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have picked them up. It was dumb of me.” Jennie twisted her braid around her finger. “So what did the police say?” Jennie asked, even though she suspected he hadn’t called.
    Rocky shrugged. “Not much. A love note and a bunch of roses can hardly be considered threatening. As far as I know, they weren’t able to track down the lead.”
    Probably because you didn’t give them one , Jennie felt like saying. For a moment she considered telling Rocky about the Vancouver address, then decided not to. The less he knew about her involvement in the case, the better.
    Rocky paused to pull off his blue cotton shirt, then stretched out on the lounge next to Jennie. “Think I’ll catch some rays,” he said, winking. “It’s been a long day.” Jennie couldn’t help noticing his muscular chest. No doubt about it. The guy was a hunk. He may be gorgeous , her inner voice warned, but he could be dangerous. She glanced at him again, trying not to stare. And you have to admit, McGrady, he’s the cleanest gardener you’ve ever seen.
    The more Jennie thought about it, the more she was convinced that Rocky was not who he seemed. She made a mental note to ask Allison about him. In the meantime, she had a few questions herself. “The grounds here are beautiful,” Jennie commented. “Must be a full-time job to keep them up. Do you do it alone?”
    Rocky shaded his eyes with his hand and peered at her. He opened his mouth to answer when a piercing scream from inside the house brought both of them to their feet.

9
    Rocky reached Allison’s room only seconds before Jennie. Allison, nearly as pale as her swimsuit, clutched a towel to her chest with one hand and clung to Lisa’s arm with the other. Lisa guided the girl to the nearest chair and lowered her into it. Paige and Lisa looked nearly as shaken as Allison.
    â€œWhat’s wrong? What happened?” Jennie and Rocky asked together.
    Lisa pointed toward the bathroom.
    Jennie ran toward the door. Rocky put out an arm to stop her. “Wait here,” he ordered as he slipped through the open door and looked around.
    Jennie glanced back at Lisa. “What’s going on?”
    â€œThe mirror,” Lisa squeaked. Her voice reflected the fear in her eyes.
    Ignoring Rocky’s orders, Jennie entered the bathroom. On the large vanity mirror above the sink someone had drawn a crude picture of a rose and written a message in red:
    I’M GETTING CLOSER PRINCESS.
PREPARE TO DIE!!!
    The last two words had been smudged. “She tried to wipe it off,” Lisa said, coming up behind Jennie. “Paige and I pulled her away. I thought the police would want to see it.”
    Jennie nodded, staring at the mirror as the implications settled in on her. The stalker had been here—in this room. Rocky ushered Jennie and Lisa out of the bathroom just as Mr. and Mrs. Beaumont rushed into the room. Whatever had been holding Allison together until then crumbled. The girls took turns telling what they knew, which wasn’t much. The mirror had been clean when Lisa and Jennie had used the bathroom earlier to change. Allison, when she’d calmed down enough to talk, verified that there had been nothing on it when they’d gone downstairs to swim.
    While the girls were in the pool, someone had gone into the house, sneaked upstairs to Allison’s room, written the message, and gotten away without anyone seeing them.
    If Rocky had been on the job, Jennie reasoned, it wouldn’t have happened. Unless maybe he had done it.