Page 49 of You Found Me
Ward gave her the phone, impressed with her bounce-back. She was handling this a lot better than he thought she would.
She watched the video with wide eyes, but he heard her quick intake of breath when Hoodie slammed a long metal rod into Scott’s face. “I don’t recognize him. I can’t see…I don’t think I know him. Do you, Greg?”
She handed the phone to Diggs.
“He could be anybody,” Diggs said. “Seen that hoodie on dozens of people. His size ain’t special. That’s not a shadow on his face. It’s paint. Looks pretty close to the stuff I used for day games. You know, under the eyes. Stops the glare from the sun.”
He handed the phone back to Ward.
Ward looked at the frozen image a little closer. It was only the side of the guy’s face, barely a hint of cheek and nose, but he thought Diggs was right. Even in the shadows, there should have been some highlights, but this guy didn’t have any. He looked like someone had dropped a cartoon over his face.
“He knew he’d be on camera,” Ward said. “Good catch, Diggs.”
That took planning. Patience. Persistence. He couldn’t have known exactly which night Baldwin would go to that particular club.
Or could he? Did they know each other?
He made a mental note to have Spencer check on Baldwin’s schedule.
“I’ll round up the detail and move out?” Diggs asked. “We can have her in a hotel in fifteen minutes.”
Ward shook his head. “I have something else in mind. And we can’t leave until we report this. That means interviews and statements to the police.”
He’d also agreed to inform Renic immediately if anything happened. The room was getting crowded and the night wasn’t over, so he tapped out a quick, no-frills message.Stalker infiltrated house while we were at concert. Ms. Bellamy is safe. Will send details a.m.
“It’s my fault.” Della bit her lip. Her eyes misted when she looked at Ward. “You were right. He was here. I invited him in. I did that. I was everything you said. Now Scott is hurt and it’s my fault.”
“No, Della.” Annie stood, her voice firm and sharp. “None of this is your fault. Get that in your head right now because if you don’t, he wins. You did nothing to cause this. You did nothing to attract his unwanted attention.Heis stalkedyou.Heattacked Scott. Not you. Got it?”
Annie shot Ward a glare that promised all kinds of discussions during the after-project wrap-up.
“He attacked Scott because hesawhim. Here.” Della stared at the wall that separated them from the pool. “I’m the one who had the party. If I hadn’t, this wouldn’t have happened because he never would have been here to get those pictures. He attacked Scott because of me. Because he saw me having a good time with him. Because I was?—”
Della put a hand over her mouth like she was going to be sick.
“Come on, now. I got you, girl. I got your back.” Diggs put his arm around her shoulders. “You’re safe here with me.”
“It’s not about me…” Della didn’t look comforted. If anything, he was making it worse.
“Sit down. Come on, Della. Sit with me. Lean forward and put your head down.” Annie pulled her out of Diggs’s arms and back onto the couch. “Breathe. Just breathe. We will get this all sortedout. We’ll find this guy, and make sure he doesn’t bother you or hurt anyone else. Come on. Breathe for me. In and out. Slow and steady.”
Annie kept up the mantra until Della’s breath steadied.
Finally, she raised her head to look at him like she hadn’t tried to fire him less than an hour ago. Like she fully expected him to fix this. “What do we do now?” She sounded a little shaken but not broken. Yet.
The weight of that look settled heavily on his shoulders. He stood a little straighter.
“I take you away from here, that’s what,” Diggs said.
“You don’t.Ido.” Ward stressed the I part. “I take Ms. Bellamy to an undisclosed location. You, Annie, and Spencer find this guy. Then work with the police to stop him. If we can connect the dots we have him for trespassing, plus assault and battery at least.”
“She’smyresponsibility.” Diggs clenched his hands into fists.
“She stopped being your responsibility the second someone snuck into her dressing room.” Ward squared his stance and waited.
“You’re not leaving me behind.” Diggs stepped into Ward, using his considerable mass to force him to back away. He had Ward beat by a couple of inches and a hundred pounds. Feral instincts warned Ward to brace for a hit but he didn’t move. Didn’t even flinch.
Diggs was smart and big enough to stop a train. He had a lot of potential, but it would take more than one big guy to stop this threat. It would take someone capable of seeing the forest, not just the tree. Someone who hadn’t already given up his objectivity for friendship.