“Because he’s at my house installing new locks. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s also putting up cameras around the house.” He hadn’t said he was going to do that, but she’d bet money that he was.
“If you refuse to stay here, I’m coming to Myrtle Beach with you.”
She loved her father beyond measure, but he could be stubborn and opinionated. The guys didn’t need him interfering in this mess she’d found herself in, and he would want to be right in the middle of it. She also wanted time with Cooper, to see ifmaybe there was something between them, maybe even a future for them. With her father there, she wouldn’t have that chance.
“No, Dad.” At seeing the hurt in his eyes, she reached for his hand. “I understand you’re worried, but we need to let The Phoenix Three do their job. This is what they do, and they’re very good at it.”
He sighed heavily. “And I’m supposed to just sit back and do nothing?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you talk to Cooper about that? He might be open to having you help in some way.” She felt kind of bad that she was handing over the job of telling her father to stay out of this, but he was more likely to listen to Cooper over her.
“He’s here now,” she said when the doorbell chimed. This was going to be interesting.
“Good timing.” Her dad headed to the stove. “I’ll plate our dinner while you get the door.”
“That didn’t take lo…” Her smile faltered at seeing it was a stranger at the door and not Cooper. So stupid. Why had she just assumed it was Cooper at the door? “Can I help you?” There was something about the man’s eyes that raised the hair on her neck, and she tried to slam the door.
He put his foot inside, blocking her from closing it. “Hello, Kendall.” He brought up his arm and pointed a gun at her. “You have two choices, my dear one. Come quietly with me right now, or I come inside and shoot your father.”
It was him, Livie’s kidnapper. But those eyes were ones that haunted her childhood memories, eyes she’d had nightmares about. “You,” she whispered.
He smiled. “Yes, me. I wondered if you’d remember, and it pleases me that you do. So, tell me. Does your father get to live another day?” He peered around her, looking into the house. “Or not?”
Her mind wanted to shut down, go blank, crawl under the covers and hide. Her body wanted to faint. Her stomach took a sickening roll, and she thought she was going to be sick. Her seven-year-old self wanted her mommy. She remembered crying for her mother and the bad man—this bad man—laughing. She was paralyzed, unable to think, talk or move.
“Kendall?” her dad called. “Bring your man in so I can give him a hard time.”
She heard the humor in her father’s voice, and if she didn’t do something, she’d never hear him tease her again. The thought that this evil man standing in front of her would shoot her father woke her up, freed her limbs to move.
There was no choice to be made here. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
Chapter 25
Cooper’s phone chimed as he finished installing the last outside camera. Kendall thought he was only replacing her locks with better ones, and he hadn’t told her any different because he didn’t want to argue with her when she said it wasn’t necessary. Not much she could say once it was done.
He pulled his phone out, and seeing it was Grayson, he said, “Whatcha got?”
“The name of Kendall’s stalker.”
“Wasn’t expecting that so soon. Great news. Who is he?”
“Chadwick Manning Schroder the Third.”
“That’s a mouthful. How’d you find him?” He gathered up his tools.
“Henderson went to each of the libraries he used to send her the emails, and using the date and times on them, he found the same man at each one. The libraries had better video than we got from the grocery store. He ran the man’s picture through his facial ID program and got a hit. Schroder was arrested in California when he was nineteen on a charge of peeking while loitering. In simpler terms, he was a peeping Tom. His family’s wealthy and got him a top-notch attorney. Schroder got a slap on the wrist and a warning that if he continued with the behavior, he would get jail time.”
Henderson was a private eye friend of theirs based in Atlanta. “How old is Schroder now, and is he married?”
“Forty-six. Never been married.”
Their profiler had gotten that much right. “And no other arrests?” He knew that many serial killers got their start as peeping Toms as a teen before escalating to their deadlier crimes.
“No, which tells us that he’s been very careful since then. Where are you?”
“At Kendall’s. Just finished installing new locks and outside cameras. I need to drop off a key to the detective on the case to the new locks, then I’ll go pick her up at her dad’s house.” He locked up behind him and headed for his truck. “Where does Schroder live?”
“Atlanta. Get this. He’s a juvenile court judge.”