Darby sat on the bed, her bag next to her. She had been looking at her phone. “I’m not staying forever, Rarity. Just a night until the cops are out of my house.”
“You can stay longer, if you want.” Rarity leaned against the doorframe. “I want you to feel safe.”
“I just invited Malia and Holly over for a weeklong sleepover. Of course, they’re going to say yes. I’ve been meaning to have them to the house, and this incident just makes it more convenient. You can come too, and bring Killer, if you want.” She leaned down to rub his head.
“Okay, then the guest room is yours for the night.” Rarity laughed as Darby had Killer doing sit-ups and circles. “He listens to you.”
“Because usually, I have a treat in my hand. Anyway, thanks for tonight. I’ll sleep better.” Darby’s phone buzzed with a text. “And that’s my girlies telling me yes.”
Darby held up the phone, showing Rarity the message from Malia. Then she tossed the phone on the bed and grabbed a pile of envelopes. “Now I need to go through the mail. I swear, most of this is junk mail. Like this flyer.”
Rarity watched as she opened the folded page. “That doesn’t look like it came from the post office.”
“No, I don’t think it did. Rarity, look at this.” Darby held out the page as Rarity watched the color drain from her houseguest’s face.
In black block letters, someone had written,Missed you tonight. The next time, you won’t be so lucky.
“We need to show this to Drew.” Rarity urged Darby on her feet, but the girl paused before taking a step.
“I don’t want to be a bother. You have company.”
Rarity took in a breath. “You’re not a bother, but stay here if you want. I’m going to get Drew. And before you say anything else, it’s his job.” She hurried to the back and waved Drew inside. Once he was in, she closed the door after him, but not before she saw Archer’s questioning look. Ignoring it, she took Drew’s arm and hurried him to the guest room. “Darby got a threatening message. Can you look at it?”
“Maybe,” he said as he beat her to the guest room and swiped the paper from Darby’s hands. “Where did you get this?”
“It was mixed in with my mail.” She pointed to the pile of envelopes sitting by her.
“Anything else like this in that pile?” When she shook her head, he nodded. “Okay, I’ll take this with me and have the guys look at it. Have you received any notes like this before?”
Darby didn’t answer immediately, but the look on her face told the story.
“You have? Oh, Darby. What’s going on?” Rarity stood in the doorway, listening.
Darby shrugged. “Not exactly like this, but I had a situation when I was in Scotland. I went out with a guy a few times, but then he was getting a little clingy, so I told him I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. After that, I never dated anyone more than twice and I was clear about boundaries. But after I broke it off, I started being followed. Or it felt that way. I talked to a detective, and he said there wasn’t anything they could do.”
“When did the messages start?” Drew asked, in police detective mode. He had already made several notes in his little book. “And what was this guy’s name and what town did you report him in?”
Darby went through the timeline, then blew out a sigh. “Look, I’m beat. Can I just go to sleep?”
“Of course.” Rarity looked at Drew, who appeared to have more questions, and shook her head at him. “Drew can chat with you tomorrow at the store.”
Rarity grabbed Drew’s arm and aimed him out of the guest room.
“If you need anything, check my bathroom or just ask. We’ll be out on the deck for a while. I’ll check on you when I come in, but if you need me, just come on out.” Rarity called out to Killer, but he’d made his way onto the bed and was curled on Darby’s lap. “Just kick him out if he bothers you.”
Darby kissed the Yorkie on the top of his head. “How in the world would this guy bother anyone?”
“Oh, let me count the ways.” Rarity laughed as she shut the door and followed Drew to the kitchen. “Do you think it was the guy from Scotland?”
“Maybe. I need to see what the police report said. But it’s a good guess.” Drew pulled open a drawer. “I’m stealing a baggie. I just texted April at the station. She’s coming over to get this and get it to our guys. I don’t want to just ignore this.”
“You’re the best. Do you want a beer while you wait? I can get one and bring it out.”
He paused in the middle of the open doorway. “Just let Sam know I’ll be right back out. And let’s keep this between the three of us, okay?”
“Four—no—five, if you count April and the stalker,” Rarity pointed out.
“Funny girl,” Drew said as he closed the door.