Just a Click Away

Chapter 16

     First thing the next morning, Leslie took Adam's advice and went down to the police station. "Why didn't I think of this? Going to the police is obviously the best thing to do!" A tall, lanky, young officer was stationed at the desk when she arrived. He was shuffling a stack of paperwork when he saw Leslie approach. Noting the concerned look on her lovely features, he asked, "Is there something I can help you with, Miss?"

"Actually, yes, there is!" Leslie already felt safer knowing that the police were there to protect and serve. "My name is Leslie Martin, and I think someone may be following me. Well, more like stalking me actually."

"Following you? What makes you think that?" The young, blonde officer was not trying to challenge her; he just needed to collect all the facts. Grabbing a note pad and paper, he scribbled her name at the top of the lined page. "When did you first notice you were being followed?"

"It was over the weekend. My friends and I were bowling, and they said that a dark haired man came looking for me when I was at the concession stand. Later, after church on Sunday night, I felt like I was being watched when I was outside with my dog. Then again last night, as soon as I walked to the parking lot I could feel eyes on me, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I can just feel in my gut that something is wrong. I really hope you don't think I'm being paranoid."

"Not at all," the officer replied in a very matter of fact tone. "We take stalking cases very seriously. I will need your address and phone number, so we can keep in contact with you. Our normal procedure is to send an unmarked police car to the dwelling. An officer will check the premises for any signs that someone has been in secluded areas. If anything is found to cause suspicion, we will have an officer on the premises for 48 hours."

Leslie gladly gave him her address and phone number, she could already feel the cold fingers of fear that were still grasping her heart begin to loosen their relentless grip. "Thank you so much! What was your name officer?"

"My name is Matt Lawrence."

"Well you're the hero of the day, Matt Lawrence!"

The young man, smiled and a slight blush lit his cheeks. "Just doing my job. I do have one more question; do you have any idea who could be following you? Most people don't have a clue, but maybe you could give us a lead."

"Well, I do have a suspicion that it could be a man named Jack Andrews. I had a really bad date with him almost a month ago, and he can't seem to take the hint that it's over."

"Do you know his address and phone number, so we can check him out?" The officer had his pen ready to take down the information.

"No, I don't, you see...we met online." It was Leslie's turn to blush as she admitted to the officer something she couldn't even tell Greg.

Sensing her embarrassment, the policeman gave her a quick wink. "Nothing to be ashamed of Miss Martin. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't tried finding love online myself once. Your information is very helpful, and we'll keep in touch. If anything happens that we should know about, here is my direct line." He handed her a paper with the phone number on it.

"Thank you so much! I feel better already!"

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With her heart feeling so much lighter, Leslie nearly skipped in to work at the hospital around noon. She had sent Adam a message to let him know that the police were handling the situation, and she knew that everything would be fine.