Hot Potato

26. Of Hate and Love

As I showed the note to Dunc, he grimaced, then said, "Careful to not smudge it, Gigi. Give it to them to fingerprint – maybe match the handwriting."

One of the constables took a plastic bag from his case. "Drop it in here, ma'am. How do I label it?"

I pointed to the opening elevator door. "It'll be more private in there."

Two others joined us in the cabin, so we remained silent during the ride up. Then while we walked through the gardens toward my door, I said, "Label it sexual harassment, intimidation or defamation. Or all three."

"Related to this case? Or separate?"

"This case. It's from the accused."

Dunc squeezed my hand. "He still has your mailbox key, Gigi. You need to change the lock."

"No, it's fine. I never trusted him with it. He would have slipped that note through the slot." I laughed. "Ironic, isn't it? Trusted him to install his phoney security system, but I didn't trust him to not read Grandma's postcards."

"Grandma's postcards?"

"She's addicted to cruise ships and their shore excursions. Sends them from everywhere."

One of the constables asked, "When did you last check the box?"

"Yesterday afternoon, coming back from SaveOn. I do it every day."

"And this wasn't there at that time?"

"No, only two postcards." I unlocked the door, opened it and entered the code in the security keypad, then I laughed. "I wonder whether there's any need to disarm this. Does his bogus system even work?"

"I recommend you have a security company come and check it, ma'am."

The other constable said, "Show us what he installed, and we'll get to work."

Upstairs in the bedroom, when they had seen the cams and took pictures, one asked, "Do you have a ladder, so we can access these to fingerprint?"

"No, but I've a tall step-stool in the kitchen. That's what he had used; I'll go get it."

When I returned with it, Dunc was talking, "...part of what he installed, I assume. Photo and fingerprint it, then I'll disconnect."

"Disconnect what?"

"This. The splitter and router behind the flatscreen."

"He put that there for gaming – he often sat in bed and played. Sometimes we watched Netflix."

"And with it, he could have accessed the cams and watched our frolicking. Downloaded it."

"Oh, fuck!"

"Yeah." Dunc unplugged the router and disconnected it from the splitter. "More than enough other things to fingerprint in here."

"And he could have been watching us now – until you disconnected him." I rushed across the room, Dunc following me as I opened the balcony door, stepped out and looked down at the sidewalk along Cambie Street. "Don't see him anywhere. Not in the bus stop nor at the tables outside Starbucks."

"Could be inside." He put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "The signal's likely strong enough to be seen from there."

"Likely in the sushi place, as well. That was often his lunch."

"He could have watched us coming up the street with the police."

"No." I shook my head. "No, he's never seen me dressed in anything but casual. Wouldn't recognise me in this. And with the police station just down the street, officers regularly pass this way, heading to their walking beats."

"True. And they stayed a good distance behind us."

"When Garth discovers his connections are dead, he'll blame the note. Curse himself for having left it."

"I don't understand why he would have done that."

"To intimidate me. He knows I'm afraid of the unknown." I shrugged. "And he knows I'm not tech-savvy enough to realise he still had a connection. Two connections."

"There might be others. Anything that's connected to the cable. Possibly behind the flatscreen downstairs."

I nodded, shuddering as I turned and wrapped my arms around him, laying my cheek on his chest. "Will you keep me safe, Dunc?"

"For as long as you want, Gigi." He paused and pulled me closer. "I'd love that to be forever."

"Ummm. Oh, my! That sent tingles again. That must mean –"

I was interrupted by a voice, "We're done in there, ma'am. Where else?"

"In the bathroom."

"Got those." He paused a moment. "I'm not qualified to assess, but he seems deranged."

"That's a polite way to put it. Down the hall in my yoga room, he had replaced the original router behind the TV screen."

We followed them, and when they had finished recording evidence, Dunc said, "Down in the living room. Possibly another router behind the flatscreen there."

Downstairs, after the router and splitter had been fingerprinted and photographed, Dunc unplugged and disconnected, then he asked, "Anywhere else, Gigi? Any other TV outlets?"

"No, only the three."

"We'll check all the phone jacks," one of the constables said. "This fellow's smart enough to have set up something using them."

"I don't have a landline, only my cell."

"He could have opened a phone account, ma'am. One with an internet package."

I shuddered, and Dunc again wrapped me in his arms. "You're safe with me, Gigi."

"Ummm!" I felt the tingling again as I snuggled into him. I do, I really do, and I should tell him. "I love you, Dunc."

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Points to consider in this chapter:

Do you sense mounting tension and an increasing feeling of uneasiness through this?

Would you want to stay there overnight?

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