― Anne Bishop
Caprice
"This is all my fault, " I told Sarah. "I should have done what the stalker demanded."
She simply shook her head as she handed me a mug of coffee. "You may think you're being noble and self-sacrificing, but capitulating to a predator's demands is a no-win situation. It doesn't simply stop at one thing and you know it. Before long this perp will be controlling your life."
"I get that and if it were just me being affected, I'd defy any demand the stalker made, hoping you'd eventually catch him. But Jana is innocent and doesn't deserve being punished by my refusal to comply."
"Don't kid yourself, Liam―the girl's far from innocent and she knowingly defied the stalker too by remaining in your class when you gave her the opportunity to transfer without academic penalty."
It was useless to argue with Sarah when her mind was obviously made up. She seemed suspicious of Jana right from the beginning.
"What I want to know is how the hell did Jana get assaulted when she has a security detail watching her?"
Sarah smirked at the question as if she couldn't believe how naive I was.
"The answer to that is simple, Prof―she laid down the rules for how close we could monitor her movements. Claimed she was concerned about her privacy. So, unlike you, no security system or cameras inside the building. It would be easy for an attacker to sneak in and assault her."
My jaw dropped. What Sarah just revealed was the opposite of the way Jana presented to me. Her whole rationale for leaving the college dorm was the need for increased security.
"I had no idea she pushed back on close monitoring."
"There are a lot of things about Jana that don't quite add up, which is why I think you need to keep her at arm's length―not tucking her into bed in her condo."
"I explained how I came to drive her home,” I retorted hotly, “and I didn't tuck her into bed―I draped a cover over her when she was shivering from shock on the couch in her living room."
"And that's when you should have phoned and informed me."
I could see where our argument was going and it wouldn't help either her or me.
"I want to go to the hospital and check in on Jana."
Sarah shook her head. "Can't let you do that, Prof―Clio Carmichael has already transferred her out of your lectures and being seen together wouldn't be beneficial for either of you right now. I can convey your concern to Jana but visiting her is definitely off the table.”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “You know what? I’ve had it. This has been going on weeks and you guys are no closer to solving this when you were in the beginning. How long am I supposed to wait while the threats continue?”
She smiled compassionately. “I know it seems like forever but we’re actually making progress. We ruled out several possible suspects and we’ve narrowed our focus. Whoever attacked Jana took a big risk and we’ll be able to track and find him.”
“And how are you going to do that when you can’t see who entered her condo?”
“Just because we can’t see who’s in her condo doesn’t mean we haven’t tracked and videotaped whoever went into the building. Our technicians are analyzing those videos and we’ll have a narrow list of possible attackers.”
“That’s good because my patience is nearing its end and I want an arrest made.”
“But won’t you miss our nightly coffee dates?” she asked mischievously.
The way she said it made my stomach flip. Why was I so susceptible to beautiful women?
They say Fate is fickle but men can be capricious as Fortune herself and in the matter of desire, even more mercurial.
Maybe it was Sarah’s way of showing my obsession with Jana was more a deep longing to be in a real relationship and I was vulnerable to anyone who got close to me.
The explanation made sense but didn’t help me to cope with the loneliness―for that, I needed the warmth of someone’e touch to help me through cold nights and console me.
I pictured Jana doing that in dreams, but in reality, it was always Sarah.