“I don’t know where to begin. But even before last night, everything’s been wrong. All the flowers,” she said, her voice rising and the tension mounting as she thought of all she’d been through over the past few days. “That’s not normal. I mean, I don’t even know who sent over ninety-five percent of them. And the phone calls, the visits from total strangers. Men accosting me in the street. Does that sound okay?”
“Hell no, it isn’t okay. Nobody bothers my niece.” Uncle Yank straightened his shoulders, but he must have stiffened and squeezed the dog too tight, because she barked and Lola grabbed her out of his arms.
“Well, it’s your fault!” Sophie shouted, unable to control her frustration. “You did that damn interview. You plastered my picture on the news, advertising me as single and desperate.”
“Now, Sophie, Yank never said you were desperate.” Lola’s voice trailed off. “Never mind.” She waved her hand, dismissing her words. She obviously realized the futility in defending her incorrigible husband.
“Your uncle only wants what’s best for you, even if he does have a unique way of expressing himself,” Spencer said.
Uncle Yank bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I love you. Spencer’s right. I only wanted what was best for you.”
“That’s why you look familiar,” the first officer said to Sophie, snapping his fingers as things became clear. “I saw you on Dateline.”
“Lucky me. One of the major networks picked up on the story and all the desperate men of the world decided I was their patsy.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.
She already had a headache and now she added fear to her problems. She was truly afraid of what this nutcase would do next, not that she’d tell her uncle as much and worry him more.
She reached out a hand and grabbed his forearm. “Look, I love you. I just want you to let me live my life in peace, the way I prefer it.”
He nodded. Sophie knew he understood and agreed—until this crisis passed and he picked up on his next bright idea.
“We’re going to need a list of everyone who sent you flowers. If you have the cards, we’ll take those. If not, just what you remember, including names and florists. We can run leads from there.”
“Okay. I can give you the cards as soon as you let me inside.” She’d make sure she handed over one man’s in particular, Sophie thought, recalling Steve Harris’s behavior last night. But she didn’t want to discuss that in front of her uncle. “The cards are in my desk,” she explained to the officer.
“She’s anal,” her uncle said proudly.
Sophie sighed.
“When you’re ready you can come down to the precinct and give a full statement. For now is there anything else you can think of? Anyone in the office you fired, anyone who might be suspect?”
Suspect? “None of our employees would do something like this.”
“She’s right,” her uncle said.
Nobody mentioned their competition in the industry, but Sophie couldn’t help wondering if Cambias had anything to do with the break-in. She still questioned his motives for dating Cindy, and immediately felt guilty for her thoughts.
Sophie couldn’t bring herself to mention her friend’s boyfriend to the police without talking to Cindy first. After all, what did she have to go on other than instinct and dislike?
“We did have that computer glitch,” Lola said. “And we never did track down the source of the so-called virus. Our tech guys are suspicious, but whoever hacked in was so good, they can’t prove a thing.”
The cop continued to take notes.
Lola’s words took Sophie by surprise. She hadn’t even considered that the computer issue could be related to this break-in.
“Miss Jordan, you never did tell me what happened last night,” the policeman said, reminding her.
Needing a minute to compose herself, she shut her eyes. Riley’s face appeared in front of her, full-blown, providing comfort, reminding her he’d cared for her after she’d been accosted outside the bar.
Envisioning Riley gave her the strength to tell her story. “I went to Quarters with some friends last night,” she began.
“You went where?” Uncle Yank yelled. “What was my niece doing in that pickup joint?”
Lola groaned. “He’s leaving,” she promised Sophie and the police. “We’ll wait over here.” She prodded him over to the window ledge where Sophie had sat earlier.
Sophie just wanted the inquisition over. She folded her arms over her chest. “A guy sent over a bottle of wine. I turned him down and then he sent a bottle of champagne. I realized then that he’d also sent flowers and chocolates from my favorite store.” She drew a deep breath before continuing. “I sent the champagne back, too. But when I left to hail a cab, he was waiting for me outside.” She shivered at the memory.
What would have happened if Riley hadn’t shown up to scare him away? Sophie had no doubt she could handle herself, but whether or not she could best a determined man much taller and heavier than her, well…