Jacqueline Diamond - The Baby's Bodyguard

“Who?” As she spoke, Casey noticed that the woman in the scarf was frowning in her direction. Good heavens, it was Sandra, her old friend, but much gaunter than the last time they’d met. She wore dark glasses, which seemed like an affectation even if she had been living in California, and had some kind of mark on her cheek. “What happened to her?”

“I heard she was in a car crash high on drugs,” Angie said. “Rumor has it she’s on probation.”

Her older sister made a face. “If you heard all that, how come you didn’t tell me? We could have told Casey last night.”

“I heard it this morning. I think she just got back to town yesterday.”

The young women stopped chattering as Jack approached. After greeting them briefly, he asked Casey, “Who’s that man?”

She followed his gaze. “Al Rawlins.” She explained about her connection to his daughter Sandra. “Why do you ask?” ago.

“From the way he glared at you, I got the impression you’re not one of his favorite people.”

“I know. He blames me for Sandra’s problems.” Casey had familiarized him with her friend’s situation long

“Is something wrong?” Mimi asked. “The way Jack inspected the crowd, I figured we must have at least an FBI’s Most Wanted hanging around.”

“Somebody bashed his car last night,” Casey explained. “We’re trying to figure out who might have had a motive.”

“That stinks,” Mimi said. “It’s not much of a welcome, is it? Well, I’d like to stay but I’d better go teach that class.”

Casey thanked her again. Bonnie and Angie excused themselves also.

As soon as they were gone, Jack queried Casey about some of the other attendees. She identified Royce and Larry Malloy, the rookie cop who’d investigated Friday night’s assault.

“I don’t think either of them is the possessive type, and I’ve certainly given them no reason to be,” she added.

“Men who fixate on women aren’t necessarily connected to reality,” he told her. “They invent scenarios in which the woman plays hard to get but secretly loves them. They can be very difficult to dissuade.”

“What does it take to convince them she’s serious?”

“Getting a restraining order or marrying someone else usually does the trick. Unfortunately, it may also flip the guy off the deep end. That’s when stalkers become most dangerous.”

As he spoke, Jack made notes on a small pad. Compiling a list of suspects, Casey supposed.

It troubled her to view old acquaintances as potential predators. Many of them were folks she wouldn’t hesitate to call on if she needed help. Yet someone had knocked her down with a hose and scraped Jack’s car.

“You said body language might give him away,” she recalled. “What kind of behavior are you looking for?”

“People avoiding my gaze,” he replied promptly. “Inappropriate or contradictory actions that indicate the person’s putting on a pretense of normalcy. Restlessness, such as an adult who can’t stop wiggling.”

“I figure an adult who can’t stop wiggling during a church service probably needs to use the bathroom.” Casey had to admit that, as a pregnant woman, she had a rather biased perspective in that regard.

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