I said, “Yes, I helped Max out at one time. What can I do for you?”
Her hands fidgeted on top of the table as she said. “I have a stalker.”
That immediately got my attention. I had worked my share of cases involving stalkers and was determined to help this woman if possible. I leaned forward and said, “Tell me more.”
Erin went on to tell me that the man stalking her was an ex-boyfriend named Jack Howard from back home in Sommillin, Wisconsin. They had started dating in high school and continued through two years at the local community college. Erin had then decided she wanted to become an actress, so she broke off the relationship with Jack before coming out to LA six years ago. However, Jack eventually concluded that she hadn’t really meant it, so he came out to LA to convince her that she had made a mistake and to return to Wisconsin with him.
After over five years, she was surprised he had shown up in LA to look for her. That was six months ago, and she had told him then that there was no way she was going back to Wisconsin with him. However, he refused to accept that she didn’t want to go with her and hung around, constantly following her everywhere she went. At first, she only caught glimpses of him in the distance, wherever she went. Lately, however, he’d been more overt while trailing her until he started hanging out at the gated apartment complex where she lived and had tried to get in several times. The final straw was that he had managed to get into the building she lived in last week, but fortunately, she hadn’t been home when it happened.
Hearing Erin tell me how he has been escalating his stalking worried me. This could end badly for Erin if something wasn’t done and done soon. I asked questions, and Erin gamely answered all of them. Finally, when I had enough information to get started on her case, I said, “I’m going to accept your case. However, I will need you to do what I say, when I say it, to keep you safe until I can get Jack taken care of.”
Erin looked relieved and said, “Thanks, Ray. What do I owe you?”
She had been digging into her purse, probably to pull out some money, when I smiled and said, “A favor.”
Erin stopped digging, looked confused, and repeated, “A favor?”
“Yes, a favor. I do this favor for you, and you owe me a favor that I will collect later on.”
“You don’t want money?”
“I don’t need your money. Dealing with money means I can be bought and paid for and makes the whole transaction impersonal — you give me money, I do the job, and you just walk away. That’s not who I am. Dealing in favors makes it more personal, and you are more personally involved in the outcome since you will need to do something for me at some future date.”
I could see Erin was thinking hard about the strange offer I had made. I was surprised that Max hadn’t told her how she would have to pay for my services. Finally, she asked, “Okay. What kind of favor?”
“I don’t know. It’ll be a favor where you can do something I can’t do for myself.”
“Will it be dangerous, or …,” Erin paused before adding, “… illegal?”
“Probably not dangerous, and definitely not illegal, but you must make that decision for yourself when the time comes.”
“What happens if I decide not to do it?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. If you don’t do a favor for me after I’ve done this favor for you, then I just walk away.”
Erin paused, a thoughtful look on her face, before she said, “I couldn’t live with myself if I did that.”
I smiled, stuck out my hand, and said, “I know. Do we have a deal, then?”
Erin took my hand, and we shook on it. “Deal,” she said.
With that, I asked Erin if she wanted a beer. When she said yes, I went up to the bar and ordered Dos Equis for both of us. Again, I admired the bartender’s ass when she went off to get my beers, momentarily thinking about Steph and how I had loved watching her ass. I immediately tamped down that thought, thinking, “No regrets,” before the bartender returned with my beers. I gave her a twenty and told her to keep the change, getting a big smile from her in return.
When I returned to my booth, I gave one of the beers to Erin, and we tapped the necks together before taking a pull. I noticed Erin was a little on edge, so I asked, “What’s on your mind, Erin?”
“How soon can you start?”
“Right now. Why?”
“Jack may have followed me here.”
“Wait here. I’ll check.” I put my beer down, got up, and headed for the exit. I casually exited, glancing around swiftly before I spotted someone matching Jack’s description. I began strolling in his direction, not looking at him until I was nearly on top of him. I stopped, looked at him as though surprised to see him, and asked, “Jack! Is that you?”
His reaction told me he was who I thought he was. Before he could react further, I rushed him, put him in an arm lock, and bent him over the hood of the car he was standing next to.
“What the hell? What do you think you’re doing,” Jack sputtered as he attempted to straighten up.
I leaned in, pressing him firmly down, and said pleasantly, “Erin doesn’t want anything to do with you, Jack. I suggest you go back home before something bad happens to you.”
Jack struggled against my hold on him, but I had been well-trained and knew how to restrain well-trained soldiers twice as big as me. I noticed that he didn’t swear or use vulgarities, so I didn’t use the painful methods to restrain him that I could have used. I waited until he stopped struggling before saying, “I’m going to let you up now, and I want you to get in your car and leave. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I will be watching you, Jack, and if I see you around Erin again, I may have to be a little rougher with you. I’d prefer not to, but that’s totally up to you.” I released my hold on him and stepped back, prepared for him to try to attack me. Instead, he just slowly straightened up, carefully flexing his elbow and shoulder. Without saying anything, he walked away from me, heading west. I watched until he got in a beat-up Chevy pickup truck and drove off. I noted that the pickup had Wisconsin plates on it.
As I stood there, I considered how mild-mannered Jack seemed to be. The problem was that most stalkers came across that way, fooling you into relaxing around them until they showed their true colors. I was sure that in their own minds, they were caring and well-meaning, but they were willing to go to any extreme to get their way.
I headed back into the restaurant and met Erin coming out. She asked, “Is he gone?”
“For now,” I answered, “but I don’t think he’s ready to give up just yet. Did you drive?”
“No, I took a taxi, so I wouldn’t be alone if Jack tried anything.”
“Good thinking. Right now, I will take you home, and you will pack for a week’s stay. Then I will take you to a friend of mine to stay with until I figure out what to do about Jack. Can you do that?”
“Yes, but I’ll need to call some friends to let them know I won’t be available.”
“Can you do that without telling them where you are going to be and why?”
“I should be able to. I just have to cancel lunch dates with friends. I’ll also need to call Max and let him know I won’t be available for a while.”