Frozen Statues, Perdition Games by Fraser L.E

Author:Fraser, L.E.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: L.E. Fraser
Published: 2017-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Three Years Earlier

Sam

My client lives in Yorkville, an affluent neighbourhood in downtown Toronto and the mecca of high fashion in the city. A professor who is away on sabbatical owns the right half of her Victorian semi. The house to the left is empty and for sale. Without the interference of vigilant neighbours, life is easy for Lorna's stalker.

An ornate cast iron fence circles the front garden of her home and there is a detached garage at the back. Access to her design studio, parking pad, and miniature garden is via a private lane behind the row of houses. A second alley runs between her property and the vacant house next door. It's just wide enough for foot traffic. There were plenty of spots for my team to install discreet surveillance cameras last week.

The hidey-holes around her home are a voyeur's dream. Her stalker wears dark clothing and the requisite hoodie that peeping Toms favour, but he doesn't bother to skulk. He roamed the property boldly for three nights in a row last week. Footage depicted him sauntering at a casual pace through the dark alley to Lorna's workshop. The camera recorded him crouched under the window peering in for over an hour. When she turned out the studio lights, he jogged into the alley and lingered to watch her enter the house. After a few minutes, he strolled away.

He's left a few treats, including an oil reproduction of John William Waterhouse's Pre-Raphaelite painting "Pandora." That gift set him back a hefty amount so he has a decent paying job, which didn't escape my client's notice. An accompanying letter extolled Lorna's beauty, comparing her to the first human woman created by the Greek gods. The image of Pandora unleashing the evils of humanity doesn't bother her. Lorna hung the painting in her studio. A few days later, her stalker left an arrangement of white hydrangeas, double-flowered lilies, and red roses. My client thought they were lovely.

She couldn't identify the man on the recording but cooed over how attractive he is. Violent offenders don't sport horns and forked tails. Almost seventy percent of Canadian women experience physical or sexual violence from men they didn't recognize as monsters. Lorna's positive reaction to the attention irritates me. Lurking and spying are not romantic. Obsession can turn ugly fast.

I haven't told my client about my sister's abduction. It's a throwback from being a cop, when my life depended on focusing on the job and leaving personal issues at home. Since Joyce's last name differs from mine, Lorna hasn't connected the newspaper reports to me.

It has been two weeks since my sister vanished, and the teenager in the grocery store hasn't stepped forward. The media plea for information went national-along with the grainy image of the young woman chatting with Joyce. Friends and family have inundated social media with requests for information about the girl's whereabouts. It trended for over a week with no results.

This case with Lorna is my excuse not to spend long periods with Leo and my mother.

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