Unnatural Selection Collection by Ann Somerville

Author:Ann Somerville
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, science fiction, mm, gay romance
Publisher: Ann Somerville

Chapter 6 - Every Move You Make

Monday didn’t bring any more unwanted callers or deliveries, but that didn’t mean we had nothing to do. I urged Anton to get on with his work because he was behind, thanks to me. I had plenty to do on my own, chasing Harry about the people at Julie’s wake, talking to Phil about the weekend’s events, and arranging for the time off. Phil was all in favour of it, and said he would arrange to have Anton’s, mine and Charlotte’s post intercepted for the next two weeks. Which was as well, since Charlotte received an envelope full of pure ricin powder the very next day.

The superglued lock, as it happened, was unlikely to have been the stalker, as three other residents in Charlotte’s block had since also reported similar vandalism. There was no doubt the parcels were connected to him, though, and somewhere in the morass of calls and posted items we should have gained a clue as to who the stalker was. But we hadn’t—at least, nothing we could use to find and stop him. The contacts at the various businesses who’d been hoaxed all agreed the person was male, but that was all they agreed on. Accents and tone changed with every call, apparently, so our stalker was also some kind of mimic. They were all made from various locations in North London on a pre-paid mobile phone with no valid registration—essentially disposable and untraceable.

Phil agreed that the stalker knowing Anton’s private number was worrying, but not as worrying as the fact this person could apparently track me with ease and follow me without me noticing. That the stalker was happy to douse innocent people with ricin just to make a point meant I was a hazard to anyone I was with—with the possible exception of Anton—until he was caught. “Are you telling me I need to stay off duty until then?”

“No. But you’re off sick for at least another week, and I think you should stay away until you come back from Sweden. While you’re here, he’s working himself up into a frenzy. Someone could get badly hurt. Again,” he added.

“But if he’s not frothing at the mouth, he can’t make a mistake.”

“I think that’s a risk I’m prepared to take. With any luck, we’ll catch him before you go away.”

My atheist heart prayed to no one in particular that this would be the case, but my cynical cop brain told me that we should be so lucky. I didn’t have any faith that this would be resolved soon. Stalkers are notoriously difficult to stop—even jail won’t deter them. And this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill crazy either. This one was deadly and clever on top of their obsession. Clever psychopaths are the hardest criminals of all to catch.

With the post being held, and Anton letting all calls to the house phone go to answering machine for me to vet, likewise with calls to his mobile from people he didn’t know, his stress levels eased a bit.

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