She gasped and took a step back. “What on earth?”
Instinctively, Alek took her hand in his. “I think he was spying on us.” His voice lowered, and when he spoke again, he seemed to be thinking out loud. “Why would someone want to watch us eat dinner?”
Evelyn’s heart raced. “I—I don’t know.” She dug out her phone and hit the “Emergency” button. She kept her eyes on the masked man until he disappeared from view, then she responded to the dispatcher’s questions.
“Evelyn Jameson, at the Kensington Estate. There was a man in a mask outside the window.” She strode to the front door, locked it, and hurried across the lobby.
Tammy looked up from a coffee table she was polishing and frowned. Evelyn covered the phone with her hand and whispered, “Lock every entrance—there’s a prowler outside.”
Tammy’s eyes widened, and she dropped her microfiber cloth. She gave a tight nod, spun around, and ran toward the rear entrance.
“We’re locking the doors now,” Evelyn said, speaking to the dispatcher. “Yes, I’ll stay on the line.”
Alek stepped into her line of sight and mouthed the words, “How can I help?”
Evelyn muted the phone again. “I need to check on the guests. Will you come with me?”
“Of course.”
Taking two steps at a time, Evelyn hurried up the north staircase. She turned a corner, entering a hallway with guest rooms on either side. She knocked and gave a brief explanation to everyone who answered. Then she jogged to the opposite wing and notified the remaining guests. No one appeared disturbed by the news; a few guests even seemed excited, but they all obeyed Evelyn’s orders and locked their doors.
Returning to the lobby, Evelyn spoke into the phone. “Yes, I’m here.” She paused. “Alright, I’ll unlock the front door.”
Blue and red lights strobed through the columns of windows hugging the door. Evelyn ended the call, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.
“Evening, ma’am,” a young man in a blue uniform said. “Someone at this address called about a suspicious person?”
“I did,” Evelyn said, pulling the door open wider. “Please, come in.”
The man stepped into the lobby, and another officer, a stocky woman in her mid-fifties, followed him inside.
The woman wrapped her arms around Evelyn and said, “Are you alright, dear?”
Evelyn nodded. “Thanks for coming, Paulette.” She held the embrace for a moment then stepped back. “As far as we know, the prowler didn’t hurt anyone. He was holding some sort of device against the dining room window, and when we noticed him, he ran away.”
“Have you searched the mansion?” Paulette asked. “He might have brought an accomplice.”
“No. Just the guest rooms.”
Paulette nodded. “Good. It’s better to wait for us than do it yourself.”
The younger officer drew his sidearm and nodded. “Mind if I take a look around?”
“Not at all.” The thought of another masked man hiding in the shadows sent a chill through Evelyn, and she braced herself against Alek’s solid chest. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder, and she took comfort in his quiet strength.
“I’ll go, too,” Paulette said. “Lord knows this place is full of hiding spots. Give us fifteen minutes, and if you need anything, just holler.”
Evelyn nodded and watched the officers begin their search. The rural communities outside of Lexington weren’t immune to criminal activity, and the Kensington Estate had been burglarized before, but this prowler was different. She wondered how long he had hidden by the window. And then there was the unblinking metal eye he held against the glass. Somehow, the man had sensed that he had been discovered, as if he could read their thoughts.
“You’re trembling,” Alek said. He led her toward a sofa. “Maybe you should sit down.”
She nodded in agreement and eased into the cushions on the 19th century rosewood sofa. “Alek… what do you think that thing was—the thing that man was holding up to the window?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t know what it was for sure, but part of it looked like a stethoscope. It might have been some sort of listening device.”
Her arms puckered with gooseflesh. “Why on earth would someone want to listen to us eat? Is that something perverts do?”
Alek chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t know. Do you want me to call Mark and ask him?”
Evelyn was still too shaken to laugh, but she smiled. “Maybe it was him outside. You should give him a call and try to catch him in the—” She stopped short, allowing the vapor of an idea to condense. Her brow furrowed, and she fumbled with her phone.
“What is it?”
“Hopefully nothing.” She brought up her contact list, unblocked Donny’s number, and dialed it.
He answered on the first ring. “Hey there. Does this mean we’re friends again?”
Evelyn didn’t reply. She closed her eyes and focused on his voice, listening for traces of guilt. He sounded like the same old Donny.
Finally, she said, “You’re still on probation. Where are you right now?”
“On my couch, watching Netflix. Why, do you wanna come over and chill—I mean, hang out?”
Evelyn clenched her jaw. “Goodbye, Donny.” She thumbed the “End” button then re-blocked his number.
Alek studied her face for a long moment. “Is your friend okay?”
Evelyn didn’t answer. Her mind was busy trying to justify her suspicions—was Donny capable of stalking her, or was she jumping to conclusions because of his behavior on Saturday?
“Hold on,” Alek said, raising an eyebrow, “You don’t think the man outside was Donny, do you?”
After hearing the theory out loud, Evelyn felt ridiculous. She shook her head. “No, not really. But he’s been acting weird lately, and I had to be sure.”
He gave her a look. “That’s a pretty serious accusation.”
“I know…” She sighed, and her shoulders sagged. “I’m not thinking straight, that’s all. This is not how I imagined tonight would go.”
Alek put an arm around her and squeezed. “Are you kidding? This is real-life dinner theater. It’s probably the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You have to say that because I’m sitting right here. Then when you get home you can open up your diary and write about the crazy woman who’s a creep-magnet.”
“Are you saying I’m creepy? And how did you know I kept a diary?”
Evelyn rested her face in her hands and started to laugh. There were tears in her eyes—the by-product of stress, frustration, and fear, but also thankfulness. Alek knew exactly what to say to cheer her up. With him around, she could be awkward, make mistakes, be her true self. Every embarrassment seemed to draw him closer rather than push him away. She sniffed and said, “You are the least creepy man in my life right now.” Leaning her head against his shoulder, she added, “And I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.” He shrugged. “I like hanging out with you. There’s less…pressure. I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not to impress you.” He thought for a moment. “Unless I’m misreading things, and I haven’t impressed you at all. You’re not going to write about what a loser I am in your diary, are you?”
“Oh, I’m impressed. My mind is blown by the fact that you’re still here, even after the grim reaper showed up at the window.”
“Are you kidding? My car is parked two blocks away. I wasn’t going out there with a ghostly pervert around.”
She smiled. “And I thought you were being brave, staying by my side.”