Chosen by a Killer by Laurie Nave (read e book txt) 📗

inside the prison, he had technically been 500 feet away from her, as the RO advised. The police would do nothing. Again.

They had advised her to keep all correspondence, so Celia placed the note in her purse, though she didn’t see how it would help. It was just one more impassioned plea from Bart asking her to call him or meet him. Looking around, she wondered if he was watching. How did he even get into the lot, and how did he know she would be there? She hadn’t even told him about the interviews. There was no way he could know she was interviewing Natasha, could he? The only person who knew outside the prison was John, and he had no idea she had been dating Bart. He didn’t even know Bart as far as Celia knew.

A notification went off on Celia’s phone, and she checked it. It was reminding her of a 3:00 appointment. It hit her as she swiped to dismiss. The calendar app. She had it on her laptop, and it synced to her phone. Bart had been in her home. Had he hacked her laptop somehow? Celia was careful to have security in place and anti-virus and anti-malware protection. She’d even been known to use a VPN. But not always. She immediately locked the doors of her car and called Keith. She knew it would go to voicemail, but she needed his help. He knew how to check to see if her technology had been compromised.

Keith called her back less than ten minutes later. “Celia, what’s up?”

“I hate to be a pest, but I may have a problem.”

“What’s going on?”

“When I left the prison, there was a note on my windshield. It was from Bart.”

“What the hell? How did he even know you were here?”

“I wasn’t sure until I got a notification from my calendar app. He was in my house at least once. I think he might have tried to hack me. I have no idea if he did or how far he got.”

“I’ll be over right after work. I get off at 7:00. Or I can try to have someone cover –“

“No, no don’t do that. I’m not going to panic. But if you could come by and check, that would be great. I’m sorry you keep getting sucked in.”

“Don’t even worry about that. I’m glad to help.” Keith laughed. “Besides, Natasha might murder me if I don’t make sure you’re safe.”

“I highly doubt that,” Celia chuckled.

“I mean it. She’s been fascinated with you for years. I wasn’t a bit surprised when she wanted you to be the one who interviewed her.”

Celia wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she ignored it. “Well, I really appreciate this. I’ll be home before 7:00, so I’ll be there before you arrive.”

“See you then. Watch your back in the meantime. I mean it.”

“I will, thanks.” Celia ended the call and looked in her rearview mirror. No one was following her, and she felt a little sheepish. Bart hadn’t actually confronted her. He’d left a note on her empty car when she wasn’t around. He wasn’t violating the order, just skirting its limits. Still, Celia would feel better once Keith had given her computer and phone a once-over.

At 7:15, Keith knocked at her door. She let him in and showed him where to find her laptop. Before he took a look, he checked her router, the wall behind her desk for anything that didn’t belong, like Ethernet or a fiber optic cable. He explained that worst-case scenario, he might even be streaming from her webcam. Celia had to sit down when she heard that. The idea of Bart watching her made her instinctively cover herself.

“You’re okay,” Keith finally said. “He hasn’t wired into your place. That’s a good thing. Let me check your laptop and phone. I promise not to look at anything weird.”

Celia laughed. “Weird? What do you think I do online?”

“I don’t know, maybe nothing,” He grinned. “Maybe your write steamy crap novels under a pen name. I don’t judge.”

Celia punched him and then went to the kitchen to make them both a drink. She played on her phone while he went over her laptop and tablet, and then she handed him her phone. He was engrossed in his search, so she decided to watch a little TV.

“So, you should be okay now.”

“Now?” Celia asked. “You mean I wasn’t?”

“It could have been worse. He didn’t get full access. But He did manage to get to your appointments and a few other things. No email or other access though. I plugged the holes and upgraded your security.”

The idea that Bart had been able to invade any of Celia’s privacy made her angry. Keith seemed relieved it wasn’t worse, but all Celia could imagine was Bart’s head on a stake. “That bastard.”

“That’s an understatement. I printed out the documentation, and I’ll be glad to make a report personally. This is absolutely a violation of the order. Not to mention a few other things. If it were me, I’d push this. They need to pick him up and put the fear in him.”

“Oh, I’ll be reporting it for sure. I’m tired of this. What’s his problem anyway? It’s not like I'm the only woman in the city.”

“Well, you are a cut above most,” Keith smiled. “But guys like him, they get fixated. They’re narcissistic and unstable, and they convince themselves it’s a relationship and that you are just playing coy.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “But it won’t be pretty when he finally realizes your rejection is real. You need to be careful.”

“How do you know so much about this?”

Keith turned and sat on the sofa. He put his elbows on his knees and sighed. “I was the one who found my sister after her ex broke her jaw.”

“Oh my god!” Celia sat beside him. “That’s awful!”

“Yeah, it was about 7 years ago. He was always a jerk, but when she broke up with him,