Malevolent by Jana DeLeon

alarm was a joke. Most home alarm systems were. Even commercial systems were lacking, which was good. After all, a man had to make a living, and working a regular job wouldn’t allow enough time for his hobbies.  
    He smiled. Every man needed a hobby.  
    He wondered about the woman who’d met Emma at the house. Mama would say she was just another whore, but he couldn’t manage his life with such a simplistic viewpoint. Even a whore could put a kink in his fun, and that just wouldn’t do. The fabric sample books implied interior decorator, but her casual jeans and tennis shoes didn’t convey that at all. Even stranger, the “decorator” had kept the card he’d left on the steps. Why would she do that?
    He supposed she could have seen Emma’s panic and offered to get rid of it for her, but he’d fully expected Emma to run to the police with what she thought was hard evidence. It wouldn’t be, of course. A card owned by Emma and found on her property was hardly a smoking gun. The cops still wouldn’t have anything to go on, and the last time he checked, they didn’t offer bodyguard services, anyway.
    He frowned, thinking about the decorator again.
    Something told him she needed a closer look. He had big plans for Emma, and no one was going to get in his way.

Chapter Seven

    Shaye pulled up to the curb just down the street from Andy’s Auto Repair and parked. The street was the usual mix of old buildings, some residential, some retail, some commercial. Shaye had never been interested in travel—too much change too fast. Too many unknowns, but she wondered how many cities offered the same sort of eclectic blend within a one-block radius, especially in areas with no high-rise buildings.
    She walked down the sidewalk toward the café that Emma had been walking to when the skater had accosted her. A couple of teens were standing on the corner, so she headed toward them. They stopped talking as she approached and gave her a once-over.  
    “Hi, guys,” she said. “I’m looking for a skater who lives in the area. Dirty blond hair in a ponytail. Maybe fifteen.”
    One of the teens narrowed his eyes at her. “You a cop?”
    “Do I look like a cop?”
    “No, but that don’t mean nothing. Why you looking for this skater dude?”
    Shaye pulled out her license and showed it to the boys. “I think he saw the man who’s stalking the lady who hired me.”
    “No shit!” The second teen shook his head. “That’s fucked up. If some dude was stalking my moms, I’d cut him.”
    “Is that what you’re going to do?” the first teen asked. “You gonna cut him?”
    “Unless he presents a threat, that would be illegal,” Shaye said.
    “But he’s stalking some lady, right?” the second teen said. “So if you find the dude, then he might try to attack you. Could you cut him then?”
    “I’d probably just shoot him,” Shaye said, assuming the blunt truth would work best with these two.
    The two boys looked at each other and nodded.
    “Badass,” the first one said.  
    “I think I’ve seen the dude you’re looking for,” the second one said. “He hasn’t been around too long. I seen him before at the docks. That’s where the skaters do their thing.”
    “Thanks,” Shaye said. “I appreciate it.”
    “No problem,” the first one said.
    “I hope you get him,” the second teen said. “The stalker, I mean.”
    “So do I,” Shaye said, then headed back to her car. The docks were only a couple of blocks away. With any luck, the skater would be doing “his thing.”
    It took only a couple of minutes to drive to the dock, and Shaye’s spirits lifted a bit when she saw several skaters using the concrete forms as their own personal obstacle course. She parked and headed for the docks, easily spotting the long blond ponytail as she walked. When she got close to the docks, she stood and watched until the boy looked her way, then she motioned to him.  
    He stopped skating and stared at her for several