Besides, until we could confirm that Cary was her stalker—and even once we had—we needed to look at ways to make her life safer.
The day didn’t get off to quite the start we’d hoped, though. It took us longer to find a parking space than it would have to walk to Skin Canvas.
By the time we parked and headed inside, Ahanti had gnawed her bottom lip raw. I stayed quiet at her side. Driving had been my idea. I wouldn’t be there to go home with her, and I’d insisted that she shouldn’t be walking alone right now. Terrance could easily enough walk her out to her car, but it’d be asking a lot for him to walk her to and from work every day.
It’d seemed like a simple step she could take to protect herself, but I’d forgotten why she hadn’t already moved across town into Geoff’s apartment.
Walking to work had always been one of her joys, even in the winter and the heat stroke-inducing temperatures of summer.
I had to give her something else to focus on and give her a bit of hope. I hurried to keep up with her longer strides. “We could help tie Cary to that picture of Geoff if we could find someone who remembers seeing him here that day. Maybe you could make a list?”
Her lips relaxed back into a more normal shape. “I can check my appointment book for the customers.”
Ahanti pulled the door open and didn’t even pause at the fact that it was already unlocked. Even if she expected Terrance to have opened up and be inside, she should have checked more carefully anyway. It was something I’d need to talk about with her as well. But later.
Thankfully, this time, only Terrance stood at the back of the studio.
Ahanti flopped down in the chair next to Terrance’s empty work station. “Was Cary in here two weeks ago?”
Terrance turned around, his gloved hands full of equipment he’d been pulling from the autoclave. “What’d he do now, steal something from us? Wouldn’t surprise me if he had.” He set the container down and started sorting the items. “He’s always coming in here like he has some right to this studio because he trained us. He probably thinks he can take stuff to use without asking.”
Terrance, clearly, was still as bad about answering questions as he was about giving anyone else a chance to answer them.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” I whispered to Ahanti. “What day was it?”
Ahanti squirted a dollop of hand sanitizer into her palms and rubbed it over her hands as if she could protect herself from the whole situation as easily as she could germs. “Wednesday, Terrance. Did you see him in here two weeks ago yesterday?”
“Have we gone a whole week when he isn’t in here? I know he showed up some day that week, but I don’t remember which one it was.”
That was probably the closest we were going to get to a definitive answer from Terrance. Really, I couldn’t blame him for not remembering. If Cary were in here as often as it seemed, the days would blur together, especially with how many people came in and out of Skin Canvas on a daily basis. A client would be much more likely to remember who was also in and out during the time they were there.
I touched Ahanti’s shoulder to signal she should stay put. “I’ll grab you a paper and pen from the back so you can check the calendar for that day and write down who we need to contact. When’s your first client scheduled for?”
“Unless I’m early,” a soft voice said from behind me, “right now.”
I spun around.
The man standing in the doorway was one of Ahanti’s longtime clients. Since I’d seen him last, he’d shaved his head to strategically hide his receding hairline, but otherwise he looked exactly like I remembered. Same black t-shirt and blue jeans, as if he’d filled his closet with copies of the same clothes so that he never had to decide on what to wear. Same slight stoop to his shoulders as if he didn’t want to be noticed for his six-foot stature.
“Eddie!” I smiled for what felt like the first time that day. “Long time no see.”
He lumbered from the doorway into the studio, reminding me a bit of a bear in his movement. “Congratulations on your engagement.”
Every time I heard Eddie speak, it surprised me that such a big man with such a deep voice could also keep his tone so soft.
I held out my hand to show him the ring. “We’re planning a December wedding.”
He nodded. Along with his soft voice, Eddie’d also never been one for small talk, though I knew from his many visits that he enjoyed a good conversation if someone else took the time to draw him out and show interest.
Ahanti was already on her feet. “I’ll get your design from the back so we don’t make you late for work.”
I took the seat she’d vacated since it seemed strange to stand there staring up at Eddie. The last time I’d seen Eddie, almost a year ago now, he’d been in between jobs. “Sounds like I should congratulate you as well. Where are you working now?”
“My cousin started a security business. He wasn’t gonna hire me since he thought it’d be uncomfortable working with family, but Ahanti convinced some of her clients to go with his company and insist on using me. He had to hire me then.”
Terrance stuck his head around the corner. “Ed replaced the locks at my place.”
Ahanti came back carrying her sketchbook. “And put the alarm pad into mine.” Tension lines build around her mouth. “I’m glad to have it now.”
Eddie didn’t look at the sketchbook Ahanti opened on the table. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Cary, isn’t it?” Terrance’s voice carried from the back room. “That’s why you were asking about him coming in here.”
Ahanti tightened her long ponytail and bobbed her head. Terrance wouldn’t have been able to see her response. He probably wouldn’t have been paying attention for an answer anyway.
“We think Cary’s been…” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. We’re not even sure yet. But do you think you could come by and make sure my system’s working the way it should? I want to be sure he can’t get to me there.”
That was another thing we’d talked about her doing. If her stalker was Cary, then he knew where she lived. If he couldn’t get to her at work, a place he’d probably been using because it was the most convenient and easy access, he might try her home instead.
Eddie’s face showed zero emotion. On anyone else, I’d have thought he didn’t care, but Eddie never showed much emotion. I don’t think I’d ever even seen him smile. And unlike Erik back home, who always seemed to be laughing underneath, Eddie seemed sad all the way down.
“I gotta be at work in a half hour, though,” he said, “so I can’t take care of it today. I’ll give you a call.”
Ahanti thanked him, and he took the sketchbook from her. I got a peek at it as it went.
The design seemed to be for a full back, based on the size and the fact that I knew Eddie already had an elaborate tribal design that wove around one of his arms and across his chest, leaving him without enough room for this one there. Ahanti had been touching that one up shortly before I’d gone to Fair Haven for Uncle Stan’s funeral.
This one was of a wolf in a forest, howling at the moon. The moon wasn’t an ordinary white. It was an orange harvest moon, and the wolf’s eyes seemed to glow.
