“What’s your verdict?”

At her question, he sat on an upholstered side chair angled toward the couch. “I don’t like the pattern I’m seeing, but I haven’t a clue in terms of the motive for the harassment.”

“I meant about that.” She indicated the iced tea.

“Oh.” He took another swig. “Different, but good. I’d order it again.” He set the frosty bottle on the coffee table and pulled out his notebook. “Tell me what happened tonight.”

Her features stiffened, and once more tension thrummed through the air. “I got home about seven from an autopsy, changed clothes, and finished up the paperwork for the day. After I was done, I poked through the fridge and realized I didn’t have anything appealing for dinner. About eight thirty, I ran into town and picked up a pizza from the new restaurant.”

“How long were you gone?”

“Forty-five minutes. Tops.”

“A short window.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”

“It would suggest the person responsible for the delivery either hit it lucky or they were watching you, waiting for an opportunity to drop the doll without the risk of being seen.”

“You think someone could be stalking me?” She swallowed.

“I’m not ruling that out.”

“But why?” She massaged her forehead. “None of this makes any sense.”

“Unless you have an enemy out there.”

“I don’t.”

“Are you certain about that?”

“Yes.” She gave him a wary look. “Why?”

He took another drink of iced tea, composing his reply. “Two reasons.” He set the bottle back down. “If we were dealing with a single incident, it could be someone out for fun and games who has no personal agenda and targets you because you’re convenient. Three in a row, on the other hand, is a pattern. It’s not random. You have an enemy, whether you know it or not, and this person wants to scare you.”

“It’s working.” She sipped her tea, the tremble back in her fingers despite her obvious efforts to maintain a calm, rational tone. “But what could be the motive?”

“Spite. Hate. They want to send you running. Those are the first three that come to mind.”

She shook her head. “There’s no one in my life who would have those kinds of motives.”

“The evidence would indicate otherwise. And that brings me to the other reason I asked about enemies. You have an elaborate security system—and a Beretta. Most people around here don’t have either. Those are excessive safety measures for a rural county like this.”

Though he hadn’t phrased his comment as a question, it was clearly implied.

The tiny bit of color that had seeped back into her complexion evaporated, and she stood abruptly, tossing her reply over her shoulder as she scurried toward the hall. “Give me a minute for a quick detour to the ladies’ room.”

Then she disappeared.

A few moments later, a door clicked shut.

Nate picked up his tea, rotating the icy bottle in his fingers. He couldn’t force her to talk to him about her history or any traumas in her past, but if there was an incident that could have a bearing on the current situation, he needed to know about it. And in case she shut down after she returned, he’d have to pull out all the stops to convince her of that.