CHAPTER THREE
SAME DAY
EVENING
NIP ANCHOR DESK
MANHATTAN
“I HAVE EXCITING NEWS FOR YOU,” Camellia announced at the end of the program that night. “Two days from now I’ll be headed for Siberia with Senator Trotford and some scientists who are studying thawing permafrost. It should be a fascinating trip. You won’t see me again until I get back in a few days. Howard Bentley will cover for me while I’m away. So good night friends. Back in a couple of days. Count on it.”
As she got her things together to leave, her cell phone rang. “Don’t go!” It was a familiar male voice, deep and husky. “We’re soulmates. You can’t change that. I know where you live, and I can get to you. I want to strip that skinny skirt off your body and…”
Camellia threw her phone at the wall so hard that it cracked into pieces. Not another crank call from this guy she thought. He had already called twice before with sexually explicit comments. She reported it to the police but they told her he was using a different disposable cell phone each time, so there was nothing they could do. She’d had other stalkers, but this one was by far the creepiest. How did he find my unlisted phone number, she wondered?
She retrieved the phone and tried to put it back together but was too upset to deal with it. Too impatient too. Heck. It’s the second one I’ve replaced in the past month, she thought. When she left the building, she was shivering despite the unbearable heat. Can he really know where I live?