Teaching abnormal psychology was far easier than her job with the Kripo. The people she discussed in class were already safely captured or dead, their names and faces known.
If Dr. Hayden had contacted her a few months earlier, she would have unequivocally rejected his request for a meeting. But lately it felt as if she was starting to come out of her skin. Hiding from the real world, drowning in the guilt she felt every time she thought of what her sister had suffered, hadn’t done anything more than allow an evil man to remain free. While she couldn’t profile her stalker, perhaps she could help bring whatever man the American was looking for to justice. Maybe the distance—helping hunt a man who was half a world away—would be easier than trying to profile someone she knew was loose in her city.
“You researched Dr. Hayden,” Annalise said. “You said he is who he seems to be. Did something change?”
Jakob was a man of few words and even fewer expressions.
“Nothing is certain,” he said after a long pause.
Annalise’s lips twitched.
Right after Adele’s attack, Jakob had stayed with her twenty-four seven, sleeping on the couch in her secret, secured house’s living room. Eating every meal with her. And while she’d never admitted it aloud, she had been grateful for his presence and his diligence.
Because she’d been terrified.
As time dragged on and her stalker continued to elude arrest, Dolph had begun to pull Jakob away because he had other tasks that needed to be performed, and it appeared that the man pursuing her had lost interest. Then, when it seemed like it was over, another letter came. All it said was, “Don’t try to trick me again. It wasn’t right.”
She’d spent hours trying to decide if the “it” in the second sentence was her “tricking” him or the rape itself. That it hadn’t been right because it hadn’t been her he’d attacked.
The day after she got that letter, she turned in her notice at the Kripo.
For the past year and a half, Jakob escorted her anytime she left the university grounds. Annalise suspected that, officially, Jakob was no longer on bodyguard duty and was now acting of his own accord. He would certainly never admit as much to her.
Just as she was fairly sure he, personally, was screening her mail. She’d made special arrangements for the university’s mail-receiving office to set aside all her letters and packages for screening. Every package she received had been opened and resealed. And the letters she did receive were all safe, normal.
The letters hadn’t stopped, though there were far fewer. Jakob had confirmed that much. He assured her that copies of all new letters were added to the still-open, but cold, case files that both the Kripo and the Ritter maintained.
In the dark quiet of night, the guilt would gnaw at her. Guilt over taking Jakob’s free time. Guilt that so many people had to make adjustments and allowances for her because she hadn’t been smart enough to identify the stalker or strong enough to deal with any more letters.
She’d been thinking about asking Jakob for a copy of the file. To read those letters and see if maybe with more materials, there might be something she could see that no one else did. Maybe she’d ask him today.
Annalise glanced at her watch. “Dr. Hayden should be here any moment.”
Jakob nodded. “You intend to help him?”
“If I can,” she said. “It’s been some time since I’ve created a profile.”
A long pause. “If you’re uncomfortable, I will make him leave.”
“I’m not,” she interjected. “I’m…” Annalise took a deep breath, not sure what to say.
I’m ready. I’m tired of being scared. I’m done hiding.
All were true.
“Brilliant.” Jakob’s word was spoken so low, she almost didn’t hear it.
Annalise gave him a slight shrug and glanced away. “It’s been a long time, but I’d like to try to help.”
Before Jakob could reply, though the taciturn man might not have, there was a knock at the door.
She sprang out of her chair, silently cursing herself for being so jumpy. Jakob, bless him, pretended not to notice her obvious nervousness.
Jakob glanced at her, and Annalise walked to the wall the door was in, leaning against it. She’d been with Jakob long enough to know there was no way in hell he’d ever let her answer the door. He’d taught her to position herself so that anyone coming in the door wouldn’t be able to see her until they were fully in the room, but not so close to the door itself that she would be hit if the door were slammed open, or be in a position where it could be used to pin her in place.
In comparison, he planted himself squarely in front of the door, one hand resting on the short sword belted to his hip. He rarely wore the sword, which was a symbol of his office, but also very out of place in modern life. He must have come from another duty. Or perhaps he wanted to throw Dr. Hayden off.
Possibly both.
She braced her palms against the wall to steady herself as he opened the door.
Annalise heard a male voice with a distinct American accent say, “Uh, Hello. Guten Tag. I’m Dr. Walt Hayden. I’m looking for Dr. Annalise Fischer. Frau Doktor Fischer.”
She expected Jakob to step back and allow the American in, so she was surprised when he remained in the doorway.
That surprise morphed to alarm when Jakob stiffened, his fingers curling around the hilt of the sword. Something in the hall had alarmed or frightened Jakob.
Annalise barely suppressed a whimper of fear, and she shoved one hand into her slacks pocket, closing her fingers around her phone, ready to call for help.
“Surprise.” This was a second voice, the accent Scandinavian. Danish, at a guess.
There shouldn’t be a second man.
Was it her stalker?
Was he holding a gun on Jakob?
Before she could fully freak out, Jakob dropped his hand from his sword—and then said the last thing she’d ever expected.
“Hello, Fleet Admiral.”
“Fleet Admiral?” Curiosity was one of the few emotions that could override fear. It was what made humans so dumb. Curiosity didn’t just kill cats. It routinely killed people who liked to begin sentences with, “I’m sure it’s safe…” and, “Let’s just take a quick look…” Or the always dangerous, “I wonder what’s in there?” or, “What’s the worst that could happen?”
A blond giant shouldered his way into her small office. Jakob backed up to make space, backing toward her so that his body was between her and the giant.
Annalise had never met the new fleet admiral, but she’d heard him described, and most importantly, knew from Jakob that the fleet admiral was missing.
Except, apparently he wasn’t.
Because he was in her office.
A second also-large-though-not-giant man squeezed in and shut the door. He leaned against it and smiled at her, raising a hand. “Hi, I’m Walt.”
Annalise nodded her head in greeting. When in doubt, maintain social pleasantries. “Dr. Hayden. Welcome to Heidelberg. I trust you had a good flight to Frankfurt?”
Walt nodded. “We did. And I enjoyed the scenery as we drove here. Though this one should have his license revoked,” Walt said, jerking his thumb at the fleet admiral.