My bet is on her winning the whole thing.”
TJ shook his head. “In order for that to happen, she would need full-time bodyguards on the circuit with her. Her parents can afford it. I’ll call them now and ask them to bring her back to headquarters so you can talk to her. When you’ve got a feel for what you’re dealing with, let me know how you want to handle this case.”
“TJ? Send her in to me first. Then I’ll talk to her folks.” Parents had their own ideas about what should be done. It simplified things to talk to the victim without anyone else in the room. “I’ll let you know when I want them to join us.”
His boss nodded in understanding.
“Until they arrive I’ll dig up some more background information on her. I’d better get to it.” Cy got to his feet and headed for his own office. He’d start with the personal information listed on her website and go from there. Uncanny how he’d already planned to look at her site when he got the chance, just to learn more about her.
“Let’s see what turns up on you, Ms. Parrish.”
He typed it in and sat back. Seconds later, there she was astride her palomino, lying low over her horse as it was racing straight down the alley. Pure poetry.
Kellie Parrish
Born: Austin, Texas, on February 14, 1990
Residence: Austin, Texas
Dad: Bronco Parrish—3-time NFR Bull Rider Champion
Mom: Nadine Parrish—Barrel Racer Finals 4 times
Horses: Smokey, Walnut, Miss Pandora, Crackers, Farley, Starburst, Trixie
Joined Pro Rodeo at age 11
Total Earnings: $2,103,775
Wrangler NFR Qualification: 10
College National Finals Qualification: 2
National High School Rodeo Finals Qualifications: 4
Pro Wrangler Finals winner, Oklahoma City, OK: 3
Women’s Pro Rodeo Association member
Cy read her blog, keeping track of the dates of the entries for July and August. She’d archived her previous blogs. Her ardent fans wanted to know all about her. How come she wasn’t married yet? Did she have a boyfriend?
She’d answered that she preferred to keep her private life private, but she was friendly and encouraging to those trying to become barrel racers themselves. She urged them to click to her online clinic for pointers. That woman was so busy, Cy didn’t know how she had time to breathe.
She’d put her rodeo schedule for the season on a separate page. There were links to the WPR Association and all the social media accounts. In other words, her life was pretty well an open book and prime fodder for the degenerate who’d targeted her. Talk about a sitting duck! A gorgeous one.
His eyes went back to her personal stats. The questions some of the commentors asked about her personal life had grabbed his attention. Some of them might have been sent by the stalker. An idea on how to handle this case had started to form in his mind. He reached for the phone to arrange for their department’s sketch artist to be on hand when she came in. They needed a picture to run through the criminal database, which could access the files from every state in the union to come up with a match.
There was no telling how long the creep had been stalking other women or when his sick fantasy about Ms. Parrish had started. She’d been traveling the circuit for a number of years. He could have seen her anywhere at any time. But he’d approached her for the first time in Oregon only four weeks ago. Cy would start there.
In case this man was a serial stalker or worse, he wanted a list of every known stalking incident in the Pendleton area in the past year. While he waited for the Parrish family to arrive at headquarters, he put through a call to the Pendleton police department. He asked them to fax him the names of stalking victims and their descriptions of the men menacing them, whether their cases had been solved or were still open. One of those descriptions might match up with the man Kellie Parrish had described.
Restless, Cy went to the cubbyhole down the hall they called a lunchroom and poured himself a cup of coffee while he waited. He had dozens of questions to ask. Vic walked in on him. Their eyes met.
“Guess who’s in the boss’s office.”
His pulse raced for no good reason. She’s here. Kellie Parrish had made an impact on all the guys. “I already know. A stalker’s after her.”
His friend’s black brows shot up. “You got the case?” Cy smiled. “How come that never happens to me?” Vic poured himself some coffee. “If you need help...”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know.” Cy took his mug back to his office.
Before long, TJ appeared at the door with her. She was probably five foot seven without her cowboy boots. “I believe you two have already met. Ms. Parrish? Meet one of our agents, Cyril Vance.”
Cy got to his feet and shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Ms. Parrish, even if it is under harrowing circumstances.”
Fear had darkened the blue of her eyes. “I hope you forgive me for bumping into one of the Sons of the Forty. I’m the one who’s honored.” TJ had disappeared.
“Please sit down.”
“Thank you.” She’d dressed in jeans and a creamy-colored Western shirt. Beneath the overhead light, her neck-length wavy hair had that silvery-gold metallic sheen he found stunning. So were her face and the rest of her curvaceous figure. Absolutely stunning.
“Can I get you coffee or a soft drink?”
“Neither, thanks.”
“I’m going to record our conversation if that’s all right with you.”
“Of course.”
“I have the notes taken by the police. It says here this stalker last contacted you by phoning in the middle of the night.”
“Yes. That was Friday,” she said, tight-lipped. “I don’t know how he knew my cell number.”
“How many people have you given it to?”
“My parents, closest friends, my cousin Heidi and of course my horse handler, Cody.”
“Tell me about him.”
“He’s been my closest horse friend since middle school. We’ve both had our dreams. I was going to win the PRO Finals Rodeo this year and teach barrel racing. He was going to help me and then run a stud farm. Cody is engaged and plans to get married after Finals.”
He nodded. “When you fill out forms of any kind, do you list it as your contact number?”
“No. It’s not written anywhere. I always give out my parents’ number. No...wait. I did give my cell phone number to a friend, Olivia Brown, who works at the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
