“I’m the principal of your daughter’s school.”
“Where?”
“Black Mountain Academy,” I shouted, partly due to the loud music, but also because I wanted to jump through the phone and strangle the woman.
“Are you talking about Corrine?”
Who the hell else would I be talking about?
“Black Mountain Academy? When did she start going there?”
Was she drunk? High? Why was this conversation so fucking difficult?
“Ms. Parker, you would have had to sign papers for your daughter to attend the school. The tuition had to be paid. Uniform costs? Were you not aware that your daughter has been attending this school?”
“Corrine is free to do what she chooses. If she wants to go to Black Mountain School—”
“Academy,” I interrupted.
“Yeah, whatever. I’m fine with it. Is that why you’re calling? To ask my permission or something?”
“No. I was originally calling because your daughter has been missing a lot of school. So much so, that her chances of graduating have been put in jeopardy.”
“Sounds like Corrine,” she said. “I don’t know what you expect me to do about it. She’s an adult now. She can make her own choices.” She giggled again, and I could faintly hear another man speaking nearby. “I’m on the phone, but I’ll be there in a sec.”
“Ms. Parker—”
“I didn’t even know she was in Black Mountain. I haven’t seen or spoken to her for—” She giggled again. “Give me a second,” she whispered off the phone to someone else.
Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I continued, “There’s a much larger issue that has come up in all this. To make a long story short…” especially since I could hear people partying on the other end, and I figured Candy Parker was already losing interest in this phone call, “your daughter is in danger.”
“What?”
I wasn’t sure if she was asking the question because she couldn’t hear me, or because she didn’t believe me, or maybe because it seemed so unlikely.
“I said your daughter’s in danger.” My voice raised even more. “She has a stalker who’s been harassing her for quite some time.”
She remained silent for a few moments, and the music faded as if she’d moved to another area of the yacht. “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
“Drew Dawson.”
“Mr. Dawson, I don’t believe my daughter has a stalker, and she most definitely is not in danger.”
“Excuse me?” Her words were like a punch to the gut. What kind of mother would instantly doubt this? I expected some level of concern.
“There are things about my daughter you may not know about. Corrine is a compulsive liar among other things. This is just what she does.”
I clenched my jaw so tightly that I had to actually concentrate on relaxing it enough so I could speak. “She’s not making this up. I’ve seen it for myself.”
“Seen the stalker?”
“No, but I saw what the stalker was doing to her with my own eyes.”
“I know my daughter, and—”
“Ms. Parker, I wouldn’t be concerned and calling you if I had any doubt,” I cut in. “Your daughter’s in danger and needs more security. I don’t know where you are, but she really could use you right now.”
“Where is she now?” she asked flatly. “Is she still at our vacation house?”
It was time to jump off the cliff and hope my confession didn’t cause me to fall to my death. “She’s with me. We called the police, and they agreed she wasn’t safe at her house. Since she didn’t have anyone else to stay with, and since I was with her—”
“She’s staying with you?” She didn’t sound angry, but rather it sounded like more of a statement than a question.
I heard her release a deep sigh, but her response confused me. I had expected her to be alarmed, angry, even skeptical as to why a grown man my age would be concerning himself with someone of Corrine’s age. I had expected her to question my judgment, as well as my morals and professionalism. I even expected her to demand my head on a platter and want me fired.
I got none of that.
“It was a temporary solution until we could get hold of you. I didn’t anticipate it taking a couple of days.”
“Mr. Dawson, I’m not worried about my daughter.” There was a long pause. “I’m worried about you.”
Me?
“I don’t understand what—”
“This isn’t the first time Corrine has done this,” she interrupted.
“Done what?”
“This is a cry for attention.”
“Ms. Parker, with all due respect—”
“Has she told you she was committed for a time? In a mental hospital,” Candy blurted. “I’m sure it’s not mentioned in her records since we worked hard to keep those sealed, and I doubt she actually told anyone. But she was. About a year ago. Why do you think she is having to repeat her senior year?”
“Committed? For what?”
“For stalking, Mr. Dawson. She had a very unhealthy obsession. She was the stalker. Not the other way around.”