"Sam, open the door," she heard a familiar voice, seemingly decreased by the door.

Molly reacted faster and opened the entrance. Samantha stood between the entrance and the living room.

Raymond came to her immediately, hugging her tightly, and kissed her neck. That strange man casually followed him into the flat. Molly cleared her throat in a loud creak, forcing Ray and Sam to separate from the embrace.

"Hello, again, Samantha," the man said in a stern voice. "We all should talk." He studied each person standing in the room, Sam nodded her head at his suggestion.

The four of them traveled to the living room. Soon they picked spots to sit down, Ray and Sam on the couch, Paul in the armchair, and Molly on the sofa backrest near Raymond and Samantha.

"I'm private detective Paul Murphy," the man said, pausing for a moment. "Mister Lawrence explained your situation, and I'm here to help you, Miss Morris." He leaned back in the chair with his fingers intertwined on his stomach.

"I'm M—"

The detective cut off Molly, lifting his palm in the front of his chest. He took out a red notepad from his pants pocket.

"Yes, Miss Molly Fleming, best friend, father lost family funds, living with an actor Mason Hale. Work—"

"Got it, you know everything about us. Right?" Molly interrupted, her tone seemed snarky.

"That's my job. First, I established all your relationships with Miss Morris to have a better idea of how I can help." Paul held a soothing voice and a calm demeanor.

"Sam, call me Sam," she said, smiling at him. "Do you have any ideas about this situation?" She rubbed her hands on her thighs.

"Yes, a few. I'm taking your case. Since yesterday, I've been officially working for you," Pauls said. Samantha gasped in surprise, glancing at Ray.

"I meant to tell you that." Raymond smiled and put his hand on hers.

"I will try to make this first meeting short," Paul finished his initial thought. "First, I suggest cutting off all physical contact with Mister Shaw." Sam glanced at Ray. "But unfortunately, the situation requires you to have minimum contact with him, so he won't have suspicions about your knowledge, and about your findings." Ray shook his head to the side.

"How long do you think that will take?" Samantha asked. The detective furrowed his forehead, making him look older. "For him not to get suspicious?" Sam didn't let him answer. "We meet at least twice a week, usually, and it would be hard to make logical reasons not to see him." Sam stared at Pau desperately, craving to know more.

"Mister Lawrence and I found an excellent excuse for how to do that," Paul said and glanced at Ray. Detective slightly nodded, permitting Raymond to share what they planned.

"You have been thinking about traveling," Raymond said, peering at her. "As I mentioned, I'm going on tour, so you could come with me." Molly laughed intensely, hearing Ray's plan.

"You are joking, right?" Sam asked in surprise. She glanced at Molly. Molly tried to abstain from her laugh.

"No, I'm not." Ray seemed offended. He looked down at their intertwined fingers and rubbed her hand with his thumb.

"I think we will discuss this in private," Sam said and raised her eyebrow. Go on tour with him, we didn't even go on the first date. "Do you have any other advice?" She applied to the Detective.

"Yes. This is your new phone," Paul said and gave Sam a white box with a phone photo on top of the box. Sam timidly took it. "I have a reason to believe your phone is not safe to use," Paul talked slowly, to make sure they remember everything he's been saying.

"So I can't use my phone at all?" Sam asked.

"You will use both phones. The new one is for contacting me, and if you are talking with someone about Scott and these circumstances." He motioned to other people in the room. "Also, use this phone." He pointed his finger into the white box. "For any other uses, use your old phone, so Scott won't have reason to suspect anything." The detective finished his argumentation.

"Do you think he can see what Sam is doing on her phone?" Molly asked, placing her hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Yes. Do you have questions, or should I continue?" Paul asked.

"Did you find out why Scott is spying on me?" Samantha urged.

"I was just about to tell you everything I have on mister Shaw so far," Paul said and opened his notebook again, looking for the right page. The sound of page-flipping echoed in the otherwise silent space.

"I'm convinced that his motives are an obsession and passion for you, miss," Paul said and peered directly into Sam's eyes. "Although your finances are impressive." He raised his eyebrows. "From the information I have, that is not his motive." Paul shook his head to the sides.

"Can you specify the information you have about him?" Molly got impatient. She twitched her leg, forcing the couch to shake.

"Research that we have done revealed this is not the first time Scott got obsessed with a girl." Paul glanced at Molly, his eyes seemed tired. A few wrinkles appeared under them. "I talked to the girl from Chicago. She is Scott's ex-girlfriend." They all stayed silent, letting Paul tell more.

"Scott stalked a girl from his school until she gave in and went on a date with him. Her name is Naomi. She said that Scott's obsession with her was exciting and romantic. After they slept together, he lost interest in her, and after two months, he moved to Los Angeles, and I believe that was when he met you, Miss Morris."

After hearing that story, Sam felt dizzy. She leaned closer to Raymond, and he hugged her shoulders. The Detective noticed changes in Sam's demeanor. He lifted his eyes from the notepad and looked at her.

"Should I continue?" Paul asked, Sam, nodded, permitting him to talk. "Mister Shaw got a new job recently. He's now working remotely from home, which is why you should consider moving or traveling as we suggested." Paul scratched his stubbled chin. "Our primary goal at the moment is to obtain the restraining order against Scott, but at the moment we don't have enough proof for that."

The Detective closed the notebook and continued to talk. "I should tell you, I have limited experience with stalkers. This is not my first case, as you know, but I work more on other types of cases. At the moment, I am living in an apartment across the hall for your safety and convenience."

They didn't have questions for Paul, and it seemed already hard to digest the information he told them. Paul did a sweep of the apartment, making sure there were no cameras or any other devices in the house. After discussing payments and the next steps of the investigation, Paul departed from the apartment, leaving Sam's wine opener behind.

Molly departed soon after the detective left the house. Since she had a hairdresser's appointment. After that, she had her shift at the coffee shop. So in the house has been just Raymond and Sam. They ordered a pizza and watched Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The conversation with Paul exhausted Sam. And she wanted to turn off her brain, so the movie seemed like a welcomed distraction for her.

"Can we talk now?" Ray proposed as the last scenes of the movie unfolded.

"About?" Sam raised her eyebrow.

She rested on her back, he squatted at the end of her feet. Ray smiled, opening her legs, moving closer, and laying down on his abdomen. He placed his head on her stomach and gazed at Sam as his sharp chin slightly pressured her belly. His feet hung at the end of the couch.

"You know I planned to pay Paul since it was my idea to hire him in the first place."

"I don't need any financial help as you now know," Sam slightly shook her head.

"That is fair, then let's talk about the tour," he said, impatiently. "You said that we would talk in private. And then you didn't want to talk at all, I will have to leave soon, and before I go, we should talk about it."

"I don't know how much you told Paul about us," Sam said and lifted her hands, putting them behind her head. "But you realize how crazy it would be if I go with you to Europe?"

"Why crazy?" He inquired, surprised.

She pushed him aside and sat down, so she could see him better. They sat down in front of each other.

"We have known each other for two weeks, Ray," she said, raising her voice for a second.

"Yeah, but we spent more than half-day together this past week," he responded, frustrated.

"There are things you don't know about me," she said in a whisper. I have to tell him about Tom.

"So? There are things you don't know about me either," Ray raised his husky voice.

"That's what I'm saying. I can't go far away with a guy I don't know," Sam explained, decreasing her voice.

"You know me enough. I told you about things that no one knows except my family," he said, holding her hand and kissing her palm. "I don't want to leave without you," Ray whispered. Making Sam's body shiver. "And since finances are not an issue for you, you could leave us if something would be bothering you."

"I will think about it, but I have to be in New York on the twenty-ninth of June," Sam said, not wanting to argue.

"Why?" He raised his eyebrow. Sam shook her head, feeling a blush on her cheeks. "We are getting to know each other, right?" He took her face in his palms and smiled at her.

His rings decreased the heat on Sam's cheeks. She closed her eyes. Raymond pecked her lips and leaned back, he watched her, waiting for the answer. Still, with her eyes closed, Sam gathered the courage and replied to him.

"My book is being released that day," she said, her voice staying hesitant.

"Your book?" He questioned in wonder. Sam opened her eyes and gazed at him.

"Not exactly my book, my grandfathers, we co-wrote it together," she explained, pulling the sleeves of her sweater.

"Detective Noah series?" Ray asked with excitement in his voice. His eyes appeared more extensive, and a slight smile played on his lips.

"Yes, the last book," she answered in a monotone.

"Awesome. Tell me," Ray said. He got up on his knees and bounced a little on the couch, resembling a tiny kid. "Who killed his brother? Has his cousin appeared? And most important is Josie in this book?" He threw questions at her.

"Calm down, I can't spoil you, the book." Sam laughed as he sat down, smiling.

"Tell me something, just a tiny detail," he begged, making a slight gesture with his thumb and index finger.

"Josie will be in the book," Sam calmly said.

"Yes!" He raised his fists toward the ceiling. His voice remained blissful, "A bit more?" He put his hands in a praying position, adjusting them up and down.

"I had to tell you before when we talked about these books," she said, inhaling deeply. "I'm Josie," Ray moved back a little. "I mean, he based her on me." Sam pouted her forehead.

"No." His eyes widened.

"Yes," she said with a nod.

"Wait, does that mean that you wrote the ninth and tenth parts too?" Raymond moved closer.

"Yes. It all started with the New Technology book. My grandfather had a plot for that book, but since it was noted that Noah wasn't good with the technology, he needed a new character."

"And you inspired Josie's character?"

"Very vaguely, I'm not good with technology. I was staying with my grandparents when he started the book, and he would ask me questions at first. Later he just asked me to write Josie's part, mostly dialogue since he lacked ideas about how young women speak," Sam explained.

"And the Troubled Past book was also a similar deal," Sam added. "But when my grandfather wrote The Man Behind The Mask, I lived in Los Angeles, and Josie wasn't needed for the plot."

"So, what is the title of the last book?" Raymond asked.

Sam giggled. "Well, it's called The Last Case. I know these book names are so ridiculous, but there is a reason behind it."

"Really? I always wondered about the titles. Books are interesting, names not so much." Ray shook his head. "So what is the reason for these titles?"

"I don't know," she answered in a whisper. Her eyes watered as she lowered her head.

"You just said-"

"He promised to tell me on my grandmother's birthday," Sam intervened, lifting her head. "That's when I was supposed to go back to New York. He died two weeks before that," Sam sniffled, wiping a tear from her left eye.

"It's okay, and you don't have to tell me," Ray rubbed her hand.

"He was a huge part of my life and he influenced me profoundly. I felt closer to him than to my parents," she explained as Ray wiped a tear from her cheek.

Sam avoided speaking about her grandfather. Molly already knew everything, and Scott wasn't interested in that much. It had been a while since she even talked about Michael, the conversation brought her sadness, but also comfort.

Michael got diagnosed with lung cancer last year. The first thing he did after finding out about his disease was to sit down and write his latest publication. Sam spent all her summer with him and helped write the novel, and she wrote more than half of that book.

The main character of the book died in the middle of the novel, just like Michael did. Michael insisted that Samantha's name should be on the cover side by side with his. "Samantha, it's my dying wish," he said, and he used that line a lot, and it worked every single time for him.

The majority of Morris's family kept plans for Sam. Michael planned she would become a writer, he said she had a gift.

"This will give you a splendid start with your writing career, Samantha." She never planned to be a writer. Sam consented to have one book signing in honor of her grandpa. And that was also one condition of his will.