Obsessed by Darkness

by Autumn Jordon

  “No,” Nan said. “And I’m not going to wait around for them. I want to get out of here.”

  “The blue sedan,” Emma said to the hospital attendant, pushing the wheelchair and pointed toward her car parked in the patient loading zone.

  The orderly positioned Nan next to the car and locked the wheels.

  “Take your time,” Emma said to Nanette who gingerly rose from the wheelchair and slid into the seat of her car. Doctors released Nan with the understanding she would remain quiet for the next twenty-four hours and call if she suffered any of the symptoms listed on her discharge papers.

  “Don’t worry. I couldn’t race a snail right now.” Nan winched, buckling the seat belt.

  Nan’s right eye was swollen, her cheek black and blue and her left arm rested in a sling. She had dislocated a shoulder fending off her attacker. Emma felt so sorry for her friend and also relieved she hadn’t suffered even more injuries.

  Once they exited the hospital parking lot, Emma spoke. “The police said we can get back into our apartment. They’ve completed processing the scene.” She shook her head. “I’ve hung around with cops enough this week that I’m starting to talk like them.”

  “I don’t want to go back there,” Nan said, sounding a little panicky.

  Emma peeked at Nan while they were stopped at a red light. Nan’s tan complexion looked pasty, like she might be sick, and Nan fidgeted with a strand of hair that wouldn’t lay in place.

  Emma understood the fury of emotions Nan must feel at facing the place where she’d been attacked, but it was their home and sooner or later she would have to go back. “I know it will be hard, but I’ll be with you.”

  “I’m serious, Emma. I don’t want to go back there,” Nan lashed out, her eyes dark with fury. “I need to get away before my mother gets here.”

  She’d known this would happen. She’d told Chase that too. “Nan, why don’t you want to see her? She’s worried about you.”

  “My mother only cares for herself. She’s never there for me.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true.”

  “You have no idea what is true or not.” Nan brought a finger to her lip and looked out her side window.

  “Ok.” She didn’t want to upset Nan.

  “Take me to Mark’s house.”

  Emma gripped the steering wheel. How could she tell Nan the reason they couldn’t go to Mark’s? She knew Nan and Mark were friends and that Nan hadn’t heard about Mark’s kidnapping. Sooner or later Nan would hear the news and if Emma didn’t tell her, Nan might never speak to her again.

  She drew a breath and said on the exhale, “We can’t go there.”

  Nan’s questioning gaze met hers. “Why not?”

  Emma drove into a restaurant parking lot and selected a slot at the back. She shifted the car into park and then faced Nan.

  “Why are you stopping here?” Nan looked around, like a trapped animal.

  “I don’t know how to tell you, so I’m just going to say it.” She wet her lips. “Mark has disappeared.”

  Nan didn’t say a word. It seemed as if she looked beyond Emma, oblivious to what she’d said.

  “Two men grabbed him off the street during the night. The police are looking for them.”

  Nan’s eyes met hers. “Do they know who they are?”

  “As far as I know, no.”

  “Was it in the paper?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Then how do you know what happened?”

  “Someone told me.”

  “Who?”

  “I can’t say.”

  “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  “Can’t. I promised.”

  “That guy. Chase. Was it him who made you promise?” Emma’s quick glance to her lap must’ve have given her away because Nan asked quietly, “He’s some kind of undercover cop, isn’t he?”

  Emma nodded. “You need to keep it quiet.”

  “I knew it.” Nan turned away. A few seconds later she said, “Ok, let’s go home. I have something to show you concerning your new boyfriend.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Your eyes light up when you talk about him. I want you to see exactly what he’s like. Drive.”

  Emma had no idea what Nan was speaking about, but they headed home.

  ***

  Chase entered the state officer’s office and announced himself to the older man behind the desk. “U.S. Marshal Hunter.”

  “Detective Johnson.” Johnson stuck his hand out and Chase held it for a moment. The man’s demeanor had certainly changed since learning about Chase’s position. “I understand you have some information for me.”

  “I do.” Johnson grabbed a folder from his desk and handed it to Chase.

  Chase flipped it open. Inside, he presumed, were pictures of the crime scene from the night before.

  “Knepper lucked out that the delivery driver arrived when he did,” Johnson said. “Otherwise, he could be on the slab next to Packard.”

  “Have you questioned him yet?”

  “He came out of recovery around seven a.m. The docs have him sedated, but we should be able to speak to him later this afternoon.”

  “He’s a good man.” Guilt tugged at Chase’s conscience for having Knepper tail a suspect he should have followed himself. Instead he had been with Emma. He raised a brow and looked at Johnson. “Don’t you find it strange that Mark Varklet was kidnapped, Nanette Yves was attacked, and Tony Packard and Knepper were shot, all on the same night?”

  “I do.”

  “Were they connected?”

  “I believe at least two of them are. Take a look at the pictures. They were in Packard’s glove compartment.”

  Chase slipped on the pair of latex gloves Johnson handed him and then took the short stack of photos the detective slipped from an evidence bag. One by one he thumbed through them. There were dozens of pictures of beautiful women in various stages of undress.

  “Apparently, Tony was a peeping Tom?” Chase asked.

  “He was more than that. Some of those pictures were taken from inside the women’s rooms, but I’m noticing something more. Keep going.”

  Chase did as the man asked. His breath caught when he flipped the next photo. Emma. This photo was taken from outside, but somewhere other than at her apartment. It showed her looking over her shoulder as she removed her bra. Her braided hair hung down the middle of her back, the end curling near her slim waist. She was breathtaking.

  Where had the picture been taken?

  Johnson’s cough told Chase he’d spent too much time gazing at the woman who, over the last few days, had captured his heart. He continued on without a word or any show of emotion.

  The next picture showed Tony with Mark as they carried boxes from an old building. Then in the next six photos, Tony handed off something to Tom Rollman, the first victim and Tom handing Tony cash. Then there were similar photos of Tony with Benjamin McHugh, the second student to die.

  “This is interesting. You can’t see what Packard is handing the guys though,” Chase said.

  “They paid him cash, and then ended up dead,” Johnson said. “I think we can draw a reasonable conclusion.”

  Chase flipped the incriminating picture over and studied the size and weight of the paper. Then he compared it to the pictures of the women. “I’m no expert but I’d bet a paycheck these pictures were printed from the same printer.”

  “That’s my guess too. And if that’s true, then maybe Packard didn’t take the pictures of the women.”

  “I don’t think he did,” Chase said, feeling jealousy flow through his veins. It was bad enough thinking Packard had taken a picture of Emma half naked; the guy was now dead, but that meant there was someone else. He considered Bart Logan for a moment and then discarded the guy. Bart liked women but he didn’t give off the pervert vibe. “This one of Varklet and Packard together bothers me. Varklet isn’t a chemistry student.”

  “No.”

  “Someon
e took it for a reason.”

  “Blackmail? Insurance?”

  “Insurance would be my bet. We’ve learned Mark sold drugs too. I still think there’s someone else on their team. Someone close enough to get these photos.”

  “Do you have an idea who?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  ***

  Emma could not believe what Nan showed her as they stood in the middle of their living room.

  Upon entering their apartment, Emma had made a mad dash around the room, straightening furniture and making a place for Nan to sit down. But Nan wouldn’t. She insisted Emma go back out to the car and get her camera.

  As soon as she returned, Nan fumbled to lock the door quickly behind her, like she was afraid of who might push their way in. Then she worked to remove the memory card from her camera and loaded her laptop with the photos.

  “Look at these.”

  Emma took a seat next to Nan on the couch and clicked through several photos showcasing Chase with other students, mostly female. She turned a wary eye to Nan. “Why did you take these?”

  “He’s no good for you.” Nan winced as she repositioned her arm in the sling.

  “What are you talking about?” She barely knew Chase and they certainly hadn’t talked about a continued relationship. Not before or after the events of the previous night.

  “Him. That guy. Chase Hunter.” Nan yanked the camera from her hands. It nearly toppled to the floor, but Nan caught it and then cradled it in her arm. “You fell for him the moment you saw him. I could tell.”

  Since Nan had returned from the bathroom, she’d been acting strange. Her eyes were glassy. Maybe the doctors had given her painkillers and that’s what caused her to act out of character.

  “You were happy for me.”

  Nan stood and stalked across the room. When she spun on her heel she swayed.

  Emma jumped up, afraid Nan would fall and hit her head. Before she could reach her, Nan grabbed the back of the recliner and steadied herself. Once on an even keel again, she snapped back, “I was trying to be supportive. I had this feeling he would break your heart.” She pointed a finger at Nan’s chest.

  Recalling that Chase had told her he’d met Nanette, Emma asked, “How did you know who Chase was?”

  Without hesitation, Nan raised her chin defiantly and said, “I met him.”

  She met Nan’s glare, head-on. “I heard.”

  In a split second, Nan’s expression went from total superiority to a combination of insecurity and suspicion. “What do you mean you heard? Who told you?”

  For some reason, unknown to her, Emma took a step back. She felt afraid. She didn’t think Nan would strike out at her, but it was better to be safe.

  “Chase did. You approached him at the library while I held study group. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I forgot.”

  “You forgot?” She scanned the room. The items she and Nan had brought to the room separately and the ones they’d purchased together were all in various stages of being broken. She looked back to Nan, whose fingers picked at the piping on the cushions. An uneasy feeling crept up her spine.

  “What is going on, Nan?”

  Nan tilted her head and gave Emma a cold, flat-sided glance that made Emma’s blood run cold.

  Nan shrugged casually. Her coat, which she still hadn’t removed, slipped down over her right shoulder. “I met him and I didn’t like him. He reminded me of a player, all smooth and cool and so into himself.”

  Chase was handsome and women were certainly attracted to him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “He’s not.”

  “You just don’t want to admit it. I didn’t want him to hurt you, so I followed him so I’d have proof of what he’s really like. Look.” Nan jabbed an index finger toward the camera. “He chased almost every woman on campus. There are over a hundred pictures. He’s with a different woman in every single picture.”

  Emma recognized some of the locations where Nan had snapped pictures of Chase. In some he stood among groups of people, mostly female, but she had seen him in such situations and knew they had meant nothing. “He’s new to the school. He’s going to ask questions and make friends.”

  Nan’s mouth drew into a thin, even line. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

  “He wouldn’t.”

  Nan held her stare for five seconds. During the time, Emma could see in her eyes that Nan’s mind worked, connived.

  She bit her lip as the growing feeling of apprehension made her gaze jump to the door. “I think you should lie down and rest for a bit.”

  Nan shot toward the hall. “We don’t have time. We’ve got to leave.”

  Emma grabbed Nan’s discharge papers from the pocket of her bag and scanned them. Had Nan had a reaction to something they’d administered to her?

  She rushed down the hall after Nanette, digging her cell phone out of her pocket and dialing Nan’s doctor’s number. As she entered the room, she stopped, and struggled for her next breath.

  Nan held a gun, and it was aimed at her.

  Flashbacks of Nan’s conduct toward her flipped through Emma’s mind like pages of a photo album: the long hugs, Nan brushing back her hair off her shoulders, the cups of tea Nan had brought into her room when she had been studying. She had thought of them as caring acts, when in reality she suddenly realized, they had been much more.

  She had been right the night before when she told Chase something was off. Nan was crazy.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  At noon, Jolene joined Chase at the state police barracks.

  A few minutes later they stood in front of a desk, staring at a laptop. Their closed case had a crack in it. The ice that ran through Chase’s veins had his nerves popping.

  “Are you sure?” Johnson asked him a second time.

  Johnson had heard him. They stood shoulder to shoulder looking at the screen.

  “Yes. That woman is not Emma’s roommate,” Chase said.

  “The information says it is,” the young officer said to those who stood around his desk.

  “It’s not,” Jolene replied. “I’ve seen her up close too. This woman looks like she could be a sister to the woman we know as Nanette from the passport photo on file.”

  “Does she have a sister?”

  “I was told she was an only child,” Chase said. “But the information could be incorrect.” He grabbed a landline. “How do I get an outside line?”

  “Hit any of the top three buttons, the ones not already lit,” the young cop said.

  Chase did as instructed and then punched in Will’s number. His boss answered on the first ring.

  “Haus, here.”

  “Will.” He didn’t waste time with greetings. “Did you get back the results on the fingerprints I sent you, for Nanette Yves?”

  “I sent over the information we received. Nanette is a natural-born American, but has been abroad with her parents for nearly four years. Didn’t you get the file? I sent it to your phone and to Detective Johnson’s office.”

  “I didn’t get it on my phone. The file might be too big.” Fuck the carrier.

  “I’ll resend.”

  “No need. I’m at Johnson’s now.”

  “I assumed you’d have things wrapped up by now and be headed home. There’s no need for you and Jolene to hang around. Johnson is in charge of the Packard murder investigation. Unless he’s asked for help.”

  Chase looked at Johnson who only smiled. “No. They have it covered. However, I think our case just took a new twist.”

  “Why? What’s up?”

  “We’re looking at Yves’s picture in the file. How recent is it?”

  “It’s current. That’s her last passport update, three years ago. What’s wrong?”

  “Unless Nanette had plastic surgery in the last year, this is not the woman passing herself off as Emma’s roommate.

  ***

  Emma couldn’t focus beyond her fear and her desire to live, as she slowly descended the stairs
to the first-floor entry. Nanette’s hand clenched Emma’s right shoulder for support while her other hand held the gun inside the sling. The bag Emma carried weighed a good forty pounds and she wondered what Nan had put in it.

  Memories, dreams of her future, the question of why Nanette kidnapped her at gun point, where they were going, and what would happen to her if she totally refused to take another step, flashed in her mind in rapid secession. Confused and scared, she hesitated on a step and looked over her shoulder at Nanette. The discoloration of Nan’s skin, the cuts, the blood streaked through the whites of her eyes and her fat upper lip made her appear fiendish. “Where are we going?”

  “Does it matter?” Nan jerked her chin forward, indicating Emma should keep moving. “As long as we’re together, that’s all that matters,” she said flatly.

  Emma’s legs wobbled as she again began her slow descent.

  They exited the building.

  “Don’t make a scene and no one will get hurt.” Nan took Emma’s arm as they walked toward the parking lot.

  Emma assumed they were headed to her car and was surprised when Nan stopped. “Our ride is over there.”

  She looked to her left and saw a young woman get out of a Ford Taurus.

  “Who is she?”

  “An Uber driver.” Nan’s stare warned Emma not to ask any more questions. “Smile, get in the car and you’ll be fine. Understand?”

  Now she feared not only for her life but also the life of the woman who would drive. Emma simply nodded.

  Where was a U.S. Marshal when you needed one? Chase might come by later to check on her and Nan, but he probably wouldn’t think anything of it when he found they weren’t home. She’d told him Nan would want to bolt and she intended to stay with her. Or, Chase might think they’d gone out to eat or were staying somewhere else until their apartment could be put back in order. Either way, he wouldn’t be looking for her, and if he tried to call her, he wouldn’t be able to reach her.

  She wished she had her cell but Nan had made her leave it in the apartment. So, she had no way to contact anyone. Unless she screamed right now. If that would only endanger her, she might take the chance and try to wrestle the gun from Nan, but there were others around who could get hurt or killed.