Pursued

by Patricia H. Rushford

  Putting a finger to her lips, Jennie signaled Lisa to slip out quietly. They crouched low and tiptoed past the living room where Mom and Michael snuggled on the couch, watching an old movie on television. Jennie tried to ignore her frustrations with Michael and concentrated instead on getting out of the house unnoticed.

  Jennie and Lisa reached the entry and carefully let themselves out. Once the door was closed, Jennie suggested they separate.

  “Not a chance,” Lisa whispered, grabbing hold of Jennie’s sleeve. “I think we should go together.” Jennie started to object, then agreed. She had to admit, if there was someone hanging around out there, they’d be safer as a pair.

  They began to circle the house. As they approached the back, Jennie held an arm out to stop Lisa. “Shh. I think I heard something.” Jennie peeked around the corner into the backyard. She’d never noticed it before, but if someone wanted to spy on her, they could easily do so from the massive maple tree that stood only a few feet from the house. Someone could climb the tree and look directly into her bedroom window. The limbs swayed now with the evening breeze. Or was the movement caused by something or someone else?

  The stalker could be there right now, fully hidden by the heavy foliage. She eased back and rubbed her arms to chase away the chill. Stop it, McGrady! No one’s up there. This thing has got you spooked. You’re doing exactly what B.J. wants you to do.

  “What is it?” Lisa whispered. “Did you see something?”

  Jennie shook her head and took a deep breath. “No. I…” she started to tell Lisa about the tree, then stopped. “It’s just the wind.” No sense worrying her, Jennie decided. No sense taking chances either. If someone was hiding in the tree, she had no intention of getting near it. “There’s no one back here,” she said. “Let’s check the other side.”

  They doubled around to the other side of the house. Nothing seemed out of place or unusual. “Let’s go back in,” Jennie suggested.

  “Not yet.” Lisa pulled on Jennie’s arm, urging her onto the sidewalk. “I think we ought to go around the block. The guy could be parked somewhere nearby.”

  Jennie shrugged and walked along. “Okay, but we’re wasting our time. If you want my opinion, B.J. is behind this whole thing.”

  “That’s impossible. She was with us tonight. She couldn’t have made that phone call.”

  “I know, but it’s possible the call was a wrong number or that B.J. is working with someone. You saw how she acted in there. She didn’t seem the least bit scared. I think she knows we won’t find anything. Why do you think she was so keen on coming with me?”

  “But the phone calls and flowers started before B.J. moved in with the Beaumonts.”

  “That doesn’t mean she couldn’t have done it. Think about it. B.J. told us she didn’t want to come. She also said her father didn’t want her at first. She could have found out about Allison and started harassing her before she moved up here.”

  “You’re right, it does seem like she enjoys seeing Allison suffer. But why?”

  “Jealousy.” Jennie stopped and hunkered down to tie a shoelace that had come undone. “We don’t know the whole story, but think about it. Allison is rich and has everything she’s ever wanted. B.J.’s poor and has practically had to take care of herself. I could be wrong, but she might have been abused. That could screw her up emotionally.” Jennie straightened and started walking again.

  “Yeah,” Lisa said, “like the woman who came to talk to our youth group a couple of months ago. You remember. Her dad had abused her. She used to think about killing him and killing herself. She was into drugs and alcohol and just about everything else before getting into the counseling program at church.”

  They walked in silence until they’d circled back to Magnolia Street, where Jennie lived. Nothing seemed out of place in the quiet neighborhood except for Hannah Stuart’s tricycle. The four-year-old, whom Jennie sometimes babysat, had left it on the sidewalk again. Jennie picked it up and deposited it near their front porch. The Stuarts lived at the end of the block. Next to them were the Murrays, an older couple, then the Whites, Jennie’s next-door neighbors. With the exception of Allison’s dark green convertible, all the cars were parked off the street in their respective driveways.

  “Look!” Lisa pointed to a car parked in the Murrays’ driveway. “I don’t remember seeing that car around here before—did they get a new one?”

  “Strange,” Jennie said, walking toward it. “Mr. and Mrs. Murray left for California last week. Their daughter is having a baby and they said they’d be gone a month. No one should be here.”

  “Maybe they asked someone to house sit or water the plants,” Lisa suggested.

  “Uh-uh,” Jennie shook her head. “Mom’s doing that. We’d better get back to the house and call the police.”

  “Why don’t we check out the car first? This could be the guy who’s after Allison.” Lisa hurried toward the car and peeked in the window. Jennie came up beside her and tugged at her arm to get her out of there. “Come on, Lisa. Whoever owns this car could be burglarizing the house this minute. We’ve got to call the police.” Click. A metallic sound echoed in the still night air.

  Jennie froze.

  “Back away from the car,” a menacing voice ordered. “Now!”

  5

  “Do what he says,” Jennie whispered. “He has a gun.”

  A strangled gasp escaped Lisa’s throat. Jennie eased away from the car, trying to keep Lisa behind her. Slowly, she turned toward the voice.

  She didn’t see him at first. Then as he waved the gun, the streetlight reflected off the barrel. He stood at the corner of the house, partially hidden by a large lacy-leaf maple. “If you two want to live to see another sunrise,” he rasped, “you’d better get out of here.”

  Jennie grabbed Lisa’s hand and ran, stopping only when they had reached the safety of Jennie’s yard. Jennie took a deep breath to steady her erratic heartbeat. “Go on in,” she whispered to Lisa. “Call 911 and tell Mom what’s going on. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “What are you going to do?” Lisa pulled her cell phone out of her pocket as she backed toward the house.

  “I just want to see if I can get a better look at him or maybe get the license number.”

  “No, don’t go…”

  Lisa’s plea faded as Jennie hurried back to the Murray place. This time, however, she stayed under cover of the shrubs. As she reached their lawn, the car’s motor roared to life. The intruder backed out of the driveway and tore down the street, burning rubber as the tires squealed around the corner. Jennie stomped her feet and turned back, nearly colliding with Michael.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “Lisa called the police. They should be here any minute. You’d better come inside where it’s safe.”

  “He’s gone. I tried to get a look at the license number, but even with the streetlight it was too dark to see much.”

  “What were you two doing out here alone? You shouldn’t have gone back there. You could have been killed,” Michael admonished as they walked back to her house.

  So who died and made you king? Jennie bit her lip and held back the caustic remark. “I just wanted to…never mind. You’re right. It was a stupid thing to do.”

  “Not stupid…let’s just call it an unhealthy choice.”

  Michael reached out as if he wanted to put an arm around her shoulders, then, apparently changing his mind, reached up to rub the back of his neck. “So, did you see anything?”

  Before she could answer, Lisa, Allison, B.J., and Mom spilled out of the house and ran toward them. At the same time a squad car, with lights flashing and sirens wailing, pulled up to the curb in front of their house. Two police officers jumped out. “You the people who called about a prowler?”

  The officer directed his question at Michael, but Jennie answered. She and Lisa filled them in on the car
and the gunman and were surprised at how much they actually remembered. The car was a newer model—metallic gray, with gray interior, fancy spoke hubcaps and whitewall tires. Jennie closed her eyes trying to remember every detail like Gram had taught her. “Envision it,” Gram had said. “Let the scene flow back into your mind. You’d be surprised at how much you can recall.”

  “It had Oregon plates,” Jennie said. “Two zeros on the end.” She envisioned the gun pointing at them. He’d been holding it away from him, arms stretched. Jennie mimicked the stance and raised her arms, letting her fingers take the form of a gun. He’d aimed the gun down at her chest, which would make the gunman just a little taller than her own height.

  Jennie related her observations to the officers and pointed to the one whose name pin read Greg Donovan. “He was about your height and build.”

  When Jennie and Lisa had finished their report, one of the officers, a tall, dark-haired Hispanic named Tony Mendoza, left to radio in the report.

  While he was gone, Officer Donovan smiled at Jennie and Lisa. “You kids did a great job. You’re very observant.”

  Jennie flushed while Lisa gave him a wide smile and said, “Our grandmother used to be a police detective. Maybe you know her—Helen McGrady?”

  “You’re kidding,” Greg’s grin broadened. “McGrady’s your grandmother? Hey, we worked together a couple times when I was a rookie. Tell her hi from me when you see her.”

  When Mendoza returned, the two officers got the Murrays’ key from Mom, then she and Michael went with them to check out the house to see if the guy had gotten away with anything.

  “You girls go on inside and lock the door,” Mom said before she left. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. And, Jennie, you’d better check on Nick.”

  Once inside, Jennie sent Lisa into the kitchen with Allison and B.J. to make hot chocolate. She ran upstairs to Nick’s room and made her way through building blocks, trucks, and cars to his bed. Smiling, she removed the book he’d fallen asleep with…I’ll Love You Forever. His favorite. It was about a mother’s love for her son. The story made Jennie cry whenever she read it.

  Jennie pulled a sheet and light blanket over him, kissed his cheek, and turned out the lamp. The night­light cast a surrealistic glow over the room. “Sleep tight, little buddy,” she whispered. He’d be disappointed when he learned he’d slept through all the excitement, but it was just as well. It would have taken forever to get him back to sleep.

  Jennie took the stairs two at a time and headed for the kitchen. Lisa was in the middle of her detailed explanation of what had happened.

  “I can’t believe you actually looked in the window.” Allison reached for the hot, steamy mug Lisa handed her. “Weren’t you scared?”

  “I guess I didn’t think about it. I mean…I never dreamed he’d show up with a gun.”

  “Do you think he’s the stalker?” Allison asked.

  “I doubt it,” Jennie answered. “Obviously the guy’s a burglar.”

  “How can you be so sure?” B.J. asked as she crossed her ankles, leaned against the refrigerator, and took a sip of hot chocolate.

  “Just a hunch.”

  Lisa handed Jennie a cup. “Doesn’t it seem odd to you that he would pick tonight? That he’d be positioned in a spot where he could look right into your bedroom window?”

  Jennie’s heart plummeted. Lisa was right. From her side-yard window, she had an unobstructed view of Mr. and Mrs. Murray’s driveway. He could have been watching the whole time.

  “You know, McGrady, Lisa could have something there.” B.J. looked entirely too pleased with herself.

  Jennie felt like calling B.J.’s bluff. The man was a burglar. Couldn’t they see that? While she debated about whether or not to confront her, the phone rang. Jennie answered.

  “Hi, stranger,” the faraway voice said. The evening’s activities and concerns scurried out of her mind like gray mice into a black hole. She smiled and hugged the phone closer, suddenly breathless and flushed.

  “Ryan. How are you? How’s the fishing?” When are you coming home? I miss you like crazy. She didn’t say the last part out loud. It had been too long and their relationship wasn’t far enough along. Ryan’s summer job had taken him on a fishing boat in Alaska. It still rankled Jennie that he’d gone.

  “Great. I tried to call you earlier, but all I got was a bunch of static. When I finally got it to ring, no one answered. I was about ready to give up when I remembered you guys had two lines, so I decided to try this one.”

  “That was you?” Relief flooded her. Jennie glanced up at the others who were watching and listening to the one-sided exchange with rapt interest. Jennie quickly explained about Allison and the stalker and how they’d thought the phone call might have been from him.

  After telling her to be careful, Ryan hesitated. “Ah, Jennie,” he continued, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

  This is it, McGrady. He’s dumping you. He’s found a girl in Alaska…Jennie didn’t want to hear Ryan’s bad news but listened anyway.

  “The good news,” Ryan said, “is that by the end of the summer I’ll have made enough money to get me through the first two years of college. The bad news, for us anyway, is that I’ve signed on for another month—at least. Looks like I’ll have to break our date for the end of this month.”

  This wasn’t fair. Jennie turned away from her rapt audience and leaned against the kitchen wall. She finally found a guy she really cared about and all he cared about was making money. That’s not entirely true, McGrady, a voice in her head argued, but she ignored it.

  “Jennie? Are you still there?”

  Jennie took a deep breath, hoping to hold back the menacing tears that threatened to break through her resolve. “I’m here. Just disappointed. I was looking forward to…never mind. I hope everything goes really well for you.” Then something terrible happened. Jennie’s thoughts merged with her tongue. Before she could stop them, the angry words had escaped. “In fact, you can stay there all summer if you want. Just don’t expect me to be here when you come back.”

  Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Ryan broke the silence. “That was a low blow, McGrady. I thought…Listen, I have to go. Some of the other guys are waiting to use the phone. I’ll try to call you sometime next week.” Because cell reception was so spotty in the port where they were docked, Ryan couldn’t use his cell phone and had to rely on a public one.

  “Don’t bother.” After Jennie hung up, she wanted to crawl into the woodwork and disappear. Misery was too pale a word for what she felt. On top of that her guests had overheard every word. She did not look forward to having to explain.

  Thankfully, when she turned around, Lisa, Allison, and B.J. were huddled together around the kitchen table talking about the stalker. Bless you, Lisa. Jennie stood behind Allison and B.J. and mouthed a grateful “thank you” to her cousin.

  “You can relax, Allison,” Jennie announced. “Our mysterious caller was Ryan. He had a bad connection.” Unfortunately, the second one wasn’t that great either.

  “I’m just glad he didn’t get in,” Mom said as she entered the kitchen through the back door.

  “Looks like you girls surprised the prowler before he had a chance to break in,” Officer Mendoza offered when Jennie asked what they’d found. A few minutes later, Mendoza and Donovan thanked everyone for their help and left. The girls washed out their mugs and headed back upstairs.

  An hour later, Jennie was still awake, only it wasn’t the burglary that haunted her. You messed up good this time, McGrady. Ryan may never speak to you again. “What am I going to do, God?” she whispered. “I love Ryan so much. What if he won’t forgive me?” Alongside that thought came another. What if he will? The more she considered the possibility, the more it made sense. Ryan had been a friend for a lot longer than he’d been a boyfriend. She�
��d write to him and explain how hurt she’d felt, how disappointed and angry—not at him, but at the circumstances keeping them apart. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until she’d accomplished her task, Jennie decided to write the letter right away.

  She eased open her nightstand drawer and pulled out some stationery and a pen. Twenty minutes and five sheets of paper later she signed her final draft, stuffed it into an envelope, and leaned it against her lamp. She returned the paper and pen to the drawer and snapped off the light. Ordinarily she’d have shot him an email, but he hadn’t taken a laptop with him and had no way to retrieve it.

  Still unable to sleep, Jennie eased out of bed and slipped a cream-colored cotton throw over her shoulders. She made her way across the clothes-littered floor, around the bodies sleeping there, and raised the blinds of the window facing the Murrays’ house. The driveway was empty, but it didn’t take much imagination to envision the car and the driver sitting there watching. That’s just super, McGrady. Now you’re getting paranoid too.

  She lowered the blinds and tiptoed back to her bed. She’d just pulled up the covers when the phone rang. She grabbed for it before it could ring again, hoping it would be Ryan so she could apologize right then and there.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  The line hissed and crackled with static. No one answered.

  “Ryan?” Jennie spoke in a loud whisper, not wanting to wake the others.

  “Jennie McGrady,” the distorted voice broke through the noise on the line. “Shame on you for calling the cops on me. Too bad for you I got away.”

  Threads of fear laced through Jennie’s stomach and tightened their hold. “Who is this?” Jennie closed her eyes and swallowed back the panic rising in her chest.

  “Ask Allison.” He chuckled. “And tell her she can’t escape. Wherever she goes, whatever she does. I’ll be there. And if you and that snoopy cousin of yours try to stop me, I’ll get you too.”