A New Game

by Linda L Barton

  “Well, you’re not alone now, so let’s go inside, and see if we can find anything,” Rick said a silent prayer that there were no cameras in her apartment.

  Mac held her breath, turned the key, and then slowly opened the door. She stood a moment before finally stepping inside with Rick following close behind her.

  She was relieved to see everything was as she had left it two days earlier. She reached for the light switch to make sure the power was off before she continued. She held her breath, click: nothing.

  “Okay, looks like we’re in the clear to do the search,” Rick sighed with relief.

  It only took half an hour to find a camera set up in each room of her apartment. Mac felt nauseous at the idea of how he watched her when she thought she was alone.

  “I cannot believe this, Rick. He has been watching me all the time. I cannot begin to tell you how angry this makes me, and how much I want to lock him up for good. I don’t know what to do. I’m worried if we take the cameras out now he will know what I’m up to, and that could endanger Joey Afton. Do you have any suggestions?”

  Rick stood silent for a moment, as he looked around the room one last time. “I agree Mac. I don’t think it would be a good idea to take them out just yet. As long as he thinks he’s still in control, you’re safe, and the Afton kid is safe too. He believes you are staying with friends for a couple of days, so let’s wait until Monday before we remove the cameras. If he got in here the first time, we both know that he will be back to see why his cameras stopped working. First, let’s turn the electricity back on, and then you can come back inside and get your clothes for work on Monday. That way he’ll think you won’t be home until Monday evening, and this will buy us the time we need to set a trap for him.”

  Mac looked at Rick, unsure of what he meant, “Trap, what sort of trap?”

  “The way I see it while you’re handling the Afton case on Monday, I can come over here and take his cameras out, and then put in some cameras of our own,” he snickered.

  “So, when he comes to see why his cameras aren’t working, we will catch him on ours? That’s brilliant, Rick!” Mac felt the strength come back into her body at the thought of catching Erebus at his own game.

  “And I’ll finally be able to put a face with that sanctimonious voice,” Mac smiled, relishing the idea of finally beating Erebus at his game.

  They both walked outside, and Mac locked the door behind her. Rick, then walked back to the side of the building where the electrical box was, and Mac waited at the door for him to let her know when he was ready. “Okay, you’re good. Now remember, you need to act normal.”

  Rick closed the door to the box and stepped out from behind the bushes to watch her go back inside the apartment.

  “I know; I’ll be careful.” She unlocked the door and stepped inside then headed straight to her bedroom closet, and chose the outfit she wanted to wear. She then walked over to her dresser and got her sidearm and badge out of the small safe in the top drawer. Then she gathered the rest of the items she took with her to work. Mac knew he would notice if she forgot something, so she made sure to bring everything she normally would take with her to work every day.

  Once she had everything she needed, she walked to the front door and went back outside, closing the door behind her. Once Mac locked the door, she said a silent prayer that she had been convincing.

  “Are you okay?” Rick could tell she was upset by the look on her face.

  “Yeah, I’m all right. I’ll just be glad when this is all over. Come on let’s tell Mr. Summers he can lock the box, and that you will be back Monday to have him turn it off again.”

  They walked to Rick’s truck, and once inside Mac turned to Rick. “Do you think Erebus saw me this time?”

  “Without a doubt,” Rick said flatly. He drove through the gate and parked in front of the office again.

  “Don’t worry, this will all work out just fine. It will not be long before you have Erebus behind bars and the Afton boy home with his parents,” Rick forced a smile.

  “I know you’re right. I just need to remain strong and not let him get to me. I’ll be back in a minute.” She stepped out of the truck and walked back inside the office.

  “You’re finished?” Mr. Summers stood up from his desk.

  “For now, but my friend Detective Jameson will come back on Monday to finish a couple of things. You’ll need to turn the power off one last time for him,” Mac prayed he would not ask any questions.

  “Miss Mackey, is there a problem with your apartment?” In all his years of managing this complex, he had never had anybody make such an unusual request.

  “No, not at all. I can’t say anything now because it’s a police matter. I hope you understand?” Mac prayed this answer would suffice because she did not want him to interfere in their trap for Erebus.

  “No problem. I served twenty years in the military, so I understand the need to keep things under wraps,” he said with a knowing smile.

  “Thank you for your understanding,” Mac returned his smile and then walked to the door.

  “I hope that everything works how you want, Miss Mackey.” he grabbed the keys from his desk drawer and followed her outside.

  “I do too, Mr. Summers. Goodbye and I’ll talk to you later.” Mac walked back to Rick’s truck, but before she opened the door, she said a silent prayer that everything did work out the way she wanted.

  “So, how did it go?” Rick asked when Mac returned.

  “It went fine. I told him you would be back on Monday, so he’s expecting you.”

  “Good. Now let’s go do some shopping.” Rick pulled out on the street and then drove to the mall two miles away from Mac’s apartment complex.

  ***

  It surprised him at the amount of time it took for her to go to her apartment once she had gone through the gate. For her to come to get her clothing for work, and then quickly leave was rather strange as well. “What are you up to, Lucinda?”

  ***

  As they pulled into the parking lot of the mall, Mac realized that she did not have her purse, “Crap, I don’t have my billfold with me! I left it at your house this morning.”

  “No problem, I’ll just pay for the cameras, and you can reimburse me later.”

  “Are you sure? I know they won’t be cheap.” She knew Rick did not mind, but she never liked to owe someone money.

  “Don’t worry. I know you’ll pay me later. Let’s go have some fun,” he grinned, then got out of the truck and locked the door.

  Mac was grateful she had a friend like Rick. She always knew that no matter what happened he would be there to help her. She got out of the truck and followed him to the electronics store.

  “May I help you find something?” the young, freckle-faced clerk asked.

  “Yes, I’m looking for some high-powered surveillance cameras.” Rick tried to control the excitement in his voice, but the gleam in his eyes gave betrayed him.

  “Yes sir, those will be right over here.” The young man led them toward the back of the store convinced he would make a large commission on this sale.

  ***

  After an hour of discussion and going through every brand available, Rick had finally decided on the cameras Mac needed to catch Erebus.

  “Rick, are you sure Sharon won’t be upset when she sees this charge on your credit card? That’s a lot of money,” she shook her head, as he pulled in his driveway.

  “No, she won’t be upset. Besides, it won’t show on the bill for a month. You know something, once this is all over with, and we’ve locked Erebus up maybe I’ll just keep them if you don’t mind?” Rick laughed.

  Mac gathered her things and followed Rick into the house. “Keep them, but why?”

  “Well, I do have three girls, so it would be good to be able to keep an eye on them. Before we know it they’ll be teenagers, so it would be smart to know what’s going on in the house while we’re away,” Rick chuckled.

  “You’
re terrible! You would spy on your daughters?” Mac laughed. “What’s wrong, are you worried your girls will be wild teenagers?”

  “No, I’m not worried; I just want to be sure. Besides, this case has made me think about their safety. With all the crazy people out there nowadays, I think it might be a good idea to put a camera in their rooms and one out in the backyard.” A frown now replaced his smile.

  Mac saw the concern on his face and, to be honest; she had to agree with him. If there had been a camera in the Afton’s backyard, it would have helped to identify the man who took him.

  “No problem, Rick. I understand; if you want the cameras when this is all done you can keep them, but I still want you to let me pay for half of them.”

  “No, you don’t need to do that. It wouldn’t be right,” Rick protested.

  “Yes, it’s only fair. This way I can feel like I’m able to pay you back for everything you’re doing for me now,” she held his gaze.

  “But…,” Rick tried to speak, but Mac cut him short.

  “I won’t take no for an answer. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to have you here with me now because I don’t want to go through this alone. I don’t want to end up like John Cooper sitting in a mental institution because I snapped and did something stupid. It’s clear how Erebus controls his opponents. He takes all sense of security away from them then he uses their fears against them. Rick, he has to be stopped before he does this to anyone else.” Mac felt the tears flowing down her cheeks.

  “The first mistake that John Cooper made was to not confide in those he trusted. He let his pride overrule his better sense, and that allowed Erebus to manipulate him. You don’t have to worry about that because you won’t be alone in this. So, put your fears aside and let’s get ready to take that bastard down once and for all!”

  Rick walked to the counter to make a pot of coffee. “So, go put your clothes in the bedroom, and then come back out here so we can sit down and discuss what our next move will be.”

  “You’re right; I need to stop letting him get to me.” She took her things to the guest room, and after she had finished putting everything away, her cell phone rang, “Hello.”

  “Good afternoon, Lucinda. I do hope you’re enjoying your visit with your friends,” his voice was firm and measured.

  “As a matter of fact I am. Why, do you miss me?” she teased. She knew he had only called to fish for information, and it pleased her knowing that he had no idea what she was doing for a change.

  “Well, I do admit I enjoy our little conversations, but I must remind you not to forget the clock ticks away for little Joey. I wonder if his father has been able to come up with the ransom yet. That is a lot of money, isn’t it?” he chuckled.

  “Please, don’t tell me this is all about money! I would hate to think this game was all done out of greed.”

  “You know it’s not about money, but I do have to admit it does add an interesting twist to the move, doesn’t it?” He always enjoyed sparring with his opponents in the game, and this one had turned out to be a pure delight.

  “You know they can’t come up with that much money! You’re setting that poor couple up to fail, aren’t you? You do not intend to return their son to them unless I do something for you. What do you want from me, and what do I need to do to get that little boy home to his parents?”

  He enjoyed the sound of anger and despair in her voice. “You only need to continue to play The Game, as you have from the beginning. I’ve enjoyed our little talk today, but I must go for I have important things to do.” He hung up the telephone without saying another word.

  Mac stood in the room with the cell phone still to her ear, as rage exploded out of her, “Damn you, Erebus! If anything happens to little Joey, I promise that I will hunt you down, and kill you myself!”

  She knew she had to do something soon to save Joey Afton, but she had no idea what to do. As she wrestled with her emotions, the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen pulled her out of her thoughts.

  “Maybe some coffee will help calm me down,” she groaned. She put her cell phone in her pocket and walked back to the kitchen.

  Rick was already sitting at the table sipping on his cup of coffee when Mac walked into the kitchen. She sat in the chair by the awaiting cup and took a sip, trying to clear her mind.

  “Let me guess, another call from our friend, Erebus?” Rick set his cup of coffee on the table and looked at Mac.

  “The bastard called and wanted to know how my weekend was going with my friends. Boy, he sure knows how to get under my skin! He also made a comment that he wondered if Mr. Afton would be able to come up with the ransom. I asked him if this was all about money, but he just laughed and said it was only part of a move in his precious game. Shit; he makes me so angry!”

  Mac did not want to admit that she had been having fantasies of putting a bullet between his eyes, but she was sure Rick would agree with her.

  “It must have bugged him that you didn’t stay at home. Think about it, when you were at home, he could monitor your every move. It must bother him to have you out of sight,” Rick laughed at the look of comprehension on Mac’s face.

  “You’re right! It must bug the shit out of him not have me under his thumb all the time. Thank you, Rick, you always know what to say to make me feel better,” she chuckled, then took another sip of coffee.

  “Hey, that’s why I’m here,” he grinned, and then he got up to refill his cup.

  “I have two questions to ask you,” she held out her cup for Rick to refill it also. “First, why didn’t we just get the cameras from the Department?”

  “I thought about doing that at first, but I didn’t want to have to answer any probing questions if you know what I mean. Then I thought if Erebus knows everything you’re doing he would find out you took cameras from the Department and would want to know why.”

  “Okay, that makes sense. Now the other question is why did you buy the same type of cameras he had in my apartment?” She thought she knew the answer, but she wanted to know for sure.

  “I figured it would be the easiest way to keep him from figuring out what you were up to because we’ll replace his cameras with ours. You see, we need to keep his cameras in a safe place as evidence to convict him and with any luck; he will never be the wiser of what we’ve done. I figure on Monday when I go back to your apartment; I’ll switch out the cameras and run new wires for us to connect with them. I can hide the extra recording device we got where he can’t find it, so once he comes to see why he can no longer watch you; we’ll have him!”

  “Do you know how to do all of that?” Mac had never known Rick to be much into electronics.

  “Well, to be honest with you, I’m a little worried Erebus is a lot smarter than I am on things like this. I do have a friend that I can trust to go with me and help out in case I get in over my head. He served in the military where he did some high-security stuff, so I’m sure he’ll be able to figure out anything Erebus may have done.” Rick saw the look of concern on Mac’s face. “Don’t worry, we can trust him. He won’t say anything, I promise.”

  “Okay, if you trust him I will too. I’m so worried about the Afton’s. I’m worried Mr. Afton may do something rash to get their son back. Maybe I’ll go over there tomorrow and check on them.” She took another sip of coffee and then looked at Rick for his reaction.

  He understood her concern for the Afton’s. Each time he thought of little Joey locked in that dark, cold room, he wondered how he would handle it if it were one of his girls.

  “You know it’s still early and the girls won’t be back until around five o’clock. Why don’t we just go over there now to put your mind at ease, so you can relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend before all the crap starts on Monday? Heck, it’s only a little after two o’clock.”

  “That would be great. I just think it would be a good idea to let them know we haven’t forgotten them.”

  Mac put her coffee cup in the sink. “C
ome on slowpoke, let’s go!”

  Chapter 10

  When Tyrone left the hospital, he had no idea where he would go, or what he would do. All, he knew, was he could no longer stay there. Just the thought, he had caused his grandmother to end up in the hospital again, was more than he could handle.

  Damn it, what should I do now? I’m running out of time to save Jenni from that bastard.

  Tyrone knew he had caused all of this because of his choices in the past, and he knew if anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He decided to go to his grandmother’s house and pick up some things to take back with him to the hospital. He wanted his grandmother to have some of her special things there when she woke up from the coma.

  Tyrone walked into the house and the emptiness wrapped around him so tightly he could barely breathe. He went to his grandmother’s bedroom and stopped a moment to look around at the pictures she had hanging on the walls and sitting on her dresser. They were all from happier times before he decided to take the wrong path for his life.

  Tyrone sat on her bed and picked up the picture she had taken two months before his mother died. He ran his finger across the image of his mother, Jenni, and himself all smiling with the promise of many happy years ahead.

  “Mama, I’m so sorry I’m not the man you wanted me to be. I know you wanted more for me, but I never understood why until now. I promise I will do everything I can to get Jenni home safe again. I just need some help,” he cried as he lay on the bed and clutched the photo tightly to his chest.

  ***

  Tyrone felt himself floating down a long, dark tunnel on a strange looking wooden raft, having no idea where he was or how he ended up in this strange place. He looked around and noticed a soft light glowing off in the distance. He knew that he needed to go toward the light, but he realized the current was taking him in the opposite direction.

  He looked on the raft for some paddles, but there was none there. He knelt down and tried to paddle with his hands, but the current was too strong and kept him away from the light.