"Ten points, kiddo. Another perfect score. Did you get a good look at him?"
Matt made a face. "It was kind of hard with his hat and all, but I think I saw him okay. Is he a bad guy, too?"
She sighed. Bad guys. Good guys. Black and white. Little boys had no concept of gray. "As far as you're concerned, yes. He's a very, very bad guy. You mustn't let him get near you, either. Even if you just see him hanging around, you tell me. Come here, sweetie."
He stepped into her open arms and she gave him a hug that she needed more than he did. At nine years old, he was already nearly her height. He was going to be a big man, like his father, but for now, he was still a little boy who had real live bogeymen after him. "I promise, no matter what it takes, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. And we're not moving this time. You got that, kiddo?"
He looked up at her and smiled. "Got it, Mommyo."
"You're not a helpless little baby anymore. If somebody tries to mess with you now, you can use some of that karate stuff you're getting so good at."
He whirled out of her arms and performed a kick-and-punch exercise he'd learned. "Maybe I'll ask Sensei to show me some new moves, just in case."
She mussed his blond hair. "I was only kidding. If anybody bothers you, the rules are still the same. You run for help as fast as you can. You only fight as a last resort."
"Aw, Maw!"
"I mean it. Now, how about burgers and fries tonight? If you do your homework before I'm done cooking, we can watch the movie we rented while we eat." And while he was occupied with homework, she would make her call to the police and hope this time they might actually be able to help.
* * *
Russ Latham tossed the binoculars onto the floor of his Volkswagen and started the engine as the Cadillac passed where he was parked. He had been so turned on at the sight of Barbara after such a long separation, he had thought he might have to jerk off before approaching her, but Simon Decker's unexpected appearance was as good as a cold shower.
Now that he knew where to find the bitch and her kid, he could come back any time. His number-one priority had just switched to finding out what the attorney's plans were and how he could either take advantage of them or disrupt them.
He grinned as he recalled the last time he helped Decker along with his plans for Barbara. Not only had he gotten some fun out of it, the little jobs he was given had a personal bonus that the attorney knew nothing about. In fact, only two other people on earth knew the secret behind everything he'd done for the last twelve years.
Decker had no idea that when he paid Russ to help the Hamiltons get rid of Howard's greasy little whore, he also handed him the weapon he'd needed to see justice done. Thanks to the attorney's dirty dealing, Russ was able to learn of Barbara's pregnancy and a plan came to him that should have evened the score. All he had to do was marry Barbara and adopt Howard's bastard.
But the bitch hadn't fallen in line like she should have. He courted her, played nursemaid for her, bullied and threatened her. None of it had worked. To make matters worse, the more she resisted him, the hotter he got for her, until he wanted her as badly as he wanted vengeance.
Russ noted the Cadillac's turn signal flashing and followed Decker into the Sheraton parking lot. The ass-licking lawyer had always figured Russ was stupid and Russ never let on otherwise. For now, he would continue to pretend idiocy, but one of these days they would all be in for a very big surprise.
* * *
Barbara ended the call with the police department and got started on dinner. Over the years she had talked to a lot of law enforcement officials in a number of cities, some more helpful than others, yet it never failed to make her nervous.
The first time, before she discovered how useless the system could be, was probably the easiest. When Dr. Roselli had brought the police officer to her in the hospital while she lay bruised and broken, she had been confident that he would protect her and hadn't hesitated to press charges against Russ. She wanted to see him punished for what he had done to her. Before Russ was arrested, however, he managed to get into her hospital room... to beg forgiveness and proclaim his love and devotion to her and their son.
That first officer had done the only thing he could. He arrested Russ and helped her get a restraining order against him, but warned that her attacker would probably be out on bail within a few days and the trial wouldn't be held for months. He suggested she find a safe place to hide until then. If she had been alone, she might have stayed in New York, but she had a baby to think of first, so she followed his advice.
The sound of the doorbell pulled her thoughts back to the present. Glancing out the front window, she was quite surprised to see a uniformed policewoman on the front porch.
"I didn't expect such a fast response," Barbara said after inviting her in.
The woman gave her a friendly smile that went a long way toward relaxing her. "I was only a few blocks away when I heard the call and recognized your name from the report you filed the other day. I'd been planning on stopping by to talk to you tonight anyway."
"Oh?" Before Barbara could ask why, Matt came into the room. "As you've already guessed, I'm Barbara Johnson and this is my son, Matthew."
The officer offered her hand to Barbara, then Matt. "Sergeant Danielle Pelusi. Call me Dani."
Matt shook her hand politely then complained to his mother. "Is dinner ready yet? I'm starving."
"Not quite. Is your homework done?"
"Not quite," he said, mimicking her.
"Then get back to it. I'll call you when food's on the table." He made a face, but returned to his bedroom. Turning to Dani, Barbara asked, "Will you have something to eat with us? It's just hamburgers, fries and salad, but I have plenty."
"That would be terrific, thank you. I just have to let dispatch know where I am and hopefully, it will stay quiet long enough for me to eat."
The officer radioed in, then removed her hat and heavy jacket. Barbara found it interesting that the woman wasn't much bigger than her and had similar coloring, though her uniform and gun belt made her appear bulkier and her hair was twisted into a knot on top of her head. Although it was unreasonable, she had always assumed that women who went into police work were big and rather masculine.
"What can I do to help?" Dani asked as she followed Barbara into the kitchen. Although Barbara assured her she had everything under control, Dani took over the task of cutting up the salad vegetables.
"Is your stalker Matthew's father?" Dani asked casually, as if she were personally rather than officially interested.
Barbara shook her head no and, as she prepped a tray of hamburger patties, briefly explained how Russ became a part of their life. She had told other officers the basic facts before, but Dani made her feel as though she were sharing her story with a friend and she soon found herself telling more than the basic facts.
"After Russ was arrested, I took Matt to my parents' home in Dayton. I was naive enough to think that he wouldn't jump bail to come after me. Two weeks later, he showed up on their doorstep, determined to convince me to go back with him and drop the assault charges."
"Did you?"
"No. I refused to be one of those women who let men get away with rape because they're intimidated by them. I went to the local police but there wasn't much they could do, except notify New York as to his whereabouts. That only got Russ angrier. He began harassing me, my family, my friends. He'd leave little gifts or notes in places I was bound to find them. My parents changed the locks on the house and got a new phone number, but nothing stopped him from getting to me whenever he felt like it."
"Did he threaten you?"
"Oh, yes. Verbally and in writing. But the police just kept saying that, other than a restraining order, as long as he didn't act on the threats, they couldn't do anything more to help. Eventually, the bondsman tracked him down and hauled him back to New York for the trial. In spite of everyone's warnings, I testified against him. I thought I'd be safer if he was behind bars."
/> "How did the trial go?"
Barbara huffed. "It was a nightmare. But I thought it was worth it when he was found guilty... until the judge sentenced him to only one year with the possibility of parole in three months. Russ's last words as he left the courtroom were a promise to kill both my son and me when he got out."
She put the burgers into the oven, turned the gas on under the oil for the French fries and started setting the table for three. "I was terrified for my son and my parents more than myself. I stayed with them for a while, but before Russ was released, I took off with Matt. I thought if we hid somewhere for a while, Russ would forget about me."
"Obviously, he didn't." Dani carried the bowl of salad to the table and sat down.
Barbara took the chair opposite her. "I never figured out all the tricks he used to find me wherever we went. I got better at sneaking out of town, using disguises, making up phony names and histories. I stuck to larger cities, thinking we could blend in unnoticed.
"Fortunately I had some money but eventually I had to bring in some income. On the positive side, I always managed to make friends with women who had similar experiences and helped when they could, like with babysitting. I only worked cash day jobs or for temporary services, so I couldn't be found in the same place for any length of time. None of it was ever good enough to lose him and he never got tired of the chase."
"Did he ever try to get hold of Matthew?"
Barbara nodded. "Three times that I know of. The night after Russ first got to Dayton, I woke up and saw him in the rocking chair in the corner of my room, holding Matt. It was the first time in my life I ever thought of killing someone with my bare hands. That was one of the reasons I felt I had to testify against him. The second time was three years later in Chicago. He followed us to a park and attempted to lure Matt away from me, but I stopped him."
"The third was the scariest. He actually kidnapped Matt off the school playground in Denver and forced him to spend an afternoon with him, during which he tried to convince him that he was his father and I was an evil witch for keeping them apart. To this day I don't know what happened but for some reason he dropped Matt off at our apartment building just before it got dark. He was frightened but unhurt. After that, I had to explain the ugly facts of our life to my six-year old son, for his own protection." She got up to finish cooking.
"How long has it been since you saw him last?"
As Barbara flipped over the hamburgers, she said, "About two and a half years ago. That's when I learned about a very private organization founded to help abused women and children start new lives. They helped Barbara and Matt Mancuso disappear completely and taught Barbara Johnson how to keep her paper trail to a bare minimum." Satisfied that the meat would be done in a few minutes, she lowered the wire basket of fries into the hot oil.
Dani shook her head and clucked her tongue sympathetically. "And then you had to go be a good Samaritan."
"Exactly," Barbara said with a half-smile.
"Have you had any indication that he's on his way here?"
"Yes. That's why I called. I'm pretty sure he's already in the area." She told Dani about the roses and where they could be found. "Despite the floral display in the living room tonight, I don't usually have flowers or plants in the house. They remind us too much of him."
"I'll take his bunch with me and see if we can pick up any prints. Other than that, it sounds like you've done everything you're supposed to do to protect yourselves. The more people you tell and the more eyes you have working for you, the less chance the stalker has of surprising you, which is how he gains part of his satisfaction."
"Yes, I know. And the less fear I show, the less pleasure he gets. I want to stick it out this time. It's pretty obvious that running never accomplished anything."
"Don't put yourself down for running from Russ. It may have been the smartest thing to do under the circumstances."
That was the first time she'd heard a law enforcement figure voice that opinion. "Why do you say that?"
Dani's gaze drifted to the calendar on the wall. "My older sister was the target of a stalker. No matter how frustrated she got or how frightened he made her, she never believed he was really capable of hurting her. She didn't ask the police for help because he hadn't broken any laws. To an outsider, he just sounded like a very devoted admirer, so she told very few people about the strange things he was doing. She didn't run away even when he began threatening her life."
Barbara saw the end of the story in Dani's eyes, but she asked anyway. "What happened?"
"He broke into her apartment one night. For six hours, he tortured her, cut, burned, raped and sodomized her, then left her, gagged and tied to her bed. She survived, but her mind left her body that night and never completely returned. He turned himself in, pleaded temporary insanity and served less than a year in a state institution. I was still in high school at the time, without any idea of what I wanted to do for a living. After that, I knew it had to be something where I could help women like my sister.
"The laws have been improved since then and the public is more aware of the problem, but it's no guarantee. That's why I wanted to talk to you, to let you know that there's someone in a position of authority who understands and cares what happens to you."
"Thank you," Barbara said sincerely. "That means a lot to me."
Dani got up and moved to Barbara's side. "Just out of curiosity, did you ever marry?"
"No. Being engaged to Matt's father was the closest I ever got." She dumped the cooked fries onto a paper-towel-covered platter and pulled the tray of hamburgers out of the oven. "The way I've moved around the last nine years, I barely had the opportunity to make friends, let alone fall in love."
Dani's radio squawked at her before she could say more. Barbara couldn't understand what the dispatcher was saying, but from Dani's end of the conversation, she knew the officer would soon be on her way.
"I have to take this call," she said after signing off. "I appreciate the offer of dinner, though. Hopefully we can make it another time when I'm off duty. Would you mind if I spoke to Matt before I left?"
"Of course not. Just follow the hall out of the living room." As Dani walked away, Barbara quickly wrapped up a hamburger and some fries and put them in a paper bag with a drink box of juice and some napkins. The three of them met a few minutes later in the living room.
Dani handed Barbara her card on the way out the door. "This has several numbers where you can reach me, including my home and cell. I expect you to call me for the smallest problem."
"And this is for you," Barbara replied, handing her the bag. "I wasn't sure if you'd be able to manage any salad, but I could put some in a container if you'd like."
Dani sniffed the food and laughed. "No, this is great. Thank you. Hey, maybe I should marry you and solve both our problems. You'd have a live-in protector and I'd have a cook who understands the phrase eating on the run."
Barbara and Matt both watched the police car drive away before heading for the kitchen. "What did Sergeant Pelusi want to talk to you about?" Barbara asked.
Matt gave a little shrug. "Same old stuff. You know, don't talk to strangers, run for help or scream if I have to, tell my mother everything that happens to me and call her if you or I need help. I told her I already know all that junk. Don't worry, I was polite."
She touched his cheek. "Of course you were. You're my little angel." The way he raised his eyes to the ceiling made her laugh. "Okay. Okay. I forgot again. Come on, the burgers are getting cold."
Since they no longer had company for dinner and Matt had finished his homework, they ate in front of the television as promised. The movie they had rented was an animated comedy that had Matt howling and failed to distract Barbara in the slightest.
She kept thinking about how comfortable she had been talking with Dani. Over the years, experience had taught her to use her intuition to judge new acquaintances and her readings on Dani were all positive. Even though Dani hadn't had the op
portunity to talk about herself, Barbara could easily imagine them becoming close friends, if time and circumstances permitted.
As she tucked Matt in that night, she did her best to reassure him one more time that they were going to stay in Fredericksburg no matter what. But as she got ready for bed herself, her positive attitude disintegrated. Because of the past, she couldn't help but dread what lay ahead—going through the motions of a normal life while constantly looking over her shoulder, scanning strangers' faces in every crowd, fearing that one would be familiar, waiting for the phone to ring or a knock at the door, only to hold her breath until the caller hung up or the visitor left.
Knowing she had a police officer personally interested in her case gave her confidence a slight boost, however. She wondered if she should have told Dani about Simon Decker's visit, but she didn't consider the lawyer a danger—only a major annoyance. Besides, she never told anyone who Matt's father was. Up until this afternoon, Russ was the only person on the planet who knew his identity and he always tried to claim that Matt was his.
The memory of the day she named her son came back to her. What she had told Decker was partially true. Giving Matt the middle name Howard had been a gesture. She had looked at the tiny, blond-haired baby in the nursery incubator and had felt sad that he would grow up without his father's last name, but no one could stop her from giving him his first.
She had also felt horribly unprepared for the responsibility that had been handed her, but after some encouraging words from Dr. Roselli, she made her child several promises. From that moment on, nothing in the world would ever be as important to her as the welfare of Matthew Howard Mancuso.
Whatever maternal skills didn't come naturally, she'd learn. Whatever he needed, she'd find a way to give it to him. She would encourage him to be gentle and loving like his father and outgoing and independent like her. She would teach him all the lessons she'd learned and remember to listen when he had something to teach her. And, above all, she would do everything in her power to make sure no one ever caused him any pain.
Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) Page 10
