by Claire Adams
"Three, two, one, hit it!"
Their combined mass slammed into the door. As strong as I was, I couldn't hold it. I was thrown back and fell hard on the floor, and the door burst open as the security guards charged into the room. But right at that moment, Kendrick's eyes lit up.
"Those two," he said, tapping his finger on the faces of two boys in the yearbook. "It was …those two."
The security guards grabbed Ben and me and started hauling us roughly out.
"Thank you, Kendrick!" I shouted over my shoulder as the guards manhandled me out of the room and frog-marched us down the hallway.
"Alright, you jerks, you can let us go now; we're leaving," said Ben.
"We'll let you idiots go when you're off hospital premises," said the head security guard defiantly.
They forced us into the elevator and held us pinned against the elevator walls as we went downstairs. These guys obviously only had minimal training, and I could easily have broken out of the hold and taken them down, but obviously, I didn't want to unnecessarily escalate the situation. It was better to just play along and cooperate. We had the information we had come for.
As the elevator reached the ground floor, they marched us roughly out to the main entrance, and then when we got to the doors, they shoved us out and stood in the doorway, blocking it.
"I don't wanna see you two clowns back here again," snarled the lead guard. "And if you are dumb enough to come back, we're calling the cops."
"Don't worry, man, we're good; we won't be back," I said. "Come on, Ben, let's go."
We turned around, dusted ourselves off and then walked briskly back to the car. Once we got to it, I turned to Ben.
"Alright, so who are the kids Kendrick identified?"
"They're 11th graders. One is William Stevens; the other is Leon Brownell. Both are troublemakers; they've been spending most Saturdays in detention ever since they started at JFK High."
"Real high-quality students," I remarked sarcastically.
"Yeah. Well, at least we have their names now. Means we can look up their contact info. We have to head straight to their houses and speak to them and their parents."
"Do you think they'll even be there?" I asked. "They know Kendrick got shot, and they must know that this is serious business. If they have even an ounce of sense, they will have gone into hiding."
He nodded. "They probably have, but we have to try. Their parents might be able to tell us where they may have gone. They should at least be able to give us some details of these boys' friends and acquaintances, anyone who might be able to point us in the right direction to finding out about their whereabouts."
"Well, what are we waiting for?”
"Brownell and Stevens, here we go," said Ben as he pulled up their records. "You got a pen there, Ev? Write down these phone numbers and addresses."
He told me the phone numbers and addresses, and I scribbled them down on a piece of scrap paper.
"Great. That's it, that's what we need," I said. "Now what do you think, should we call their parents now, or just skip that and head straight on over to their houses and chat to them in person?"
Ben thought about this for a few moments. "I think let's skip the phone calls. This matter is too serious to chat about over the phone. We need to talk to these boys' parents in person."
"I agree. Well, who first? I don't know this town too well yet, so you'll have to drive."
"No problem." He glanced over the addresses. "William Stevens lives closer to the school than Leon Brownell does, so I guess let's head over to his place first. I can only hope that his parents are there, and that they're cooperative. Sometimes the parents of these problem students are as bad as the kids themselves."
"Believe me, I know all about that," I remarked.
We headed out to the car and climbed in.
"Alright, William Stevens, you little punk, we're coming for you," I muttered.
"Damn right," added Ben. “Look, I just have to say at this stage, thank you, Everett. Seriously. Before you came along, no other teacher here had the, uh, excuse me for saying so, but the balls to do this. You're helping me immensely. I'm glad you're here, helping to turn things around at this school."
"No problem, Ben. I'm glad you're so committed to stamping out the scourge of this drug problem. Really, I am."
"Well enough of this; we've got work to do. Come on!"
Ben was about to start the car when my phone rang. I took it out and saw that it was Vivienne calling.
"Uh hold on Ben, I just have to take this. It might be about my daughter. She's sick."
"Hello?" I said, answering the call.
"Hi, Everett," the voice trembled through the line.
I could hear immediately that something was wrong – something was seriously wrong. I couldn't help thinking that maybe Jane's condition had worsened, and my heart started beating faster. Little rushes of cold fear started trickling up my spine.
"What's wrong, Vivienne? Is it Jane? Is she alright?" I stammered.
"Jane's alright; she's fine."
"Then what's going on here?"
"I... Someone broke into my daycare last night."
I certainly hadn't been expecting to hear that. My heart rate slowed back to normal, and the panic evaporated from my system.
"Well that's weird," I remarked. "Who would break into a daycare? Did they steal anything valuable?"
"No, nothing was stolen. It's worse than that."
"How so?"
"I know who did it."
"You do?"
It sounded now like she was crying.
"It's... it's my psycho ex, Simon. He's found me. He's found me, and he's coming for me..."
Chapter Seventeen
Vivienne
For a moment, there was silence on the line, then he spoke. "Are you absolutely sure about this? Are you sure it's him?" Everett asked.
"Positively sure. He used my real name – Alicia. Nobody in this town knows that about me except you, my friend Angie, and me. And obviously neither you nor Angie broke into my daycare and wrote that on the wall. I'm very, very sure it was him. It has to have been."
Everett paused on the other end of the line as he thought about everything I had just told him.
"I can come and get you, right now," he said.
Then, I heard someone else speaking in the background.
"Ev, is this an emergency? We have to see these kids' parents right away. We have no idea if they're on the run or if they've been home since the shooting—"
I heard the word “shooting” and immediately my heart started racing.
"Everett, who is that?" I asked. "There hasn’t been another shooting, has there? Are you alright?"
I heard him speak to the other person.
"Ben, hold on a sec; it is kind of an emergency."
He then returned to our conversation.
"That's Ben Henderson, the assistant principal of JFK High. Remember, I told you earlier about the kid who got shot at the school. That's what he's talking about."
"Oh my, yes, I'm sorry, in all this confusion and craziness I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t another one. How is he?"
"He's critical but stable. He was just about to go into surgery when we got to the hospital."
"Are the doctors going to be able to help him?"
"We hope so, Vivienne, we really do. When we went to see him, he helped us identify the kids who bought the drugs, the ones who would know who the shooter is. We're about to go talk to their parents to try to discover their whereabouts."
"Well, I'm still with the cops now, and I've told them about my history with Simon. They said they can give me an escort home, to make sure I get there safe. You need to talk to those people, Everett. It's important that you catch the person who shot that boy. I'll be fine; the cops will help me get home safely."
"It's not so much the getting home safely part I'm that worried about," he replied. "It's the fact that this guy, since he knows where yo
u work, may also know where you live as well."
I'd already been thinking about this fact, but now that Everett had said, it seemed, even more frightening. Maybe I wouldn't be safe at home at all. Not with Simon knowing where I was.
"Oh, uh... yeah, I guess that is a possibility. Well, well what can I do then? I can't just stay here all day, and these cops need to go, they have other cases to attend to."
"Hmm. Alright, this is what I'm gonna do. My old friend, the guy I told you about who's a, uh, doctor...I'm gonna ask him if he can be there to keep an eye on you. He and I go way back. And for the record, he's a veterinarian. Still a kind of doctor, right? An animal doctor."
His doctor friend was a veterinarian? Now I was really curious about what the whole story was with him stitching Everett up. I wanted to ask, but I didn't push him on the issue. Still, however, I couldn't help but feel a little skeptical about how a veterinarian was going to protect me from a crazed maniac like Simon.
"Um, I'm sure your friend is a decent guy, Everett, but how is a veterinarian going to be of any help against someone like Simon. I don't know if you quite realize just how dangerous Simon is, to be honest."
"Oh no," he replied quickly. "I think I know exactly how dangerous Simon is. And that's precisely why I'm going to ask Jimmy – the veterinarian – to help out. He wasn't always just a veterinarian."
"He wasn't?"
"No. Jimmy has a military background, and he's one tough bastard. Trust me on that."
It was reassuring to hear, but it also stoked my curiosity. Even though I knew I wouldn't be getting any answers about Everett's past anytime soon, it made me wonder about all the things I had yet to learn about him.
"Alright, so how are we going to arrange this?" I asked.
"Let me just give him a call now and then I'll call you right back."
"Sure."
I hung up the call just as Lieutenant Todd approached me.
"Is everything alright, Miss Andrews? Was that your boyfriend on the phone?"
I couldn't exactly call Everett my boyfriend, but the way he was making sure I'd be protected sure felt like it. That realization suddenly made things seem a lot more real!
"Uh, yeah, it was," I replied because it was easier than trying to explain what Everett actually was...especially since I wasn't really sure myself.
"Is he going to be able to escort you home, or would you like us to do that? We're happy to help you out, but we do need an answer kinda soon."
"He's just asking a friend if he'll be able to help. He's going to call me back in a minute or two."
"Alright, we're just tying up all the loose ends around here."
He wandered off, and I waited for the phone to ring, which it did after about a minute.
"Hi, beautiful," Everett's voice sent a shiver of delight down my spine.
"Hey," I replied. "So what's the verdict? What must I do?"
"I spoke to Jimmy. He's happy to help out. What you can do now is ask the cops to escort you to Jimmy M. Knight's veterinary practice. They should know where it is. He's going to close up soon, and then he'll head with you to my place. We're near him right now, so I'll drop my house keys off with him. You and him can stay at my house until I get back, and then we'll figure out further details regarding what we need to do."
"Alright, that sounds good," I replied.
"Okay, you got that? Jimmy M. Knight's veterinary practice," Everett repeated.
"I got it. Thank you so much, Everett. I appreciate it. I'll let you know when I get to Jimmy's."
"Sure thing. I'll keep you updated about my situation too."
"Goodbye, Everett."
"Bye, Vivienne."
"Wait!" I blurted out.
"Yeah?"
"There's one more thing," I said, feeling a little nervous about how he would react to what I was about to say.
"Alright, what is it?"
"I... I miss you," I said, blushing furiously as the words came out of my mouth.
"I miss you too," he replied instantly, without hesitation, and I could tell from his tone that his words were genuine.
"I'm glad you feel that way," I said.
"I do... absolutely."
"I'll talk to you later, Everett."
"That you will. Let me know when you're there safe," he reminded me.
"I will."
I told the Lieutenant about the plan, and he instructed one of the deputies to escort me to Jimmy's veterinary practice. We got there after about 20 minutes, and then the cops went inside with me to make sure he was there and I was safe. Jimmy shuffled out of the back and smiled as he saw me, and I couldn't help but smile in return as he had a kind, friendly face.
"You must be, Vivienne," he said.
"I am. And you're Jimmy, right?"
"That's me. Look, I'm just seeing to this old lady's Scottish terrier in the back, but she's the last patient for the day. You can just wait out here in the waiting room, and I'll be out in 15 or 20 minutes."
"Sure thing. Thanks so much, Jimmy."
"Everett, he's a very old friend of mine, and any friend of his is a friend of mine. I'm very happy to help. I'll be done shortly."
I said my goodbyes to the cops, who had been very helpful, and then took a seat in the little waiting room. I picked up a pet magazine and started paging through it, remembering all the pets I had had when I had been a little girl. I had to say that I really did miss having a pet. Maybe it was time to get another dog.
I read a few articles, and then the old lady and her dog came shuffling out of the back room. Jimmy sorted out their bill at the front and then said goodbye to them.
"Don't you have a receptionist here?" I asked.
"I do, but she's been out sick the last few days. Got a bad stomach bug, so I've been trying to keep everything together on my own. It's been quite a task, I tell ya! She'll be back on Monday though, thankfully."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But you seem pretty organized; you do seem to be on top of everything here."
He laughed warmly and loudly.
"Oh, I'm glad it comes across that way! Truth is, I feel like everything is about to fall apart at the seams!"
"And now here I am putting extra pressure on you when you're already stressed out."
"No, no, don't feel like that. I was about to close anyway, and it turns out that you and Everett don't live very far from my place at all. I'm only a few miles away from your street."
"Ah good, well I'm glad that worked out."
"Yeah. Well, listen, Ev told me about this crazy psycho stalker guy, and I've come up with a little plan of action. So, the guy knows where you work; he's obviously got some detective skills under his belt, huh?"
"He does, and he's a very intelligent person – which means it's very hard to hide from him."
"Uh-huh. So, he most likely already knows where you live, and what car you drive. So, I don't want you to take your car back there."
"Well, what can I do with it then?"
"I'll get my car out of the underground parking here, and you can put yours in its place. That way it'll be off the street so if he's going around looking for it, he won't be able to find it. I'll drive you to Ev's place in my car. You can lay down in the back seat so you're not visible to anyone outside the vehicle. Then when we get to Ev's, we'll sneak you into the house after I've scouted out the street and made sure that he's not hiding somewhere, watching your house. Sound good?"
"Sounds very thorough, I must say. I didn't know veterinarians had this kinda knowledge on hand. How many spy movies have you watched?" I joked.
He chuckled. "More than my share, but I wasn't always a vet. I did some work for Uncle Sam before this. Work that involved weapons and foreign lands and that sometimes involved being covert."
"And did Everett also do this kind of work? Is that how you know him?"
He smiled. "I'm not sure how much Everett has told you, so I'm afraid I can't really say anything about that. But let's just say that he and I go ba
ck a long way. We'll leave it at that."
"Alright," I said, feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't willing to divulge any more detailed information.
"Well, are you ready to go?" he asked.
"I am. Are you?"
He lifted up the front of his shirt, revealing a large handgun tucked into a holster on his belt.
"I'm definitely ready," he replied with a grin. "If that psycho stalker of yours is around, he's gonna get more than he bargained for, I can tell you that."
"Thanks for your help, Jimmy. I really do appreciate it, and I have to say that I do feel safer."
"Hey, it's not a big deal at all! Actually, it's kinda fun for me, know what I'm saying? I have been living a very quiet life as a veterinarian for a while now, so I appreciate having a little excitement in my life."
We headed outside, and he locked the place up. A few minutes later, I parked my car in his underground spot and then got into his, laying down on the back seat as instructed.
"I hope you're not too uncomfortable back there," Jimmy stated.
"I'm alright. It's not a very long drive anyway."
"No, it's not. Alright, well let's get going, and I'll keep my eyes peeled for this psycho stalker."
We drove the rest of the way listening to Jimmy's music, which I had to admit I enjoyed. He seemed to have a fondness for the 50’s and 60’s classics.
After a while, we reached Everett's place, and Jimmy pulled into the driveway. He stopped the motor and then spoke to me.
"We're here, Vivienne," he said. "But I want you to stay in the back there until I tell you otherwise, alright? I'm gonna do a quick recon. I'll check out the street and nearby houses to make sure nobody's hiding in the bushes. After that, if it's all clear, I'll let you into Ev's place. And then, if you want, I can go across the road to your place to see if everything is alright there. Though, I might want to wait until it's dark, just in case this creep has set up any hidden cameras around here to monitor your place. Right now, I doubt he has any idea that you're gonna be just across the road from your house, and we don't want to do anything that will give away the fact that you're here."
