“Fine.”
It was all she could do to hold back the tremors that threatened to overtake her. Had this guy now included her parents in his circle of terror?
15
Dakota pulled to the curb of the Cash family home and watched a cruiser approach from the opposite direction. The officer waved and kept going. Ever since Sam had discussed her fears with him and Connor, they’d requested more security for the small neighborhood Jamie and Samantha had grown up in.
Until a threat was identified, the frequent drive-bys would have to suffice for now. Dakota had the officer verify that the Cashes were home. Now, he waited for Jamie and Samantha to show up.
Connor spoke from the passenger seat. “You think he’s threatened them?”
“I don’t know. It’s certainly possible. He wouldn’t be the first stalker that’s gone after the victim’s family.”
Three minutes later, Jamie and Samantha swung in the drive.
Jamie got out first and Dakota stepped out to greet her. He wanted to hug the tension from the shoulders she held so stiff. She was saying, “Maybe Samantha and I should go in and talk to them first. Just make sure we’re not jumping to conclusions.”
“Connor and I discussed it on the way over. You’re going to have to tell them about what’s been going on – ”
“No!” she practically shouted as Samantha joined them next to the car. Connor got out and placed a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. She jerked away and turned her back on them. Took a deep breath, then faced them once more. “No, not yet.”
“Jamie, I think Dakota’s right.” Samantha shot him a worried look. “Even if this has nothing to do with who’s after you right now, we still have to take into consideration that their safety may be in jeopardy.”
The crushing despair that flashed across Jamie’s pretty features distressed Dakota, and it was all he could do not to reach out and pull her into his arms. He hated being the bearer of bad news, and it seemed to be the only kind of news he’d been delivering lately.
“What’s going on out here?”
The gravelly voice jolted them all to attention.
“Hi, Dad,” Samantha called to the tall, thin man who looked like Ichabod’s twin.
Not attractive by any means with his gangly arms and legs and hangdog look, the man with the hunched shoulders had obviously felt more than his fair share of heavy sorrow. The wave of compassion Dakota felt for him was mixed with amazement that the man had produced these two beautiful daughters.
“We need to talk.”
Charles Cash shifted and Dakota would swear he saw fear flicker in the man’s eyes. He looked at Connor to see if he’d caught the expression.
He had.
Charles looked like he wanted to flee. Instead, he cleared his throat and did his best to hide his trepidation. “Uh, this isn’t a very good time. We’re just on our way out to that exercise class at the gym.”
“Is that why you have on your slippers?” Jamie asked.
Her dad flushed. “Well, I was just getting ready to change. You’ll have to call before you come back.”
Samantha nearly growled. “I’ve been calling. You’re avoiding me and I want to know why.”
This time the man’s throat bobbed.
“What is it, Charles? Who’s out there? Is it her again?”
“Her?” Samantha pushed past her dad to face her mother.
Jamie followed close behind. “Her who?”
The woman went pasty white and Dakota stepped forward to catch her should she keel over. She remained on her feet, placed a hand over her heart, and dragged in a ragged breath. “Oh, Samantha, Jamie. And the boys too. Oh my. Oh … well, come in and sit down, I suppose.” She ran a blue-veined hand through stylishly-cut straight gray hair that had once been as blonde as Samantha’s.
“Claire …”
“Hush, Charles.”
The man hushed.
The foursome trooped into the den area where Samantha perched herself on the end of the sofa. Jamie took the loveseat, and Dakota made a beeline for the cushion next to her.
Connor quirked a brow at him. Dakota chose to ignore the gesture as he inhaled the scent of the woman next to him. He settled his arm on the back of the small couch and let Jamie’s ponytail brush his bare arm.
Samantha started. “Were you expecting someone else at the door, Mom?”
“Er … no. Just a contrary saleswoman who can’t seem to take no for an answer.”
“Okay, then what’s going on?”
“What do you mean, darling?”
Samantha sputtered, “What do I … Mother!”
Interrupting, Jamie stood and paced to the other end of the den and back. “Has anyone contacted you about me?”
Dakota watched Charles’s eyes flutter. “What? Contacted us about you? No, not at all, why?”
Dakota leaned forward. “Sir, we really need you to tell us if you’ve been threatened in any way.”
“How could you … no, not threatened. No one’s threatened us. Why?” He frowned, the loose skin around his mouth drawing lines even deeper into the whiskerless face.
His eyes met his wife’s and Dakota knew something was going on – and before he left, he’d know what it was.
The Hero watched the house and wondered what was going on. When the foursome had talked on the porch with Jamie’s parents, he’d been able to hear a little bit. He’d followed the girls from the lab and they’d never known he was behind them even though he was sure Samantha kept a keen eye in her rearview mirror.
However, stealth was the name of the game and he’d been able to stay close enough to figure out where they were going. Once he’d realized they were going to their parents’ house, he’d fallen back and arrived only minutes after they pulled into the drive.
He’d driven past and circled back, avoiding the cruiser. Then parked in a driveway like he belonged. They never offered him more than a cursory glance when he’d pulled into the drive and pressed the button to open the garage door.
After watching the street for a few weeks in the early morning hours before work, he’d figured out most of the residents’ routines. The one that interested him the most was the house across from Jamie’s parents. A young couple with two small children, both parents worked while the kids went to daycare. They usually left around 7:30 in the morning and returned home around 5:30. After he’d picked the house and learned the routine of its occupants, he came back one morning at 7:25, parked down the street, then made his way to the house. No one noticed him.
After all, he’d learned how to be practically invisible at a young age. His survival depended upon his ability to go unnoticed. Drawing attention to himself was disastrous. Oh yes, he was very good at making sure no one thought anything about his presence.
First the husband left. Then the mother and the two children had piled into their van and she backed out of the garage. Just as she backed out, he rounded the side at a crouch and molded himself to the corner. She was so busy looking in her rearview mirror as she backed out, she never once looked back in the garage.
He knew she wouldn’t.
He’d watched her do this every weekday for the past five weeks.
Then the garage door came down and he was able to get the information he needed from the box on the ceiling. A call to the garage door company netted him a remote device to be delivered overnight.
Two days later, he returned and programmed the garage door remote. Just as he figured, the door leading from the garage to the house was unlocked. He made himself at home and befriended the family dog.
A week later, he’d done the same thing to Jamie’s house. Only he had to be a little more crafty in gaining entrance to her garage as she was more vigilant and didn’t always follow the same pattern. However, as luck would have it, he’d been successful on the first try. Jamie pushed the button to close the garage, stood there and watched it come down, but before it had completed its downward journey, she’d turned and started he
r walk to work.
And the Hero had placed his foot in the small opening just before the door was to meet the concrete. The door touched his foot and changed direction, the sensors sending the command that something was in the way.
So now he could blend in at either place to watch and learn.
And get to Jamie anytime he wanted.
From the garage window, he watched the house. Once they’d gone inside, he hadn’t been able to hear anymore.
Interesting. This little visit with Jamie’s parents could only mean one thing. They were warning them about him. Telling them that Jamie’s hero had returned and to be on the lookout for him. He chuckled a bit at that. Like they’d know him if they saw him. They could watch for him all they wanted. It made no difference.
The Hero rubbed his chin and pondered the idea of getting to Jamie through her parents. It was definitely a thought. He’d met them once when he volunteered as one of the workers to search the area for Jamie the day after he’d taken her. He’d shaken their hands and offered his condolences. He even gave his handkerchief to Jamie’s mother to wipe her tears.
He wondered if she still had it.
He thought of the other girls that he’d rescued and their families. He’d met every single one of them as he silently held back his contempt for them. If they’d loved their children like they professed to the cameras, they’d never have allowed them to be taken. They would have protected them. No, he didn’t feel sorry for the families, he felt sorry for their children. Which is why he had to protect them. He was the only one they had.
He was their hero. “Stop the pain, you have to stop the pain.” The little voice was back, demanding his attention, his cooperation.
Jamie had to understand that his job with her was unfinished. He couldn’t rest until he’d fulfilled his destiny, completed what he’d been called to do as Jamie’s hero.
He looked at the item on his front seat, then the handcuffs nestled on the floorboard, ready for Jamie. He’d even had her name engraved on them. They were a special pair, just for her.
But first, he had another gift for her, another message.
Leaving his car parked in the garage, he climbed out, grabbed the leash, and went to deliver the message.
Not only could Jamie see the silent communication going on between her parents, she could practically feel the tension emanating from both of them. She perched back on the edge of the love seat and leaned forward. “Okay, what everyone is dancing around is the fact that we think my attacker is back.”
Twin indrawn breaths and one choked cry from her mother had Jamie standing once again. She moved to kneel in front of the woman. “I know it’s a shock and I’m sorry I just blurted it out, but we’re running short on time and this man isn’t stopping. He’s still out there killing, ruining lives, families, futures. If he’s been in contact with you in any way, threatened you … please, we need to know.”
Tears leaked down the soft wrinkled cheeks and Jamie raised a shaking hand to wipe them away. Her mother grasped her hand. “Oh Jamie, I had no idea. And no, no one has contacted us or threatened us in any way.”
“Then why are you and Dad being so distant and hard to pin down?”
Her mother lifted wet eyes to stare at Jamie’s father. Then she looked at the others in the room and sighed. “It’s personal, honey. We’re not ready to share that with you yet. Can you just accept that for now?”
Jamie exchanged a look with Samantha whose fierce frown said she wasn’t having any part in accepting anything. Jamie stood. “Yes, we can. As long as you promise to take precautions and contact one of us immediately should anyone approach you or call you that makes you uncomfortable – or scared. All right?”
Another strange look passed between her parents and Jamie wanted to demand that they spill it right now. However, as long as her parents weren’t in any danger, she would respect their privacy.
And Samantha would too, she communicated silently to her sister. Sam’s jaw hardened, then her mouth opened. Jamie stared harder.
Sam snapped her mouth shut, but the look in her eyes said she wasn’t finished – by a long shot.
An hour later, Jamie was convinced something weird was going on with her parents, but it had nothing to do with her stalker. Still, the more frequent patrols would continue and her mom and dad promised to be alert, vigilant about their surroundings and to call if they noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Jamie hugged her mother. “You promise you’ll call if you notice anything at all that seems out of the ordinary.”
“I … I …” She looked at her husband, then sighed. “Yes, if I think I need to call, I promise, I will.”
“Okay.”
She stepped out onto the porch and headed for Samantha’s car, listening to her sister and the guys saying their goodbyes. She wanted to get back to the lab and see if there was anything else she could do to identify the remaining set of bones still on her table. Facial reconstruction was a last resort, but one she’d do if it became necessary.
She stopped and turned to say something to Samantha, who walked toward her, back rigid, jaw thrust out. Her eyes blazed with questions. Her tightly clamped lips looked ready to spew them at the speed of light. Jamie closed her mouth and waited. She didn’t have to wait long.
“What do you think you were doing back there? Why did you want me to keep quiet? Our parents are freaking out on us and you say nothing? I don’t get it.”
Connor and Dakota hung back, sensing the sisters needed this time.
Jamie sighed and reached out to grab her sister’s hand. “Sam, you know I love you, but not everything is your business.”
Samantha flinched and jerked away. “Well, thanks a lot.”
“No, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just meant that as long as whatever is bugging Mom and Dad isn’t related to what’s going on with me, then … I think we should respect the fact that they don’t want to tell us.”
Mutiny flashed for a brief moment, then dissolved slowly, like fog on an emerging sunny morning, as Jamie’s words sank in. “Okay, I suppose you’re right.”
“I know you feel the need to … hover and protect, but sometimes … you just can’t.”
“She’s right, hon.” Connor stepped forward to wrap an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “You know your parents. They’ll spill it when they’re ready.”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” She leaned into him briefly, then pulled away. “Come on, I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving.” He kissed her forehead, and Jamie turned to head back to the car, her mind rehashing the visit with her parents. Opening the car door, she started to slide into the seat and stopped. Blinked. Shock twisted her insides as she stared at the offering lying innocently on her seat.
16
Samantha opened the driver’s door, chattering about something that sounded like a swarm of bees buzzing in Jamie’s ears.
“What’s that?”
The sharp question jerked her, pulling her from the abyss of stunned immobility, and she sucked in a ragged breath. “Another gift from my hero,” she spat the words, the terror shooting through her warring with the rage.
“Guys! He’s been here.”
Samantha’s shout pulled Dakota and Connor up short. Without bothering to shut the doors they’d just opened, they covered the twenty yards to Samantha’s car in seconds.
Jamie felt Dakota crowd next to her to look over her shoulder. She didn’t move. Instead, she took comfort in the fact that he was there.
“A rose?”
“And a note.” She hated the shakiness she heard in her voice but couldn’t seem to help it.
“Don’t touch anything. I’ll get a crime scene unit over here.”
“Why bother?” she asked woodenly. “There won’t be any prints.”
“Probably not, but he could have left something else. And we need to get you inside out of sight.”
“No.”
“Come on, Jamie,
you need to be careful. Standing out here in the middle of the street isn’t careful.”
“I don’t care. I’m not going to be afraid anymore.”
“That’s fine,” he agreed as he took her arm to lead her back in the house, “but please, don’t be afraid anymore in the house, okay?”
Jamie pulled away from him and walked back the few steps to the car.
Samantha had already completed the call to the crime scene unit and had them on the way.
Her parents appeared on the porch and Samantha hurried up the steps to usher them back inside. Feeling exposed, yet not wanting to give the creep the satisfaction of making her run, Jamie huddled closer to Dakota who looked surprised. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I wish you’d go back inside. We’ll see what the note says as soon as the crime scene unit processes it.”
“Fine.” She cleared her throat, ignoring his request. “Did you see the rose?”
“What do you mean? Sure, I saw it.”
“No, I mean did you see it?”
He glanced back at the car then moved closer to get a better look at the red rose sitting on the seat. “It looks … weird, now that you mention it.”
“He used to peel the petals off and …” She closed her eyes. Could she do this?
When she opened her eyes back up, his were narrowed on her. “What, Jamie?”
She pulled in a shuddering sigh and saw Connor waving the crime scene guys over. They immediately went to work on the rose and the car while Jamie trembled at the memories washing over her. “He used to stand over me and peel the petals from a rose and let them drop onto the table next to the bed. Then he’d pull the thorns off one by one and place them next to the petals.”
He rubbed her shoulder. “Go on.”
“Then he’d painstakingly glue the rose back together like it was some piece of art.”
“What did he mean by it?”
“I’m sure he’ll explain that in the note.”
Dakota’s fists clenched almost involuntarily as he reread the note left by Jamie’s stalker. He refused to call the guy by the name of Hero. Psycho, crazy, possessed, yeah. Not hero.
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