EYEWITNESS: A Gripping Mystery Suspense Thriller

by Marc Timms

  Eye Witness

  BOOK 2

  By

  Marc Timms

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  Copyright Notice

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Mark Timms – All rights reserved

  All rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark.

  Table of Contents

  Books By Marc Timms

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  About The Author

  Books By Marc Timms

  Books by Marc Timms

  SHOCK SERIES

  SHOCK

  SHOCK – The Truth

  SHOCK – The Chase

  SHOCK – The Chaos

  SHOCK – The Capture

  FORGOTTEN SERIES

  FORGOTTEN – The Return

  FORGOTTEN – THE Quest

  FORGOTTEN – The Revelations

  FORGOTTEN – The Reveal

  FORGOTTEN – The Unveil

  Book 2

  Chapter 1

  The car caromed from left to right on the road as Johanna Cole tried to get the automobile under control. Marnie screamed with each swerve, holding onto the overhead handle with both hands.

  “What was that?” Marnie asked, as they swerved again. The old roads in the park were not made for speeding. The asphalt was ancient, breaking into pieces, and the roadsides were little more than dirt.

  “That was a reenactment of what I saw the other night, except this time I got a much better look at the guy.” Johanna’s mind was racing as she drove down the roadway. They rolled through the stop sign and picked up speed as they entered the highway.

  Marnie cleared her throat. “I hate to point it out, but he likely got a better look at you—and probably your car as well. He could be waiting for you at home this very minute.”

  Johanna hadn’t thought of that. For all the information she now had, this man—this murderer—also had his own. She mentally recalibrated where she should go if the man had her address now.

  “I’m going to stop at the police station,” Johanna said. “I saw the same man before, and I have a witness as well.”

  “I have a partial license plate too,” Marnie said.

  Before Johanna could ask the other woman how she had the presence to notice such details, her head jerked forward. She looked up, and the other car was behind her, immediately on her bumper, nudging them.

  “You might have mentioned this,” Johanna said to her friend. “How long has he been behind us?” she asked.

  “Just a few seconds. He’s moving fast,” Marnie replied. “What does he want?”

  “I’m guessing that he wants to kill us,” Johanna said, with disdain. “What else do you think?”

  “He could strand us out here in the middle of nowhere,” she replied. “That could delay us enough that he could dispose of the body and be gone.”

  Johanna sighed. “He’s killed two women. There’s nothing to stop him from trying to kill more, if he needs to.”

  “So why go back and do it in the same place? Do you think he wants to get caught? The park might be under surveillance, and they’ll see him in the car with the woman.”

  The car lurched forward again as Johanna pushed her foot on the gas pedal, all the way to the floor. She hadn’t expected that the older car behind them could keep up with her, but it seemed to have no trouble.

  She came up with a plan. If they couldn’t go home, then they could go to the police. Johanna gave the car a hard right, and the vehicle fishtailed, as they careened onto a side road that would take them to the main highway into town. She pushed the accelerator as hard as she could, and she saw the car behind them slow down. It was no longer on their bumper.

  She took another right at the next intersection and pulled onto the main highway. Johanna exceeded the speed limit by twenty mph now, and at the worst, she thought she would find the police if they pulled her over.

  However, no patrol cars appeared. Johanna maintained her speed as she passed into the city limits. She slowed as the police station loomed on the right, and she made the turn into the parking lot. The other car continued.

  “What are we going to do now?” Marnie shouted. “He’s getting away.”

  “We have his license plate and the make of the car. The cameras are installed in the parking lot at the park. They’ll be able to find him and that woman as well.” Johanna could feel her breath quicken. She worried about having a panic attack in the parking lot.

  “But he’ll have your name and address too,” Marnie said. Johanna could feel her friend’s anxiety in her words.

  “Actually, he won’t. I haven’t updated my license from my last move, and even if this killer has my name, it’s not what’s listed on my phone account. No one who lives alone should ever put their correct name on their phone account. No way.” Johanna felt proud of her procrastination at the moment. Maybe she should put off other annoying tasks.

  They pulled into the police station, and Johanna turned off the car, after they found a spot. “I need to talk to Detective Dempsey,” she said, opening the door. “Are you coming in?”

  Marnie seemed to think for a minute and then opened her door. “I’m not staying here by myself. What if he figures out what you’re doing and comes looking for you?”

  Marnie opened the door for them both, but Johanna was the first to enter the lobby area. She found the front desk and asked for the detective. The woman behind the desk pointed to some ancient plastic chairs where they could wait.

  Five minutes passed, but Johanna didn’t mind. As the time ticked slowly by, her heart rate calmed, and her breathing slowed. She was able to think more rationally about what she would say to the detective. Given how they had not believed her last time, she had doubts that they would take her seriously now. It irked her. She wanted to complain; however, her first goal was to stop the series of murders that she was witnessing.

  She thought about the second scenario. Johanna tried to determine if it had been planned— someone wanted her to see the murder—or had the crimes been unplanned, which meant that she had terrible timing?

  Detective Dempsey came out and greeted the two women. “What can I do for you today?” he asked, giving them a noncommittal smile. However, those dark eyes sparkled today, as if he knew a private joke.

  Johanna began and explained how they had returned to the park and what they had witnessed in the parking lot. She finished her story
with the chase and her arrival at the police station.

  “This other car tapped your car while you were driving—at high speeds?” his voice sounded dubious.

  “I can show you the bumper,” Johanna said, feeling frustrated.

  They went outside, and the detective looked at the bumper and the various dents and scuffs. “Someone might have bashed into this.” He called for a tech and explained the situation. “I’m going to have to pull some paint from the bumper to see if it matches your story. If so, I’m going to look into this more. We might be able to find the car and see what happened.”

  Marnie spoke up for the first time. “I can give you the license plate number too,”

  Dempsey raised an eyebrow at her. “It might have been nice if you’d mentioned that earlier.” He headed back to the station, and the two women followed him to his office. He sat down behind the desk and started typing. “Can you repeat that?” he asked.

  Marnie rattled it off from memory. Johanna wondered how she’d managed to memorize the number while being chased. Her mind had been too occupied with saving them from death or injury.

  “Huh,” the detective muttered. He typed in some other information and sat reading the screen.

  “What’s the matter?” Johanna asked, wondering if the car had been pulled over already, or the house where it came from was raided.

  “The car was stolen last night,” he said quietly. “Just like the car from your last report had been stolen.”

  “I thought you had felt that the murder at the park and the murder in the locked home were tied together?” Johanna doubted this theory—just as she was skeptical of the odd coincidence that had allowed her to see two murders at the park. Were all the murders in town related to each other, but they just had not figured out the connection yet?

  “We did at first, but the car theft seemed unrelated to everything we know about the murder at the house. It’s a stretch, but it’s possible.”

  “But two stolen cars, seen twice by me, witnessing a murder twice—two separate homicides. That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

  Dempsey nodded. “I do too, but I have to go with that theory until I find something that makes more sense.”

  Johanna had a horrendous thought. “Have you checked with the owner of the car?”

  Dempsey shrugged. “He’s the one who reported it missing, so the officers talked to him then. Why?”

  “I was wondering if he’s still alive. When you went to Jessica’s house to find out about her car, she was dead.” Johanna felt her pulse race faster as she admitted to the thought. This entire case was too confusing.

  “But she didn’t file a police report. We found that out from her neighbor. That’s why she took a car and driver around town.” However, even as he was speaking, Detective Dempsey was dialing the number on the screen. He put his phone on speaker so that the women could listen too. “You can hear what’s going on, but no speaking. No matter what—keep it to yourself.”

  Just when Johanna thought that it would go to voicemail, a woman picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  “Yes, ma’am, is Mr. Hoskins there?” Dempsey’s tone was polite and quiet.

  “He’s out at the moment. May I ask who is calling?”

  Dempsey went through the spiel, telling the woman that he was from the police. They’d seen the car, but they had not recovered it. The police just wanted to know if the vehicle had been returned to Mr. Hoskins.

  “No, he left without it this morning, and it’s not in the driveway now. Is everything okay?” Mrs. Hoskins’s voice seemed to indicate that she understood the police typically didn’t just call to check up on a simple joyride.

  “Yes, ma’am. We’re just following up. I’ll call back if we discover anything else.” He hung up the phone and went to a radio system. He put out an APB for patrols to be on the lookout for the make and model of the missing car, even giving them the detail that the front bumper was likely to be dented.

  “Not much to tell you now,” he said. “You might as well head home.” He paused again. “Wait, does he have your license plate number too?” he asked, looking at Johanna.

  She explained that she hadn’t updated her license since her last move, and Dempsey nodded, though Johanna thought she saw his lips purse.

  When they arrived home, Marnie looked at Johanna. “So, what now? We went looking for answers, and we witnessed a murder. I think we’re moving in the wrong direction here. We’re supposed to find the answers, not create more.”

  Johanna smiled. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to be home. I need to think.”

  “Is that my cue to go home?” Marnie asked.

  “Not necessarily. You heard Detective Dempsey. The police now think that Jessica’s car was stolen. That would make sense. She lost her car at the park. She found a ride home with the driver, Alexander, and then she was killed. The guy in the car picked up some woman and then brought her back to the park to kill her. He could then dump the body, return the car to the lot, and it would look like Jessica had been confused. I’m sure the police wouldn’t take her seriously if she said that she’d lost her car—and then found it when she went back. They didn’t believe me until we both witnessed the murder, the car chasing us, and were able to remember the license plate numbers of the stolen car.”

  Marnie looked skeptical. “You were certain everything was tied together before, and are saying that today’s events are also all connected. I went twenty-four years without witnessing a murder, and now I’m involved in three different murders, in less than a week.”

  “Twenty-eight,” Johanna corrected. “I may be rattled, but I know your age.”

  “So what next?” Marnie asked.

  Chapter 2

  The following day, Johanna decided to talk to Thomas again. She had information about the car, the theft, and his “cousin’s” death. So she felt that a quick lunch between work sessions was in order.

  He met her at the café on the corner of Main and Clayton. She liked the small family-owned restaurant atmosphere, and she felt like today would be a wonderful day to be outside.

  She’d ordered a tea when Thomas came up and greeted her. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “How are you doing? I’m assuming that you have news about what’s going on?”

  Johanna explained the situation to the best of her ability and then finished her story with another drink of tea.

  “Thanks,” Thomas said. “That’s far more than I can get out of the police. So my aunt’s death isn’t involved with the automobile problem at the park?”

  “Not that I can tell,” Johanna replied.

  The pouty lips that Johanna had noticed during their last talk now turned down. “I’m not sure what to make of all this. It seems so random and all.”

  Johanna didn’t think it was random. When the matter of the car killer was removed from the picture, there was a reasonably straight case of murder for profit and a few possible candidates for the hit. Jessica’s family members would be the people benefitting from her death, and she had no idea how many others there were beyond the two she’d heard of.

  Johanna came out of her thoughts at the sound of screeching tires. Thomas half stood and shoved her backward. She flew out of her chair, landing partially behind a cement barrier and a lamppost.

  Though shaken up, Johanna focused on the scene. A car that she’d never seen before was barreling in their direction. Thomas planted a hand on the cement barrier and leaped over it. He landed hard on the sidewalk next to Johanna.

  She turned her attention to the car again, and it suddenly veered to the left and went back out on the street. Johanna got the first four characters of the license plate, but she had a sinking feeling that she was going to find that this car had been stolen as well.

  Her first instinct had been to assume that the car had been after her. After all, she had identified a killer yesterday. Today, Johanna was actively looking into the death of Jessica. That put her in conflict with tw
o killers, and perhaps more if accomplices were involved. Any of them would have an excellent reason to want her dead.

  However, the car had continued coming towards them when Thomas had pushed her away. It had only stopped when Thomas went over the barrier. To Johanna, this seemed to indicate that the car had wanted to injure or kill Thomas—not her.

  Now she had to wonder about Thomas. Did this mysterious car have anything to do with his aunt’s killing? Again, there seemed to be too many deaths involving her.

  She looked at Thomas, and the knee of the left leg of his trousers was bloody, a red stain slowly growing across the pants. She wondered how she could stop it and get him taken care of.

  “First aid kit,” she said breathlessly. Johanna leaped over the cement barrier, had her car unlocked before she got there, and grabbed the kit from the door pocket. She was back at Thomas’s side before he could argue with her.

  She looked at the pants. Thomas gave a sigh and ripped them open from hem to knee in a single motion. Even as she worked to cut the gauze and carefully place it around his knee, she noticed the muscular calf and the dark hair that ran across his leg.

  Johanna refocused on what was essential and finished taping up the knee. The injuries looked more cosmetic than a hindrance in moving. She helped him stand up, and he took a few tender steps before nodding and giving her a smile.

  “Thanks. You’d think that you’d done this before. Do cars normally head in your direction during a date? Jilted suitor?” He gave her a grin.

  So many thoughts ran through Johanna’s mind that she nearly missed the mention of a date. Was this a social event, or was this part of an investigation? She didn’t know at this point. Her life was in danger—or his was—and that took precedence over the rest of her personal life.

  Thomas was a handsome man, even if his pants were torn. He sat down on the edge of the barrier. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.