Obsessed

by Margaret Daley

  “I’m glad you came to dinner. You need hearty sustenance in order to do your work. Can I help you?”

  He shut the dishwasher and pressed the on button. “We’d end up talking more than working.”

  “I’ll keep quiet.”

  He chuckled. “But I might not. How’s Brutus doing?” His dog made his way to Quinn, his tail wagging.

  “Great. Susie and he are best buddies. I still don’t understand the attraction. They’re very different.”

  “But they have good taste. I want to keep Brutus here while that stalker is out there. If you need Brutus to protect you, give him the command to chase or attack.”

  “You’ve had to use that with him?”

  “Rarely, but once or twice an arsonist has come at me or fled the scene. Some love to watch their work and see their destruction afterward. That can be part of what motivates some of them.”

  “Has Detective Harris found anything about Robbie/Bob Broussard?” Serena asked as she walked with Quinn to the foyer.

  “He’s disappeared. No recent record of him in Mobile or Biloxi. His mother has no idea where he’s been since high school graduation. The only photos of the guy are when he was a child or teenager. I sent those to you.”

  “I remember him vaguely. I haven’t seen anyone who looks like the person in those pictures.”

  “And he might not be the stalker. You said you received gifts occasionally while in high school. How?” Quinn faced her, clasping her hands.

  “Left on the porch, usually on the swing at the end of it. I used to spend a lot of time out there, especially when my stepfather was home. At the time, I thought it was romantic. I kept trying to figure out who might have done it. The gifts were sweet like flowers and candy, the kind I loved.”

  “When did the gifts start exactly?”

  “My junior year in the fall.”

  “So, it could have been Robbie. He was in Biloxi until he graduated from high school and he’s two years older than you.”

  She shivered. “I wish I knew more about him. I just wasn’t around him much.”

  “Tomorrow morning, let’s go for a walk to the park with the dogs.”

  “Sounds like a good way to show we’re a couple. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day.”

  “And then tomorrow night, I’ll take you out to dinner.” Tugging her closer, he slanted his head and kissed her. “See you in the morning about nine. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Call me when you get home.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Why?”

  “Just making sure nothing happens to you on your way to your house.”

  He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and opened the door. “Lock this when I leave.”

  “Of course.”

  After bolting the door, Serena followed his progress from one window to the next, releasing a long sigh when he ducked inside. She started for her phone before it rang.

  When she answered, she said, “Only eleven hours to the next time I see you.”

  He laughed. “See you tomorrow, Serena.”

  When she disconnected, she held the phone against her chest as though that linked her to him. She was falling in love after only knowing him ten days.

  Later after she let Susie and Brutus out back before going to sleep, she came into her bedroom to get ready for bed. She crossed to the window that faced Quinn’s house and peeked out. It was dark, no lights on from this angle, which didn’t surprise her. He’d probably gone to bed before her. He’d looked very tired earlier.

  Brutus woofed.

  Serena turned from the window and went to the one facing the backyard. Brutus and Susie were at the fence between her and Quinn’s place.

  Brutus barked again and again, standing and leaning against the wooden slats.

  Was Quinn outside on his patio?

  Before bringing the dogs inside, she swung around, moved back to the window on the left side of her house and looked out again.

  She froze, her eyes wide.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Smoke poured out of the crevices in Quinn’s house. Yellow orange flames chewed away at the wooden blinds covering a window.

  Where’s Quinn?

  In the backyard?

  Dead?

  She whirled around, grabbed her cell phone on the nightstand, and raced from her bedroom. As she dialed 9-1-1, her heartbeat sped into overdrive. After reporting the fire, she snatched up her set of keys and hurried out onto her porch, locking her door. As she ran toward Quinn’s burning house, she prayed that he would escape before the flames devoured his home.

  She reached his front door and tried to open it. The metal on the knob was warm to her touch. In her haste she’d forgotten his key she left on the peg in the kitchen with Brutus’s leash. When she couldn’t open the door, she pounded on it.

  Nothing.

  Maybe he was out in the backyard, or she could get in that way—somehow. She had to try.

  As she rounded the corner of his house, a few neighbors came outside. Sirens blared through the night. Not far away. Good.

  She continued her trek, praying that he was out back and was all right. When she reached the gate, she went directly to Quinn’s hiding place for the key to the lock on the fence. In seconds, she had the gate opened and ran around to his patio.

  No Quinn.

  The light from the fire along the back of the house shined into the smoke-filled recesses in his yard.

  He’s still inside!

  She glimpsed Brutus’s head poking over the fence, his frantic yelps vying with the sounds of the flames eating their way quickly through Quinn’s home. She made her way toward him, glad that he was in her yard, not Quinn’s. Brutus would try to get into the house and would die. Tears gathered in her eyes as she reached up to pet the Great Dane. He began to growl and attack the barrier trapping him where he didn’t want to be.

  Then she realized Brutus’s attention wasn’t fixed on the fire or even her but behind Serena. She started to turn when something sharp pricked her skin on her neck. Her legs gave out. As she sank toward the ground, strong arms held her up, and she was dragged across the grass. The last thing she did was flip one of her house slippers off right before darkness swallowed her.

  * * *

  A continuous piercing sound intruded into Quinn’s deep sleep. He opened his eyes. Smoke filled the den at the back of his place. He’d sat down to check the news and instead had fallen asleep on the couch. He immediately rolled off the sofa. Then on hands and knees, he assessed what was happening. His eyes burned from the thick smoke pouring through the doorway into the room. He thought about the two recent fires. Although he’d been so tired last night, he’d added the rest of the surveillance cameras. He hoped the police officer who was monitoring the feed called the fire department.

  As he crawled toward the exit to check the hallway, the blare of sirens vied with the smoke detector’s piercing sound. Help was on the way. He prayed Serena was all right.

  He peered out into the corridor to figure out which way to escape. The smoke and flames came from both possible escape routes. He was cut off. He quickly backed up into the den and slammed the door to give him time to come up with a way out of the house.

  The smoke continued to sting his eyes. He blinked constantly as he crawled further away from the entrance and toward the only window in the room. Coughs racked him as he studied the plate glass window that didn’t have a way to open it. He scanned the area to find something to help him break the glass. Nothing. He stood before the window and charged into it using his upper arm as a battering ram. He bounced off.

  Then he remembered. The windows have tempered glass—not easy to break with brute force.

  He hurried across the room to the door and put his hand on it. The heated wood indicated the fire was rapidly moving down the hall. Trapped!

  * * *

  Serena opened her eyes and stared into the darkness, lying on a soft surface like a mattress. On a bed? She tried to move, but her
arms and legs were tied down. The ropes holding her cut into her flesh. Her heart pounded against her chest.

  Lord, I need Your help. Please protect Quinn. Please reveal and bring the stalker to justice before he hurts another.

  The sound of a knob turning sent terror through her.

  God is with me. She repeated it over and over in her mind.

  Brightness streamed into the blackness. A large, shadowy figure stepped into the entrance.

  Serena stiffened, her breath trapped in her lungs.

  He flipped the overhead light on. The glare hurt her eyes, and she automatically shut them before she saw who had kidnapped her. She didn’t hear him coming closer, but she felt his presence nearby. She lifted her eyelids partway. Her stalker stood only feet away.

  As she adjusted to the brilliance, she stared at her tormentor.

  * * *

  Quinn heard Brutus barking, but he also heard the fire moving closer to the den. It wouldn’t be long before the flames burned through the walls. What was he missing?

  Then he remembered.

  He had his multi-tasked knife in his pocket. He pulled it out and found the tool he could use to break the tempered glass easily. He’d utilized it in wrecks he’d been called to over his years as a firefighter. Quickly he tapped it against the window, and it shattered in hundreds of tiny shards, some inside, other outside. He pulled two throw pillows from the couch and set them on the bottom of the window before climbing out into the backyard.

  His Great Dane still continued to yelp as he hurriedly crossed to the fence. “Quiet, Brutus. I’m okay.”

  As he spied several firefighters coming through the opened gate, he wondered if they’d cut the lock off. With Brutus not obeying his command, Quinn rushed toward several men he’d been working with today to put out the wildfire.

  “Was the gate open?”

  “Yes,” the guy nearest Quinn said.

  “It was locked. Who opened it?”

  The other firefighter answered, “I don’t know. We just arrived.”

  Quinn turned back toward Brutus, still causing a ruckus. As he bridged the distance to his dog, Brutus climbed down and popped up farther down the fence, close to the rear. His dog continued his barking and tried to claw his way into his yard. Quinn didn’t have a good feeling about this. If the firefighters didn’t cut the lock, then how was the gate opened?

  Only one person knew where he’d put the key.

  Serena.

  He scanned the area for any sign of her. Nothing.

  He ran toward the front of his house and scanned the gathering crowd for Serena. The dogs were out in her backyard, so where was she? In her house? He remembered how quickly she realized the West house was on fire. After assessing the crowd watching the blaze, he raced to Serena’s front porch and rang the bell as well as pounded on the door.

  Something was wrong. Had the stalker started the fire at his house and waited for her?

  The sounds of his dog’s continual commotion sent him around Serena’s home and through the gate.

  “Come, Brutus.”

  He yelped a couple of more times then jumped down and charged across the grass to Quinn.

  “Heel.”

  Brutus positioned himself at Quinn’s side. He grabbed his dog’s collar and started forward. Susie trotted next to Quinn on the other side. He closed the gate, making sure the poodle stayed there.

  At the end of his driveway, Brock strode toward him.

  The police detective frowned. “My officer monitoring your place notified the fire department. Then he called me. I came right away.”

  “Did he say anything about Serena?”

  “She left the house. He was supposed to call me if she returned.”

  “Look through the people. Brutus is upset about something in my backyard. I’m going to see if it had anything to do with Serena or the arsonist.”

  While Brock left, Quinn led Brutus into his backyard. “Go. Find Serena.”

  This was a long shot, but he didn’t know what else to do. He charged forward. Not a minute later, Brutus barked. His dog was near the rear of the property, sitting down, staring at something on the ground behind a bush.

  Quinn leaned down and picked up a pink house slipper. Serena’s. He held it up to Brutus’s nose. “Smell. Find.”

  His Great Dane sniffed the air then covered the short distance to the back fence and scratched at the wooden planks, several collapsing forward onto the ground.

  “Stay. Guard.”

  Quinn raced to the front yard and found Brock. “I have a lead where Serena might be. Brutus is following her scent.”

  * * *

  Adam Winters is the stalker. Why? Serena didn’t recognize him from her past.

  “Who are you really?”

  “You don’t know who I am?”

  “Should I?” His voice sounded familiar. She remembered voices much better than faces.

  “It has been a while. You didn’t make it easy to find you.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t accommodate you.”

  He moved closer and hovered over her, his hands squeezing closed at his sides. “You may think I like to play games. But I don’t. That’s why I’ve taken care of your neighbor.”

  “He’s a firefighter. He’ll be able to get out of his house.”

  “That’s why I’ve added a little punch to what I normally do.”

  She tried to sit up, but the ropes held her tightly in place on the bed. The trapped feeling heightened the beating of her heart. Sweat rolled down her face. She flinched when he touched her arm.

  “Be still or I won’t untie your hands and feet.”

  “Why do you want to?”

  “I want you to see what I’ve planned,” he said in a voice laced with glee, followed by a creepy laugh she remembered from Mobile.

  “That’s okay. I’ll pass, Robbie.”

  His dark eyes squinted as though they were swords lancing through her. He leaned down to whisper, “Too late.” The scent of black licorice laced his breath.

  A loud boom reverberated through the air. The house shook. The windows rattled.

  * * *

  The explosion slammed Quinn to the ground in Adam Winters’s backyard. He groaned and slowly pushed to his feet, his ears ringing. He took a step forward to check on Brutus. His vision swirled. He closed his eyes, needing to move forward and rescue Serena before…

  He went to his knees, trying to still the spinning world.

  God, I need Your help.

  Time seemed to come to a halt.

  Brutus nudged Quinn and licked his face. He opened his eyes and glimpsed Brock struggling to his knees not far from Quinn. Brock finally stood and walked slowly toward Quinn, keeping his gaze focused on a fixed spot while talking into his cell phone.

  As the police detective neared, he ended his call. Brock motioned for him to follow him toward the house directly behind Quinn’s. Brutus stood at the back door as though he was waiting to be let inside.

  The loud sounds of more sirens resonated through the air. Quinn glanced over his shoulder at his house totally engulfed in flames. He didn’t think the firefighters had been inside when the explosion occurred because their main objection by that time would be to stop the fire from spreading to other structures.

  Brock signaled to move around the side of the house. Quinn wanted to storm the place.

  * * *

  Quinn! No!

  “What did you do?” Serena shouted the question at her stepbrother, parading around as Adam Winters. He’d gained a lot of weight, must be wearing color eye contacts, lightened his hair, and masked half his face with a full beard. But she knew it was Robbie Broussard. That creepy laugh she’d heard a couple of times in the past scared her when she was a young girl. She’d never wanted to have anything to do with Robbie. She should have known it was him from the beginning.

  “What I should have done at the start. I tried to protect you from the ones who wanted to hurt you, especially my father a
nd Don. But you kept choosing men who aren’t good enough for you—they don’t have your best interest at heart like I do. Nor did your mom. She married my father and look at what he did to you. I saw your fear of him, especially when you sat on the porch swing for hours.”

  “Did you kill my mother?” she asked, knowing in her heart he had but needing him to admit it.

  “I set up the circumstances, so that she lost control of her car and ended up hitting a tree.”

  “Don? What happened to him? Is he dead?”

  He chuckled, that creepy sound that shivered down her spine. “Yes, like Mark and that explosion you just heard took care of Quinn. I don’t do anything halfway.” He took out a knife. “I’m not playing games anymore. I don’t care if you come to me willingly now because one way or another you’re going with me.”

  Her gaze fixed onto his hand with the knife in it, but all she could think about was what happened to Quinn who had been trying to help her.

  Quinn could be dead because of her.

  Stunned, she tried to suck in deep breaths to calm her rapid heartbeat. She couldn’t get enough air. She had to remain calm—not hyperventilate.

  Fight!

  How?

  All she saw was Robbie’s white teeth when he smiled down at her, slipped the knife under the rope, and cut her loose. Then he quickly freed her other hand.

  Before she could move, he pinned her to the bed with his knife at her throat. “Don’t think I won’t kill you if you cross me again. I’ve lost all patience with you. If you comply with me, you’ll be treated well.” He smiled again. His big teeth surrounded by his hairy beard loomed before her. “Sit up and put your hands behind your back.”