The Dark Hour

by Erin Lanter

  When Drew was there, she could relax a little. Someone else was on the lookout for the monster, the way she used to do for Mama.

  Dr. Raymond was right. Tessa needed to feel safe, and Drew was the closest she’d ever come. But she’d asked him to leave, pushing the only safety net she’d ever had out her front door.

  She only vaguely remembered her father being around. The crazy had been too much for him, and, when Tessa was six, he took off. Given the choice, she might have done the same thing. If she were honest with herself, she’d never really forgiven him for leaving her with such a sick and unstable mother. She understood him but had never been able to forgive him.

  Ironically, the more Tessa came to understand why he left, the stronger her urge to stay close to Mama. She’d needed to be protected.

  Protected from what? Tessa asked herself countless times through the long years she’d played watchdog. At first, it was only from the bad people Mama said were out to get her. She’d stay up half the night watching for them, many times falling asleep on the stairs.

  Even then, Tessa thought, it was unreasonable to put that kind of pressure on myself. But Mama was so weak, so frail, that she needed somebody to take care of her. The sicker she got, though, the more Tessa realized that what Mama really needed protection from was herself.

  Seeing her gently swaying from the second-floor banister had confirmed that.

  Tessa turned from the window. The sun had dipped behind the trees, leaving behind only an orange glow.

  Darkness would be here soon.

  Hungry but emotionally drained, Tessa grabbed a frozen dinner and popped it into the microwave. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d cooked a decent meal. With nobody there to share it with, it hardly seemed worth the effort.

  The microwave beeped to tell her another culinary masterpiece was ready. Sometimes Tessa bothered to take it out of the plastic container and put it on a real plate, but tonight wasn’t one of those times. She grabbed a potholder and slid it underneath the half-melted tray and snagged a fork from the drawer on her way out of the kitchen.

  After settling onto the sofa, she grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. She picked up her dinner, kicked her feet up on the coffee table, and blew on the steam billowing from the limp pasta.

  Losing herself in someone else’s life sounded like heaven, but the only thing on TV were crime dramas. She had no interest in crime at the moment, and her life was filled with enough of her own drama. She didn’t need fictional drama, too.

  Taking the last bite of pasta, she clicked the TV off and picked up a book she’d started last week. She only made it one chapter before the main character realized someone was lurking around outside her secluded home. At that moment, Tessa could have sworn she heard footsteps outside.

  She tossed the book aside and dropped to the floor. Maybe she was overreacting, but Mama had always taught her to be afraid of things that go bump in the night.

  From around the coffee table, she peered out the window as much as she could without getting off the floor. There was nothing there. Tessa gave herself a mental slap for being such a sissy and stood, trying to recover her dignity. The fact that no one saw her didn’t make it any less embarrassing.

  Twice in one evening she’d dropped to the ground because of the noise on her street. First a car, and now footsteps. Normal sounds were suddenly making her jump out of her skin.

  Tessa took the plastic container from the frozen dinner to the kitchen trash. As she walked back through the living room toward the bedroom, she snapped off the lamp beside the sofa. As she passed the same window she’d looked out just moments before, she instinctively checked it one more time. Old habits and all.

  There, staring back at her was the face of someone she didn’t know, but someone who looked familiar, and whose eyes she wouldn’t soon forget.

  28

  Heart thudding in her chest, Tessa opened her front door and crept around to the side of the house. Her fight-or-flight instinct, which usually could go either way, had surprised her by sending her outside toward the prowler.

  I must be out of my mind. The thought was nearly drowned out by the sound of her own beating heart.

  As she turned the corner, back pressed against the brick, her survival instinct, now in overdrive, urged her to defend herself.

  There, standing in front of the shrubs, was the honey-haired beauty she’d seen with Drew at lunch. She was wearing a jogging suit, and her hair was in a ponytail, bangs and fly-aways contained with a stretchy headband. Tonight, she looked much less like the vixen who’d been dining with Tessa’s ex-husband and more like the girl next door. Under the streetlights, her eyes looked shadowed and puffy.

  Drew said they broke up, Tessa thought. She’d been there. Losing Drew had hurt. It still did.

  Camille stood there in the dark, eyes searching Tessa’s face. She didn’t say anything.

  Tessa broke the silence. “Care to explain why you were looking through the window of my house?” The anxiety of seeing a stranger peeking through her window had settled, and her voice was calm.

  “I needed to see you with my own eyes,” Camille said softly.

  “Why?” Even though this woman was clearly upset, and Tessa could empathize with her, a person would have to be pretty unhinged to stare through someone else’s window at night.

  “I needed to see you,” Camille said, her eyes scanning the length of Tessa’s body.

  “How did you know where I live?”

  “I followed Drew here. At a safe distance of course,” Camille confessed. She crossed her arms over her full chest. “Drew dumped me today. He said I would never understand him the way you do. He still loves you.” Camille’s voice cracked. “I wanted to see why.”

  For possibly the first time in her life, Tessa was speechless. What exactly had Drew said to Camille?

  Then she remembered Drew’s words. He’d told her that he missed her and wanted to give it another try. But why would he want her, with all her baggage, over Camille the beauty queen?

  If he did, score one for the home team. It was a victory for regular girls everywhere.

  Then she remembered how angry Drew was when he left this evening. It seemed like any shot of reconciliation was gone. Besides, she wasn’t even sure if she’d want to get back together.

  “Look,” Tessa said, “I’m not competition. Drew and I are divorced. That’s the extent of our relationship.”

  “But he spent the night with you twice this week,” Camille whined.

  Tessa clamped her lips together, forcing herself not to laugh. This chick was crazy, and Tessa knew crazy. That was something they had in common. She made a mental note to ask Drew why all the women he fell for had a few screws loose.

  “Yes, he spent the night here. But he slept on the couch. Alone.”

  Camille perked up. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back inside, and you need to get off my property.” Tessa turned and started walking back around the house toward the front door. She stopped and turned to face Camille. “Don’t ever come back here and press your nose against my window. Understand?” she warned.

  Camille nodded. “Sorry for scaring you.”

  Tessa ignored her, walked into the house, and slammed the front door. As she engaged the deadbolt, Tessa thought, At least this time it was just a lovesick woman.

  Next time, I might not be so lucky.

  29

  Thursday morning, Tessa could hardly wait to get to work. After what could only be described as a near home invasion by Camille last night, she felt even less safe in her house than she had before.

  What if the face I’d seen hadn’t been Camille’s?

  A piece of breakable glass was all that stood between her and a would-be killer. That knowledge made her realize just how vulnerable she was.

  Tessa threw back the covers and grabbed her robe. After getting only a few hours of sleep, she needed coffee. While it
was perking, she took a quick shower then preheated the oven. She grabbed a couple frozen biscuits and dropped them with a clang on the baking sheet. As they were baking, she booted up her laptop to check her email. As expected, there were dozens of emails about deals retailers thought she just couldn’t pass up.

  As if on autopilot, she clicked on the boxes to the left of each junk message. Just as she was about to hit delete, the subject line of the last one made her stop cold.

  You’re Next.

  Taking a deep breath, Tessa moved the cursor to the subject line and clicked. The coffee pot gurgled in the background. The smell that usually revitalized her now made her nauseous.

  She read the short message over and over.

  Forget what you saw. Don’t tell anybody. I’m watching.

  That was it. The message was simple but clear.

  How did he get my email address? Tessa thought frantically. He knows who I am. He found me. Her pulse quickened.

  The image of the dead woman surged into the forefront of her mind. The email was more than a warning. Tessa already knew what this monster was capable of, and she’d already told people about it. Drew, Detective Jefferson, and Dr. Raymond all knew what she’d seen. Would they be in danger, too?

  Detective Jefferson said he’d talked to the man who lived in that house, so he already knew she’d gone to the police. But surely the detective wouldn’t have given him her information.

  Logically, she knew he wouldn’t have done that, but paranoia had set in. Mama’s voice, from somewhere deep in her mind, told her that of course he would have. That’s what people do.

  Fear squeezed her throat.

  The car backfire could have easily been a gunshot. The face pressed against her living room window could have very well been her would-be murderer instead of a slightly unhinged woman wanting her boyfriend back.

  You’re Next.

  She would be. Tessa was certain of that.

  30

  He tapped his pen nervously on his desk. Only eight thirty. The workday had just begun and all he wanted to do was leave. He loved his job, but the for the past few days he’d felt the net closing in on him.

  That woman had seen him. He’d known that even before that detective came poking around.

  It had been a stroke of luck that she was out in her front yard when he drove by. All he’d needed to do was find out the name of the woman that lived in that house.

  Tessa James.

  From there, just one call to a cousin who worked for an internet security company who fancied himself an overpaid hacker, and he had her email address. He hoped the message he’d sent would push her into hiding and she’d be too scared to leave her house. It’s so much easier to hit a target when it’s not moving.

  The one thing he cursed himself about was that blasted rental car. After noticing how much his own vehicle would stick out in her neighborhood, he’d rented one that would blend in. Unfortunately, it had backfired just as he drove by her house.

  He smirked as he remembered the loud pop! and the way she dropped to the ground and covered her head. She was scared, all right, and the email would certainly push her even farther down that path.

  As he was relishing the way he’d gotten into that woman’s head, his cell phone rang. His wife.

  “I hate to tell you this, but I’ve got a crisis in Omaha, and I’m going to have to fly directly there. It looks like I won’t be home for a few more days,” she said in a regretful tone.

  He smiled. “That’s too bad. Do what you need to do.”

  After a quick goodbye, he slid the phone back into his briefcase. Leaning back in his chair, he relished his good luck. Things were working out. He had at least two more days to figure out what to do with the body.

  That also gave him time to dispose of his other complication…

  31

  Tessa printed the email and stuffed it in her purse, then tossed the burned biscuits in the trash.

  Maybe now she had the evidence the police needed. Maybe that detective would finally start acting like a crime happened, and not a moment too soon. She was beginning to wonder how long her sanity would hold out.

  After calling Jack to let him know she’d be late for work again, she drove to the police station, hoping Detective Jefferson would be in.

  The same desk sergeant greeted her, then then told her to wait in the same cold plastic chair. When she was finally escorted to Detective Jefferson’s desk, she couldn’t help but notice the difference in the man’s appearance.

  The detective’s broad shoulders were slumped, his hair tousled, and dark circles rested under each eye. Tessa felt a moment of compassion and a fleeting feeling of guilt. She was bringing him something that would further complicate his day, but the guilt was gone as quickly as it had come. There was a killer out there, and now he was threatening her.

  Detective Jefferson looked up as she sat down, then watched her hand dig into her shoulder bag and withdraw a piece of paper.

  “I got this email this morning,” Tessa said as she slid the paper across the desk.

  He picked it up and read it. She watched his eyes track the words several times before he laid it on his desk. He rubbed the stubble on his face, then ran his fingers through his already unkempt hair. “This is very serious.”

  “I agree. Is it enough to start treating what I saw like an actual case?”

  The detective sighed heavily. “Yes. You’re being threatened and we don’t take that lightly.” He motioned toward the printout. “This guy admitted to a crime, and this email more than suggests that you’re also in danger.”

  Tessa shuddered.

  “I am going to have a patrol car drive by your house every hour, to keep an eye on the place. Unfortunately, I can’t offer more at the moment. We can work to get you into a safe house if you’re willing to go, but that could take a little time,” he offered.

  Fear and Tessa’s own stubbornness vied for her primary emotion about the safe house. On one hand, clearly this monster knew enough about her to have gotten his hands on her email address, and the idea of having someone watching for him, and being there to keep him from getting to her, could bring her a rare feeling of safety. On the other hand, taking care of Mama had fostered a fierce independent streak in her, and she certainly didn’t want to leave her home, or depend on someone else to protect her.

  “That’s fine,” Tessa said. “Can I have some time to think about it?”

  “Of course.” Detective Jefferson picked up the email. “I need to hang on to this for the file. Also, I’ll need the tech guys to look at your computer to see if we can trace an IP address.”

  Tessa nodded. “Of course.” She stood. “I’ll let you know what I decide about the safe house.”

  She turned and walked out of the police station. This was all too much. But at least something was happening, and maybe they’d nail this guy before he had a chance to follow through on his threat.

  32

  Drew tried to focus on the new client paperwork he was holding. Last night’s argument with Tessa was occupying way more space in his mind than the asset transfer paperwork of his newest client.

  Shoving away the memory of walking out on Tessa again after he vowed he would do whatever he could to help her, he zeroed in on the type of advising the new client would need.

  He was a psychiatrist with more money than he’d ever spend, considering the bank statements that showed, aside from his house and the luxury car his wife had purchased, he lived like a miser.

  Now that’s a weird guy, Drew thought, wondering how a psychiatrist hadn’t picked up on basic social cues. It seemed like he either made too much eye contact or not enough. When he spoke about his job, though, he did seem to thoroughly enjoy his work.

  Is Tessa seeing someone like him? he wondered. Her admission about seeing a shrink had blindsided him, but it had also given him hope that she was beginning to see her need to change.

  In a way, Drew was jealous. Tessa was opening
up to a stranger in a way she hadn’t with him during their ten-year marriage.

  He picked up his cell phone, then laid it back on his desk. He’d almost called Tessa a dozen times. He owed her an apology and he wanted to make sure she’d been okay during the night.

  Finding out he was involved with someone else had visibly hurt her.

  Maybe she cares more than I realized, Drew thought, staring absently at the computer screen.

  Tessa was unlike any woman he’d ever met, and not only because half the time she was nearly impossible to live with. She had a brain and wasn’t afraid to use it. She was always thrilled to have a good debate and never failed to call him on his bull. She had a brain and a backbone, a combination that would be threatening to a lot of guys he knew.

  Glancing at the clock in the corner of his computer screen, he saw that it was a half hour before he usually took his lunch break. He grabbed his keys from his desk drawer and walked past his assistant, Dorothy and out into the thick summer air.

  He went to Chester’s Deli, where he’d broken up with Camille only yesterday, and ordered Tessa’s favorite – a ham and swiss on a Kaiser roll with extra mustard – then waited in a seat by the counter. When his number was called, he grabbed the bag and darted out the door. Tessa never went out for lunch, and he wanted to catch her before she heated up one of those awful microwaveable meals she practically lived on.

  He unlocked the driver’s side door, slid behind the steering wheel, and set the bag on the passenger seat. As he pulled out of his parking space, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

  33

  Camille sniffed and wiped her eyes with the balled-up tissue clutched in her right hand. Ever since she found out Drew was interested in someone else – his ex-wife, no less – she’d been questioning everything about herself. How could he not think they were right for each other?

  She knew she’d never be the smartest girl in the room, but until now she’d never needed to be. Drew always wanted to talk about what was going on in the world, what the economy would look like over the next several months, and debate politics. Though she didn’t understand most of it, she thought she’d done a pretty good job faking it.