Rushing toward the door, he felt a grin growing on his face. He’d expected his sister to be by with a cake this afternoon. She never missed a birthday, but he wondered what type of surprise she could have planned for him already. He swung open the door and felt his hope plummet immediately. “Oh, hey there, Phil,” he greeted his mail man.
“James, hope you’re doing well. Listen, I hate to bother you so early, but this wouldn’t fit in the mailbox. I hated to leave it sitting out.” He held out a brown box with James’ address on it. There was no return address.
“Oh, okay. No problem. Thanks for bringing it up. Have a good day! Stay warm.” He took the package from Phil, shutting the door behind him as the mailman turned to leave. Who on earth would have sent him a package through the mail? Everyone he knew was right here in Bates, just a short drive away. He walked into the living room, peering around the corner to where his daughter sat quietly, eating her cereal. He pulled a pocket knife from his back pocket and sliced the box open carefully. Inside was another, smaller box. Inside that box was another box. Six boxes later and James finally reached a single red envelope. No words were written on the outside. Something wasn’t right about this, he already knew. He peeled open the envelope with cautious hands. HAPPY BIRTHDAY the front of the card read. He let out a sigh of relief. Upon opening it, however, his hands began shaking. Typed in choppy, cut out font was a message. There was no signature, but James didn’t need one to know who has sent this. The List Maker. The one he’d heard about his whole life. The one they all feared.
Take this ticket. Wear a hat and sunglasses. Go to Rhonda’s Bakery. Drive to Twelfth Street. Park. Walk five blocks to Bates Elementary. Watch the office. When the secretary steps away, place them on her desk. Don’t let anyone see you. There will be a note on the cupcakes. Leave it alone. Leave immediately after and drive away. Have this done by noon. Tell anyone and Charlotte dies. Fail to do exactly as I’ve asked, and she’ll suffer first.
***
HIM
His plan had gone flawlessly so far, as always. He’d released the list three days ago and two would already be dead. His best timing so far, if he did say so himself. The Nettles boy had gone down easily. It was all too simple to make sure that the holes we’re drilled into the boat just after sunset. Now, it was all riding on James Clark. He sat back, hidden in plain sight, watching as Clark took his package inside. The idiot’s smile showed that he believed it to be a birthday present. Happy birthday, indeed. Up until recently, Clark had been off of his radar. A sweet, quiet man with his young daughter. His wife had died a few years back from a brain clot. Two weeks ago though, Clark had made a phone call to a woman out of state, a woman he’d been talking to online for quite some time. During the phone call, he’d talked about moving away from Bates, to be with the woman. This couldn’t happen. He thought he’d made it clear to everyone, but apparently some needed a reminder.
An hour and a half passed. He sat patiently. Patience had always been a strength of his. He’d wait as long as it took. Longer, even. It was all about power. Will power. Power over himself, over everyone. Right on schedule, Clark left the house, sweet Charlotte just behind. He carried a large black hoodie and a matching hat. He couldn’t see sunglasses in Clark’s hand, though he assumed they’d be in his car. He watched him buckle in his daughter, kiss her cheeks, and shut the door. His eyes skimmed the busy streets, trying to see if he was being watched. It was almost pointless after all these years to watch and make sure his plan was being carried out. After all this time, after realizing how serious he was, they always did what he told them. But it still gave him some pleasure to watch, to see how scared their eyes were just before. He loved to see how wholly they obeyed his every command.
Clark climbed into his car and started it up. He watched him pull out of the drive, turning right, rather than the usual left, to make his pit stop. He stayed back, making sure he wouldn’t be seen, yet close enough to watch as Clark pulled into the bakery. He watched him walk in, sunglasses on. He watched him walk out, two dozen cupcakes in hand. He watched him slip the cupcakes into the front seat, careful that Charlotte didn’t see what was happening. Atta boy, Clark.
The school wasn’t too far from the bakery, luckily, so when they pulled in, he parked at the back, watching as Clark took Charlotte in. The cupcakes were left behind. For a split second he almost worried that his plan would be ignored, but he stopped himself. He knew better. The plan would go just as he expected. He would drop Charlotte off first, then come back and wait for the secretary to step out. He would because he knew the risks if he didn’t. In the end, they always listened.
Chapter Four
Jordyn
Jordyn picked up her crying son. “It’s okay, sweet boy. Shhhh. Mommy’s here. Mommy’s got you.” She held him to her chest, bouncing in an attempt to soothe him. Ollie squirmed in her arms, his head swimming in her chest. “Sweetheart, you can’t be hungry yet. You just ate.” She pulled him away from her chest gently, holding him out and smiling at his curly red locks. “Hi baby,” she squealed. “Hello there. What are you looking at? Is that Mommy? Do you see Mommy?”
Ollie’s grin spread, making Jordyn’s heart jump. Gosh, she’d never known how happy another human could make her. She rubbed his hair to the side, pressing her lips into his forehead. She breathed in his baby-smell, convinced there was nothing better in the world. From the living room, her phone sounded. Jordyn hurried toward it, bouncing Ollie on her side as she went.
“Mom!” she exclaimed into the phone.
“Hey, what are you doing?” her mother said over the line.
“Well, I’m trying to get the house clean, but it seems some little baby just doesn’t like that idea too much.” She laughed, rubbing her nose to his. She climbed down onto the floor, laying Ollie on his back and dangling a rattle over top of him.
“Oh, you leave my grandbaby alone. How are you all settling in?”
“Everything’s finally unpacked. These past few months have been crazy. It feels like we just moved in yesterday.”
“Well, not to us. It feels like you’ve been gone a lifetime. Your father and I are just dying to come and visit you.”
“We know, Mom.” She rubbed Ollie’s belly. “I know I promised you all could come and stay after we got settled in, but with Ollie, things have been so crazy.”
“Which is exactly why you need me there. I can help you out, Jordyn. You don’t need to be doing it all on your own. You’ll drive yourself crazy.” Her mother sounded adamant.
“Mom, I don’t want you to come for vacation and have to work. I want you to be able to relax and enjoy yourself.”
“Honey, I just want to see you all. I only briefly saw the house when we dropped you all off after Ollie. I just miss you guys. A grandmother shouldn’t be away from her grandson, you know.”
“We miss you too, Momma. I promise we’ll be ready for you to come soon. Very soon.”
“Okay.” Her mother sighed.
“So how is Kate?”
“Your sister’s fine,” her mother said casually. “She just moved back in with us again. Came home and here she was. Surprise.” Her tone was a bit sarcastic. “Seems her and the boyfriend broke up again.”
“The boyfriend’s name is Anthony, Mom.”
“I know what his name is. Though your father and I have a few names of our own that we like to call him,” her mother snapped.
“Be nice,” Jordyn warned. “You both know Kate exaggerates at least half of the things she tells you. They’ll be back together next week and we’ll all have to start liking him again.”
“We’ll have to tolerate him, be nice to him at most. That doesn’t mean we have to like him.” She could hear the smile in her mother’s voice now.
“Oh, so that’s how it works then?” Jordyn snorted.
“Apparently so. We are pretty new at this, you know. We never had this problem with you. We never had to worry about who you were dating. You were always so reasona
ble, levelheaded even.”
“Well, I know a rebellious seventeen-year-old me who will be very disappointed to hear you say that.”
Her mom laughed. “You didn’t have a rebellious bone in your body, young lady. Lucky for us, every bone in your sister’s body is rebellious enough for the two of you.”
“Well, I was easy. I didn’t really date anyone until college. Connor’s the only boy you really had to deal with.”
“Exactly. Where are the other Connors of the world? Your sister needs someone like that.”
“Kate would scare the hell out of a man like Connor, Mom. They wouldn’t know what to do with each other.” She sighed. “Besides, we can’t all be as lucky as I am, I suppose,” she teased.
“Oh, shoot. My oven just beeped. I’m going to have to let you go, sweetheart. Listen, you pick out a date that we can come or else we’re just going to show up on your doorstep one morning ready for breakfast.”
“Okay, Mom. I will.”
“Give that sweet baby kisses from his gran-gran.”
“Gran-gran?” Jordyn snickered.
“I’m testing out names, okay?” Her mother laughed.
“We love you,” she told her.
***
Connor flopped down on the couch next to Jordyn, Ollie sleeping soundly in between them.
“Thanks, babe.” She smiled as he handed over her drink. She placed her palm on the couch next to Ollie, feeling the heat of his body radiating onto her hand. This was something Connor had begun doing when Ollie was first brought home from the hospital. He told her he was too afraid to touch him and wake him up, yet he loved feeling his body heat, knowing that he was alive and healthy and that they’d created something so beautiful. Jordyn loved watching her husband with their son. It gave her more joy than she ever thought imaginable, to see the family that they’d created.
“You look beautiful today,” he told her.
Jordyn looked up, her hair in a messy bun, still in her pajamas, and smiled at Connor. “I love you.” She shook her head.
He leaned over Ollie carefully. “I love you too.” He smiled at their son and whispered, “And I love you.”
Jordyn switched on the television, flipping through channels absentmindedly. Connor looked up as she came to rest on the evening news. He laid his hand onto Jordyn’s lap, so that his arm rested softly on their son. She smiled at him. Connor was a handsome man, his dark brown hair kept short on the sides and longer on the top. He wore dark-framed glasses that only made his face more attractive to her. She loved to see her husband dressed up, like he did daily on his way to work, but it was times like this, when he was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, that he was the most attractive to her. His laidback appearance put her at ease, that she was the only one to truly see him like this. She ran her fingers over his wedding band, the single diamond sparkling even in the dim den light.
He smiled up at her, wiggling his fingers under hers. He pulled his hand away, wrapping a finger in one of her loose curls. He’d once told her that seeing her with her hair this way reminded him of the first few nights after they’d moved in together. The cheap one-bedroom apartment straight out of college, ramen noodles and Netflix every night, living out of boxes yet to be unpacked, having sex on the dusty floor in the middle of the living room. Sometimes she longed for those days again, more than she could truly explain. Of course, if given the choice, she could never, would never, go back to those days for anything. Their life with Ollie was better than they’d ever imagined. And oh, how they’d imagined. She smiled, thinking of all the nights spent awake, debating over a name, imagining little toy trucks and football games. They’d been so anxious for that little boy to make his appearance into the world, to hold his tiny hands, kiss his tiny head. Her life now was all she’d ever truly hoped for, their own little nest. She couldn’t imagine anything else.
Connor stood up, interrupting her thoughts, setting his glass aside and taking hers from her hand.
“What are you doing?” she asked, but she knew that look in his eyes straightaway.
He pulled her up into his arms, careful not to wake the baby. She stopped, placing throw pillows beside him, though he couldn’t roll over yet. She turned back to Connor, her body pulsing with desire. It had been too long. He pulled her hair down from the bun, watching it fall past her shoulders. He brushed her waves aside, kissing her collar bone. She moaned. He clamped a hand around her waist, sliding her onto the floor. She pulled her shirt off quickly, still proud of the breasts feeding Ollie had given her. He stared at them, removing his own shirt next. She leaned up, offering a kiss. He pressed his lips to hers, his hands moving across her back, searching for a bra clasp. He flung her bra off with gusto, as she began grasping at his pants. Her fingers danced around his beltline, teasing him. She smiled at him cockily as she felt him growing. He bit her neck playfully, and she moaned again. He ran his tongue over her jaw line, kissing her cheeks, her ears.
He began to pull her pants off when her body went rigid. She pulled her hands away from him like he was fire, turning her face toward the television. What did I just hear?
“What’s wrong?” he asked, trying desperately to pull her attention back toward him.
She scooted back from him, her heart pounding for a new reason. No, please, no, she silently begged as she watched the headline across the screen. “Look,” she whispered. Her skin turned ice-cold as she read, chills spreading across her body.
Young Girl Dead After Allergic Reaction Turns Fatal.
A candid picture of a young girl filled the screen, her wispy blonde hair blowing into her bright smile. The picture grew smaller, filling up a corner of the screen as the reporter began talking. “Four-year-old Kinley Preston was pronounced dead today after her severe peanut allergy caused her to go into anaphylactic shock. Officials say the school was made aware of the child’s allergy prior to her starting school in the fall. The child, we are being told, was also in possession of an epinephrine pen when the accident occurred. Whether the school officials knew this remains under investigation. Local superintendent, Austin Roma, spoke out about the incident.”
The young girl’s picture disappeared and was replaced by a shot of a heavyset man with a large mustache. He spoke into a camera. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Preston family during this awful time. Nothing can prepare you for something like this, and nothing can be said or done to make it any better. Our staff was on top of the incident, and we are working openly with the police investigation. We will work day and night to improve our school’s security to ensure that nothing like this happens again.”
The screen went back to the blonde reporter. She frowned. “More on this story as it unfolds. Coming up next…”
Jordyn pulled her gaze from the screen, aware of the horrified look that must be on her face.
“Jordyn, what is it?” Connor asked, his voice hesitant, as if he knew what would be next.
She covered herself instinctually, as if the evil from the world could see her in her living room, reaching desperately for her shirt. She felt cool tears collecting in her eyes. “It’s the girl.” The words tumbled from her mouth, her hands shaking as she pulled her shirt back on.
“What girl?”
“The girl. The girl who was going to die.”
“What are you talking about?”
She pulled her hair back into her bun, unconcerned with the fact that her shirt was on backwards. She stared at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? The one from the list, Connor! The girl that the woman said was going to die! I remembered her name. I remembered all of the names.”
“Hold on.” He pulled his shirt on too. “You’re saying that little girl on the TV just now, you’re saying she’s the one you were upset about? The one from this list?”
Jordyn couldn’t form words. Her heart ached for the family of the girl, for the boy who’d died only days ago. Could she have somehow prevented this? Could she have told someone?
“Should we
send a care package or something? Surely we can find out their address, or at least which funeral home they’ll use. What do you think?”
What do I think? she wanted to scream. I think that I’m telling you that someone knew this girl was going to die and I did nothing about it and you’re asking me about a damn care package! Instead, she mumbled, “That would be nice.” She looked down at her shaking hands.
“Sweetheart, why are you shaking? Are you feeling well? I know you’re upset about this, but I thought we agreed not to think about it anymore.”
“But don’t you see?” she begged, as if asking him to see her imaginary friend.
“See what? Please don’t do this again, Jordyn. I just can’t do it tonight.”
“You can’t tell me you still believe it’s nothing! Connor, kids are dying. That’s two kids in two days that have died from that list. They’re dying in order! You can’t honestly believe it’s just coincidence. Come on. What are the chances?” she cried, staring at her stubborn husband in disbelief.
“Okay, fine.” He frowned at her. “What are you suggesting then? What do you think the list is about? Honestly?”
Jordyn felt more foolish than ever, her head heavy. “You didn’t see her face, Connor. I know you think I sound like a lunatic, but I just can’t un-see it. She was so scared, so definite. It was as if the girl was already gone.”
“So you think the list was, what? A hit list? Are you even hearing yourself? You think someone thought, ‘Hey, I think I’ll kill some kids today. And just for fun I’ll write up a list and hang it in a grocery store so everyone will know about it. But no one will take their kids and hide and no police will come after me for any reason at all’? Seriously? Someone puts up this list and no one bats an eye? No one calls the cops? No one tries to protect their kids? You don’t honestly believe that, Jor. You know you don’t.”
The List (The Carolina Killer Files Book 2) Page 3