by Zena Jae
Piper
Zena Jae
Published by Zena Jae, 2014.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
PIPER
First edition. July 28, 2014.
Copyright © 2014 Zena Jae.
Written by Zena Jae.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Further Reading: Alexa
Chapter 1
Kerri’s eyes widened and panic set in as she regained consciousness to find herself lying in a bathtub—not hers, by the way—in her nightgown, tepid water up to her neck, her hands and feet tied with duct tape, and a strip covering her mouth.
With awareness of the reality of her predicament, came the fight for her life. She assumed whomever did this to her had devious plans in mind.
But why a tub of water? Was this one of those organ trafficking kidnaps? And what about the tripod—was the perp going to video this? OMG, was she to be the actor in a snuff film?
Kerri thrashed and squirmed as she tried to sit upright, hoping to find a way to get out of the tub, but she slipped and her head submerged. With her legs crammed sideways, she frantically twisted and turned, trying desperately to push her feet out in front of her to use as leverage.
Finally, she managed to resurface, gasping for breath, coughing uncontrollably while her heart thumped brutally in her chest. Shivers encompassed her body and her temples throbbed—things weren’t looking good for her and she knew it.
Who would target her for this? She had no enemies—not that she knew of, anyway. The last thing she remembered was getting into bed, about to turn off her nightlight when she heard water running from the garden pipe. When she went outside to check it out, she felt the sharp sting of a dart before she blacked out.
Before Kerri could think of what to do next, the bathroom door opened.
She held her breath.
As the perp entered the bathroom, Kerri’s eyes again widened. Her muffled voice made efforts of protest, but the perp didn’t care about her—sympathy was not in their heart.
“Ah, good, you’re finally awake. I can’t wait to begin.”
Chapter 2
Piper Novak tapped out the last sentence on her keyboard for Chapter 11 of her latest book Murderous Fling.
Good place to take a break, she thought. As she headed for the kitchen, behind her, tiny paws pitter-pattered on the travertine tile.
“You taking a break too, Cotton?” She smiled at her adorable pet. Piper dropped a few ice cubes into a tall glass and poured herself some refreshing lime iced tea.
She glanced down at Cotton, whose big black eyes looked up at her pleadingly, as she wagged her tag like a wound up toy.
“Here you go, girl,” Piper said as she held out a biscuit and watched the ten-month-old fluffy white Pomeranian chomp delightedly on the yummy snack. Piper refilled Cotton’s water dish and headed back to her computer.
Taking a sip of her tea, Piper clicked on her favorite bookmark ‘The Psychotic Pen’—a mystery and thriller writers’ forum she created. In the eight months of its existence, she had over a thousand members; most were just lurkers, while others participated in the online discussions.
There was that pitter-patter again. Cotton barked twice indicating that she wanted some lovin’. Rarely refusing her bundle of joy, Piper picked up the fluff ball, sat her in her lap, and caressingly stroked the Pom’s head down to the bottom of her back.
“Let’s see what everyone’s been up to today.”
Piper lived in the town of Rosiville, population approximately 2,300. She had created a separate topic folder called ‘Rosiville Critique Group’ after she and six other forum members met at Whistlers Park to discuss and critique their latest works in progress. A few in the group were midlist authors, while the rest, including her, weren’t making enough to quit their day jobs yet. They’d met twice so far.
Piper was glad that the group was small because with too many differing viewpoints and opinions, it could possibly get frustrating to please everyone’s suggestions. It never came to that, however, but even if it did, in the end, she knew she’d follow her heart even if it meant some didn’t agree with where she took her story.
Piper took up writing about the same time she bought Cotton—a few months after her parents and her brother Trevor died in a car accident. Trevor had picked up his parents from the airport when a semi truck slammed into them. The driver fell asleep at the wheel, swerved into their lane, colliding head-on into their SUV—all three of her family members died instantly.
She had worked with her parents and Trevor at Kovak Investigations, their family-run P.I. agency, but after the accident, she refunded their existing clients—recommending them names of friendly competitors—then hung up a ‘temporarily closed’ sign and took a hiatus from it. She needed time to get back on her feet—emotionally—as well as figure out how to run the business alone. Her mother had handled the secretarial and financial duties, and she and her brother, along with their dad, handled the investigations, and since she always had them to lean on, going it alone was a rather scary thought.
Since both her parents and Trevor, who was still single, had $250,000 life insurance policies on each of them, she was able to live on her inheritance until either her books took off or until she resumed the agency. For now, the prior seemed easier to handle.
Her eyes scanned the posts on the critique thread. Hmm, there was a new member—username Will K. Illu—causing some ruckus it seemed.
Will: ‘You all don’t know anything about murdering someone. Your stories are lame and have no credibility. The only way to write about a convincing psycho and murder scene is to do it in real life and write it from your experience.’
Saul: ‘Are you for real? You’re a raving lunatic if you think we have to actually kill someone to be able to write about it.’
Amy: ‘Will, writing convincingly about a psychopath and murder scene just takes imaging it. Some of us wouldn’t be selling tons of books if readers thought our characters and murder scenes sucked.’
Will: ‘All your books follow the same boring themes. What you’ve written is already out there. Where’s your creativity?’
Saul: ‘With the millions of books that have been published, there are bound to be overlaps, but every story still has its own uniqueness, its own flavor. No two books are exactly alike.’
Will: ‘That may be true for some writers, but you lot put out a bunch of crap.’
Joe: ‘WTF?! Who the hell are you? If you think we’re so mediocre, show us your stuff. Let’s see your work so we can learn from your greatness.’
Amy: ‘Yeah, what Joe said.”
Gina: ‘People...DON’T FEED THE TROLL!’
Will: ‘You’re not worthy to read my stuff. I write ‘em how I do ‘em.’
Amy: ‘Are you telling us that you kill people to write your stories?’
Saul: ‘He’s full of shit.’
Will: ‘As a matter of fact, I just started a new book and I’m sure it will intrigue you.’
Joe: ‘Post a few chapters and let us be the ju
dge.’
Will: ‘I can’t just yet.’
Saul: ‘You see, guys? He’s just a big talker.’
Will: ‘What makes you think I’m a he? I could be a she?’
Saul: ‘He, she, whatever. You’re still full of hot air.’
Will: ‘You won’t be saying that soon.’
Saul: ‘Are you threatening me?’
Gina: ‘Just report his posts, people. I repeat...don’t keep feeding this troll.’
Amy: ‘I have to agree with Gina. This troll needs to be booted out.’
Joe: ‘If this guy is threatening us, we need to report him to the authorities.’
Will: ‘Good luck with that, Joe. Proxies give me anonymity. I can post as though I’m from anywhere around the world. Nobody will catch me.’
Amy: ‘Why don’t you just go away! If we’re such bad writers, then why bother with us? Oops, sorry, Gina, I couldn’t help myself :(’
Will: ‘Why should I leave? I’m thoroughly enjoying myself here. Besides, I’m gathering material for my book ;-)’
Piper finished reading the last post, time-stamped over an hour ago—looks as though the group heeded Gina’s suggestion. She knew she had to chime in though.
Piper: ‘Okay, Will, I’m the moderator here and if you don’t calm yourself down and behave, following the rules of this forum, I’m going to have to block you from posting here. I’m assuming you’re just playing with us and your threats aren’t intended to be taken seriously, right? Unfortunately, the members here are finding them creepy and unamusing, so please refrain from this form of discussion.’
Piper deleted the notifications in her inbox regarding the reported posts, and another notification immediately popped up.
Lloyd: ‘Looks like I missed out on all the fun.’
Piper didn’t respond and decided to wait to see what Will posted again—she knew he/she would—they didn’t seem like someone who’d give others the last word.
She drank the remainder of her iced tea and sucked on an ice cube. She should be writing her next chapter instead of waiting for this creep to post again, but unfortunately, he was right—his creepiness intrigued her.
Will: ‘Sorry, no can do. Behaving is not the behavior of the criminally insane :-D. Don’t worry, Lloyd, more fun to come. That’s a promise.’
Okay, that’s it. From the forum’s backend user interface, she banned the member ‘Will K. Illu.’
Piper: ‘I’ve banned the offending member from these forums, so hopefully everything will be back to normal. Sorry if this member disrupted your day.’
Lloyd: ‘Oh, Piper, you spoilsport...I wanted my time with him.’
Piper: ‘Well then, next time don’t be late to the party :P’
Lloyd: ‘Looks like Kerri didn’t make the party either.’
Piper: ‘I’m sure she’ll sleep better for it.’
Just as Piper chomped on another ice cube, she hit the refresh button and another post appeared on the thread.
Willkillu: ‘Kerri’s sleeping so soundly, she’ll never awaken. She’s already in my first chapter.’
The troll had created a new username using another proxy site. Piper banned that member too. She contemplated changing the backend settings so that she’d have to screen each new member signing up and manually accept them. But she realized that this still wouldn’t hinder a determined troll from getting in. Since manually accepting members was a pain in the ass without any guarantees, she scrapped that idea.
But the thing that caused her forehead to furrow and weighed heaviest on her mind was the troll’s comment about Kerri. What the hell did they mean by that?
Chapter 3
“Hey, Marcus,” Piper greeted her brother’s best friend after viewing the caller ID on her cell phone.
“How you doin’?”
“Good. Better.” And she was—somewhat. Of course, her loss still hung with her; it wasn’t going away any time soon, it probably never would. But she was trying hard to move on with her life, not letting the tragedy, which gutted her heart and wrenched her soul, totally consume her.
“That’s good to hear.” Marcus had made it his duty to check up on Piper every now and then ever since she lost her family. He and Trevor were tight, like brothers, and had been since they were kids in grade school, so the tragedy crushed and gutted him too.
Piper was two years younger, and unlike most older brothers, Trevor welcomed Piper to hang out with them. They played cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, many times Piper playing the damsel in distress the hero had to rescue. Each boy took turns playing the hero role. Piper often protested and wanted to kick some ass herself, but being that neither boy wanted to play the wimp—the one needing to be rescued—she was overruled on that.
When they grew older and passed the stage of playacting, Piper had her chance to get back at them and tackled the two in football. Of course, sometimes that included hanging on to their shirts or jeans as they dragged her along, relentless in her attempts to bring them down. She was successful on many occasions, however—seems a determined girl can take on even a stronger opponent at times.
They roamed the mall, played board games, took in the movies, and just hung out whenever they could. They were buddies—all three of them.
But once Piper blossomed into a beautiful teenager, Marcus began to see her in a different light. His feelings for her grew beyond friendship, yet he dared not give away his secret—not even to his best friend—especially not to him. Best friends or not, he knew how protective brothers could be with their sisters—he was the same with his sister Anna—although he would’ve approved of Trevor without hesitation.
Marcus wished he had the guts to tell his secret, because harboring the unrequited feelings for Piper was torture—he longed to touch her, kiss her, to love her the way a man does a woman. And he longed for her touch, her love.
Little did he know that Piper felt the same, in fact, she fell in love with Marcus two years prior to his revelation. She had always been enamored with Marcus, and once she hit puberty, her hormones took over her life. Even famous teen idols couldn’t hold a candle to Marcus at that point.
But would either of them make known their love for the other? Hell no. They were scared shitless that they’d make fools of themselves. In their eyes, the gamble of reward wasn’t worth the risk of humiliation—plus, it may destroy their friendship, which neither wanted to lose.
How these two—whose instincts and intuition served them notably in their professions—never had a clue about each other’s feelings was beyond belief; even bordering on comical, quite frankly. But there they were—two lovebirds, longing to sit and cuddle next to each other, yet perched awkwardly and cowardly at opposite ends.
Even today, at the ages of 25 and 27, seemed there was no hope for them without divine intervention—okay, maybe that’s overdramatizing the situation a bit, but something sure needed to knock some sense into these two.
“Piper, I’m actually calling on official business.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Are you going to be home? Can I come over? I’d rather talk to you about this in person.”
“Yes, of course, I’ll be home all day.”
“I’ll be right over.”
It took fifteen minutes from the station to Piper’s house. She greeted him at the door with a hug.
Marcus breathed in her scent, her sweet perfume. He had bought her this brand for her Sweet Sixteenth birthday and she’d worn it ever since. His sister Anna helped him pick it out; the fragrance was that of rose petals. Thank goodness he had worked that summer before going to college because he hadn’t realized just how expensive even the tiniest of bottles of perfume was. But Piper was worth it and he didn’t mind spending his money on her, especially for a special occasion.
And to Piper, Marcus exuded masculinity and she loved the smell of his musky aftershave—just a whiff got her longing for him. When he became an LEO (Law Enforcement Officer), he beefed up his bi
ceps and she thought how fun it would be now to tackle him at football—or at least, attempt to. But it wouldn’t be his shirt or jeans she’d hang on to, no siree, her hands would be all over his gorgeous, hunky bod.
Cotton barked, signaling her need for attention again.
Marcus crouched to give the tiny critter a playful rub. Next to Marcus, Cotton looked like a small plush toy.
“What’s this about, Marcus?” Piper asked as he stood to his full 6-foot, 2-inch height. Piper being 5-foot, 4-inches had to incline her head slightly to look into his eyes.
“Let’s sit down,” he told her.
They adjourned to the kitchen nook where they normally sat and talked when he’d visit.
“Do you want some coffee or iced tea?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks. I’m already having to piss too many times today. It doesn’t work well for me when running around town dropping in on people. It’s like I have to go every ten minutes.”
She had to chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve had that happen a few times myself. The key is to go to the bathroom the minute you feel the urge, otherwise, once you hold it past a certain point, your body seems to make you suffer for your procrastination.”
He laughed. “That’s a new take on pissing I’ve never heard before.”
“Well, I’m a writer now, so I’ve gotta make up these things to sound interesting.”
“Obviously,” he teased.
“Oh, shut up.”
His mood changed and she knew he went into his official mode.
“You know a Kerri Winters, right? I’m pretty sure I remember you mentioned she was part of your critique group.”
“Yeah.” She also told him that Kerri had a crush on Trevor back in high school. Kerri, Trevor and Marcus were classmates.
Piper stared in Marcus’ hazel eyes wondering why his face looked solemn. “What’s wrong? Has something happened to her?”
“She’s missing. She didn’t show up to work for two days and her parents haven’t heard from her—nobody’s heard from her. Her car’s still at home, yet she’s nowhere to be found.”