by Lisa Boone
“I’d love to,” Sarah said.
Phoebe pulled her dress out away from her bust. With her other hand, she pulled on the long gold necklace around her neck. She held up the end of the necklace for Sarah to see the beautiful emerald and diamond heart shaped ring that hung from the bottom of the necklace.
Sarah gasped as she looked the ring over. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Thank you. I can’t wait until I can actually wear it.” Phoebe’s pretty face clouded. “Please don’t tell anyone you saw it. I shouldn’t have shown you but I’m so tired of hiding it.”
“I won’t tell,” Sarah quickly reassured her. “But why do you have to hide it?”
Phoebe sighed as she tucked the ring back into the bosom of her dress. “It’s a secret. He doesn’t want anyone to know. He’s waiting until everything quietens down around here and he can get financially settled. It’s just as well,” she said resuming her brushing. “Although, I initially had my heart set on getting married today.”
“Oh, how sweet,” Sarah said. “That would have been such a nice birthday gift.”
Phoebe smiled softly. “You’re a bit of a romantic, aren’t you?”
Sarah’s eyes twinkled. “A little bit.”
“I was too until I started thinking about it. That’s when I realized how impractical getting married on Valentine’s Day would be.”
“How so?”
“Well, I would be essentially merging three gift-giving holidays into one.”
Sarah laughed.
“And it suddenly occurred to me that that was such a bad idea—” Phoebe’s face lit up as Brian walked in the stable, his hands behind his back. “Finally! What kept you?”
“I had to run back to my car.”
Phoebe gave him a look as she opened up Jack’s stall and walked over to Brian. “It doesn’t take that long to get from here to the parking lot.”
He brought his hand from out behind his back and handed her a big red heart-shaped candy box. “Don’t eat them all at once.”
“I’ll do my best,” Phoebe said as she kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “So, do you forgive me?”
Phoebe pursed her lips together. “You lied to me, Brian.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you what happened.”
Phoebe still didn’t look pleased. “I’m not a child anymore.”
“I know that.”
“I’m a grown woman.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“I’m not some fragile thing that you have to tiptoe around lest I shatter in a million pieces. You can be honest with me. I can handle the truth.”
“I know, Phoebe. Trust me, I know. What do you want from me? Jamie swore me to secrecy. If you’re going to be mad, be mad at him.”
“He’s not here,” Phoebe said, “you are.”
Brian raked a hand through his hair. “I was completely honest with you and Kristen tonight, Phoebe. I told you both all that I know. Jamie’s probably going to kill me when he finds out, but I did it anyway.” He smiled tightly. “For you, Buttercup.” His smile disappeared as he gestured to Sarah. “If you want more details talk to Sarah. She’s the whole reason he got shot in the first place. He had to protect her from some lunatic trying to kill her and her sister. Ask her about it.”
Sarah cleared her throat. “There’s not much more to tell,” she said softly, looking away. “What exactly did Jamie say about me?”
Brian waved his hand. “Not much. He just told me the basic facts and that was it,” he said before glancing towards the door. “Well, we better get back to the house.”
“Why all the secrecy?” Phoebe asked opening the candy box and looking inside.
“Oh, you know Jamie,” Brian said. “The man’s very protective of his privacy. He hates to share.”
Phoebe glanced at him out of the side of her eye in irritation. “He’s not the only one. I wouldn’t have even known Jamie was out of prison and back in town if I hadn’t walked into the pub just before Christmas and seen him sitting at the bar.”
Brian scratched at his cheek. “I figured your sister told you he was out.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“Oh,” he said as he reached for a piece of chocolate. She slapped his hand away. “Ow.”
“Don’t be rude,” she said holding the box out to Sarah.
Sarah held up her hands to ward off the calorie-laden box. “I filled up on those cupcakes I was handing out earlier.”
Brian reached in and snatched a chocolate before Phoebe could take it away. He popped it into his mouth and made a face before tossing the rest of the chocolate in the trash. “I hate maple.” He slipped his hands into his pocket as Phoebe closed the box. “Almost everyone’s gone and your sister’s about to have a fit. You better head up to the house.”
Phoebe looked like she’d rather do anything else but finally linked her arm through his. “Are you going to stay with me?”
“You don’t need me,” Brian complained as they all walked out of the stable and back toward the house.
Sarah glanced to the woods, hardly paying attention as the other two chatted with one another. When they reached the gate, she stopped to look around for her shoes.
She frowned as she turned around in ever widening circles, certain she had kicked her shoes off right near the gate. She glanced up surprised to find that Brian and Phoebe were almost at the house now.
She glanced back to the woods. Deciding she could pick up her shoes some other time, she hurried to catch up with the other two, while looking around nervously for that green light.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to the back veranda without any difficulty. When they reached the back of the house, they separated, Brian and Phoebe heading for the door to the living room and Sarah turning towards the kitchen.
She stepped inside the pantry and picked up her purse, gasping in surprise when everything fell out onto the floor.
“I thought I had zipped it up,” she muttered as she gathered everything together and dropped them one by one into her purse. She picked up her wallet, checking to make sure her credit cards were still there before slipping it back into her purse.
“Sarah.”
Sarah raised her head. She didn’t recognize the voice. It was pitched too low to get a good idea who had said her name but she answered anyway. “I’m in the pantry.” She bent over looking for her lipstick. Finding it, she dropped it into her purse.
“Cinderella.”
This time she froze. The voice was the barest whisper but it sent chills up her spine. Still kneeling, she peeked around the corner of the door.
When she didn’t see anyone behind the door, she turned her attention to the darken sunroom off the kitchen. A strange feeling crept over her as she kneeled there. She carefully rose to her feet and peered into the darkness, trying to make out the various shapes in the dark little room. “Hello,” she called out.
There was no answer.
The eerie feeling she had grew stronger. “This has got to be the worst Valentine’s Day of my life,” she muttered, spinning on her heel and hurrying to the hallway. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as she walked down the long hallway towards the foyer, almost certain that someone was behind her, but each time she looked, the hallway was empty. When she reached the foyer, she practically skipped on her way to the coat closet.
Once there, she thought she heard her name again and looked behind her.
Still, there was no one there.
She turned around and gasped when she ran into someone.
Brian reached out to steady her. “Whoa there, didn’t mean to startle you. Leaving so soon.”
Sarah glanced behind her shoulder. “Did you just call my name?”
“What? When?”
“When I was in the kitchen. Were you calling my name?”
“No.” His eyes narrowed and a look of concern passed over his face. “Are you a
ll right? You look rather pale.”
She opened up the coat closet, took out her coat, and put it on. “I’m okay, just tired.” And scared out of my wits, she thought but didn’t say. “If you speak to Jamie—”
A scowl crossed Brian’s face. “Jamie. Jamie. Jamie. Everyone wants to know about Jamie. I haven’t got a clue where he is.”
She held up her hands. “If you speak to him just tell him I said hi and that I’m doing fine.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “All right. Are you sure you’re okay? Your hands are shaking.”
She stuck them into her pockets. “I’m fine,” she said plastering a smile over her face. “Goodnight.”
“Night, Sarah. If …” he hesitated for a moment before saying, “if you need anything, call me.”
“Sure,” she said, surprised at his sudden concern. She pulled open the door and stepped outside already reaching for the key to her car.
Nathan stood off to the side with his back to her speaking to Holly in low hushed tones. He ran a hand through his light brown hair pushing it off his forehead. “I know Jamie killed her, but Kristen and Phoebe are convinced he’s innocent. Which is actually good for us. Those guys are promising us a lot of money for our story.”
Holly whispered something back, and then Nathan said, “No, no, it’s totally worth it. We just need to find Jamie and get him to agree to talk to them and it’s a done deal.”
Holly said something, again too low for Sarah to catch.
“Baby, don’t be like that,” Nathan said. “Think about the opportunity this could mean for you. I heard one of those guys talking about a commercial he was planning on producing. He said you’d be perfect for it—” He paused as the front door closed and glanced around. “Oh, hey Sarah. Goodnight, thanks for everything,” he said with a wave goodnight.
She waved as Nathan turned back to Holly, and then she ran to her car, checking the backseat and locking the doors as soon as she slid into the seat.
It wasn’t until she was almost to the interstate that she noticed the car behind her. She tried to convince herself that it was nothing. It was probably one of Kristen’s guests heading back to Lexington, same as she, but she couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that.
When she reached a four-lane highway, she slowed down, waiting for the car to pass her, but when it didn’t, her anxiety increased. She pressed on the accelerator, watching as the car faded from view. She was just starting to relax when she noticed in her rearview mirror the headlights coming up quickly behind her.
Was it the same car? She asked herself staring at the mirror, waiting for it to approach. She turned her attention to her side mirror, expecting the car to pass her at any moment. To her surprise, the car slowed, keeping pace with her.
She spent the rest of the drive checking her rearview mirror every few seconds, her hands clenched on the steering wheel, making a plan as to what to do if the car followed her to her apartment. She was visualizing herself driving to the police station several blocks away and running inside, when the car turned down another street.
She unclenched her fingers and she turned into her apartment parking lot. I’m losing my mind, she thought as she entered her apartment building. She was still chastising herself for her overactive imagination when she opened the door to her apartment.
A bundle of red fur launched itself at her, whining in excitement, as he tried to crawl up her legs.
She picked the puppy up, allowing him to smother her face with kisses. “Well, I’ve missed you too, Rory,” she said setting him on the floor and reaching for his leash. “I bet you want to go out.”
The puppy let out a series of excited barks already jumping at the door.
A few minutes later, she and Rory were outside in the park across the street from her apartment. “Come on, baby,” she encouraged as Rory took his own sweet time sniffing the ground. He suddenly raised his head and stared at a spot behind her for a moment before letting out a low growl.
“What’s wrong? See one of those scary squirrels again? Or is that vicious dog that frightened you the other day out here?” she asked in amusement looking around for Precious, her downstairs neighbor’s teacup poodle. “Well, don’t worry, baby, I’ll protect you.”
Rory suddenly leapt forward, spinning Sarah around, and letting out a series of barks and growls as he ran.
Sarah automatically pressed the button on the leash bringing Rory to a halt within a few feet of a man standing under a tree.
Sarah took a step forward, preparing to run and grab Rory, but froze when she took a good look at the man.
Standing underneath a large tree, far away from the old-fashioned lamps spaced along the park pathways and covered head to toe in black, nothing about the man was visible. He was just one big faceless shadow. He didn’t make a move as Rory lunged for him, trying to break free of the leash. The man, if it was a man, just stood there, staring at her, while holding a small black trash bag in his hands.
Sarah pulled on Rory’s leash bringing him back to her. Once he was at her feet, she bent down and picked up her dog, making sure to keep one eye on the hulking shadow just in case he tried anything.
He never moved.
Just simply watched her.
Not once, as she quickly backed toward her apartment did he move or make any threatening gesture, yet, he still terrified her just the same.
When she reached the street in front of her apartment, she turned around, running with Rory in her arms towards the door. She fumbled with the key card for a moment, only relaxing when she was safe inside.
She glanced through the glass door at the empty street and pressed a shaking hand to her face. “Get a grip, Sarah. The man was probably just out for a walk. That’s all it was.”
She glanced down at her puppy in a mixture of amusement and annoyance. “You probably scared him half to death, you know?”
Rory looked back at her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his tail wagging a mile a minute.
She smiled down at her puppy. “You ferocious thing, you.”
Suddenly, Rory turned and leapt at the door, his teeth snapping at the glass.
Sarah spun around.
The man stood on the other side of the street, facing her door.
Just watching.
Sarah felt the blood drain out of her face. Her hands trembled as she checked the door making sure it was locked before backing up to the elevator.
Once she was inside her apartment, she sank down to the floor holding Rory close to her chest.
Every sound became magnified as she sat there, her heart hammering against her chest.
The wind whistling through the trees.
The creak of the floorboard.
The sound of her neighbor’s TV next door.
She started to stand up but froze when the elevator dinged.
Footsteps.
She could hear footsteps coming closer.
Rory too, she thought from the way his ears perked up. He suddenly growled low in his throat.
There was a knock at her door.
Sarah backed away as Rory attacked the door. She pulled him back and held him close, waiting for something else to happen.
She heard footsteps again, this time leading away from her apartment, and then the elevator dinged again.
Sarah cautiously approached the door, pressing her eye to the peephole. When she didn’t see anyone and after several minutes passed by without another sound, she unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door a crack.
Her gaze fell to her red high heels sitting just outside her door. The Valentine’s Day card of the pretty ballerina laid next to it. She bent down and retrieved the card. She felt the blood drain from her face as she read the note scrawled on the inside.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“What are you doing here?” Emily asked the next afternoon when Sarah walked into the pub. “Aren’t you off today?” Catching Sarah’s eye, she walked to the other end of the bar nearest the door.
>
Sarah slid onto a barstool. She tucked her hair behind her ears and looked anxiously at her friend. “Yes, but I needed to speak to you.”
Emily examined Sarah’s face closely. “Dear Lord, are you okay? You look like you didn’t sleep a wink.”
“I didn’t.” She glanced over at Moose sitting a few stools away flipping through a magazine before turning back to Emily. “Rory and I were up all night,” she said by way of explanation. Details would come later. Right now, she needed to know something very specific. “Did you see anyone playing with a laser last night?”
Emily looked thoughtful. “You asked me that last night. I don’t remember anyone having a laser. Why? What’s wrong?”
Sarah looked over at Moose who simply shook his head. “Did either of you notice anything strange?”
Moose and Emily exchanged a look before shaking their heads.
Closing her eyes, Sarah ran her hands through her hair, pushing it back and away from her face.
“Do you want something to drink?” Emily asked.
“Coffee would be great right now.”
Grabbing a mug off the counter, Emily turned to the coffee pot. “It might help if you told us what happened.”
“Someone followed me home,” Sarah said.
Emily glanced over her shoulder as she filled the cup. “What happened?”
“Someone kept pointing a green laser at me last night. When I was standing in the kitchen and then later when I walked to the stables.” Sarah reached for the sugar as Emily placed the mug in front of her. “Scared me so much that I kicked off my high heels and ran to the stables. Phoebe thought it was teenagers just messing around, but then I noticed someone followed me all the way from there to home. They turned off right before I turned down my street but they kept with me the entire drive. Then a few minutes later, I saw this creepy man dressed all in black standing outside my apartment building. I ran inside but he somehow got past the keycard entry. There was a knock at my door, and then a minute later I opened the door to look out and found my shoes.” She took a drink. “Rory spent the entire night with his nose pressed up to my front door growling. Every few minutes, he’d freak out as though someone was standing nearby. We were only able to get some sleep when my sister, Ashton, finally showed up this morning.”