Watched

by Louise River

  “See, Peter,” Kane says as Anne walks towards him. “I am your son.”

  Anne reaches her arms to embrace him, and he looks like he takes comfort in her touch. But as quickly as it came, it went. “You should have listened to him,” Kane whispers.

  “What?”

  Before she can react, Kane turns her around and easily slices the chef’s knife along her neck. In one fluid motion, her throat is cut open, blood spilling out. In a couple of minutes she’s dead.

  “Anne!”

  “Mom wasn’t as good a judge of character as you, Daddy.” He smiles. “Now, we need to have a little chat.”

  “What do you want?” Peter screams. Sobs cause his body to shake uncontrollably as he looks at his wife lying on the ground.

  “I forgot. You and Ma were high school sweethearts, weren’t you? You’ve loved her since you were fucking twelve or some shit. Well, guess what Dad. You’ll see her soon enough.”

  “What do you want?” he cries again.

  “I want you to understand what you did! What your decision cost me! I want you to know the consequences of your actions!” Kane matches Peter’s volume. “You think you can just lock me up, and no one is going to ever remember me?”

  “What did Grandma and Margaret tell you?”

  “Grandma always thought I was a good boy at heart. She thought that with a little guidance and love, I could be changed. Apparently, she didn’t hear the actual diagnosis of my psychosis, did she, Dad? Or was she just in denial? Either way, she was easily convinced to bring me pictures of Parker. I wanted to see the only relative who was remotely innocent in all of this.”

  “She doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Doesn’t she? She has the life I should have had. She gets to go to college. Hell, she got to go to high school. She got a childhood. She got parents.”

  “She didn’t try to kill anyone!”

  “I wasn’t trying to kill her!” Kane screams so loud it’s almost deafening. “How many times do I have to tell you people that? I never intended to kill her when I was five!”

  “You had a knife to her head, Kane. What did you expect us to believe?”

  “The fucking words that came out of my mouth. The words where I told you over and over killing her wasn’t my intention. I could’ve done it many times before, and even then, but I didn’t. But instead, you believed I was a danger to your precious angel and locked me up in that place. Do you have any idea what it was like in there?”

  “No.” Peter seems to have given up.

  “It was terrible. The worst was the fact that you and Mom never came to see me. Not once. You let them take me away from the only life I ever knew, and the next thing I know I’m locked up in a psych ward being given variations of multiple drugs.”

  “You needed help,” Peter pleads.

  “You know how all little kids love Christmas morning? They get to wake up early, run downstairs and see all the presents Santa left? I never got that. Or Thanksgiving when you get to spend time with your entire family and eating massive amounts of food? I didn’t get that either. And birthdays, man, kids love their birthdays. They get presents and cake and love. I got shit. Literally, some of the freaks in there gave me actual shit. Somehow, I was considered on the same level as those freaks.”

  “How did you get that note in your file that you wouldn’t be a menace to society?”

  “Haven’t you heard? I’m extremely charming. Plus, after awhile, you learn to say what they want to hear. It’s not hard, really.”

  “I understand you’re angry,” Peter says. “There’s nothing I can do to make up for lost time. What is it you want from me now?”

  “Nothing!” Kane laughs. “I want fucking nothing.”

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to see firsthand what happened between you two and Parker when she finally was told about me. She’s not even mad at you! A normal person should be furious at having a sibling kept secret from them their entire life. And she just accepted it!”

  “She’s a good person.”

  “And I’m a bad one? I guess you got one of each. Although, according to you, I’m not your child. Do you know how that felt to hear?”

  “I had no idea you were listening.”

  “That’s supposed to make it okay? That I’m supposed to just ignore it because you didn’t know I was listening? Fuck that.”

  “There is nothing I can do to win here, Kane. What is it you want? Do you want me to tell you Parker’s a better person than you? Yes, she is. Do you want me to tell you I’m proud of her and the person she’s become? Yes, I am. Do you want me to tell you I love her with all of my heart and will do whatever I can to protect her? Yes, I will. I will do whatever I need to do to keep my daughter safe from the monster standing in front of me with a knife.”

  “Fuck you!” Kane screams and rushes towards Peter. Anger takes over and he stabs repeatedly.

  “Stop! Kane, please, stop! Leave him alone!” Parker screams from behind him, but he can’t stop. He won’t stop.

  Chapter 15

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Sam shouts at Ryder. He’s sitting in his office trying to talk to him about the information they found at the hospital. “I told you to stay away from her, not drive three hours to visit a mental hospital!”

  “She found the articles, Chief,” Ryder says between clenched teeth. He’s trying to stay calm and not punch him in the face. “What else was I supposed to do? Risk her going by herself?”

  “That’s not the point! Why were you even with her to begin with?”

  “She called and asked me to come to the library when she found the article. She knew you knew all along as soon as she read it. She knew the entire town knew about Kane except for her. And me.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Mary Silvers pulled the newspapers for her before she even showed up. She knew she’d come looking eventually.”

  RING

  Sam reaches down and ignores the call on his cell phone on his desk. Ryder sees the caller ID reads Parker. Reaching into his pocket, he realizes his phone is still on silent from the library. There was a missed call from Parker as well as a voicemail.

  “Shit.” He pushes play on the voicemail.

  “I’m sorry, we’re having a discussion here. Am I bothering you?”

  Pulling the phone away from his ear, Ryder changes his phone to speaker. “Scott looks like he’s hurt in his car. He has a knife, Ryder. He’s threatening Dad. Please, come quickly.”

  “Fuck!” Sam yells, but Ryder is already on his feet and rushing out of the office.

  “Mack, grab Travis and head to Park’s house! Scott’s been hurt!” Ryder yells over his shoulder as he reaches the door to the back lot.

  “Edwards, come with me,” Sam says as Ryder heads to the passenger door.

  Within minutes the four men are outside the Lewis residence. Sam signals to Ryder to head around back as soon as they jump out of the car. Listening, he quietly heads around the house and can hear Parker screaming.

  “Stop! Kane, please, stop! Leave him alone!”

  “Shut up, you whore! You’re a stupid dirty whore who can’t be trusted. I thought our bond was stronger than that!”

  “Kane! Stop! Leave Daddy alone!”

  “You want me to leave Daddy alone? Sorry, toots, but you’re going to know what it’s like to be parentless like I do. Daddy left me alone in a terrible place for too long. No one came to visit me except my grandma and aunt. And then, after Margaret dies, I learn she was the one paying to keep me locked up. If she wasn’t already dead, I’d kill her. And then you. I thought I could trust you. And then you bring my letters to the fucking Sheriff’s Department?”

  “Kane,” Parker tries to calm him, but her voice is shaking in fear. “It’s not what you think, okay? I didn’t know they were from you. I just found out about you. Please, we can talk about this, but I need you to leave Dad alone. I need him.”

&n
bsp; Ryder slips in the back door unnoticed and steps through the kitchen silently. Lying on the floor in the entry of the kitchen is Anne in a pool of blood from her neck. He looks into the living room to see Kane stab Peter once more, as he screams, “No, you don’t!”

  Ryder can tell by looking at Parker’s father that he’s dead. He’s been stabbed so many times in the chest it’s now just a bloody mangled mess of bone, blood, and organs. He tries to get an angle for a shot, but Sam bursts through the front door.

  Kane is startled for only a second, and he leaps off of Peter and rushes towards Sam. Kane stabs him in the shoulder before he can get a shot off, and his gun falls to the ground.

  Ryder takes a shot and it hits Kane in the upper back. He turns around and drops the knife. “You would fucking be here,” he snarls.

  Before Ryder can react, he runs out the front door. He runs after Kane, careful not to step on Anne, and he can see out of his peripheral vision Parker running down the stairs to her father. Mack comes around the house and joins him in the foot pursuit. Both of them shoot several times, and both are positive they were able to hit him at least once. Yet somehow, he was able to continue running through the park.

  Travis comes running up to them, and Ryder lets him take his place searching with Mack for the sociopath. Ryder can hear the ambulance Sam must’ve called pull up outside, and he rushes back to the house. Scott is now sitting on the ground next to his car, awake.

  Walking in the front door, Ryder sees two EMTs trying to get Parker to step away from her father.

  “Miss, please, he’s gone. You need to let him go,” one tries to tell her.

  “Leave me alone!”

  “Miss, you’re going to compromise the crime scene,” the other says.

  “Leave her be,” Ryder orders.

  “But Deputy-” the first argues.

  “I said,” he growls, “leave her alone.”

  He walks over to Parker where she’s cradling her dad’s head in her lap. “Daddy, please, wake up.”

  “Why aren’t you helping him?” Sam shouts as he fights off the EMTs trying to stop his bleeding.

  “He’s gone, sir.”

  “No!” Parker cries into her father’s hair. “No. I need you. Please, please wake up.”

  Ryder sits down next to her. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he whispers her name. “Parker.”

  She leans her weight into him. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispers and kisses the top of his head. “I love you.”

  “He knows, kid.” Ryder’s voice is soft. “He knows.”

  Slowly, he helps Parker off the floor. She looks to the side as EMTs cover Peter with a sheet. “Where’s my mom?” She turns her head and sees Anne for the first time. “Mommy! No, Mommy. No. Not you, too.”

  “What’s going on?” Sam asks as he tries to stand up.

  Moving to Sam, Ryder crouches down blocking his view. “It looks like Kane slit her throat, sir.” His voice is quiet.

  “Is she-“

  “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

  Sam cradles his head in his hands. In one day, he’s lost both of his best friends.

  “I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry. Please don’t be gone. I need you. I can’t do this without you. Please, Mom. Wake up.”

  Ryder moves back over to Parker and slowly puts his hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him, and her heartbreak knocks the wind out of him. Sitting next to her, he gently strokes her back.

  “My parents are gone.” Her voice is a whisper. “What am I going to do?”

  “You’re going to be okay,” Ryder assures. “You’re going to be okay.”

  “Ryder, I don’t know how to survive in a world without my parents. I know I said I’m not a kid, but I need my parents. They’re my world. I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

  Ryder pulls her towards him as she crawls onto his lap. Standing and lifting her, he walks over to the stairs. She’s sobbing into his neck, and he’s holding her tightly while rocking back and forth slightly. He’s at a loss on how to make this better for her.

  Chapter 16

  Parker sits in Ryder’s lap, and she feels like there are no more tears left to cry. Her whole body is weak, and she’s numb. She thought she was numb when she found out about Kane, but this is completely different. It’s as though her whole body had fallen asleep and she’s waiting for the pins and needles feeling to take over.

  Ryder continues to rock her back and forth, stroking her hair and whispering. “I’m so sorry, kid.”

  “Sorry for what?” she finally asks. Her voice is hoarse from sobbing.

  “My phone was on silent. I looked at it when you called Chief, but I should’ve remembered to turn on the ringer. I might’ve been able to get here sooner.”

  After the EMTs are done stitching up Sam, he walks over to them. Seeing the two of them, a deeper frown forms on his face and takes a deep breath.

  “Did you ignore my call?”

  “What?”

  “When I called, it only rang once before going to voicemail. Did you ignore my call?”

  Sam sighs and puts his head down. “Parker-”

  “Why, after everything that’s happened, would you not think me calling you was important. Especially considering how pissed off I was at you?”

  “Parker, I’m so sorry. We came as soon as Ryder listened to his voicemail. It was only minutes.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  “You’ll stay at my place, Parker. We can get your things and head over.”

  “No.”

  “You can’t stay here, Park.”

  “I’m not staying with you. I don’t trust you. You knew about Kane this entire time, and you said nothing! I found out through newspaper articles set aside by Mary!”

  “I wasn’t the one to tell you. As soon as I saw the sketch, I brought it right to your parents. They needed to tell you, not me.” He pauses and takes another deep breath. “Where are you going to go?”

  She looks at the wall and a fresh batch of tears start to fall. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “You can stay at my place,” Ryder says, and even he is surprised by his outburst.

  Sam opens his mouth to protest, but Parker interrupts him. “Really?”

  “If you’d rather stay with me, you can. You told me the other night you feel safe with me. You need that right now.”

  “Thank you,” she whispers.

  “Are you okay to head up and grab some clothes? I can take you to my place.”

  Parker nods and climbs off his lap to head upstairs.

  “I don’t like this,” Sam says.

  “She needs to feel safe, Chief. Not only did she just witness her parents being murdered by a family member she just learned she had, and how he tried to kill her days earlier, she also feels betrayed by an entire town. She’s hurt and scared. We just need to let her do what she needs to do. She doesn’t know who she can and can’t trust right now.”

  “I see the way you look at her.”

  “I care about her, Chief, I’m not going to lie. But I’m also going to die before I let anything else happen to that girl upstairs.”

  Sam goes silent and shakes his head. He doesn’t like the idea, but he knows there’s no other option. If he were to drag her to his house, it’d have to be kicking and screaming, and even then, she probably wouldn’t be safe.

  “I’m sorry about your friends,” Ryder says quietly.

  “I’m not sure it’s fully hit me yet,” Sam admits.

  “It’s going to be hard, I’m sure. I can’t image what it would be like to lose my best friend. If you need anything, I’m around.”

  “Stay out of the office for the week. You’ll be on Parker protection detail. At least until the funeral. What I need is to make sure she’s safe and taken care of while I work to track down this fucking psycho.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. That asshole won’t come near her at my place if he doesn’t want to b
e pumped full of more lead.”

  “Anything happens to her, I will kill you.”

  “Understood.”

  Parker comes out of her room and starts to head down the stairs. She catches a glimpse at the bloody sheets on the floor, and her legs start to give out. Ryder catches sight of her and rushes up two at a time to help steady her. “You okay?”

  “I need to get out of here. Please, take me out of here.”

  Ryder takes her suitcase from her hand and holds her tightly against him with his free arm until she’s sitting in the car.

  Mack drives them to Ryder’s, and Parker looks over at Paige’s house. She wonders if Paige has heard yet. She wonders if Paige is thinking of reaching out to her. She wonders if she will. Ryder snaps her out of her thoughts as he opens the door. Helping her out, he grabs her suitcase from the trunk and leads her up to the front of his house.

  “You two okay? Want me stick around?”

  “We’re good. Thanks, Mack.”

  After he’s unlocked the front door, she looks at him. “Can I take a shower?”

  “Yeah, of course.” He sets her suitcase down in the bedroom and shows her to the bathroom. “I don’t have anything other than masculine smelling soap. We can get you some, though.”

  “That’s okay. I just need the hot water.”

  After a half hour shower, she’s cried and scrubbed all the blood from her hands. After drying off, she wraps herself in the towel and finds a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on the bed. Unsure if they’re meant for her, she puts them on anyway. She completely forgot to pack pajamas.

  She walks out and finds Ryder sitting at the small round kitchen table with a beer in his hands. He looks like hell. He looks like how she feels, actually. “Hi.”

  “How are you?”

  “I’m okay, I think. I’m kind of numb.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’m tired, but not at the same time. It’s hard to explain.”

  “I don’t have a second bed since I use the spare room as my weight room, but you can take my bed. I’ll hit the couch.”

  She looks at him blankly, but still feels a little stab of disappointment. She wants comfort, and sleeping alone won’t give her that. “Do you have any water?”