by Hart, Jerry
Diedre hung up the phone and followed.
Chapter 14
Erin sat and watched Jordan continue to bleed. She sat helpless, not knowing what to do. She didn’t know if Conner was still crouched on the other side of the partition, but she’d never heard him leave so she assumed he was still there.
She looked around the office, hoping to find something that would help them. She saw nothing but piles of manuscripts, a computer and a useless phone.
The computer.
Erin booted it up. She’d forgotten that she could send text messages from the cell provider’s Web page. She’d done it before for fun years ago when she’d gotten her first cell phone, just to see how it worked. She could even read the replies from the page.
Who should she text, though?
She mulled that over while she waited for the computer to boot up. Once it did, she tried to connect to the Internet.
It wouldn’t connect.
She tried again. Still no connection.
She looked down at the taskbar and saw the computer wasn’t getting a wireless signal. Something was wrong with the router, she bet. Conner may have smashed it. Was he that smart, to think of it before she did? Was he smart enough, in his condition, to make any sort of strategic plans?
Apparently so.
There was absolutely no way for her to call for help from this study. She had to get outside, to her phone. Or even to a neighbor’s house, if she could. The front door was just outside, to the left, no more than thirty feet away.
She looked at Jordan’s wrapped shoulder and saw blood oozing through the T-shirt. She had to get him help. Getting to the first-aid kit didn’t seem as important as getting actual help to either come to the house or take Jordan to the hospital.
She feared leaving him alone, however. If she left through the fireplace, she wouldn’t be able to lock it from the outside. Even if she did manage to escape the house, nothing would stop Conner from crawling through and killing his cousin. But she couldn’t very well wake Jordan and tell him to lock up after her. He would never let her go, would instead insist upon going himself while she waited.
They could both go. If they could just get outside....
Something caught Erin’s attention. It sounded like a ring tone, and it was very familiar.
It was her phone, and someone was calling her. The ring sounded very close, like it was just on the other side of the partition. The phone must have fallen out as she was crawling through the fireplace.
Either that, or this was some kind of trap. Conner may have been trying to lure her out. Or at least trying to get her to open the partition.
She wished there was a way to see outside without opening the only thing that kept them safe. She studied the steel partition for any holes or cracks. She found a hole the size of a dime near the bottom and on the left. She peered through. She couldn’t see much, but she did see one of the couches.
She didn’t see Conner.
The phone suddenly stopped ringing, but not before she found it laying between the two couches, directly in front of the fireplace.
Erin backed away and leaned against the desk. She knew she had to risk getting help, for both her sake and Jordan’s.
A grumbling noise came from somewhere in the living room.
She ran back to the hole and saw immediately that the dining table had been dragged in front of the front door. Conner clearly didn’t want an easy escape, but had he heard the phone ringing a moment ago? He must have.
Erin looked to where it had been and was glad to see it still there, between the couches. She looked around the office for a weapon, in case she ran into Conner while reaching for the phone. Going through the desk, she found a letter opener in the top drawer. She wielded it like a knife, getting the feel of it. It whistled through the air in a satisfactory way.
She turned back to the partition, checked through the hole to see the coast clear, quietly unlatched it, and slid it open a few inches.
Nothing jumped at her this time.
She sighed with relief and started crawling out, getting her hands dirty in the ash of past fires. Her jeans were smudged as well, but she found herself not caring a bit. Her heart was beating too fast, sweat coating her forehead and running into her eyes. As soon as she was out, she crouched and made her way to the cell phone.
Or to where it had been. It was no longer there.
She paused, her legs aching from the crouching walk. She merely stared at the spot where her phone had been, and then looked around to make sure it wasn’t somewhere else. She was certain she had the correct spot, however. Right between the two couches, which faced each other. It had been right there.
The ring tone began again, but this time it was farther away.
She gasped, startled. It sounded like it was coming from the den on the right. Conner had heard the phone, had even seen it, and was now toying with her. She wasn’t going to play his game.
She started toward the front door. Though it would take a few seconds, she could push the table away far enough to get outside. She knew there was another door in the kitchen and one down in the den that led to the backyard. As she got closer to the front door, she saw ahead into the kitchen. The table in there had been pressed against that door as well. When she got parallel to the den steps, she saw the back-porch door wide open.
How dumb did Conner think she was?
Her phone, which had been ringing the whole time, finally stopped. It had been coming from the den, just as she suspected. Gripping the letter opener, she continued to the front door. She grabbed a corner of the table and tried to slide it away from the door. It was much heavier than she’d expected.
The tone began again, this time from a different location.
Erin spun around. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen, which was now to her left. She couldn’t see inside from where she now stood, though she was still directly in front of the den. And that open door leading to the backyard. She really wanted to dart down those steps and race out that door. She knew Conner knew she wanted to do that. He was either in the kitchen now, or had placed her phone there to make her think he was.
He was really messing with her head now.
She simply stood there, her hip pressed against the table. It was painful, though oddly comforting as well. The phone stopped ringing. He must have gone to the options menu to test the ring tones she had stored in her phone. Of course, he would have to have the phone with him in order to do that. He couldn’t just set it down and expect it to ring on its own whenever he wanted.
She stood and waited a moment longer.
The phone rang again, this time from upstairs. How had he gotten up there from the kitchen?
She found herself not really caring. She pushed herself from the table and raced down the steps, into the den.
She was in the den. She didn’t bother looking around to see if anyone was in there. She only had eyes for the back door.
She could see the patio, illuminated by the moon.
She could see the dark trees beyond the patio. She would never again set foot in those woods. As soon as she got outside, she would head right. Mr. Leper had lived in the house on that left, so she saw no reason to go that way.
She was almost to the door. Almost. Almost.
She not only made it to the door, but she made it outside. She turned right, hearing the loud patter her feet made on the wooden floor. There were no steps on this side of the deck, so she had to go under the arm rail. She hopped down onto the grass.
She reached the chain-link fence. She almost collapsed with grief.
The fence was over seven feet tall, and the links were very small. She couldn’t climb this.
She had to go out the other side, where there was a door in the fence.
She took a deep breath, already feeling like she’d wasted valuable time. She should have known the door was on the other side. She’d gone through it before.
Erin didn’t want to crawl onto t
he deck again just to get to the other side, so she went around it, giving it as wide a berth as she could. She looked into the house as she did and saw no one. She looked up briefly to see Jordan’s bedroom window wide open. She prayed Jordan was still okay. She hadn’t planned on being away from him this long.
She ran around the deck and reached the door in the fence. She opened it, not caring how much noise she made, and was now in the carport. Since there was no car, she ran straight through.
A hand reached out of the kitchen door, grabbed her hair, and pulled her back into the house. She dropped the letter opener.
She fell to the floor and saw her attacker closing the door behind them. It was Conner, of course, and he looked and smelled terrible. His eyes looked glossy, his skin tight and dried out. The smell was of ammonia and decay.
He took a step toward her and with one hand managed to slide the breakfast table back into place before the door. He was breathing heavily. You would expect him to grin evilly after all the deception he put into this chase, but he didn’t seem to care one way or another.
He looked regretful. “Sorry for toying with you,” he said in a voice that wasn’t his. “I decided not to have Conner kill you after all. It was a long debate with my brothers, but we think you’ll serve a better purpose.”
Erin could see it in the twist of his lips and the pulling in of his eyebrows that two different personalities were struggling for control of Conner. He didn’t want to hurt her. She could see it. Something was driving him to do this, though, something he couldn’t fight.
“What now?” she asked Conner. “You put me through all of this for a reason. What are you going to do to me?”
He tilted his head to the side, pondering the question. “We must reproduce.”
As quick as lightning, he jumped on top of her and began unbuttoning her pants. She screamed and tried to push his hands away from her zipper, but they were like claws. She felt the hard knuckles, the fingernails scratching her skin. She screamed again as she realized what he was attempting to do.
He was going to rape her.
She kicked and screamed, but he wrapped his legs around hers to hold them still. He unbuttoned her pants, unzipped them.
Erin closed her eyes, not wanting to see any more.
And then, Conner’s weight was gone. She heard him crash against the floor. She opened her eyes and saw him lying a few feet away, holding his face. Blood dripped down from his left temple.
Erin looked behind her to see Jordan standing there, holding a baseball bat. He was now using it as a cane to hold himself up. He looked exhausted. Erin got to her feet and helped him out of the kitchen and down into the den.
The back door was now closed and the couch placed in front of it. Conner had been really fast. Erin tried to push it but it was too heavy, and Jordan was too weak to help.
“Come on,” he said as he took her hand and ushered her up the living room steps just as something darted down the kitchen steps and into the den, just missing them. Once in the living room, Jordan pulled her toward the staircase.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they headed upstairs.
Conner hopped up into the living room on all fours just then. Erin screamed as she helped Jordan onto the second floor. They ran down the long hall with Conner right on their heels.
They charged into Jordan’s room and closed the door in his face.
* * *
Diedre continued following Don as he raced down the freeway, away from downtown. He was clearly in a hurry, but was he racing to something or away from it? Why had he been at the hotel in the first place? Perhaps he’d seen another prostitute.
Diedre tried not to make it too obvious she was following him. He was going over ninety miles an hour, and though not many other people were going as fast, she didn’t want to lose sight of him. Two cars going that same speed were anything but subtle. She prayed she didn’t get pulled over by the cops.
She felt a little regret for taking off on Roderick but she would explain and apologize later. She was thankful she’d brought her own car, otherwise she would have missed out on this golden opportunity. Donovan Scott was up to something tonight, and she was going to find out what.
* * *
“Why did we come up here?” Erin asked Jordan as they barricaded the door with his desk chair against the doorknob.
“Because,” he said as he closed his window, “I’m afraid of what will happen if he goes outside.”
“He’s already been outside.”
“Just around the house. I don’t want him going out and attacking the neighbors. He wants us, so he’ll stay in the house as long as we do.”
“Why does he want to hurt us?”
“I don’t know.” Jordan sat on the bed, nursing his shoulder.
“We have to do something about your shoulder. That’s why I left you in the first place. You’re going to bleed to death.”
Jordan considered that for a moment, and then crossed over to his dresser. He pulled out a shirt and wrapped it around his shoulder wound to reinforce the shirt already there. He then put another shirt on to cover his naked, bloody torso. “The phone doesn’t work, does it?”
“I think one of them is off the hook, and he has my cell.”
Jordan looked at the alarm clock on the side of the bed. “It’s almost eleven. Mom and Dad should be home soon.”
“What if Conner attacks them when they get here? We won’t be able to warn them.”
Jordan looked from her to the window and then to the bedroom door. He climbed on to his hands and knees and looked through the crack between door and floor.
He saw Conner looking back at him.
Jordan jumped to his feet and fell on the bed. The sudden movement made him dizzy and caused him to break out in more sweat. He waved Erin over to him.
“He’s right outside,” he whispered. “If I can keep him here, do you think you could go out the window and run for help?”
She considered it for a moment and then said, “Yes.”
Jordan cocked his head a second later, looking toward the window. Something was coming but he wasn’t sure what. He could just feel it building. And then it came.
Thunder.
A storm.
* * *
Don saw lightning race across the night sky as he drove down the highway. There were no other cars on the road except the one behind him, and it had been behind him since downtown.
He was being followed. He just knew it.
Only one person would follow him now, and that was Diedre Marshall. She must have been downtown as well. Don couldn’t fathom the idea of her following him all night. She must have already been there and merely noticed him by chance. Of course, that didn’t stop him from being insanely pissed off about it.
He couldn’t let her follow him all the way home. If Conner had changed, had killed Jordan, the last thing Don wanted to worry about was that reporter finding out. Though, he would be overcome with grief to care about much else. He had to save his son and nephew.
With that thought, Don slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a sliding stop. The tires screeched on the asphalt, spewing foul-smelling burnt-rubber smoke. He heard the car behind him also come to a halt. He waited for an impact that never came. At least she hadn’t been tailgating.
He got out of his car and ran to hers. He saw her shocked expression and inwardly relished it before pulling her door open, grabbing the car keys, and then flinging them into the woods on the right.
He ran back to his car and took off again.
Rain had just started to fall on the windshield.
* * *
Thomas stood at the counter of the Raisa Hotel, looking out the entrance as the people milled about downtown. He loathed them for their freedom; they could go anywhere they pleased and he could go nowhere. It should be a crime for a nineteen-year-old boy to be stuck at work on a Friday night.
Just as a couple of blond cuties passed by the hotel, a woman a
ppeared directly in front of him, scaring the life out of him.
“Ah, Mrs. Scott,” he said, gathering his wits once again, “what can I do for you?”
Something wasn’t right with her. Her hair was a mess, and her skin was too tight on her face. And her eyes....
“Have you seen my husband?” she asked, her voice surprisingly deep.
“Yes, ma’am, he came running through here twenty minutes ago. Looked like he was in a big hurry.”
Mrs. Scott grinned, and there was something wrong with that grin. And did he smell something terrible? Ammonia and rotting meat?
“Thank you, little boy,” she said in a harsh whisper as she turned to leave.
“Ma’am,” Thomas called after her.
She stopped walking and turned on her heel.
“Will you be returning?” he asked, hoping the answer was no. He got a bad feeling from her he had not received when the couple checked in earlier.
“We will not be returning,” she replied.
“I’ll...need you to check out, then.” He regretted saying the words. He just wanted her to leave now. Something about her made his heart race and his stomach twist into knots. Some evil aura.
She returned to the counter and reached into the right pocket of her dark trench coat. Why was Thomas so nervous? It wasn’t like she was going to pull out a gun or anything.
She drew her hand out quickly.
In it was the hotel key card.
She placed it on the desk in front of him, still grinning that horrible grin. “Have a nice night, little boy.”
“You too, Mrs. Scott.”
“Call me Carutha,” she said as she left through the luxurious exit doors.
Carutha? Thomas asked himself. Maybe it was her maiden name. Maybe it wasn’t.
Thunder rumbled in the air, and a piercing squeal followed a second later, outside the hotel. Thomas lowered himself behind the counter and cried.
* * *
Jordan and Erin listened as the rain fell on the house. Jordan went back to the bedroom door and looked beneath it. Conner was gone, just as he knew he would be.