Shattered Pearls

by Sidney Parker

  Thoughts of my weekend worked their way into my mind as I felt myself finally relaxing. The sound of the ocean, images of the girls toasting one another with laughter, the aroma of grilling steaks out on the balcony, and the vision of Elliot running on the beach. I felt a smile on my face and sleep began to surround me.

  WOMP!!!!

  The sound of something hard hitting my window made me jump up and then scramble to the floor. I crawled my way over to grab the robe I left draped over a chair in the corner. My heart was beating so hard I thought it was going to come right out of my chest. My mouth went dry as I struggled to get the robe over my nakedness without getting up from the safety of the floor.

  What the hell was going on? I strained to hear something, anything.

  Silence once again.

  Did a bird hit the window? Or was someone out there?

  Maybe my paranoid feeling of being watched wasn’t my imagination, maybe it was really happening. I crawled into my office to look at the security monitor, but all I could see was snow. Why isn’t it working? I screamed in my head. I hit the reset button on the front but nothing came up.

  Shit.

  I pulled the phone down to the floor and touched the talk button, nothing. The phone line was dead too.

  Double shit!

  What the hell was going on?

  Don’t panic! I kept telling myself. The blinds are down and everything is locked up tight.

  The only visible light was coming from the TV and a small light over the stove in the kitchen.

  It was too damn quiet. The only sounds I could hear were the imaginary ones in my head, the sound of someone breathing as they waited, watching me. I could feel the panic starting to take over. I needed to stay calm. My heartbeat was thudding violently, making my head hurt and my ears throb.

  I raced back to my bedroom where I’d left my cell phone charging. I couldn’t remember if I programmed Tom Campbell’s number into it or if I just threw his card in my purse.

  Damn it.

  My purse was sitting on the kitchen table where I left it last night.

  THINK.

  BREATHE.

  DO NOT PANIC!

  Okay, I’m going to be okay, I told myself, all the while my mind was screaming inside. I grabbed my cell phone and crawled into my closet, shutting the door behind me.

  I’m not sure why I thought the closet was a safe place, but I remembered as a child, whenever I was scared, I would hide in my closet under the clothes. I figured if I couldn’t see anyone, they couldn’t see me.

  My hands trembled as I scrolled down my list of contacts, almost dropping the phone several times from shaking so badly. I found Tom Campbell’s name and number and let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. At least I did something right. I pushed the send button and waited, listening to the sound of silence outside of the closet door.

  It seemed like an eternity before I heard a gruff, sleepy voice answer the phone.

  “Hello … this is Tom Campbell,” he mumbled.

  “Tom?” I whispered. “It’s Emily … Emily Golden,” I hesitated.

  His answer was quick. “What’s wrong? Where are you?” he asked.

  “I’m … I’m hiding in my closet.”

  I tried to compile my thoughts, even though I was starting to lose it.

  “I think someone is outside, in the backyard. Something hit my bedroom window … I checked the monitor, but the picture is gone, and my phone is dead, the landline … I’m don’t know what to do,” I told him, my voice shaking so badly it was barely comprehensible.

  “Stay in the closet! I’m calling it in and heading out right now. I’m only a few minutes away from you. DO NOT COME OUT OF THE CLOSET!” he warned me. “Keep your cell phone in your hands. I will call you as soon as I get there. Better yet, call 911 and keep them on the line.”

  He quickly hung up and I did as he told me.

  “911, what is your emergency? “

  The dispatcher listened as I tried to explain everything. She kept me on the line while I waited, talking to me, and reassuring me help would be there in a matter of minutes. It seemed like hours as I sat hidden among my dresses and long sweaters.

  Suddenly the whole outside lit up like it was the middle of a sunny afternoon. I could see the beams streaming from under the closet door, bouncing all over the place. Flashlights! I jumped as my cell phone buzzed in my hand, signaling I had another call. It was Tom. I quickly clicked over to him.

  “Can you open up the front door, Emily?” he asked. “I’m right outside now, and we have your house surrounded.”

  I raced to the door, fumbling to unlock it, and threw it open. Tom gently set me aside as he and three other officers rushed in.

  One went to the sliding door, and after pulling up the blinds and unlocking it, he slid it open and stepped into the backyard. The other two went from room to room looking in every closet, around furniture and underneath, checking in the garage. Tom guided me to the couch so I could sit down and go over everything with him. But before I could even open my mouth, the officer who had gone out back stepped inside, motioning for Tom to follow him.

  “Stay there,” he commanded me.

  I sat there wondering what the hell he had found. A commotion at the front door drew my attention. Maggie, dressed in old sweats and a sloppy ponytail sticking out the back of a yellow baseball hat, stepped inside with another officer holding her arm.

  “Emily!” she yelled. “Are you okay?”

  The man holding her back asked if I knew her at the same time she was yelling to me.

  “It’s okay. She’s a friend of mine,” I told him.

  She rushed over to me and hugged me, holding tightly.

  “I heard your address over my police scanner and it scared the crap out of me. What the hell is going on?” She was out of breath and sounded almost as scared as I was.

  “I’m not sure yet,” I said. “I heard something outside and suddenly the security monitors quit working and I had no landline. Something hit the window in my bedroom while I was sleeping. That’s what woke me up.”

  She just looked at me dumbfounded.

  “The police are out there now. They told me to stay inside.”

  The two officers checking out the inside of the house walked through and went back out front. Maggie headed over to the front window and peeked out to see what they were doing out there.

  “There are squad cars all over the place, in the street and your driveway. There was even one blocking the road a few houses down from you. I parked there and just ran up here,” she told me.

  Tom and the other officer stepped back into my living room from the backyard. I couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other when Tom turned and looked at me. Maggie stayed over in the corner of the kitchen by the window and watched, quietly.

  “I think your stalker is starting to cross the line here, Emily,” he said seriously.

  “What happened? What’s out there?” I asked, my voice shaking. Even with the police right here, I was scared.

  “It looks like he cut the wires to both your security system and the phone lines. He threw or fired what looks like a paintball at your window. There’s red paint all over it and the side of your house. It’s a mess. You’re lucky the window didn’t break from the force of it.”

  The other officer jumped in.

  “I looked at all the windows and the slider. It seems he tried to get inside at some point. There are gouge marks along the sides where he tried to jimmy them but it didn’t work. Someone is seriously pissed off at you or trying to get at you.” The man just shook his head. “We’re going to try and get some prints off the windows, but unless he’s in the system…” He shook his head again.

  Tom glanced around the house.

  “Where’s Lucky?” he asked.

  “He spent the weekend with George. They went down to Tucson. They’re coming back in the morning. I’ve been in California since Thursday afternoon with my girlfrie
nds,” I explained to him. “I came back around seven.”

  “I think you should stay with me, Em.” Maggie stepped forward from the kitchen, startling Tom and making her presence known.

  “And you are?” he asked her.

  “I’m Maggie Campion, Emily’s friend.” She held out a hand to Tom, eyeing him warily.

  He shook her hand and checked her out, all of her, slowly taking in every inch of her frazzled form.

  “Tom Campbell,” he told her. “You were with her over the weekend?” he asked.

  She just nodded her head.

  The officers from outside came back into the house; including Tom, there were five of them crowding my small living room.

  “There’s nothing out there. We checked all around the neighborhood. There are a few squads driving around to see if anyone is just hanging out watching, but there was no one. It’s quiet tonight,” one of the men told us. “I want to keep a couple of cruisers in the area, see if he or they come back.”

  “They probably won’t,” Tom told him. “I think he knows we’re here. He seems to be putting time between his actions, at least here by the house.”

  He turned to me.

  “I would rather you had someone stay with you or you stay with a friend until we can catch this guy, and keep Lucky with you at all times. I don’t want you taking any chances.”

  Maggie spoke up. “I can stay with you the rest of tonight and tomorrow. We need to run back to my house and get some things in the morning.”

  I just nodded in agreement. Things were happening too fast. I couldn’t think clearly about what I needed to do. I was too damn scared right now.

  “I can talk to Andrea in the morning. She’ll want to help, and we can take turns until they catch whoever is doing this,” she added.

  I just nodded again. The situation was starting to sink in. I couldn’t be alone until we all figured out who this bastard was. What the hell had I ever done to deserve this? Who the hell was he?

  Tom touched my arm, bringing me back to the present.

  “There will be an officer parked out front for the rest of the night. If you hear anything, anything at all, call it in! Keep your phone next to the bed and charging.”

  He looked from me to Maggie. “Both of you, I don’t care what time it is. If you hear something or even feel like someone is out there, call 911 and me. Promise?”

  Maggie answered for both of us. “We will,” she promised.

  I was exhausted, I wanted to go to sleep and forget this was happening. I wanted it all to go away and leave me alone.

  Maggie let the officers out the door and locked up. She did one more check of the house to make sure no one was getting inside and crawled in next to me, our cell phones plugged in, ready, just in case. I’m not sure how, but in the early morning hours, I fell into a troubled and restless asleep.

  EMILY

  I woke up to the smell of coffee, disoriented, not quite sure where I was. It took a few minutes for everything to come back to me; brain fog. Did it really happen? Did someone really throw a red paintball at the back of my house?

  What the hell! When my mind finally cleared, I jumped from my bed and grabbed my sweats, dressing as I headed into the kitchen. I needed to see the damage in the daylight. Maggie was sitting calmly at the table, a cup of coffee in one hand, and scrolling through her iPad with the other. She looked up at me, her forehead creasing with worry lines.

  “How are you doing this morning?” she asked.

  “Not sure yet,” I mumbled.

  I reached for a cup and helped myself to coffee so I could wake up.

  Last night was both a blur and vividly clear at the same time. This crazy bastard’s actions were escalating and I didn’t have any idea who could be doing this to me. I was scared to be alone and now I would be constantly looking over my shoulder even more so, wondering who was out there watching my every move.

  I looked at Maggie, thankful she was here with me, and scared for her at the same time. What if he went after my friends? What if this maniac tried to hurt one of my girls?

  I needed to calm down and keep a clear perspective. Giving into the panic I felt wasn’t going to help the problem. I turned back to Maggie.

  “How did you happen to show up last night?” I asked her suddenly. She told me at some point, but everything was a bit scattered in my thinking this morning.

  “I have a police scanner,” she admitted sheepishly. “I know, dumb, huh. It’s something my parents always had around when I was a kid so I bought one a while back. Sometimes, when I’m hanging out by myself, I turn it on to listen to the action going on around town. Last night when I heard the dispatcher say your address, I almost had a heart attack. I couldn’t get into my car fast enough.”

  “Wow. I’m glad you live close by. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I can’t figure out who would be doing this to me. They haven’t tried to hurt me yet, but it’s starting to really freak me out.”

  “Em, you have dated some jerks in the last few years. True, you only went out with them a couple of times at the most, but they were a bit shady. You always kind of went for that bad boy thing. How well did you know any of them?”

  “True, I didn’t know most of them, but I can’t think of anyone that would have cared enough to do something like this.”

  And I really couldn’t. Most of the men that I went out with didn’t want a relationship any more than I did. No fuss, no anger, we just went our separate ways.

  We sat at the table, both lost in thought, trying to come up with an answer.

  Maggie spoke up again. “I’m not going to put Elliot on the list again but I think it’s time we seriously consider Jailbait.”

  She’d mentioned him before and I did date him for a few months, but I still couldn’t imagine him doing this. But then again, I really didn’t know that much about him. It was embarrassing when I thought about it. I didn’t care enough to ask many questions. He was just someone to spend time with when I was lonely. I couldn’t even say I liked him very much. Maggie interrupted my thoughts. “All I’m saying is, he had it pretty good with you. He practically moved in here. He didn’t work much. He just more or less sponged off of you. I’m sure he was pissed as hell when you told him to get lost. He lost his sugar mama.”

  I hadn’t thought of that before. When I told him it wasn’t working for me, he shrugged and walked out the door. I saw a flash of something in his eyes but I blew it off to ego. Maybe she was right. He did have a cushy life with me, even though it was short-lived.

  “I will mention it to Tom today,” I told her.

  She had opened the blinds facing the street and I glanced out to see if George and Lucky were back yet. It was still early and I didn’t see any signs of life over there. Cars were driving past as people headed out for work. It was a typical Monday morning. Atypical in this house, and I wasn’t sure what to do about any of it.

  I stepped into the backyard to survey the mess. There were globs of red paint all over the window and the stucco around it. Someone had sprayed onto the walkway leading from the patio to the side yard and the garage. It looked as if someone had been murdered right outside my bedroom window, only there were no bodies, and the blood splatters were only red paint. What a mess, it was going to take a professional to clean this up.

  Maggie came up behind me, startling me for a moment.

  “I have an idea,” she told me. “It sounds crazy, but after a break in a few years back, a client of mine nailed those strips used for carpet installation all along the top of the wall surrounding his backyard. You know, the kind with nails on it that hold the carpet in place? If someone attempted to climb over, they would tear up their hands when they grabbed the top of the wall to pull themselves over. I could ask him what we would need to do that.”

  I thought about it for a minute. The idea was crazy but it might work. Imagine jumping up and grabbing the top of the wall to pull yourself up and having your palms shredded from the carpet t
acks? Hell yes, that would deter someone from trying to enter my backyard for sure.

  “Sounds like a great idea,” I said.

  She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and walked away to call him. I ambled around the house, checking windows and looking outside at my neighborhood. Was someone sitting out there watching me now? Patiently waiting for me to leave my house again?

  I wanted Lucky home. I would feel a lot safer with him here. I wondered if Tom had called George to let him know what happened here last night.

  God must have been answering prayers because ten minutes later George pulled into his driveway and Tom’s cruiser followed just behind him.

  I watched as the two men climbed out of their cars and stood there talking. Lucky jumped out too and sat patiently next to George. They looked over at my house. I waved as I stepped out the front door and all three of them headed my way.

  Lucky greeted me with some exuberant barks and a number of wet kisses as I reached down and nuzzled his neck for a minute. I was so glad he was back. Tom looked at me when I straightened up.

  “How are you doing this morning?” he asked.

  I kind of gave a little shrug.

  “Nervous, scared, and getting seriously pissed off.”

  “Still no idea who could be behind this?”

  Maggie walked out of the house and answered for me.

  “She used to date this little jerk we called Jailbait. His name is Steve Nelson. Lives in Tempe, at least that’s where he used to live. Total asshole,” she proclaimed.

  Tom looked from me to Maggie and back at me again.

  “Did he call it off or did you?” he asked.

  “I did,” I told him. “He was one of those guys looking for a free ride, angry at the world. He had an ego and a self-entitlement problem I had a hard time dealing with. I dated him for a few months well over a year ago. I got sick of the attitude and paying for everything. When it seemed like he was moving in permanently, I gave him the boot. I never noticed if he was upset about it, but my friends seem to think he was. I never cared enough to pay much attention to him,” I admitted.