Stalked in the Night

by Carla Cassidy

“That’s right,” Jake replied.

  “Did you behave for Mr. Jake?” Eva asked her son.

  “He did,” Jake replied and smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “He turned out to be a terrific fisherman. And now why don’t you go into the bathroom and wash up?”

  “Okay.” Andy raced out of the kitchen.

  The minute he left, Jake turned to Eva, his gaze dark. “We need to call Wayne.”

  “Why? What’s happened?” Her heart skipped a beat.

  “One of your missing cow hearts has shown up.”

  A gasp escaped Eva. “What? Where?” Fear sizzled through her veins.

  “Hanging from your front porch rail.”

  Eva stared at him in horror. Now she understood why he had driven around to the back door. It had been in an effort to keep Andy from seeing anything disturbing.

  “Before we call Wayne, let me make Andy a sandwich and get him settled in his bedroom,” she said.

  “We should call him before it starts to rain,” Jake replied. “The clouds have definitely thickened up.”

  “Just give me five minutes.” Eva quickly made Andy a sandwich, added potato chips to his plate and had it ready by the time he returned to the kitchen.

  “You can eat in your bedroom and play your video games until bedtime,” she told him.

  “Really?” Andy took the plate from her. “You never let me play my games on a school night.”

  “Tonight is the exception to the rule,” Eva replied.

  “Cool. Thank you, Mr. Jake, for taking me fishing. I hope we can do it again soon,” Andy said.

  Jake smiled. “We’ll definitely do it again soon.”

  Andy took his plate and then disappeared into his bedroom. Eva headed for the front door, with Jake close behind her. Her heart beat the rhythm of dread as she anticipated what she was going to see.

  The minute she stepped out on the porch, the wind whipped her hair around her head, and a bolt of lightning split the darkness of the clouds.

  Even though she’d thought she was mentally prepared, she wasn’t. There was no way she could have prepared herself for what she saw.

  The cow’s heart was stabbed through with a knife and dripped with blood. A note was next to it, appearing to have been written with the blood from the heart.

  “Die, bitch.”

  It was a grotesque sight, made more horrifying by the fact that the person who threatened her had sneaked so close...had been bold enough to invade her personal space by coming up onto her porch.

  She jumped, and a small cry escaped her lips as thunder boomed overhead. Jake threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. Instead of pulling away from him, she leaned closer into him.

  “Die, bitch.” The words echoed in her head over and over again as she stared, almost mesmerized by the note next to the horrible bloody heart.

  “Come on, let’s get inside and call Wayne,” Jake said gently and tightened his arm around her.

  With her heart still pounding and fear tightening her stomach muscles, she prayed that this time Wayne would find something that would identify who was behind these attacks...before whoever was behind it made good on the threat.

  * * *

  JAKE STOOD ON the porch with Wayne and his deputy, Phil Barkley. Jake had insisted Eva stay in the house with her son while the men took care of the evidence gathering. There was no reason for her to see this atrocity again.

  “That had to have been frozen,” Jake observed as Phil took photos of the heart.

  “Maybe, although it’s sick to think about somebody...anybody in Dusty Gulch tearing the heart out of an animal and then putting it in their freezer,” Wayne said. “It’s hard to believe somebody in Dusty Gulch is behind any of this. It’s the sickest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “I just want to know who is targeting Eva and why,” Jake replied.

  “Let’s hope this time the person made a mistake. Hopefully I can get something from the knife that was left behind,” Wayne replied. “It’s got a nice carved handle.”

  “Looks like it’s handmade,” Jake observed. “You know anybody who does that kind of work around here?”

  “Not off the top of my head,” Wayne replied. “But I’m not much of a knife guy.”

  “At least the rain held off,” Jake said. Lightning had split the night sky and thunder had boomed overhead, but there hadn’t been a drop of rain so far.

  He watched as Wayne and Phil pulled on plastic gloves and then removed the knife and two ordinary nails that held the note in place. They then caught the heart as it fell into a plastic evidence bag. The knife, the nails and the note were also bagged as evidence, and then Phil left with the items.

  Jake and Wayne spent the next twenty minutes walking the area around the porch and looking for anything that might provide a clue as to the identity of the perpetrator. However, they found nothing. Unfortunately the ground was too dry to give up a single footprint or tire track, and they didn’t even know in what direction the perp had come from.

  “I need to get back inside to Eva,” Jake finally said.

  “I’ll head in with you. I need to get an interview with her on the record,” Wayne replied. “I want to do everything strictly by the book, so when we catch this creep, the district attorney can put him away for a long time.”

  Together the two men went back into the house, where Eva sat on the edge of the sofa. She jumped up as they came in. “I made coffee,” she said. Jake eyed her worriedly. Her eyes were slightly glazed, and she was pale. She appeared small and more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her. “Let’s go into the kitchen, and I can get Wayne a cup of coffee.”

  She led the way, and as the two men sat at the table, she got Wayne a cup of the fresh brew and offered Jake a soda, which he declined.

  Finally the three of them were seated, and Wayne took out his notepad and a small recorder. “Do you mind if I record your statement?” he asked.

  “No, not at all,” Eva replied.

  “I just can’t believe somebody had the nerve to do this while I was here,” Jake said.

  “Unless you specifically told somebody, nobody would have known you were here. Your truck was down by the pond and wouldn’t have been visible from the road or the house,” Eva said.

  Jake was grateful to see a bit of color returning to her cheeks, and her gaze was becoming more clear and focused. “I didn’t tell anyone I was coming here,” he replied.

  Wayne turned on his recorder and focused on Eva. “Do you have any idea what time this happened?”

  “I’m not sure, but I heard a couple of bangs coming from the front of the house around six o’clock or so. I thought it was the wind banging one of the shutters that are loose.” She frowned. “I looked outside, but I didn’t see anything. If only I’d come all the way out of the house immediately when I heard it, maybe I could have caught the person.”

  “Thank God you didn’t run out of the house,” Jake replied. “Who knows what might have happened if you’d encountered the person?” The very thought of Eva interacting with the perp clenched Jake’s stomach muscles and made him feel ill.

  Minutes later, after Wayne had asked all his questions, Eva and Jake walked the lawman to the front door. “Hopefully the knife is going to be the key in breaking this case wide-open,” he said. “It’s unusual, and I’m going to home in and see what I can learn about it. I’ll be in touch in the next day or two to let you know what we find out.”

  “At least Wayne seems to be stepping up his game,” Jake said when Wayne was gone. “Where is Andy?”

  “He’s sleeping. I think all the heat and excitement of fishing completely wore him out. I tucked him into bed while you and Wayne were outside. I just hope Wayne really can figure something out from the knife,” she replied and then collapsed onto the sofa. To his surprise, she pa
tted the sofa next to her. “Will you sit with me for a while?” There was a soft plea in her eyes that let him know she was still frightened.

  “Of course. I should just move in here to keep you safe.” He sank onto the sofa next to her.

  She released a small laugh. “Jake, I asked you to stay for a little while, not to move in with us.” Her laughter faded. “This whole thing is frightening, but the locks on my windows and doors are good ones, and I have a big stick and a shotgun in case I get really scared about somebody coming inside the house.”

  That moment of vulnerability she’d displayed earlier was gone. However, he knew she must be entertaining residual fear in the fact that she’d asked him to hang around for a while longer. If nothing else, the note written in blood had to have terrified her. It had certainly scared the hell out of him for her.

  “It was fun taking Andy fishing for his first time,” he said, knowing that talking about her son would ease some of her anxiety. “He was so excited about everything. He baited his own hook like a champion, and by the time we left the pond, he was casting out like a real pro.”

  A whisper of a smile curved her lips...lips that even under these circumstances he wanted to cover with his own. “I appreciate you taking him. I should have taken him a long time ago, but it was just one of those things that I kept putting off.”

  “So, tell me about your husband. Were you happy in the marriage?”

  She hesitated a moment and then nodded her head. “Yes, I was happy. Andrew was one of the most gentle and truly good men I’ve ever known.”

  Jake’s heart quickened slightly. “Eva, I just need to ask...were you seeing him while we were dating?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Do you really believe I’m the kind of woman who would do something like that? You do me a disservice by even asking that. The answer is no. At that time Andrew was just a ranch hand I occasionally saw working out in the pastures. And then my father died.”

  Her eyes filled with sadness, and she took a moment before continuing. “I was eighteen years old and utterly lost in my grief. I didn’t know anything about how to run this place, and I felt so alone. Andrew stepped up and not only helped me through my grief, but also taught me what I needed to know about running this place and surviving here on the ranch my father had loved.”

  “I wish I had been here to help you with your grief,” he replied. How he wished he had been the one she’d leaned on and cried to, how he wished he’d been the one she’d depended on during that terrible time in her life. “So, why did you break up with me, Eva?”

  She released a deep sigh. “Does it really matter now? I told you before, Jake, I don’t want to rehash the past. It’s over and done with, and we can’t go back and rewrite history. Besides, I’m far more concerned about my future right now.”

  Her response didn’t answer his question, but she was right. In the grand scheme of things, what did any of it really matter now? It was obviously his problem that he hadn’t quite been able to get over her. Maybe by spending more time with her now, he’d realize they had never been meant to be together.

  “I saw pictures of you on dates in Italy. None of those beautiful women managed to tie you down?” she asked.

  “No, I wasn’t even particularly serious with anyone over the last ten years. I found most of those beautiful women exceedingly boring.”

  A small laugh escaped Eva. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “It’s the truth,” he protested with a laugh of his own. “I really had nothing in common with any of them. They saw me as an heir to a fortune, but when I tried to tell them about my desire to ranch in Dusty Gulch, Kansas, their eyes glazed over and they stopped listening to me. It’s hard to build a relationship with somebody when you can’t talk about your real hopes and dreams.”

  He’d wanted to feel the same deep connection...the same passion for another woman that he’d once felt for Eva, but so far he hadn’t found it with anyone else.

  He suddenly realized how close they sat to each other, close enough that he could smell the spicy scent of her. He could feel the warmth of her radiating toward him—a warmth that had always both comforted and excited him at the same time.

  Their gazes locked, and he felt himself falling into the beautiful violet depths. He was eighteen years old again, and in his eyes she was the most beautiful girl in the entire school, in the entire world.

  Her long hair held the sheen of fine silk, begging him to stroke his fingers through the thick strands. His chest tightened, and he leaned closer to her.

  Her eyes darkened, and she released a small gasp and sprang to her feet. “It’s been a long day, Jake. I really appreciate you hanging out for a little while, but I’m fine now and I think it’s time for us to say good-night.”

  Jake got up from the sofa, feeling as if he was reluctantly leaving behind a wonderful dream. “Are you sure you’ll be all right? I could always bunk right here on the sofa for the rest of the night.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” She walked with him to the front door. “Now that the initial shock is over, I’m okay.”

  “You’ll call me if anything else happens or if you just get frightened?” he asked. She hesitated a moment and then nodded.

  He lifted her chin with his fingers so he could look one last time into her beautiful, long-lashed eyes. “Promise me, Eva,” he said.

  “I promise.” She stepped back from him. “Good night, Jake.”

  He told her good-night and then stepped out on the porch. She closed and locked the door behind him. His gaze shot directly to the place where the heart had hung.

  Was somebody just terrorizing her with no desire to actually harm her? His hands tightened into fists at his sides. Who was doing this to her? Why would anyone do this to her? Would this escalate into something deadly?

  There was no question that he was worried about her. However, he didn’t believe anything more would happen tonight. He left the porch and headed for his truck.

  It had been a long day, with lots of emotions to process. He’d truly enjoyed his time with Andy. The boy was bright and funny and had been eager to please. It was obvious he longed for a father figure in his life and missed the father he could barely remember.

  Jake got in his truck but remained sitting without starting the engine as his tangled thoughts attempted to unwind. He’d seen the heart the minute he had pulled up toward the house and had immediately detoured around to the kitchen door in hopes that Andy wouldn’t see the monstrosity. He didn’t want Andy’s memory of his first day fishing to be tainted. Hell, he never wanted a kid to see something like that.

  He’d come here initially because he’d wanted to make love with Eva one more time...because maybe he’d wanted a bit of revenge on her for breaking his heart so many years ago.

  But tonight something had changed in him. His desire for her was still there, as strong as it had ever been. But as he’d talked about sharing hopes and dreams, he’d remembered that he’d had that with Eva.

  He still loved her. He was still in love with her. There was no doubt in his mind that she had loved him once. He didn’t know exactly what had gone wrong between them, but none of that mattered now.

  More than anything, he wanted to keep her safe from any and all danger—and he wanted her to love him again.

  Chapter Five

  “That kind of knife is sold at a couple of convenience and cigarette stores around the immediate area,” Wayne explained. Lines of exhaustion creased the lawman’s face, the lines made more prominent by the morning sun that danced through Eva’s kitchen windows.

  “We got lucky in that they are handmade by a man named Riley Kincaid, who lives out on a ranch about twenty miles from here. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to follow up on any of this, because old man Brighton was murdered in his sleep last night.”

  Both Eva and Jake released gasps o
f surprise. “How?” Jake asked.

  “What about his wife? Is Sadie all right?” Eva leaned forward, horrified by this news. Walter Brighton and Sadie were fixtures around town. They had been married for fifty years, and they took afternoon walks together in town and greeted each person they passed with warmth. They often sat on the bench in front of the post office or could be seen having an early dinner at the café.

  “Sadie is fine, but needless to say, she is very shaken up by this,” Wayne replied. “Walter was stabbed sometime in the middle of the night while he slept.”

  “Where was Sadie when all this happened?” Jake asked. He looked so handsome this morning, clad in a navy blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

  “Apparently Sadie slept in one of the other smaller bedrooms in their house due to Walter’s loud snoring. She didn’t see or hear anyone. She found Walter just after sunrise this morning when she went to wake him for the day. My point is right now all my men are assigned to the murder case, and I need to get back over to the scene of the crime as soon as possible. And that means it’s going to be some time before I can speak to Riley Kincaid or follow up on any of the stores that sell the knife.” He shook his head ruefully. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to focus on this murder case right now.”

  “Wayne, we completely understand. How about Eva and I check out the convenience stores that sell the knife and speak to this Kincaid guy?” Jake asked.

  Wayne sighed in obvious relief. “It would be real helpful if you two did the initial legwork,” he said. “We need to find out who might have bought one of those knives recently. It looked brand-new. Unfortunately there were no prints on it, but if you remember, Jake, it had a wolf carved into it.”

  “Trust me, I remember,” Jake replied.

  “We’ll see what we can find out by talking to these people,” Eva said. Although she was ambivalent about spending any more time alone with Jake, the bloody heart and the new note had truly frightened her.

  She would dance with the devil if it brought her closer to discovering who was behind the threats. And in this case, her devil was Jake.