Target This

by Lily White

  Without another word, she stood up and walked out of the room, her heels clicking throughout the house as she made her way to the door. By the time she’d left the hall, I could no longer hear her retreat and by the time I’d typed the next letter, the intercom on my office wall buzzed.

  “Lucas, darling, I think you’ll want to come out here.” Sarah paused for a moment before adding, “We have company.”

  Autumn

  I was sprawled on my bed slapping at the angry tears that dripped down my cheeks. My day with Sarah had been horrible to say the least and I was now surrounded by bags of clothes that I would never have selected for myself. Every piece of clothing was cut too low or hemmed too short. If it didn’t show skin, it was so tight that nobody would have to imagine what I looked like underneath because they would be able to see my parts pressing against the material.

  What sounded like a loud gong suddenly blared throughout the house and I sat up startled by the noise. After it rang again, I realized it was a doorbell. Pushing off the bed, I grabbed a shirt from one of the bags to replace the one that Lucas had ruined. After looking over my skirt, I discovered that it had also been ripped when he’d shoved it up my thighs.

  My body tingled at the thought of what he’d done to me and I became angry with myself when I recognized that I’d enjoyed it. I was never the type of woman to be pushed around by anybody, especially a man, but for the past two days, it felt like I couldn’t help myself when I was around him. I’d stepped into some trap when it came to him and I was acutely aware of my stupidity for having done so. I went in search of some underwear to slip under my skirt. After tearing through the bags, I remembered that we hadn’t bought any.

  “Dammit!”

  I wasn’t sure if that was an oversight on Sarah’s part or if it was intentional.

  Creeping out of my room, I moved down the hallway towards the stairs, stopping when I could finally hear voices coming from the foyer.

  “So nice to finally meet you, Detective Marx. I saw you recently on the news; some story about a woman who burned down her house? What a pity that something so scandalous can occur in our little town.” Sarah’s voice rang out musically as she was obvious in her attempt to charm the detective.

  I shrank back, scared that he’d seen me, but was comforted to remember that I’d never stepped out from behind the wall and into view.

  “Yeah, you probably did see me.” His voice was gruff and he didn’t sound amused. “I need to speak with Lucas Bates. Is he home?”

  “He is, but he would prefer not to be disturbed. He’s working. Although I’d be happy to help you in any way that you’d like.”

  There was a long pause between the two voices before Detective Marx responded, “I can just have him brought down to the station. I’m sure that will take up more of his time and he’d be thrilled that you turned me away.”

  “A man who likes to play hardball. I can appreciate that. Let me just buzz him and tell him to come join the party.” Four clicks of her heels was followed by, “Lucas, darling, I think you’ll want to come out here. We have company.”

  Four more clicks and she asked, “Can I get you something to drink, Detective? Tea, coffee … a shot of something stronger, maybe?”

  “Ma’am, I’m not in the mood for whatever it is that you’re doing here. Just let me speak to Mr. Bates and I’ll be leaving.”

  A seductive bit of laughter echoed through the house. “We’ll see about that, Detective.” It was said on a low voice, the feminine tone accenting the warning that was imbedded in her words.

  Heavier steps sounded and I knew when Lucas had entered the room. My heart pounded and my body shook uncontrollably. I didn’t want to go to jail. I didn’t want to be stuck behind bars with nobody to help me figure out what was happening to me. It worried me that after the way Lucas had acted earlier, he would tell Detective Marx that I was in the house.

  Questions regarding my whereabouts were the only reason I could think of for why the detective would want to speak to him. I wondered if Sue had confessed my location. I knew she was the type who wouldn’t commit a crime in order to help me and it wouldn’t be something I could hold against her either. In a town this small, it was all you could do to keep your reputation clean so that you weren’t ostracized by the people who lived here.

  “Can you please explain to me why you’re here, dripping in my foyer?” Anger poured from Lucas’ tone when he finally addressed who I assumed was the detective. A shiver ran along my spine. I recognized his tone of voice, having just been assaulted by it myself only minutes prior.

  “I apologize for the intrusion, Mr. Bates, but I have a disappearance I’m investigating currently and I believe you might have some information I’d like to hear.”

  My heart thundered, my pulse raced and I crouched down, making myself smaller as if that would somehow help me hide.

  “What would you like to know, Detective? Please, why don’t you follow me into my conference room so we can discuss it.” Although his words were genial, his tone was anything but. Lucas was angry and I shivered at the sharp edged statement.

  Three sets of footsteps sounded through the room, but stopped when Detective Marx asked, “Why is she coming? Ma’am I apologize to be rude, but you are not needed in this conversation.”

  “If Sarah isn’t welcome, then we have no need to talk.” Bitter contempt was weaved within his statement. He’d been pushed too far. It was starting to become apparent in Lucas’ behavior that he was no longer the man I’d dined with the night before. He’d changed somehow. His charming ability to remain calm had all but vanished. He was too easily angered and too quick to react.

  “My assistant is my ‘eyes and ears’, she is involved in almost every aspect of my life, even reminding me of when I need to eat or take a shit. If you do not wish to include her in this conversation, then you can walk yourself back out into the rainstorm and to your car.”

  “I’ll just haul you down to the station, Mr. …”

  “Then haul all you want, Detective Marx. I’ll just sit there until my attorney can arrive and tear your station apart for having bothered me. I don’t take kindly to being interrupted or harassed. Do you understand?”

  “Mr. Bates, I’d like to talk to you about the disappearance of Mary Beth Carson. She’s been missing for the past three days and I believe you were the last person to have seen her that night – at least, according to the texts we found on her phone.” He’d raised his voice to be heard over Lucas and by the time he was finished, his last words seemed to ring through the thick silence that hung in the air. Hearing Mary Beth’s name was like a sudden shock to my system. Although foggy and disjointed, memories of the night before came back to me. I remembered her voice, the fear that I’d heard in her words.

  “Oh my God.” Covering my mouth, I froze after I spoke, remembering the people below me. I crept backwards, careful not to make another sound as I pushed myself further down the shadowed hall.

  It was as if time had stopped while I waited for Lucas’ response. I thought back on the last night I’d seen her. I knew she’d texted Lucas, but had she seen him? He was with me that night. I was sure he couldn’t have seen her until I remember that he’d left early.

  “I have to go. There is an unfortunate annoyance I must resolve before I can take things further here. For now, read the book I gave you –pay attention this time to what you read.”

  My eyes widened with the realization that Mary Beth had been the ‘unfortunate annoyance’ to which he’d been referring. A mixture of anger and fear coiled over my nerves and I shrank back again, not knowing if I should remain quiet or run downstairs screaming for Detective Marx to arrest me just so I could escape Lucas.

  Keeping his voice controlled, Lucas answered, “She was soliciting me that evening, Detective. I’m not sure how that proves or even implies I have anything to do with her disappearance.”

  Silence again, before Detective Marx replied, “I’m not here to acc
use you, Mr. Bates. Therefore, you can cut the fucking defensive act. I’m here because the phone was located in another missing woman’s yard and I thought you might know something about it considering you had a romantic relationship with both women.

  “I don’t know who this other woman is, but I can guarantee you I was never romantic with Ms. Carson. She was a little too easy for my tastes.”

  “Sir, if you would, can we please discuss this somewhere more comfortable? I have several questions and this might take some time. Ms. …”

  “Oh! Sarah. Just call me Sarah.”

  “Sarah, ma’am, I apologize again, but I’m going to need for you to stay out of the room.”

  She laughed quietly. “It’s no problem, Detective. I’ll just go keep myself busy while you boys talk.” Heels quickly moved across the room before I heard Lucas and Detective Marx move in the opposite direction. When I heard Sarah’s heels hit the stairs, I moved quickly to my room, shutting the door quietly in hopes she hadn’t noticed I’d been eavesdropping. Within seconds there was a gentle knock on my door.

  “Come in.” Trying to slow my heavy breathing, I sat on the bed, straightening my skirt over my legs as if I’d been sitting there all along.

  The door creaked when it opened and Sarah peeked her eyes in before opening it fully and stepping inside. “Sorry to disturb you, Autumn, but I wanted to check on you. How did things go with Lucas? Was he able to clear up any of the concerns you had?”

  A fake smile curled my lips. “No, unfortunately, he wasn’t in the mood to talk.”

  “Of course he wasn’t. It’s like I said, when he’s working, it’s best to just leave him be.”

  “Of course.”

  Neither of us was being genuine and we both were well aware of that fact.

  Moving farther inside, her eyes ran over the outfit I’d put on after Detective Marx arrived. “I’m glad to see you liked your clothes enough to change already.” A brow arched over her eye. “Why do you appear to be out of breath?”

  Taking a deep breath, I prayed that my heart would slow down and that she wouldn’t hear the thunder of blood that rushed through my head. “It was a lot of work going through all of it. I must be out of shape because it winded me when I was looking for what I wanted to wear.”

  Slowly turning, she looked back at the bags, which were neatly organized just as she’d left them earlier. Returning her attention to me, she smiled wickedly and said, “Right. That makes sense.”

  “Who was at the door? I thought I heard the bell ring.”

  A thick fall of lashes batted heavily over her eyes as she eyed me suspiciously. Tense silence fell between us before she finally answered, “Just a friend of Lucas’; someone who helps out with the books. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  Nodding, I didn’t respond. The last thing I wanted was to keep pushing and reveal that I knew for a fact that she was lying.

  “Well, anyway, I just came up to check on you and it appears you’re fine. I’m so relieved. I’m going to be leaving in the next half hour for the night. Lucas should be done writing for the day, so you might want to run downstairs in a little while so you two can finally talk.” A quick smile and she turned to walk towards the door. Scowling, I watched as she left, not knowing if she’d lied hoping I would go downstairs in search of Lucas, only to find Detective Marx instead.

  Lying back on the bed, I folded my arms over my stomach, my head suddenly hurting from the revelations about Mary Beth, coupled with my renewed concerns about Lucas.

  Lucas

  “Why in the hell would Mary Beth’s phone be in Autumn’s yard? And if I even were to believe that it’s possible, why do you think I’d know how it got there? I know nothing about Mary Beth’s whereabouts. Why don’t you go to the source herself and ask Autumn?”

  “It’s really difficult for me to do that, Mr. Bates, especially when considering that Autumn is ALSO missing at the moment. It’s been all over the fucking news. I’m surprised you don’t know that your girlfriend has disappeared.” Suspicion weighed heavily on his words.

  Squaring my shoulders, I leaned back against my chair. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Detective, but Ms. Cleary is not, nor has she ever been, my ‘girlfriend’. I don’t have time for trivial distractions. I’m a busy man as I’m sure you’re aware.”

  “Sorry, I’m not a big reader, so I’m not sure how busy you are exactly.” He spoke slowly, making sure to pronounce each solitary word. The man was questioning my intelligence by daring to show up at my house believing he could pull information from me so easily.

  “I’m surprised that you don’t, Detective. It seems to me that if you have any type of suspect or witness in a missing person’s case, you would have taken the time to thoroughly research your subject. If you had taken that time, you would know that if I’m not promoting a book, I’m writing one. I rarely ever take time off. I never have leisure times to catch up with friends, and I don’t spend my evenings playing on the internet or watching T.V. In addition to that, you would understand that I’m in the business of writing books on crime and other unfortunate subjects and it would be a good idea to come to my home fully prepared when you wish to interrogate me.”

  His face turned red with anger, but then a sly smile peeked through the grimace he wore.

  Reaching up, he rubbed at his chin before saying, “Yeah, that’s another thing I wanted to talk about. The topics of your books are very interesting, considering we have two missing women on our hands.”

  My lip curled with amusement. It appeared he’d researched me after all and he assumed that my books were a good indication of my character. “It’s good to see that you are, in fact, doing your job. However, you’ll have to excuse me for correcting your statement. In all actuality, only YOU have two missing women on your hands. Their absence is not my concern.”

  “Mr. Bates …”

  I stood up from my chair, planting my hands on the desk so that I could lord over him when I spoke. Anger drove itself through my veins and my skin burned with rage that this pathetic man would even attempt to question me. I didn’t doubt he was intelligent, but he wasn’t bright enough to cause me to stumble over my own words.

  “This conversation is over, Detective. You and I both know the accusation that was inlaid in your last statement and if I have somehow progressed from being a witness to a suspect, there’s no way in hell I’m going to continue this discussion. If you’d like to question me further, you can get my attorney’s information from Sarah on your way out.” His expression mocked me and I sunk deeper, became colder in my simmering rage.

  “The exit is down the hall and through the foyer, Detective Marx, I suggest you use it.”

  …

  I’d been stopped – interrupted at a critical time in the story and when I put my hands to the keyboard, nothing flowed. I was forcing a scene that couldn’t be forced. My hand hit the desk as I sat back in my chair, fighting to refrain from picking up the computer and tossing it across the fucking room.

  “Problems, love?”

  Casting my eyes up, I saw the crooked grin stretched across Sarah’s face. A heavy sigh poured from my lungs and I removed my glasses, tossing them forcefully on the surface of the desk.

  “Yes, problems. I can’t seem to get back into my scene and I want to break something or someone as a result.”

  “Well, Autumn is tucked away in her bedroom for that. You should head on up and have at it so you can get back into character. I saw the surveillance videos by the way. You certainly did run her through the gauntlet last night. Poor girl.”

  “I told her not to leave the room…”

  “Yes, I know. Eventually, she’ll learn to listen. It always amazes me how long it takes them to learn to just shut up and obey. Speaking of which, I’m leaving. Something has caught my eye and I’ll be on the hunt for it tonight.”

  “Who?”

  “Detective Marx. He’s beautiful to look at on screen, but my god, he is absolutely
amazing in person. It’s the macho, broody ones that are always the most fun to watch beg.”

  Chuckling, I steepled my fingers to my chin as I stared down the dominating blonde. “I’d like to see you pull that one off. Somehow, I don’t doubt you will.”

  “I’ve never missed my mark, Lucas, and I don’t plan on starting now. After I’m done with him, it’ll feel like Detective Marx and I are old friends, if you know what I mean.” She winked and the glint of something evil flashed in her eye. “Plus, it might help keep him from pestering you over the bullshit issues in this town. Gah! We need a new residence; this place is far too stuffy for my tastes. Is he blaming you for the disappearance of that annoying little bitch?”

  “No. From what I could gather, he’s blaming Autumn. They’re concerned that Mary Beth was murdered, but he wouldn’t give me much more information than that. Apparently, they found her phone in Autumn’s yard and there were traces of blood on it.”

  Her hands clapped together in delight. “Well, that just makes this so much easier, doesn’t it? Once you tell her that she’s not only wanted for arson, but murder? She’ll have no choice but to submit. You should have the book done in no time. Then we can leave this shithole in search for another, much larger, town.”

  Reaching up, I rubbed at the skin between my eyes, before bringing my hand down heavily on the desk. “Have you checked on Autumn?”

  “Yes. She was up in her room changing last time I saw her. I don’t think she’s aware of anything that’s happened today.”

  “Good.” Waving my hand through the air, I dismissed her. “Have a good night, Sarah. I’m sure you’ll have lots to tell me tomorrow.”

  Winking again, she pushed off from the wall where she’d been leaning. “You know it. Okay, goodnight.” Her heels clicked away and I attempted to write again once the sound disappeared. After three failed attempts to write one goddamned sentence, I finally gave up, slamming the laptop shut and exiting my office in search of a little inspiration.