Liz caught her breath. She had to do something. The cop looked like he was abducting Jessie. But it was already too late. The cruiser was speeding away. Liz turned her car in Jessie’s drive and backed out to follow. Her mind spun and all she could concentrate on was keeping the cruiser in sight.
She’d call Kent. She hoped she could remember his number. Searching her memory for the numbers she’d called only hours before she punched in the keys.
Kent’s surly voice greeted her.
“Thank God I got you. You’ll never guess what’s going on,” she told him breathlessly. “I’m at the bottom of Willow Street, and Jessie and the cop are ahead of me in his cruiser. He actually forced her in the car and she had a suitcase. What do I do now, Kent? Tell me.”
Baffled by the call, Kent could only think of his half effort to visit Jessie that evening. If only he hadn’t stopped and returned home. But it was too late for that now. Liz was the only one who could help Jessie, the only one who knew where she was.
“Don’t lose them,” he commanded. “Whatever you do, even if we have to lose contact, don’t take your eyes off that car. Sooner or later they’ll stop.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Liz’s frantic voice asked.
“He is the police, remember? And we don’t know what’s going on. Maybe it only looked like he shoved her. Maybe she really just tripped.”
“No. It looked real. But why?”
“I don’t know, Liz, but maybe it’s not as it seems. Maybe he’s protecting her, getting her away from the apartment. Something might have happened that we don’t know about. Maybe the stalker showed up or made another more dangerous threat. He might be just getting her to a safe place.”
“I hope so,” Liz said, although she knew there was no stalker, she couldn’t tell Kent. She kept her eyes glued to the cruiser but tried to stay a little distance behind. He would know if she followed too closely.
“Stay on his trail. Don’t lose him,” Kent repeated sharply. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at the city limits. Wait! I think he’s doing something. He’s signalling.”
“Where?”
“He’s turning left. He’s on the road to Wakefield.”
“Wakefield?”
“In that direction anyway.”
“I’ll join you. Keep your line open. I’ll call you when I get in the car.”
Kent thought of driving to Jessie’s apartment. Maybe she left a note or some sign as to why and where she was going. But if he did that he’d waste precious time. And time was the only thing now that might save Jessie, if she were indeed in need of saving. Kent squinted in bright approaching headlights and flicked his own up and down quickly. “Dim your lights, you bastard,” he called out in the darkness of his car. The other car’s lights quickly dimmed, and Kent could once again see properly.
He was miles behind Liz and the cruiser, but he knew the directions well. It seemed like yesterday that he and Jessie had travelled this highway en route to visiting her mother. The nights spent there warmed him now and saddened him also. To think that Jessie could actually believe he might be harassing her. He had thought he’d only conveyed love and kindness towards her. What had he done to make her mistrust him? Especially to the point that she would actually think he was sending those e mail messages, even if Liz had suggested it.
The turn off to Wakefield loomed straight ahead. It was an eerie night. Clouds slipping across a star-filled sky. Any other night like this might be considered romantic, but with Jessie in possible danger, he wanted to be the one with her, consoling her, not the big burley cop who had manhandled him in front of Jessie’s apartment building. Traffic was light on the off-highway road and Kent sped up. He had almost forgotten about Liz and now picked up his phone to establish contact with her.
“What’s happening, Liz? Are you still tailing the cruiser?”
“No. I’m stopped.”
“You lost them? Oh, Christ!”
“No. That’s not it. They’re stopped too.”
“Where? Can you see them? What’s going on, Liz?”
“They left the highway and took a smaller road. Route 116. There’s a small motel about a half mile in the road — they’re in it.”
“And where are you? Did you see Jessie? Is she all right?”
“I couldn’t tell much. I had to stop when I saw his signal. I pulled to the side of the road and turned off my lights. It was a distance away and I could only see them get out and go into the office. They returned to the car and drove up to a unit. He got out first and opened her door. She seemed to go willingly, but I was too far away to see her face.”
“And you’re still there?”
“No. When they went inside, I moved up closer. I’m across the street on a log road. There are woods all around me and believe me I’ve got all my doors locked.”
“Did you say Route 116?”
“Yes. You turn left at an intersection of roads and go about half a mile. There’s a railroad crossing there also. The motel’s on the right, pass it and I’m up a piece across from it on a deserted road. You’ll see me. The moon’s bright. I can see everything at the motel without my lights on. But I’m still too far away to see the people clearly.”
“Sit tight, Liz. I’ll be there soon. I don’t know what we’ll do next, but at least they’re stopped. Let’s hope he’s taken her there for safety and that’s the explanation we wanna hear.”
Liz sat in the moonlight, watching the motel. She remembered her gas gauge had plunged towards empty when she’d stopped. If the cruiser suddenly left, she’d be in no position to follow for long. With that in mind she called Kent again and reminded him to fill up before he joined her. Kent would have to make a detour to get gas. That would leave Liz waiting longer for his help.
The trees looked ghostly in the moonlight with long fingers reaching towards the starry, black sky. Liz shuddered. All of this was her fault. She’d started it all with her phony e mail threats. She hadn’t meant to hurt Jessie. But when Jessie had told her about Kent and how she thought he was the one for her, something snapped. They’d made a deal, May the best woman win, and she had been a sore loser.
If only she’d given up gracefully and moved on, she would have probably still met Alan and maybe had a good chance with him. He seemed to like her even though he was mourning his mother. She still made him laugh and they’d had good conversation. Liz had even made things worse by fingering Kent as the stalker. She had still been after him then and thought if Jessie suspected him they would split up, and Liz could step in and get him back.
She’d never imagined it would come to this, a stakeout on a moonlit night, she and Kent on the same side trying to rescue Jessie from what? Who? There were so many unanswered questions. Liz hoped Kent had a good plan when he arrived; otherwise she didn’t want to think what the consequences of her earlier scheme might lead to.
****
Jessie’s mind had been racing faster than the police car’s engine. She had sat in the cruiser staring straight down the highway, not daring to look over at Ricardo Alvarez. His personality changes were dramatic. At the apartment he had been kind and sweet at first, until he came on to her and she’d shrugged him off. He’d turned almost violent then. She wanted to demand an explanation from him but his wacko behaviour told her it would be a fruitless attempt.
Jessie watched him now from the motel bed where he’d tied her hands to the bed posts above her head. He’d visited the bathroom after allowing her to relieve herself, then he turned on the TV and lay down on the opposite bed and watched sports.
It seemed to Jessie she just kept getting into deeper hot water. Was all of it connected somehow? Did Ricardo Alvarez have anything to do with the e mail threats? But no, he couldn’t have. She’d only met him by chance at the police station. She sighed, unable to piece any of it together. She decided she’d been too quiet in the car, now she demanded he take her home.
“I have a friend who knows of your
visit,” she said. “If I’m missing you’ll be the first suspect, and she’s pretty good at figuring things out.” Of course Liz knew nothing of Rick’s visit to Jessie’s apartment as far as Jessie knew, but she lied to Rick in hopes it would sway his decision.
“That’s bull,” he said. “You’ll not desert me again. You’re mine now. I’m taking care of you. Your friends had their chances, but they didn’t look after you, did they?”
“What do you mean I won’t desert you again? In the apartment you said you couldn’t lose me again, that I rejected you. For God’s sake, what are you talking about? Do you think I’m someone else? Someone you once knew? This is crazy. I went to you for help. Now you’ve kidnapped me. You’re insane.”
“Insane am I?” Rick jumped from the bed and clicked off the TV. He circled the bed beside hers and stood over her, his hands on his hips. The revolver strapped to him was too close to his hand for Jessie’s comfort. And his rapid breathing turned his face a blood red, even under his dark skin.
“I still remember the blind date, even if you’ve apparently forgotten. It was easy for you to forget wasn’t it? You probably did it all the time. You lead guys on then you drop them. Isn’t that what you did with Kent Morgan...with Gary Burke? Don’t try it again with me,” he boomed.
Everything cleared now, it all made sense, sort of. The only blind date Jessie could ever remember in her past had been the one that had never taken place...with Alan’s friend, Diego. Instantly Don Diego— Zorro — flashed through her mind. Gary Burke had to be Ricardo Alvarez. The dark, brooding Spaniard had driven her out of the city in order to protect her, and he thought he was Zorro.
“You’re Gary Burke, aren’t you?”
He grinned. “You’re quick.”
“But why? Why me? And why did you threaten me with those e mail messages? It was just a blind date. I didn’t reject you personally, I hadn’t even met you. How did you expect me to remember you?”
“That’s right. You never bothered to acknowledge me at all. All the times I watched you at school, and heading home. I wanted you, and when your brother finally agreed to get me a date with you, I was in ecstasy. I dreamed of you nightly. I only wanted to treat you like a princess, like a fair maiden. I would have done anything for you. But you stood me up. I wasn’t good enough for you. I didn’t come from the right part of town.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jessie shouted. “I didn’t know anything about you. It was my brother who arranged it. And when I didn’t show up he was angry. He and I hardly spoke until just recently, when my mother died. Look, if you take me back we can forget the whole thing.”
Secretly Jessie hoped she could have him arrested. She would beg Kent to forgive her for doubting him. But Rick was not to be persuaded.
“It’s not that easy, Princess. I’ve loved you for too long to take you back now. Your rejection was so painful I vowed I’d find you someday. But the years dimmed things slightly. I even married Marcy, your brother’s old girlfriend. But that didn’t work out. It was pure luck that I picked you up on the chat line. I wasn’t giving out my real name and I wouldn’t even have used Zorro, had I not done so before you divulged your name and I recognized you. When you insisted, I made up a name and an occupation just to please you and ease your mind. When you turned off the line, I was rejected again, but I knew it wasn’t really me you’d rejected that time. It was Gary Burke, and I was glad that you were rejecting other guys besides me. I wondered how to approach you and hadn’t quite figured out an angle then another stroke of luck brought you to the police station.”
“It wasn’t luck,” Jessie cried. “It was the terrifying e mail messages you sent. The sick, threatening words you said.”
“I had nothing to do with that,” he roared, bending over her and yelling in her face. “I never sent any e mails to you. It was some other guy who you’d rejected. Probably the person you suspected, Kent Morgan.”
Jessie coward against the headboard, his wrath terrified her. She wanted to believe he had sent the e mails, he was sick enough she knew that. But why didn’t he just say so? He had her where he wanted her. What next she dare not think. Jessie recognized an obsession when she was faced with it. And it made her even more cautious and afraid of Ricardo Alvarez.
Meekly she whispered, “What are you planning to do with me?”
He sat on the bed beside her and played with a strand of her hair. “You really shouldn’t have cut off that beautiful hair, Jessica. But you can grow it out. I forbid you to ever cut it again.”
“You forbid me?”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Jessica,” he said in a voice suddenly full of tenderness. “You are in no danger from me. Your worst enemy is yourself. Don’t worry about that person who threatened you with the e mails. He’ll never find you. I’ll protect you with my life.”
“You can’t keep me tied forever,” she said, wishing he’d stop touching her hair. It made her skin crawl.
“I know. But eventually you won’t want to get away from me. You will learn to love me as I love you.” He looked away and stared across the room now fingering his revolver. He took it from the holster, clicked it open, spun the chamber, then slammed it shut. Jessie assumed he was checking the bullets.
She watched trance-like, as he rubbed the very dark blue, almost navy, stainless finish frame of the gun. “Do you have the safety on that?” she asked breathlessly.
He turned quickly and grinned at her. “Worried? Don’t be, I won’t hurt you. But for your information a 9 mm revolver doesn’t have a safety mechanism. This thing on the side is a cylinder-release device.” He then thrust the gun back into the holster, seemingly bored with it. “I have a plan, Jessica,” he said, turning back to gaze in her eyes. His eyes gleamed with malice.
Jessie trembled. What sick plan had he devised now? Her heart sank. Would she be his captive slave forever? Induced until she was brainwashed into thinking she needed him? She’d heard of stuff like that. He was a police officer. He’d been trained to interrogate people. She had to remain strong and wait for a chance to escape. She only hoped an opportunity opened up to her before he had a chance to play with her mind.
“What’s this plan about?” she said calmly, hoping to catch him off guard. If she could get him to relax enough to untie her, she had a far better chance to escape. Now, she was virtually helpless and at his mercy.
With his fingers he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “I have a cabin,” he said. “Well, really it’s more of a shack. I grew up around here, remember? When I was a kid I lived on the outskirts of town literally on the other side of the tracks. I didn’t live with my grandparents, I lied to you. There were four of us in that old place. But my old man left before I was old enough to get attached to him. My mother, God bless her, tried to keep me in school. I was glad when he left. She was afraid of him and now I know why. I didn’t realize then why she often had bruises and black eyes. She just told me she fell or bumped into things. My sister was the oldest. He probably molested her too. She was three years older than me and after he left, she was so wild Mama didn’t know what to do with her. Finally, she just ran away and Mama cried for nights. When she stopped crying, she stopped caring. I got into lots of trouble with the law. They were always bringing me home and dumping me on my doorstep. Finally, I got wise. I tried to make up for the others by staying in school and promising Mama I’d look after her. The day I graduated from Police Academy she killed herself, and I’d waited all morning for her to show up for the ceremony. Instead, I got a call that she’d died — slit her wrists. I rushed up and found blood all over the house. She apparently slit them in the outhouse that’s attached to the main house, then she wandered through the house ‘till she dropped dead in the kitchen, right across the stove. It was spring time and there wasn’t a fire lit. I scrubbed the whole place down and made a bonfire out back. I burned everything in the place. Now I go there to hunt. You and I can be comfortable there for a time. Then we’ll move on...wh
en you’re ready. Don’t worry, I’m a good hunter. You won’t be hungry.”
Being hungry was the last thing on Jessie’s mind. Her stomach was ready to wretch. What a sick, sad story. No wonder he was warped. And her rejection of him on the blind date had tilted the scales, and sent him over the edge. He’d planned to keep her at the cabin until he brainwashed her that was clear. She couldn’t let herself get that far. She had to break away when they left the motel somehow.
“You’d better get some rest,” he said. “Tomorrow we’ll go to the cabin.”
“I can’t sleep like this...tied up.”
He smirked and rose. “You don’t expect me to untie you, do you? If you’d be a good girl I would. But as soon as I fall asleep you’ll bolt. Do you think I’m stupid?”
He changed his mind and sat down beside her again. “Maybe I’ll sleep here with you. And if you need me in the night...if you need to use the bathroom, I mean, you can nudge me.”
Jessie stared at him. There were no appropriate words in her mind. Whatever she might say, he would only do as he pleased anyway. But for some reason she didn’t fear him greatly. If he’d been going to hurt her he would have done so already she surmised. But she knew he was a warped man, and she had better go along with him in case he decided to take both their lives in some kind of sick, love-suicide thing. She watched him as he rose again and walked in front of the dresser. Trepidation settled in her stomach as he faced the mirror and began to undue the shirt and tie of his uniform.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Liz jumped from a rap on her car window. She chilled when she saw it was Kent. Rolling down the window she said, “You didn’t have to scare the shit out of me. Where’s your car? I’ve been looking for it.”
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