by Leger, Lori
He swore under his breath. “I guess you do, at that. Yeah…” he said sheepishly. “I have met someone.”
“Does she know what a jerk you are?”
“Yeah, and she likes me anyway.”
Carrie laughed and gave him a quick nod of approval. “Good, I’m glad.”
“Why, because I’ll quit bugging you now?”
“Of course,” she told him then cringed as he laughed that laugh, the one she’d grown to hate over the years. She shook it off and scanned the area. “Where is he, Dave? I really need to go home and get things ready.”
Dave whistled and called to his dog. Lucas lumbered in from a nearby field behind the house. He ran to his mistress when he saw her, his tail wagging in excitement. She leaned over to rub his ears and the scruff of his neck. “Hey buddy, I’ve got a job for you. Think you can handle it?” Lucas groaned with pleasure at having her around to show him affection again.
“He can handle it. Do you remember his commands?”
“Yep.”
“Make sure you’re around when anyone new shows up so he doesn’t try to eat `em, okay?” He lowered the tailgate and told Lucas to jump in. “Good luck Carrie, and be careful.”
Carrie slipped in behind the steering wheel of Sam’s truck and buckled her seatbelt.
“I almost forgot, let me get his toy.” He came back a minute later with the brown leather welder’s glove, stuffed with feathers and sewn shut. He threw it in the back of the truck and Lucas jumped after it. Carrie grinned at the sight of the dog with the stuffed glove in his mouth. She could certainly see why unsuspecting drivers and passengers of other cars sometimes thought it was a real arm.
Dave pointed to the truck bed. “Sit, Lucas…and stay.” He ducked his head to look inside Carrie’s window. “Did you ever get your car window fixed?”
She nodded. “I got it fixed at a place in Kenton.”
He hung his head. “It won’t happen again.” He took a deep breath and gave a nod of his head toward the dog. “Keep him in practice for me, will you?”
“I will…and thanks.” She put on her sunglasses and started the truck.
“You’re welcome. Good luck with everything.” After a pause, he continued. “It might be nice to be friends with you again.”
She flashed him a big grin. “It’s a possibility if you keep acting like an adult.”
Dave pursed his lips and stared off toward the house. “Damn, I hate that you’re always right.” He leveled a serious gaze on her. “Don’t you ever get tired of it?”
Carrie shrugged. “It doesn’t seem to matter. Nobody ever listens to me, anyway.” She shifted the truck into reverse and slowly backed away from him. She cringed as Dave put his head back and laughed. “I hate that laugh, you know.”
“You do?”
“Yep…For years now.” When Dave laughed again, Carrie grinned at him. “See you later, asshole.”
Carrie parked Sam’s truck in her driveway and lowered the tailgate to let Lucas out. While he was getting used to the yard she called Sam and Nick to come over. She met them outside. “Come on back here guys, so I can introduce you to the other family pet.” As soon as they approached the gate, the large dog barreled up to them, growling at the two strange men standing near his mistress. “It’s okay boy, they’re the good guys.” She scratched his head and he immediately calmed down. “Come here and get acquainted with him, guys.”
“I don’t know about that. That’s the biggest freaking dog I’ve ever seen,” Nick said.
“He’s near the top of my list,” Sam commented as he reached out slowly to let Lucas sniff his hand. “Look at that head on him and the size of those paws.”
“I’m too busy looking at his teeth,” Nick said.
Carrie waved him over. “Come on over here, Nick. He needs to be able to recognize friend from foe.”
Within ten minutes, Sam and Nick were petting Lucas like he was an old friend. The dog groaned with pleasure, enjoying the attention. Carrie tossed the stuffed arm to Nick as Lucas wagged his tail expectantly. “Throw it for him, Nick. He’ll retrieve all day as long as he’s cool.”
Sam and Carrie left Nick in the back yard with the dog and walked inside. Sam made one phone call to the police department, and within minutes, Kenton police officers started showing up in unmarked vehicles. Carrie made sure she was present for all arrivals of officers, detectives, patrolmen, and even a few curious Sheriff’s deputies. She laughed at Lucas, who was clearly enjoying all the unaccustomed attention.
Sam never left her side, and by three p.m., Lucas and the entire police department were all best of buddies. It was a necessary step to protect the officers, so they could have the freedom to protect Carrie and her family in the future.
CHAPTER 22
Around seven o’clock Carrie called Lucas to the back porch, and told him to sit and stay. She entered her kitchen and peeked through the blind, comforted by the sight of him, then made adjustments to her blinds.
Carrie showered, her vanity chair jammed securely under the door knob for security. After changing into her pajamas, she prepared a ham sandwich and ate her supper while watching television. By nine p.m. she could almost feel the change in the atmosphere. She forced herself to walk up to the window on the northeast corner of the house, and peek out toward the street. He’s out there. The street lamp kept part of the area lit up, but a broad patch between the window and the ditch was black as India ink. Prickles of warning caused the hair to stand up on the back of her neck, in turn creating a series of shivers.
She ignored the nausea caused by her nervous stomach and picked up her phone. “Hey, Sam.”
“Hey, Carrie,” the deep voice resounded over the line.
“Listen, I’m tired and I’m not feeling all that well. I’m going to take something to sleep and go to bed early. Poor Toto, I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
“Yeah, but you had to expect that with a dog that age.”
“I know, and those damn heart worms, I guess the excitement of a new place was too much for him.”
“I guess so, Carrie. You sure you’re okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ll be fine now that I have my phone back. The phone company said it was faulty wiring.”
I sure hope they replaced it with a better quality.”
“They said they did. You want to come over for breakfast in the morning?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good, I’ll see you then…Goodnight Sam.”
***
He watched through small slits in her blinds as she walked around her house. By some twist of fate or fortune, they weren’t shut tight tonight. She walked right up to the window and stared out onto the street. No way could she see him in the inky black cover of the winter night. The thick cloud coverage obliterated any chance of moonlight illumination. It was the perfect night to take Carrie away from this place…away from him.
He listened in to her call with Sam, able to hear both ends of the conversation clearly with the wireless device he’d acquired the other day. As simple as this mission was, he had no need for anything more high tech than this.
She ended the call and popped what looked like some kind of sleep aid medication before disappearing into her bedroom. No Sam, no kids, no shaggy, white mutt to blow it for him, and she’s drugging herself. A frown tugged at his mouth. No challenge at all, actually a little too easy for his taste. He’d watch her sleep first. Play the game for a while before he let his urges overcome his will power. Only then, would he allow himself to touch…to control…to possess. Tonight’s the night.
He reached into his pocket to feel the tools of his obsession. His zip pouch contained a few basics, plus a syringe full of Ketaset. He’d need her nice and quiet for transfer. All part of the plan, though he drew the line when it came to weapons. No guns, knives, or anything else…a soldier didn’t need weapons against civilians. Where’s the honor in that? He preferred to rely solely on his other strengths to make women succumb
to his will.
He could hardly wait to see how Carrie, by far the strongest of any of his targets, would react to him. He knew she wouldn’t plead for her life, but would she show fear? Maybe at first, but then he’d see the one thing that separated her from the others…that spark of determination not to show it.
Sleep, my girl, so I can wake you up…In my own way.
***
That Friday night had all the signs of being a long, slow night on the job for Rob Ledoux. He sat at his desk, working, short-handed because of officers out taking vacation leave. It was either take it before January first or lose it, but why did people save it for the end of the year, every year, without fail? Being chief didn’t mean squat in a town the size of Gardiner, especially not when seventy five percent of your force was either taking vacation time or on sick leave.
Rob couldn’t fault Tim for calling in sick for the first time in a year. The man had never asked for extra time off. He never complained about the hours he worked. He was a model employee.
So, why can’t I get myself to like the son of a bitch?
That very morning, he’d told Mona there were two things about Tim Hardin that irritated the living hell out of him.
First, he never cussed, not even the occasional damn or hell. He could handle it if the guy didn’t seem to look down his nose at anyone else who did. He shook his head, wondering for the six hundredth time, how a man who puffed his way through two packs of cigarettes a day, didn’t cuss.
Second, the bastard printed everything. What the hell was wrong with longhand? And it wasn’t even normal printing. It was neat, precise block letters that would have made Rob’s first grade teacher, Ms. Madeline, do the eff-ing halleluiah dance. Regardless, it didn’t make Tim a bad employee and he sure as hell couldn’t fire him for either of those things.
Rob stretched back in his chair, bored out of his mind and glanced over at the dispatcher. Fairly new to the job, Henrietta was older than Rob by fifteen years and a feisty old broad.
“Henri, did I get anything from Charlie Walker at Kenton P.D.? He called me at home today asking about a fax he sent. Something about a picture of a message scratched onto Carrie Jeansonne’s windshield. When I told him I hadn’t seen any fax, he said he’d resend it…in case it got lost.”
Henrietta looked up from her romance novel of the week. “I put two faxes in your incoming tray. One is that picture you’re talking about, but it’s the first I’ve seen of it.”
“I just checked, and there’s nothing but old payro—”
“The new, clear one I put on the wall.”
“The wall?”
“Yep, so it doesn’t get covered up from all the crap on that unnatural disaster you call a desk.”
Rob turned to the wall and spotted the tray. “I guess that is better,” he said, reaching for the messages. He scanned the message from Charlie. Info on the truck that almost hit the kids wasn’t much help. Gardiner was a farming community, full of trucks with that description. Hell, two of his officers drove them.
He threw the message on his desk and flipped the fax, a black and white picture. Rob leaned forward to get a better look, and then cussed up a blue streak that made his dispatcher come running.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?”
Rob closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember everything he’d seen in that one particular personnel file. Six years in the Army…Special Forces in Afghanistan. Every reason he’d hired that man, was suddenly a liability. “Son of a bitch!” he groaned, before reaching for his phone.
***
He rechecked his watch. Eleven o’clock and no sign of movement anywhere in the quiet neighborhood. No cruiser tonight, no need to use a window. He crept silently to the door, knowing the unlit area and his dark clothing kept him hidden from sight. Once he’d lubricated the door’s hardware, he picked the lock and walked through the portal. His palms itched with anticipation as he took several steps toward Carrie’s bedroom. He paused, sensing their presence before he heard the warning.
“Hold it right there.”
He turned slowly, seeing two guns on him, and smiled, a little surprised to be out maneuvered by a handful of small town cops. He could kill them all…easily…but that risked blowing his cover. Luckily, he’d been the only one in the office when that fax came in. His reputation was pure as the conscience of a newborn baby. Nope, better to escape tonight and have a better shot at Carrie tomorrow, even if it meant letting these fools live. He watched as a third man came out of Carrie’s bedroom while someone from inside the room shut and locked the door. One by one, he stared them down, too easily giving himself the time he needed to map his escape. “Never underestimate a redneck cop,” he said.
“Lay face down on the floor with your hands behind your back,” one commanded.
He nodded slowly. “That’d be one option…”
“Don’t do anything stupi—” the man on the right began, just before the single kick dislocated his jaw.
He lunged through the door with two remaining officers hot on his trail, skidding to a halt as he saw the two officers blocking his path. He spun around and ran for the back yard, jumping the fence even as he heard Carrie’s command to something named Lucas.
He’d seen a Mastiff dog once, a monster of an animal that out-weighed most men. That dog may have been the largest he’d ever seen, but the one that came barreling out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground was a close second. The huge animal pinned him on his back in a split second, as two big, front paws, and a thick, heavy body covered his own. He froze, as sharp incisors pushed into skin, and massive jaws covered his neck and jugular. He knew the dog held back just enough to prevent him from doing lethal damage. Regardless, as that beast emitted a low growl, one that sent vibrations rumbling through his throat and head, the man realized one thing. As a soldier, he’d fought the unseen evils and threats that lurked around every corner, but since becoming a man, he’d never really known fear…until now.
Carrie and Sam watched from the relative safety of her bedroom window. Spotlights flooded the area with light, revealing a man completely covered from head to toe in black. They watched as Doug walked slowly to where Lucas had the man pinned to the ground. “Good boy, Lucas,” Carrie murmured.
She heard Doug tell Lucas to “Hold,” as he pulled out his handcuffs, in the slow, steady movements she’d told him to use. The four other officers circled with their guns as he spoke to the dog. “Lucas, release,” Doug said to the dog. Nothing. “Lucas, let go, boy.” Lucas didn’t budge, but continued to hold the man’s throat while emitting the low, menacing rumble.
“He’s not listening to them, Sam.” Carrie pushed away from the open window and ran to the porch. She walked slowly down the steps and stopped. The men grew quiet, the only sound coming from the growling dog. “Are you ready?”
Doug nodded.
“Lucas…Release…Watch,” she commanded.
The dog immediately released his captive’s neck but stood on alert, only inches away, every muscle in his large body tensed and ready to recapture if the need arose—the ominous growl still dangerously present.
Doug rolled the man onto his stomach and handcuffed him. As he did he spoke slowly, his voice lowered an octave to keep Lucas from over reacting. “Don’t go doing anything stupid, because there’s not one of us here who can keep that dog off your ass,” he told him, pulling the man’s wool mask from his face, before jerking him roughly up to his feet. He handed him off to two more men ready to walk him to the police cruiser just arriving.
Two steps from the cruiser, Carrie watched the man in black head butt one officer and jerk free.
Lucas bolted after the escapee, even as a second patrol car sped up to the scene.
Carrie’s scream cut through the night air followed by the screech of tires and the thud of automobile coming into contact with living, breathing animals.
CHAPTER 23
The car skidded to a halt, and everyone ran to where
the body had been thrown, all the way to the intersection. Chief Charlie Walker jumped out of the cruiser. “Christ Almighty, they came out of nowhere.”
Carrie ran up to stand beside the man’s twisted body, searching the darkness. “Where’s my dog? Lucas!” Nobody said a word as flashlights pierced the black night, searching for the dog.
Carrie held her breath, listening, waiting for some sign that she hadn’t lost another member of her family. Her sob broke the silence, followed by a plea. “Lucas. Come here boy, please!”
A faint, uneven cadence of paws hitting roadway and heavy panting had her pivoting toward the sound. “Lucas!” Carrie ran to her limping dog while every person there released a collective sigh.
The K-9 officer ran to meet her. “I need some light over here!” he called, dropping to his knees next to the dog. “Good boy.” He began feeling for breaks and other injuries.
“Please tell me he’s okay,” Carrie groaned.
“I’ll put him in my unit to bring him over to the local vet. He needs to give him a good going over, but I believe he’ll be fine. It looks like the perp, here, got the brunt of the hit. I think Lucas only has a sprain.”
“I was coming to let ya’ll know this was no ordinary peeping tom,” Chief Walker said to the other officers. “His name’s Tim Hardin and he’s an officer with Gardiner P.D. He’s ex-military, too.”
“He made a run for it, but if you hadn’t stopped him I’m sure that dog would have. Looks like more’en just his neck is broken.
“I sure as hell didn’t mean to do that,” Charlie admitted.
One of the other officers walked up holding a black zip pouch. “Hey, I found this on the road.”
Charlie Walker unzipped it and stared at the contents before he spread it wide enough for everyone to see…wire, rope, duct tape, hypodermic full of a clear substance, and regulation handcuffs.
Carrie looked up from her dog when they called Sam over. “What is that?” No one answered but the looks they gave each other said it all. “Tell me.” When Charlie brought the pouch over to her, a shiver ran through her as she studied its contents.