by Linda Hanna
Wow! Where’d that thought come from? It didn’t matter…she was going to do it. Cora stepped on the accelerator to widen the gap more. Then, she approached the house, killed her lights and backed into the private drive. She parked the Lincoln beside another car, and waited.
At long last, the maniac’s car zipped past. She sighed. Now was her opportunity to make a beeline back to town. Cora turned on the lights and stomped on the gas. Tires burned rubber. Her car fishtailed on the gravel as it turned onto the road. She hung on to the steering wheel and fought to bring it back under control without losing speed.
“I did it! I did it!” she yelled out loud, and basked in her own glory. “I can take care of myself.” The exhilaration of the moment spurred her on. She drew a deep breath, and loosened her death grip on the steering wheel.
However, several minutes later, Cora’s glory-basking moments dissipated as the intimidating lights crept up on her again. A moan escaped her lips. What would she do if he stayed on her tail?
Another idea came to mind as Cora approached the main drag. Her heart pounded as she pulled into the drive-thru lane at the Grill-n-Chill Root Beer stand.
Tires screeched and a horn blared. Cora twisted in her seat. The stalker’s car tried to nose ahead of a van that pulled in behind her. He’d found her.
There she was, stuck in the drive-thru lane. She couldn’t get out of the car now even if she wanted. Several cars snaked around the building. Her side mirror revealed the damaged fender of the pursuer’s car. Well, duh, of course, it was. He’d rammed into her a few miles back.
The Lincoln inched forward so she could get a better view of the car. Dark blue. Ah-ha! Another clue. The only dark blue car she knew belonged to kindhearted Dr. Sam. She shook her head. Preposterous.
She zipped right past the squawking speaker that asked for her order and pulled up to the pick-up window. Without hesitation, Cora rolled her window down.
The lady poked her head out. “You didn’t give us your order, ma’am. Would you like our Quarter Pound Slimer or our new Double Chubby Cluck?”
“No-no-no! I need directions to the police station.”
“I’m not good with directions. I’ll have to ask the manager. Hold on a sec.”
The lady left. Cora anxiously tapped her left foot on the floorboard. She readjusted the side mirror, to focus on the drive-thru window and the honking vehicle two cars behind.
A few moments later, an older man with a stained apron leaned out. He rested his burly forearm on the frame and turned his attention to Cora. “I’m Max. Now, what can I do for you?”
“Directions to the police station, please.”
“No problem. Go on Bilger to the second stop light.” The store manager grunted and leaned out the window. “Will ya stop blowing that stupid horn, before I make ya eat it?” He looked at Cora. “Where was I? Oh, yeah, Bilger. Then turn east and go five blocks.
“There’s a small bridge you go over on Braddock and then go straight to where the old high school used to be. That’ll be Bradford. Now, Bradford is divided so you have to go around the water filtration plant. The police station is the big building on the south side of the street.”
Cora was once again lost in the jumble of testosterone-laced directions.
“Can’t miss it,” he added with a wink and a smile.
Wanna bet? With an uneasy gulp and an anemic smile, Cora thanked the man. Logic told her the previous ten minutes had been a total waste. She sped out of the restaurant’s drive, onto Bilger Street, and swerved to the right so there would be no need to brake. The dark car pulled out from behind the van to follow her.
This was no time for fear to take over. Cora risked a backward glance. Her clammy hands strangled the steering wheel as she impulsively raced through an intersection on a yellow light. Forced to stop at the second corner, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Eerie halogen headlights gleamed in her side mirror from a few cars behind. Her stomach plummeted. In spite of the red light, her foot stomped on the accelerator full force. The Lincoln shot across two lanes of traffic. Angry drivers blasted her with a cacophony of horns. Two blocks later, she made a hard right turn, much to the annoyance of a livid taxi driver who shook his fist.
The previous ninety seconds were a blur. It was as though someone else had control of the car. She shivered.
The access to a strip mall was conveniently on her right, and Cora made a sharp turn to enter. Maybe she could get a signal on her cell phone to call Ed. Her heart sank. The parking lot was nearly empty and the store windows were dark. With the stalker only one stop light behind, she was desperate to find a place to hide the Lincoln. Cora drove to the back of the mall and jerked the car to a stop between a maxed-out dumpster and a delivery truck.
Ten minutes should be enough time for Marvin Maniac to pass by. Apprehension, mixed with sporadic headiness from the narrow escapes, made her tremble.
The mouth-watering pictures on the truck grabbed her attention. Oooh, Dolly McElf snacks! Her stomach growled and reminded her it had been nine hours since lunch. She turned off the lights and cut the engine, and dreamed of wolfing down a box or two of ooey-gooey, golden Twinkle Cakes. Focus, Cora. Focus.
She should’ve ordered a Slimer at the Grill-n-Chill, and why didn’t she have sense to tell the manager to call the police instead of asking for directions? Lost, alone and hungry, Cora buried her head in her arms and sobbed. She had to get home.
Several minutes passed as she put time between her and the dark car. Both physically and mentally drained, Cora sighed and wiped her eyes and nose. She scanned the area. No off-kilter lights. She slipped out of her hidey-hole.
The rest of the trip home proved uneventful, although she continued her vigil for vivid blue headlights. Cora turned into the cul-de-sac. She pulled into her driveway, took a long, deep breath and slowly exhaled. Home at last.
Without warning, blue lights glared from across the street, and brazenly pierced the darkness.
Cora screamed and desperately jabbed the garage door opener. The door went half way up, lurched, and came back down. Up, down. Up. She waited for the garage door to fully open, then pounded on the horn with hopes it wouldn’t deploy the airbag. She drove in with one long sustaining blast of the horn.
Ed stood in the garage, and frantically waved his hands. “Cora, stop. What’s wrong?”
She flew from the car and into his arms. Her body quaked as he pulled her close.
“What happened?” Ed held her at arm’s length, and looked directly into her eyes. “Cora?” He sternly, but gently shook her shoulders.
Between sobs, she shrieked, “Car—b-blue lights—followed me home!”
“Someone followed you?”
Her head bobbed as she pointed to the door. “Out there.” Cora ran into the house.
****
Ed scanned the garage for a weapon. Storage boxes, bicycles, golf clubs. He grabbed his Big Bertha titanium driver, and rushed out into the night. Glaring lights hit his face. A car pulled out of the driveway and sped from the cul-de-sac. An alarm sounded in his head and shock registered as the vehicle disappeared. “That’s George’s car.” he responded in disbelief.
10
Cora had locked herself in the bathroom by the time Ed came into the house. He tapped on the door. “Cora?” His voice grew soft and gentle. “Come on out, Toots. You’re safe, now. He’s gone.”
Her muffled voice asked, “Did you see the car?”
“Yes, I saw it. Are you sure that’s the one that followed you?”
The lock turned and the bathroom door opened slowly, then Cora flew into Ed’s arms. He held his sobbing wife close and kissed the top of her head. “Shhh. It’s going to be fine. Let’s go to the living room and talk. We’ll try to work things out.” He offered his hand.
Cora nodded and took his hand. They walked to the sofa where Ed tossed a throw pillow aside so they could sit. “Are you feeling better now?”
“I think so.�
��
“Good.” He drew a ragged breath. “I’m sorry to bring this back up, but are you sure the car outside was the one that followed you?”
She swallowed hard. “Well, it was an older car, with those awful halogen headlights.”
“A lot of cars have those lights.”
“Yes, but these were lopsided, Ed.” Her stomach growled. “Let’s go to the kitchen, I need something to eat.”
He followed after her. “You want to eat at a time like this?”
“I only had half a sandwich at noon. My thinker might work better on a full tummy. Would you start a pot of coffee for me? Make it strong.” Cora opened the fridge and eyeballed Ed’s disgusting lunch meat. Naw, she’d never be that hungry. She grabbed the pickle jar and set it on the counter. “My hands are too shaky. Would you open this for me?”
Once the lid hit the counter, she crammed a dill pickle in her mouth. With great delight she crunched and swallowed. “I forgot how good a pickle could be. Come help me over here.”
“You sure are bossy when you’re keyed up.”
The jars and bottles on the refrigerator door wobbled and clinked as she jerked it open. Ed waited while she filled his arms with various foodstuffs.
He shook his head. “Cora if you eat all this, you’ll dream of your great-aunt Gussie!”
With pickle-stuffed cheeks, she looked back at Ed. Pickle seeds flew from her mouth as she asked, “You fink I’ll be fleeping fometime tonight?” She swallowed, grabbed the loaf of bread and began to build her sandwich with shredded chicken and cheese. The butter knife slipped from her fingers and dropped to the floor. “I’m still a nervous wreck.” Tears formed in her eyes, and she wiped them away. “I need some fortitude. Would you pour the coffee, please?”
Ed complied and went to the refrigerator for the Half and Half. He gave it a quick sniff before adding some to her cup. “I know this is hard, but we need to get back to the subject. Tell me about the car that followed you. Do you know what kind it was? Or the year?”
“What do I know about cars, Ed?” She added sliced onion to the gastrointestinal nightmare on her plate. Cora enthusiastically gulped a bite of sandwich, stepped away from the counter and grabbed his arm. “Now, wait. I do remember something. He followed me to the Grill ‘n’ Chill. The area was lit up enough for me to see that the car was dark blue and the front was dented in. Did you get a glimpse of it? Was it the same one?” Her forehead wrinkled as she waited for his answer.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Ed smoothed back his thinning hair. “It was George Shipley.”
“Dahlia thought it might be him right from the start.” She paced the floor. “He had access to our house before you fired him. Why didn’t you change the security code?”
Ed eased onto a kitchen stool. “That’s when I was in Scotland at the Senior Open. It never entered my mind when I got home. Besides, George is so tenderhearted, I can’t believe he’d be a part of all this.”
“If he’s such a Boy Scout, why did you fire him?”
He rubbed his chin. “Wendell told me George took money from the Pro Shop. It was hard to believe. When he showed me the security cam tape, I had no choice.”
“You didn’t tell me that.” Cora’s coffee cup shook as she set it down. “Why would he torment me? I only met the man once at a Christmas party.”
“I guess he used you to get back at me.” Ed shook his head. “George had a bout of hard luck and I helped him out a few times this past year. Then he made some wrong choices, but I didn’t press charges. So why would he retaliate?”
“He must’ve been desperate to steal from you.”
Ed seemed a thousand miles away as he explained, “His mother has terminal cancer and begged them for weeks to pull the plug. His wife, Marcy, was the main breadwinner and his mom’s primary caregiver. On top of that, she worked nights. When stress overwhelmed Marcy, she took off and left him financially strapped with a dying mother to care for. That led him to take desperate measures.”
Cora laid her sandwich down and studied Ed’s profile. “How sad. Those poor people.”
“George once told me he had a gambling problem before I knew him, so I was under the impression he got the help he needed. When Marcy left him, there went most of the income. That’s when his old habits started again.” Ed looked at his wife with sincerity. “I didn’t realize he was so deep in debt.”
“So what happened?”
“Well, understand George couldn’t make it on one income. One night he took some money from the golf Pro Shop. He thought he could make a killing at the casinos, then pay it back before I found out.” Ed raised his hands in frustration. “What really disappointed me was, he flatly denied the theft. If he’d just come to me instead of gambling, we could’ve worked something out.”
Cora spoke after a brief silence. “Do you think George is the caller?”
He reached over and took her hand. “I think there’s a good chance he is.”
If George was the caller, the case would soon be solved. However, what if he wasn’t the culprit? Her body shook with a cold chill. The caller told her that he’d taken years to track her down because of what she did to him. George had been around forever. So why would he wait until now to make his move? Other than giving him a Christmas fruitcake, she had never done anything to the man.
Cora looked at her husband, who was lost in his own thoughts. “Ed, I remember the caller insisted he gave you a manila envelope to put in our safe. Do you remember George doing that?”
“No, I really don’t. It must’ve been a long time ago and I just forgot.”
“So, now what are we going to do?” Cora questioned.
“You won’t like this, Toots.” He squared his shoulders. “We have to call the authorities again. Let’s do it now and get it over with.”
Cora’s heart did the river dance. Her toes coiled and a cold sweat erupted from her forehead.
The police were coming again. They had their own expectations. Everything had to fit in a box with a big red bow and if it didn’t they’d write it off. On the plus side, this was evening and Davis and Reed weren’t on duty.
Tonight Ed could do all the talking. Surely they’d accept his account of the mysterious car. She wouldn’t let her mouth run amuck this time. Phantom stalker, indeed.
Stillness permeated the room, except for the constant ticking of the grandfather clock. Cora glanced out the patio doors to the far edge of their property where Ed’s golf course was located. It was a beautiful, clear night with a sky full of stars. Peaceful and serene. If only her world mirrored that tranquility. At least the caller’s mask of secrecy was replaced with an actual face. It was a step in the right direction. The next hurdle was to tell Ed where she went today.
Ed returned and broke her train of thought. “The police will be here soon.”
“Let’s sit in the living room.” Cora took a deep breath and bit her lip as he settled next to her. “I’m sorry about storming out of the house this morning. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“So, where were you and what took you so long?” A frown creased his forehead as he waited for her reply.
She swallowed hard. Her voice wavered as she spoke. “I told you there were errands to run. Then I got lost downtown in all the traffic and needed the map. But it was gone.”
“I saw it on top of your dresser when you left.”
“You did? I was sure it was with my purse. Well, anyway,” She paused. This was the time and place to reveal all. Her shoulders raised as she gathered her courage. “Oh, Ed, please be patient while I think of the right words to explain. This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to tell you—”
The doorbell interrupted her confession.
Ed huffed in exasperation. “Well, you be thinking of the right words while I let the police in.” He went to answer the door.
She vacillated between torment and relief. A mere blink away from going berserk.
The stern-faced policeman stepped insid
e. Ed briefed him about their previous complaint of the backyard prowler and then added today’s events.
As Officer McNulty gathered information from the couple, Cora mentioned that the stalker rammed the back of their Lincoln. Twice.
She held her breath, as a deep frown creased Ed’s forehead. If he couldn’t tolerate a dented fender, how would he handle the whole truth?
Ed and Cora described every detail as best they could. The officer assured them that George would be picked up for questioning.
Once the policeman left, Ed inhaled and released it slowly. “Well, that part’s over with. I’ll call the insurance company about the damages to the Lincoln tomorrow morning. At least we know that George is the culprit. You won’t have to worry about him calling, anymore. We can put it all behind us.”
Cora rubbed the goose pimples on her arms. “I’m not sure when I’ll ever feel safe again.” Her gaze once again drifted out over the finely manicured golf course. “Thank you for backing me up about seeing George’s car. I was beginning to feel you’d never believe me.”
He sat next to her and patted her knee. “Now, if you remember, you were trying to tell me something before we were interrupted.”
Second thoughts gnawed at Cora. He’d just regained his confidence in her, could she now dash his hopes of a happy future together? She looked at him and quickly lowered her head.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air between them. He took her hand in his. “Obviously, you still need some time.”
Riddled with guilt, Cora twisted in her seat. She couldn’t muster enough nerve to continue with her confession. It would have to wait.
Ed finally stood and cleared his throat. Then, he walked behind her and squeezed her shoulders. “Think it might help if we went out tomorrow, just the two of us?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“I thought we could take the Lincoln into the body shop.” He quickly snapped his fingers. “Hey, I know! While I was in Phoenix getting the trophies for Saturday’s golf tournament, I noticed a great restaurant. It’s called the Pegasi Café.”