Eyes with No Soul

by Sheri Chapman

  Most of the time the black devil was too close for me to get a license number for Kim’s phone call. Finally, when we surged forward from the last impact, I saw a heavy, black, home-made protective bumper of sorts on the front of the Charger where a license should be. I realized that

  was how he kept his car from getting damaged.

  I could hear Julie speaking into the phone between panicked screams. She told the police our plan with a breathless yet excited voice. She paused to look at us and revealed they had an officer on the way. She told us to take the next exit.

  WespedtowardWal-Martwheresafety awaited.

  Speedy Gonzalez was hot on our tail.

  Kim nearly screamed, “He’s going to try to pass us again!”

  “Well, don’t let him! Drive in the middle,” I instructed. “Your car is heavier and bigger. Don’t let him by you!”

  Kim’s tires screeched as she plowed into the middle of the highway. We all saw the quickly approaching bridge over the Finley River. Silently each recalled the steep drop before one would reach the water’s edge. It wouldn’t be a pleasant journey; it was one that might take you into another world. None of us wanted to verbalize our fears. Did the driver plan to crash us into the waters below? Kim punched the accelerator further, encouraging her racing steed to give her all it had to give. The RPMs whined as it responded. Finally, our destination was a tenth of a mile away!

  When we veered off the Wal-Mart exit, I saw a police vehicle’s lights and heard the scream of the siren quickly approaching. I couldn’t picture a more handsome knight in shining armor to slay the famous black dragon!

  The Dodge continued racing down the highway and was swallowed up by the night. Because he hadn’t followed us up the ramp, I assumed he must’ve had a scanner in that devil of a car.

  Kim pulled over as soon as the policeman met us at the top of the ramp. She slammed her vehicle into park and

  jumped out on shaky legs. She had to grab the door to keep from collapsing due to the effects of the subsiding adrenaline.

  “Officer, he must have gone on toward EE!” She breathlessly exclaimed.

  The officer was on his radio in a flash. I could hear the response. I sure hoped they could get an officer to pull that guy over. I’d feel a whole lot safer.

  “You girls need to come down to the station for a little bit. We need to fill out a report of this incident.”

  “Yes, sir. Do you mind if we just follow you? I really don’t care to go off by myself again. We’re pretty shook up.”

  “Yes, of course. Calm down first. Then I’ll drive, and you can follow me there.”

  “Thank you, Officer.”

  “Certainly.”

  Kim texted her mother what had happened and that we’d be home in a bit.

  “You know, your mom is probably already in bed.” “I’m sure,” Kim replied. “I just want her to know why

  we aren’t home if she is awake, or if she happens to wake up.”

  “I’d do the same thing,” I began, “but I’m not going to text my mom. I know she’d have a fit. Besides, we’re safe now.” I couldn’t help a warning thought from popping into my head: famous last words…

  After about fifteen minutes had passed, we felt substantially calmer. Kim was able to follow the officer down town to the police department.

  “Please, each of you fill out a statement of what happened,” instructed the helping official. “If you can remember anything about the car, the driver, or if you happened to get his license, write that down, too.”

  “Officer, I didn’t see a license. He either didn’t have one

  or only had one on the back,” I stated.

  The look on the policeman’s face wasn’t encouraging. When we finished our written statement, the official

  collected them. Then he informally interviewed us as a group.

  Luckily, Kim’s SUV only suffered minor damage. There was a scrape down the front driver-side fender. A bit of back paint from the car outlined the silvery metal where indeed, the two vehicles had collided. The back bumper was slightly dented. That was a blessing after all the ramming that he’d done.

  At long last, the police released us to go home. It was an apprehensive drive back to Kim’s. We were quiet in the car and wore solemn faces. When we pulled up, we quickly went in. We headed straight for the basement and put on comfy night clothes.

  “I guess you know that means we won’t be sleeping tonight,” I stated the obvious.

  “Yes, that dose of adrenaline was much too large,” Janice agreed.

  We stayed up most of the night. I think it was about six a.m. before any of us fell asleep.

  About five hours later, we woke to find Kim’s mother waiting. We had to explain the whole story to her.

  “Oh, boy!” she exclaimed with a fiercely protective look on her face. “This is just terrible!”

  “Mom, I don’t know what else we can do!” Kim said. “I mean, we’ve talked to the police twice in one day.”

  “How bad is the damage to your car? Thank God you all have some wits about you!”

  “I think the front diver’s fender will need repaired and

  painted, and the bumper is dented, but I can live with it. It’s not that bad, considering.”

  Chapter Three

  The rest of the weekend and the following few weeks were full of boredom and of us feeling like we were being punished. Our parents wouldn’t let us out of their sight. It felt like we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything of account.

  Finally, after the passage of the third uneventful week, our parents agreed that we could go to a birthday party being thrown by one of our friends on a Friday night. It was a bon fire party that went on into the night. Of course, we weren’t allowed to drive there; our parents insisted on dropping us off.

  “Oh, I just don’t think I can take much more of this,” Janice stated. “I love our parents and all, but I just can’t stand feeling like a caged bird!”

  “Agreed,” said Angela. “But I can’t stand the feeling of trying to be killed while we’re just innocently driving, either.”

  I sighed heavily. “Yes, I agree with that, too. At least we get to do something tonight.”

  “Uh, huh!” both Julie and Kim said in unison.

  “Sylvia’s house is super sweet,” I said.

  Sylvia had a huge game room for us to play Foos ball, pool, and air hockey. Her family also owned a nice in-ground pool. There was a massive yard that bordered wooded acres for us to play Frisbee or whatever in.

  After arriving at the party, we were greeted by a lot of our friends. It seemed our whole sophomore class was present as well as many upperclassmen. After a few hours of activity, Sylvia’s parents began an enormous cook out. They seemed to barbeque every kind of meat under the sun.

  There was also coleslaw, potato salad, chips of every variety, breads galore, and cake. Punch, soda, and tea were served to accompany.

  “Sylvia sure can throw a party!” Janice said.

  “Oh, yeah, baby!” I agreed.

  Surprisingly, most of our friends only minimally talked to us about the car incident. I was compared to the victim a lot when the news first televised the murder, but as time went by and the headlines mentioned her less, the amount of comparisons between the two of us diminished as well.

  As the night progressed, I had the sneaking suspicion we were being watched again. This time, however, I didn’t feel the simultaneous strangeness. It was more just a gentle nudge of awareness than anything; I wasn’t freaked out in the least. I happened to mention it to Angela.

  “What do you think the difference is?”

  “Hum. I don’t really know. Maybe it’s because whoever is watching us isn’t a threat? I really don’t get the impression that it’s the same person.”

  “Really? You can tell whether you’re in danger or not by the way you feel?”

  “Well, I guess that is a pretty good way to put it.” We both began to discreetly look around.r />
  “I think I see the culprit,” Angela observed.

  “Really? Who is it?”

  “It’s that really tall guy over toward the meat table.” “Oh. I think I see who you’re talking about.”

  “How could you not?” Angela laughed. “He’s almost as tall as the house.”

  The guy Angela pointed out was fairly new to our district. When I say fairly new, I meant he’d transferred in two or three years ago. He’d been going to our high school most of his experience, but he wasn’t a native to our area.

  That was why I didn’t really know him.

  Jacob was an eighteen-year-old senior who played football and basketball. He was a shade under 6’6” and was lean and muscular. In my opinion, he was a tall drink of water!

  Jacob had olive-green eyes and very dark hair. When our eyes met briefly, I saw them widen in surprise. Perhaps he thought he could watch me and not be caught. I tried to hide my amused grin by turning back to Angela.

  “Well, I’m certainly relieved,” she stated.

  “I knew it wasn’t a bad feeling,” I explained. “It just feels different, somehow, when I’m in danger. There’s like urgency, or an edge if you will, to the way I feel. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I don’t know if I was really scared. I mean, what could happen with a million people around?”

  “Nothing,” I began. Then I scolded her, “but don’t ever ask that question.”

  Angela grinned at my silly superstition. “Okay. Will do.”

  “I think I’m hungry,” I stated. Angela’s laugh tinkled around me like millions of tiny bells.

  “Go for it, girlfriend,” she whispered with a wink.

  I tentatively went over to the table stuffed with savory meats. I evaluated which delicate selections I wanted to try. I did my best to look absorbed in the choices rather than sidetracked by my interest in a tall handsome guy standing nearby. Suddenly, a huge man’s arm reached toward me with a Styrofoam plate.

  As I took the plate from him, I looked up into his towering height and was greeted by twinkling green eyes and a smile punctuated with deep dimples.

  “Oh, um, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I always like to give a helping hand,” he stated while his smile deepened.

  “Jacob, right?”

  “That’s what I prefer to be called,” he answered. “And you’re Laurie, correct?”

  “Yes. Nice to formally meet you.” “Likewise.”

  “You played football, right?”

  “Yes, I did. And basketball.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Is that a tall joke?”

  I smiled but shook my head. I selected a small chicken breast grilled to perfection. Barbeque sauce clung on ways that should be illegal. Next, I selected some Taco flavored Doritos and a tad bit of potato salad. I poured a sweet tea, all with the comforting help of an attentive man.

  “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked. I could sense his nervousness.

  “No, not at all. In fact, I would enjoy it,” I encouraged. We found an uninhabited bench and sat. We began to

  eat.

  “So… you’re fairly new to Ozark. Where did you move from?” I began.

  “I actually grew up on a small farm just on the other side of Minnesota, in Wisconsin. It was quaint and peaceful.”

  “Really? What made you and your family move here?’ “Oh, there were a few reasons. Dad wanted to move

  down here to be closer to his mom so he could help take care of her. Then Mom wanted to move down here for her job. But that didn’t pan out.”

  “The job?”

  “No. Mom. She really wanted to move down here to see her boyfriend.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We weren’t ever really all that close. She isn’t a woman in touch with her emotions.”

  An awkward silence followed his statement. I ate some more and drank to fill in the void. He did likewise.

  “So you grew up here?”

  “Oh, pretty much. I moved a little bit while in elementary, but I’ve been here since the fourth grade.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “Kind of the same story as yours, only my dad left us.” “I see,” he stated. “Hardly anyone stays married these

  days. Makes you wonder why we still even try.”

  “Everyone thinks their situation will be different. It’s

  hard work, and people are lazy; both have to give 100% or more, not 50/50.”

  “That’s true,” he paused to give an appropriate break before a subject change. “So, do you play any sports?”

  “Track and cross country. That’s about it. I’m not that coordinated.”

  “You look pretty coordinated to me.” He said it with a straight face, and his eyes stayed glued on mine. He deserved kudos for that.

  “Um, thank you,” I laughed. “Give it time. You’ll come around to my way of thinking. You’ve never seen me throw a ball.”

  I saw his eyes light up.

  “Oh, n-n-no!” I said adamantly.

  “Oh, yes!” he answered.

  He took my plate and threw both of our trash away before dragging me to the field. My eyes searched for a friend to rescue me, but not one could be seen. Darn them! I’d bet money they were watching!

  The only kind of ball I was somewhat comfortable with,

  of course, was a soccer ball. I got to use my feet, not my hands. Hands on me were only meant to be used to achieve balance when I ran a fairly straight line.

  Jacob picked up a football. Gently, he tossed it to me. Let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. I tried to catch the crazy thing, but like a wild animal escaping from a trap, it squirmed up through my fingers and bounced on the ground. I tried to seize it, but I’m sure I resembled someone trying to pick up a fish flopping on the ground. When I went left, it went right. Finally, I managed to grab it.

  When I looked up, Jacob coughed into his hand. It sounded suspiciously like a laugh. I felt frustrated, but of course, I couldn’t show it. Much.

  “See?” I said. I could feel embarrassment flushing my cheeks.

  “Throw it to me.”

  “So you can have some more fun at my expense?” “No. I want to teach you.”

  “Why? I don’t think I’ll ever be on the team.”

  He smiled gently at me. I was a sucker for his dimples. I found myself smiling back. So, I raised my hand and gave it a whirl.

  How he caught my terrible throw, I’ll never know. I think footballs were supposed to spin, not go end over end. He came slowly toward me with the football.

  He stood behind me, his body touching mine as he placed the football in my hand. He carefully arranged the strange object in my hand until I was holding it correctly. He tried to tell me how to release the ball when I threw it, but it was like trying to understand a foreign language. However, I did try.

  He worked with me on catching and throwing about thirty minutes. I did improve, but I also think he knew

  when to end a good thing.

  We walked back toward the house, and because we were warm, the pool caught our attention.

  “Want to swim?” he asked.

  “Uh, I – um, want to see what my friends are doing first.”

  I noticed him slowing his step.

  “You’re welcome to join us,” I said quickly.

  “Oh. Sure,” he said.

  I saw my friends coming outside with drinks. They saw us, and we were ushered over.

  “Do you all feel like swimming?” I asked.

  “Give us a bit, and maybe,” Janice replied.

  “Cool,” I said looking up at Jacob. He smiled down at me.

  We pulled up a couple of chairs. I introduced Jacob to my friends, and we quickly were involved in many matters of interest.

  “So, I guess you heard about that murder in Springfield,” Jacob said when fresh topics appeared to dwindle. We all must have had quite a look on our faces, because J
acob said, “I’m sorry. Was she a friend of yours?” “No,” I said. “We’re just really… interested in the case.” Jacob looked straight at me and asked, “Are you related

  to her?”

  I looked away and said, “No.” “Oh, wow.”

  “Yes, she looks quite a lot like her, huh?” Julie guessed his thoughts.

  “Yes, she does!” he exclaimed.

  I looked back at Jacob. “Have you heard of any new developments on the case?” I inquired.

  “Not that the police are releasing,” he replied.I couldn’t help but look surprised.

  “My dad’s a bounty hunter,” he revealed. “He goes into the station all the time. He has some good friends on the force.”