Hunted: A Suspense Collection

by J. L. Drake

  Emily

  I looked around and then pulled the nail out. I opened it carefully and glanced inside. Something plastic hit my fingers first. It was my ID badge from the police station the day I spoke to Michaels. I flipped it over to find the words.

  Should’ve kept your mouth shut.

  My stomach sank. I quickly pulled out the rest. There was a black and white photo of me and Claire on our ride yesterday, when I’d thought we were all alone. I turned it over.

  I see everything.

  I dropped the apple and ran back to the house as fast as I could. My heart was lodged in my throat, and every movement sent my hawk eyes in that direction.

  I flew through the door. “Seth!”

  He dropped the dish towel and rushed over to me. I handed him the envelope and waited.

  His eyes went wide. “Garrett!” His tone was all business. Garrett came over to my side, and Seth showed him the envelope. “Where did you find this?”

  I pointed toward the barn. “It was nailed to Claire’s stall. Seth, do you think he’s here?”

  He started to look around. “Where’s your phone?”

  “I have it turned off. It’s in my purse. I’ll grab it.” I came back and handed it to him. He turned it on and waited for it to pick up its signal. “Seth, other than calling Erin once, it’s been off.”

  Garrett looked at Seth. “I don’t want to say it, but we did call it in to the station that we were coming here.”

  Seth shook his head. I could tell he didn’t want to go there. “For the sake of David and Shawna, I think it’s best if we leave now.”

  I ran into the kitchen. David came up and handed me his car keys. “Take the Audi. He may know your car.”

  “How did you…?”

  He pointed to the living room where he had just been. “If you need anything, you let us know, and when this all goes away, you better come back here. You hear me?”

  I squeezed him hard. “I love you, and I promise.”

  I hugged Shawna.

  “Be careful, sugar. We’ll get your car back to you soon.”

  I watched as the house grew smaller in the side mirror of the Audi. Garrett was ahead of us in Seth’s car. Seth reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  The next day, I was tired, but that picture had consumed all my thoughts. I ripped open the sugar packet and poured it into my hot cup of coffee. I leaned my head on my hand over the table and picked up the stir stick to make figure eights through the cream. I tried to tune out the noise around me, but that wasn’t working so well. My hand rubbed my sore head. I was suffering from a headache, and my Advil were taking their sweet time to kick in.

  A girl’s hand caught my attention. It moved in even strokes across her paper. She was drawing a portrait of an old lady who sat a few tables down from us. It was remarkable to watch the simple lines come together and form such a distinctive picture. This girl was talented. When she was nearly finished, I leaned over and took a better look.

  “Impressive.”

  “Hope so, or three years of college is down the drain.” She chuckled.

  “Why her?” I asked as I nodded at the picture.

  “I draw people who interest me. This lady comes here every day, sits in the same spot, and watches the door. Like she’s waiting for someone. The sad thing is, no one ever shows. Kind of heartbreaking.” She shrugged and went back to sketching.

  I glanced at the lady and watched her wait. I imagined a man in a military uniform with a handful of flowers whisking her off her feet. My phone buzzed, and I left my happy conclusion to check the text.

  Riggs: Out front.

  Emily: Okay.

  I gathered my things and leaned over the girl’s shoulder. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Thanks.” She leaned forward for a new piece of charcoal. When she did, her papers shifted and some other portraits came into view. That’s when it caught my attention.

  “May I?” I asked as I pointed to the papers. She nodded, still engrossed in her work. I tugged at the corner and slid it free from the rest. As soon as I saw those eyes staring back at me, I felt my stomach drop. I squinted and tried to flip through the files in my memory…no friggin’ way! I turned it around to show the girl. “Do you know this man?”

  She lifted her small framed glasses and smiled shyly. “Yeah, met him in a bar a week ago, kinda creepy, a smooth talker.”

  I shook my head to clear it. Jesus, get a grip, Em! But I had to ask.

  “Did he tell you his name?” She squinted at her picture and focused hard at her task.

  “Jimmy somethin’.” She gently blew her page clean. “Don’t think he’s from here, though. He said he was just passing through town.” I let out a sigh. Come on, Emily, really? I ran my hand over my shoulder; I felt stupid. “Take it if you want. I have others.”

  I smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

  She shrugged like she was still stuck in her memory. “Odd, his voice, the way he called me darlin’.”

  I froze, my eyes locked on her. My legs could barely hold my weight. I turned on my heel and made my way out to the parking lot. I felt like I weighed three hundred pounds. My legs were like Jell-O, and my head was in a constant loop.

  “Darlin’.”

  Riggs hopped out of the car. He stopped when he saw my face. “What’s wrong?”

  I didn’t answer him. “Where’s Seth?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Should be heading back to the station in twenty. Why?”

  “‘Cause I just found out my attacker’s name.”

  ***

  Seth

  “Kinda fast, don’t you think?” My eyes squinted against the bright white paper as I wrote out the ticket to an old lady who had decided to do fifty-five in a twenty-five school zone.

  “I’m too old to drive that slow. I don’t have that much time left.” She fixed her glasses. I had heard it all before. No doubt I would be saying the same line when I was seventy. I tried to hide my smile when I handed her the ticket.

  “I’d love to give you a warning, Miss Wilson, but I see this is not your first speeding ticket.”

  “And it won’t be my last.” She snatched it out of my hand and revved her engine. I stepped back, moving out of the way. I shook my head as I headed back to the squad car.

  “Here,” Garrett said, tossing my phone when I got back into the car. “Riggs has been blowing up your phone.”

  ***

  Emily

  I walked straight into Detective Michaels’s office without even a knock. He was on the phone. He jumped in surprise, held up a finger, and then pointed to the chair in front of him. I couldn’t sit; I could barely wait until he hung up! The drawing was rolled up in my hand. I tried not to grasp it too hard, but my nerves were about to crawl their way to the surface. He finally finished his call.

  “What can I do for you, McPhee?” He sounded tired.

  I slammed the picture down on his desk. “This,” I pointed to the picture, “is the man who attacked me.”

  “Emily!” Seth said as he barreled into the office. “What’s going on?”

  “I found him.” I shook my head and struggled to get the sentence out. “I found my attacker!”

  “Wait, wait, slow down and tell me why you think that,” Michaels said as he held up his hand. “Take a seat.”

  Seth sat down, but I had to stand.

  “I saw this girl drawing in a coffee shop, and I noticed something when she moved her pictures around. Something familiar. Then I saw him, his eyes. She said she met him in a bar.”

  “Which bar?” Michaels asked.

  I thought for a moment. “I don’t know. She said he called her darlin’.” I waited for them to remember the text he sent after the beach party. “He called me darlin’ in the texts and that night when I got...” They both looked at me and waited for more. I rubbed my face, frustrated. “Just scan it and put it into your database, run your magic, and find him! His first name is Jimmy.”

 
Michaels leaned back in his chair and watched me pace his office. Why weren’t they doing something?

  “Who was this girl?” Michaels pulled out a scrap piece of paper. “Her name?”

  “I-I didn’t get it.”

  His face scrunched.

  “But-but she goes to that coffee shop a lot. She said she’s been watching this woman and that’s why she was drawing her.” I looked at Seth, who reached for my hand. I saw the look on his face. He thought I was losing it. Rage ripped through me. “Look, I was the one who got attacked. I was the one who had those eyes inches from my face.” I pointed at the drawing. “I haven’t felt surer about anything since that night. I would bet my life that this is my attacker.” My eyes started to water. “Please, Detective Michaels, please trust me on this.”

  The detective’s eyes flickered over to Seth’s, then back at me. “Okay, I’ll get them to run this picture and see what we come up with.” I let out a long breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Give me a few days. This isn’t Criminal Minds. We can’t do it instantly.”

  “Yeah…yes, okay.” I nodded. “Thank you, Detective.”

  Chapter 6

  Lasko

  I pushed open the door, hearing that annoying little bell ring above me.

  “Good morning,” the tiny twenty-year-old with big tits said from behind the counter. She smacked her gum loudly as she read something off her phone. I growled incoherently as I made my way to the back corner. God, my head hurt. I grabbed a bottle of Advil, a protein bar, and a pint of Jack Daniel’s. I set the items down on the counter, opened the pills, tossed back four, and chased them with the Jack. The girl’s mouth dropped open. She glanced at the time.

  “Nine in the morning. Hair of the dog?” She popped her gum. I closed my eyes to control my temper. This could go two ways. I could either take her out back and fuck the shit of her, or I could take that goddamn bell off its hook and jam it down her fucking throat.

  My pocket started to vibrate. I saw who it was and swiped my thumb to answer the call. “What?”

  “Where are you?” the voice asked.

  “Out.”

  “Well, don’t be.”

  I looked up at the female clerk, whose eyes were on me. Deep red lipstick lined her teeth.

  “Why?”

  “They have a fucking picture of you! What the hell, Jimmy?” the voice screamed at me. “Get back to the cabin now!”

  I tossed two twenties at the girl and grabbed the bottle of Jack.

  “Tell me what’s going on.” I flung the door open and disappeared into the back alleyway.

  After I heard the full story and got my ass chewed out, I started to madly pack my things. I flung the door open and let it slam behind me.

  “You leaving, sexy?” my neighbor asked. She sported a black and blue eye and a fat lip, and she flinched every time she took a drag from her cigarette. The bottom of her saggy ass showed, and her light pink thong peeked out slightly. I cringed as I walked by her, happy that I could carry all my bags out in one load. “I had plans for you.”

  “Me too.” I smirked and thought about wrapping a shower curtain around her face and watching her fat body bounce around as she fought to stay alive. The temptation was strong. If only I didn’t have a more important call to make…

  I hit the freeway with the Jack between my legs, beyond pissed that I had screwed up, but delighted with the turn of events.

  “Hello.” I could tell he was asleep, but I didn’t care. This was the moment I’d been waiting for.

  “Hank, go get her.”

  ***

  Emily

  I was getting ready for school when I heard a knock on the front door. I waited to see if Seth was going to answer it, but I didn’t hear him. As I zipped my dress and ran downstairs, the doorbell rang. “Coming!” I opened the door as I tripped over my bag and fell right into Vince’s arms “Oh!” I yelped as I stabilized myself in his arms. “Sorry.” He chuckled as he set me back on my feet. “Thanks. Hi.” I brushed my hair out of my face.

  “Is this how you greet all your guests?” he teased. I chose to ignore him. “David asked me to drop off your car.” I opened the door wider to let him come in.

  “Thank you. Would you like some coffee?” I asked over my shoulder.

  “Yes, please.” He seemed a little uncomfortable. “You heading to school?”

  “Cream?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah, I have to leave soon. Are you heading back to Temecula today?” I tossed a book in my bag and handed him his coffee in a travel cup.

  “Think I might stay for a bit to check out the city.” He took a seat. I nodded as my phone went off, forcing my attention away from Vince. It was Detective Michaels. I put my finger up to excuse myself.

  I had turned toward my father’s office and stood inside the door when Seth came in from outside. I waved as I answered my call. “Good morning, Detective.” I said the last word quietly as I glanced at Seth, who didn’t seem too impressed that Vince was at the kitchen table.

  “Morning, Ms. McPhee. Could you please come in and see me this afternoon?”

  “Of course. How about 2:30?”

  “Okay, that would be fine. See you then.”

  “Bye.”

  “Everything all good?” Seth asked.

  “Michaels wants to see me this afternoon.” I quickly rinsed out my mug. “Did he find out…?” I stopped, remembering we had company. Seth shrugged and gave me an ‘I haven’t heard anything’ look.

  “Would you mind if I tagged along, Emily?” Vince rose. “I’d like to see your campus, get to know the area better.”

  “Sure.” I looked forward to the distraction of having Vince around. It would help keep my mind off whatever Michaels might have found out.

  “Great, I can drive you if you’d like.” He turned to Seth. “I really don’t mind.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Seth leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll call you later. I’ll get Riggs to pick you up and bring you to the station.”

  I showed Vince a few of my favorite places as we drove to school—the coffee shops, the gym, a park, and the best Italian restaurant in town. We walked into the coffee shop where Erin sat. She made a face as she questioned my guest. “Who is this?”

  Vince shook her hand. “I’m Vince, a friend of the family.”

  Erin looked at me. “Cute.”

  I laughed and shook my head. Erin barely had a filter. Vince didn’t seem to mind. He just went along with it.

  “All right, we’ve got class.” I told Vince that I’d meet him for lunch at The Goose. I gave him my and Erin’s cell numbers in case he needed to get hold of us.

  Class was painfully slow. My mind wouldn’t stop. Erin kept yawning, which didn’t help.

  “Who would have thought logic trees would be so boring?” Erin burst out in laughter as we walked in a numbed state toward The Goose.

  I linked arms with her. “Is it wrong that I found Wittgenstein hot?” I joked. I fell into her as we both laughed hysterically. We were completely fried from our Philosophy class. “Did you see Scott? The poor guy was staring off into space. I don’t think he took one note the whole ninety minutes of hell.”

  “I wonder what he was thinking about.” Erin elbowed me in the ribs playfully. “Oh, there’s Vince.” She pointed to the bar. He came over and joined us at our table. “How did your day go?” she asked, eyeing his dirty shirt.

  “Pretty good, actually. I met some people who play on the football team, and they invited me to a scrimmage.” Well, that explained the shirt. “It was fun.” He grinned.

  “Good, I’m glad.” I matched his grin. The waitress came, and I ordered us some lunch.

  “Hey, all.” Scott suddenly sat in the seat next to me. He looked at Vince suspiciously. “Hey, I’m Scott.”

  “Vince.” They shook hands.

  “Well, that’s ninety minutes of life I’m never gonna get back.” He sighed as he stole a fry off Erin�
��s plate. “I may have to borrow someone’s notes, if that’s all right?” He gave me puppy dog eyes.

  “Yeah, sure.” I felt my phone buzz.

  Detective Michaels: Have a meeting this afternoon. Can you come by now?

  Scott looked over at Vince. “How long are you here for?”

  “Just for the day, wanted to check out the campus.”

  “That’s cool.”

  Emily: On my way.

  “Hey, guys, I have to go for a bit. I’ll be back in an hour or so.” I started packing up my stuff.

  Vince leaned forward. “Do you need a ride anywhere?”

  I thought about it for a moment. “Um…sure.” I was happy not to have to bother Riggs. I turned to Scott. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  “Yeah.” He sighed as he shifted in his seat. I could see he was slightly threatened by our new guest.

  As we climbed into the car, Vince started to laugh. “What?” I asked and wondered what was so funny.

  “You’re pretty popular here.”

  I gave him a dirty look; I knew he was referring to Scott. Then I gave him directions to the police station.

  “I’m going to be a bit. I’ll get a cab back so you can go and do your own thing.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t mind waiting.” He pointed to the Starbucks. “You’ll find me there.”

  “All right. Thanks.”

  The place was crazy, with people everywhere. One lady is yelling as she came by in cuffs, reeking of booze.

  “Hey, Lou.” I waved as I came up.

  “Miss McPhee, it’s always a pleasure.” He handed me my ID badge.

  “Sorry about yesterday…bad day.” I blushed, feeling badly for being so cold to him the day before.

  He leaned over the counter. “Look where I work. Trust me, you have nothing to apologize for, my dear.”

  “Thanks.”