Death and Deceit (16 page)

Rick rose and walked to the door. Jessie was about to thank him for coming over
and for bringing pizza, but instead of leaving she watched as he shot the bolts and slid in the safety chain, making sure they were secure.

Bewildered by his actions, Jessie stood in the centre of her living room. He moved towards her, a slightly wicked-looking smile played across his lips making the scar on his face appear ugly. Upon reaching her, he slid his arm around her waist and kissed her seductively.

Jessie pulled back in surprise. She tried not to appear frightened. Rick’s smile was pleasant now and she smiled too. She hadn’t expected the kiss but assumed she had deserved it as she had rightfully led him on. It was now time to set him straight. Business was business. If he wanted to help her, fine. But that was as far as she intended to go.

“I’m not ready for another relationship, Rick. This whole stalking thing has me
crazy. And I just broke up with Kent. My trust in men, I’m afraid has been jolted.”

“Are you putting me in that same category?” he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, his anger flaring.

“I want you to leave,” she cried, trying to pull from him. But Rick was too strong
and she was helpless in his grip. His hands pawed at her breasts while he snarled out angry words. “Miss Goody Two Shoes are you? Too good for me? I won’t be rejected by you this time.”

Jessie didn’t understand his ranting and pulled frantically from his hold, but it was useless. Seeing no other alternative she screamed, which immediately provoked him to slam his hand across her mouth.

“You little bitch. Shut up. If anyone does hear you, I’ll tell them I’m here to protect you and that the villain got away. You’re in my custody now, lady. You’d better co-operate or those notes on the computer are gonna seem like a Sunday picnic. I’m gonna remove my hand but you’d better not scream, cause if you do...”

Jessie didn’t want to imagine what he might do if she screamed again and she
stood against him shaking, while he removed his hand from her mouth.

He guided her to the bedroom and pushed her on the bed then sit beside her. She dared to speak. “What do you want from me? I thought you were on my side.” Her voice was small and meek, giving him the power over her he desired.

“I am on your side,” he said almost penitently. “I’m sorry about the names. I got
excited when you screamed. I only wanted to kiss you. I only wanted to be in your company. Why are you acting so cold, so distant?”

Jessie dared to look in his eyes. But he didn’t look angry now. He looked hurt
and she was surprised by his reaction. Maybe, if she were resourceful, she could talk herself out of this situation.

“I’m sorry, Rick,” she said. “I overreacted...just like you. Can we start again?”

His face brightened and he smiled gently. “That’s better. Now get some things
together, we’re going on a little trip.”

“But, Rick, I told you, I have to work tomorrow.”

His smile turned pertinacious. “I’m sorry, Jessica. It’s for your own good. It’s for your protection. Someone at work might be trying to kill you. I can’t take that chance. I can’t lose you again.”

“Why are you saying that? As if we meant something to each other in the past.
I never saw you before the other day at the police station. Who are you anyway?”

“That’s enough,” he barked petulantly. “Get going. If you don’t pack, we’ll just leave anyway. It’s up to you.”

He had changed again and Jessie jumped. She’d better play things his way — at
least until she could find an opportunity to break away from him. Frantically she threw clothes into an overnight bag. She zipped it shut and he wasted no time shoving her towards the door. He spun her around in front of him and backed out of the apartment door.

His arm jammed against her throat and Jessie winced. She took a quick look around her apartment and wondered if it was the last time she’d ever see it or taste freedom. With a thrust of his other arm, Rick caught the apartment door then pushed Jessie along the hallway and towards the elevator.

****

In her apartment Liz made a decision. She had to go to Jessie and tell her everything. How she was jealous over Kent and sent the e mail messages to frighten Jessie. But when Jessie grew closer to Kent, Liz blamed the messages on him. She had so much wanted Kent for herself that her friendship with Jessie seemed secondary.
But now things had gotten way out of hand. And ever since she’d met Alan, Liz was no
longer attracted to Kent in the same way.

She rose from her rocking chair where she’d spent the last half hour thinking, trying to come up with a suitable solution that wouldn’t incriminate her yet would exonerate Kent. All she wanted now was for Kent and Jessie to get back together, and for her and Alan to develop a relationship. But there was no good way to straighten things out.

She reached for her car keys on the kitchen table and headed for Jessie’s place. Maybe Jessie would throw her out when she told her the part she’d played in everything. Maybe she’d never again have a chance with Alan, but she had to take a chance now. It
was too important to her for her own sense of pride and respect. And she was the only one who could end the terror she’d begun with the fake e mail scare.

The haunting moon turned night into day and Liz could clearly make out the brick pediment that crowned the front of Jessie’s building. She parked beneath the tall trees across from her friend’s apartment and reached for her car door, but stopped when she saw Jessie and a very tall policeman walking down the steps. Jessie carried a suitcase. Liz leaned back on her seat hoping she wouldn’t be noticed.

She watched curiously as Jessie stopped walking and turned to the cop and spoke. The man, who was very close behind her, gave her a shove. Jessie stumbled but caught herself from falling and managed to keep hold of the luggage. He quickly seized her arm and walked her to his car— a police cruiser. He opened the side door and shoved her inside.

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.

****