Murder Stalks

Murder Stalks

By

Sara York

Murder Stalks

Published by Sara York

Copyright Sara York 2010

Cover Art by Sara York

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This is a work of fiction. All characters,
events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be
confused with any fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events
is merely coincidence.

All rights reserved, this material may not be
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Murder Stalks

Chapter 1

A hollow thud echoed behind Marissa Santos.
She picked up her pace, not wanting to be caught alone in the dark
stairwell. Had there been anyone in the lot when she pulled in?

Her pulse quickened when she hit the top
step. She ran to her door, pulling the keys from her purse. Nervous
energy caused her hand to jerk. The keys fell to the cement floor
with a jangling clatter. She scooped them up, sifted through the
ring, and found the one to her apartment.

Relief pulsed through her body, she was
almost in. The grocery bag split as she slid the key into the lock,
spilling the box of microwave popcorn onto her sandal clad
foot.

“
Ouch.”

The thud sounded again, closer this time.
The skin on the back of her neck prickled and her hair stood on
end. Grasping the bottom of the bag to her chest, she held on
tight. Marissa pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold,
kicking the box of popcorn as she moved. She was almost home free
when two books from the library fell out of her purse.

Damn it. She should have been home before
dark.

Her knees weakened and droplets of sweat
beaded on her brow as she pushed the books into her apartment.

“
Hurry. Hurry.”

Tony had told her not to move here, but had
she listened? Of course not. She should have moved to the gated
community on the other side of town. Not that this place was the
worst neighborhood in Juniper, just one of the less desirable
ones.

With blood roaring in her ears, she gave the
door a shove. It bounced back, popping her in the nose. Stars swam
before her eyes, and the room grew dim around her. She shook off
the pain, reaching down for the mangled popcorn box. With a flick
of her wrist, she pushed it out of the way. The door closed with a
thump. Her fingers, clumsy with nerves, slid the bolt home.

She flopped back against the door, her
breath coming in gasps. Silently, she cursed Tony and his tales of
murder.

Marissa turned and looked out the peephole.
Mrs. Shultz would be home soon. The landing was clear, but what
about the stairwell? She fished a can of pepper spray out of her
purse then dropped the heavy bag on the carpet.

With pepper spray in hand, she swung open
the front door. Fear reached down to the tips of her toes and her
knees shook. She wanted to slam the door closed and hide, but she
didn’t.

Inching towards the stairwell, Marissa
looked over her shoulder, checking that her door still stood open
so she could make a break for it if Mrs. Schultz wasn’t coming up
the stairs.

With only inches to go, Marissa stopped and
breathed in deeply. This was crazy and she knew it. ‘Call the
police,’ echoed in her head, but that would bring Tony. The girls
on the switchboard would call the ever-important detective Tony
Santos if there were a hint of trouble at her apartment. But he was
the last person she wanted to see. She reached down and felt for
the cell phone in her pocket. On second thought she pulled it out
and punched in the emergency numbers. All she had to do was hit the
green call button.

Silently, she counted to three and jumped
out into the open, screaming as loud as she could. Nothing. The
stairwell was empty.

“
Is that you, Marissa?”
Mrs. Schultz’s gravelly voice sang from below.

“
Yes ma’am.”

The gray-haired octogenarian climbed the
stairs quickly. If Marissa lived to be eighty, she wanted to be as
fit as Mrs. Schultz. “What was all that screaming about?”

“
I thought I heard
something.” Marissa flipped her phone closed and shrugged. Her
imagination had been playing tricks on her lately. She hated the
fear that had taken up residence in her life since she walked out
on Tony. After three weeks in this apartment, she should be used to
the strange noises, but she wasn’t. If anything, her fear was
worse.

“
There wasn’t anybody when
I pulled into the lot. Maybe it was the cat.”

“
You’re probably right.”
Marissa sighed and rolled her shoulders. The tension had been
building before she walked out on Tony, now her muscles were aching
knots. She moved towards her door, embarrassed that she had almost
scared the life out of Mrs. Schultz.

“
Oh dear.” Mrs. Schultz
wrung her hands together.

“
Is something wrong?”
Marissa stepped closer to the older lady and smelled a faint hint
of baby powder and chocolate. Bittersweet memories of Ashley made
her eyes water. Marissa bit her tongue, stopping the tears that
threatened to fall. She pushed away the pain and focused on the
older woman. Later, once she knew Mrs. Schultz better, she would
tell her about sweet Ashley, but not yet.

“
I left my bible down in
the car.”

“
Wait. I’ll go get it.”
Marissa pulled her door closed, locking it in the
process.

“
Oh honey, you don’t have
to.”

“
I know, but I will. Give
me your car keys. I’ll be back in a second.”

Marissa ran down the stairs. Her stupid
imagination was working overtime, but she wouldn’t hide in her
apartment. Before Tony, she’d been independent. Well, as
independent as a nineteen year-old college student could be.

She ran to Mrs. Schultz’s car and popped
open the door. The bible was on the front seat, an easy grab.
Marissa hopped out of the car, slammed the door, locking it with a
quick punch to the key fob. Her body was already in motion before
she realized that a short, stout man blocked her path. His dark
brows raised and his eyes bore into hers. A gasp escaped her lips.
She saw the corners of his mouth turn up. He was laughing at her.
She backed away then turned quickly towards the stairwell.
Straightening her back, she lifted her head and walked with
purpose. A shiver snaked up her spine, and she looked back. The
strange man was gone.

It was nothing, she told herself. The noise
on the stairs had probably been one of the neighbor’s cats. The guy
was just passing through the parking lot. Or had he been watching
her the entire time? She shook off the creepiness that had taken
hold of her. There wasn’t anything to worry about.

Mrs. Schultz stood at the top of the stairs
waiting for her. “Thank you dear. Anything you need, all you have
to do is knock.”

“
You’re welcome, and I’ll
keep that in mind.” Marissa handed her the bible. “Are you going to
watch the fireworks? They should start in about twenty
minutes.”

“
No, seen enough in my
lifetime. I’m going to watch a movie. Care to join me?”

“
No thanks. I think I’ll
stay in tonight.”

“
Thank you again.” Mrs.
Shultz flashed a smile before disappearing into her
apartment.

Marissa turned the key in the knob, and
waited. She didn’t want to go into the empty apartment. Earlier,
she’d left the door open when she had almost scared the living
daylights out of Mrs. Shultz. What if someone had snuck in? A spot
right between her eyes started to ache. Standing out here wouldn’t
get her the painkillers she desperately needed. Her heart beat out
a staccato rhythm as she swung the door wide, revealing the empty
living room.

Grabbing the wine coolers and a few
painkillers, she ran back to her bedroom and slammed the door. She
clenched the phone hard, stopping her hand from shaking. If she
heard any strange sounds she would call the police, but silence
filled her dinky apartment. With a sigh of relief, she sank back
against the wall and cracked open one of the wine coolers. She
looked at the bottle for a long moment before taking a swig.

She hadn’t drunk anything since leaving
Tony. Maybe she shouldn’t drink this one. What the hell. One drink
wouldn’t hurt.

Doubts about moving out still filled her
mind. Why couldn’t it be easy? Disgust over her indecision filled
her. She turned the bottle up, emptying it. Tony wasn’t the only
man out there. She could find someone else to spend her life with.
But damn it, she didn’t want to.

With a second wine cooler opened and halfway
empty, her stomach gurgled. Downing the two drinks on an empty
stomach had been stupid, but her resolve was strengthened with the
buzz she’d achieved. She wouldn’t call for Tony. She could take on
life without him.

After finishing the second drink, Marissa
pulled herself onto the bed. The dull boom of the fireworks at the
beach cut at her heart. This was the first year she and Tony
weren’t there together. Pulling a pillow over her head, she blocked
out the noise. Fat tears burned her eyes and dampened the
sheets.

They had been together for years, long good
years filled with happiness, and now this. If Ashley were still
alive they would be a family. But she couldn’t blame this breakup
on Ashley’s death. Tony had messed up. Hell, she’d messed up too.
Their breakup had as much to do with her pushing Tony away as it
did with him being distant. After an exhausted sob, she fell
asleep, thinking about how different this summer would have been if
she’d stayed with Tony.

****

A tickling sensation trailed down his neck,
setting off alarm bells that shook him to his core. Detective Tony
Santos treaded water in the middle of the deep end. His heart
pounded against his ribs as he swiveled his head, searching for the
source of his unease. Beads of water dripped down his neck. He
reached back, wiping the moisture from his skin. The strange
sensation still held him, making him wish the natatorium wasn’t
empty today.

Something had caught his attention, perhaps
a bird running into the window, but he’d heard something. He was
sure of it. Or maybe not.

Splashing at the water, he listened for the
dull echo that bounced off the hard white tile, distorting the
sounds. Damn echoes. A harsh laugh escaped his lips before he
plunged under the surface, blocking out all sounds, cocooning
himself in the cool water.

Diving deeper he flipped and pushed hard off
the bottom. Slicing through the water, he broke the surface and
gasped for breath. The chlorine-tainted air was an elixir to him,
calming his mind. The noise was just that, a noise. No one was
here, only shadows and echoes filled this place.

Tony attacked the water, stroking up the
lane, letting the burn of his muscles take over. When his thoughts
turned to Marissa, he pushed his body harder, forcing his mind to
think stroke, stroke, stroke.

Sleep hadn’t been worth shit since Marissa
walked out three weeks ago. His hands moved of their own accord at
night, constantly searching her side of the bed for the sweet
warmth she brought to his life. He came up empty, just like his
heart.