Saving Cassie (Fairfield Corners) (7 page)

You thought going home
would be safe, you were wrong, Cassie.  Going home made it easier for me to
find you.  You cannot be allowed to live.  I must kill you to save myself.

Did you see the message I
left for you, Cassie?  I left it where you can’t miss it.  Locked doors cannot
keep me away from you. I am waiting for the right time.  Until then, I am
amusing myself by moving your things.

I am coming for you soon! 
Time is ticking away – be prepared to die.

I slowly become aware that
I am being carried.  I look up and see Logan’s face, looking very grim. Who can
blame him – I have now passed out in front of him twice.  That thought brings
back the haunting image of those three words written in red on the medicine
cabinet mirror:
Cassie must die.

I must have made a noise,
Logan looks down at me worriedly, “Hey there beautiful.  Would you please stop
doing that?  I think you took ten years off my life this time.  Seeing you
laying there with all that blood...  He stops and composes himself, swallowing
the fear.  “You’ve got a knot the size of an egg on your head and you’re going
to need some stitches.  You must have hit the bathtub when you fainted. I’m
taking you to the hospital, no arguments!”  His phone rings, “Miller here, get
Steve over to Cassie’s, there is a threat written on the bathroom mirror and he
needs to dust for fingerprints.”  A couple of seconds pass, “Yeah, she freaked
out and hit her head on the bathtub, looks like she’s going to need some
stitches.”

I can hear James’ reaction,
“Dammit Reggie… she’s OK Marie.  Logan’s taking her to the hospital for
stitches.”

“Tell Steve to make sure
he gets a sample of the message.  Looks to me like it’s written in Cassie’s
lipstick.  I’ll talk to you at the hospital, we’re leaving right now.  Don’t
worry, I’ll get her there in one piece…”

Logan smiles down at me.  “How
are you feeling?  Let me know if you feel like you’re going to be sick.”

“Not too bad other than a
killer headache,” I reply, “I can probably walk if you put me down.”

“No way.  I like having
you helpless in my arms.”

“Oh please, you are so
full of it.  Let me pull up my boots, it’s getting a little deep in here.  We
haven’t even had our first date and I may just change my mind about that.”

As Logan gets to his
cruiser, James pulls up.  “Logan, get in – I’ll drive.”

I try to lift my head to
look at James but it makes my head pound even more.  “Don’t move Cassie, you’ll
just make it worse.  They should be able to give you something for the pain
after you get checked out.  You OK to hold onto her for a while yet Logan?”

“Sure, she doesn’t weigh
much.”

“I can hear both of you,
my ears are working just fine.  Quit talking about me as if I’m not here…” I
mumble, sinking deeper into Logan’s arms; I haven’t felt this safe in months.  I
start to drift off.

“Hey, stay with me Darlin’,”
Logan says, “no sleeping until the Doc says OK.”

“Sheesh, can’t even leave
me alone when I’m hurt.  You, Mr. Deputy, are a pain in my butt!”

“That’s better, now you
sound more like yourself…”

We finally get to the
hospital and I am immediately taken to an exam room.  Logan waits with me while
James takes care of the paperwork.  I should be complaining about the two of
them treating me like a child but I don’t have the energy.  As the nurse whisks
me off for an MRI Logan goes looking for James.

“How’s she doing, Logan?”

“Seems OK.  They took her
down for an MRI.  The doc wasn’t happy with me being in the room but he
relented when I explained the circumstances.  I am going to get a cup of coffee
and head down to MRI.  I don’t feel comfortable with her being out of our sight
until we figure out who is behind this.  I think we should have someone with
her 24/7.  We both checked all the doors and windows and there was no sign of
forced entry.”

“You’re right, Logan, but
that’s the problem with small towns.  No one locks their doors and when they do
there are multiple people who have keys in case of emergency.  Who knows how
many keys there are floating around to Cassie’s house.  Hopefully Steve can get
us some usable fingerprints; it would be a place to start.  We have no other
evidence.  I’m beginning to wonder if I should be looking at Cassie’s Gram’s
death as a homicide.  Things just aren’t making sense.  Someone is after Cassie
and we need to figure out why.  It could be Matt…”

“Here comes Marie, I
better get down to MRI and check on Cassie.”

“Hi honey,” James says, “Cassie
is going to be fine.  I want her to come and stay with us for a while; at least
until we figure out who is behind everything that has been happening.”

“You know I don’t have a
problem with that.  Has Doc seen her yet?”

“She’s getting an MRI
right now, we should know something soon.”  James looks up and sees us coming
towards them.  “Here they come now.”

I am fuming.  “Logan,
would you just back off already!  You’re hovering!”

“See, Marie.  Sounds like
the Cassie we all know and love.  Why don’t you go in and stay with her while I
talk to Doc.  I’ll tell you everything he says, I promise.”

“Ok.  I need to make sure
she’s being taken care of.”  She turns to me and gasps, “Oh, Cassie, how’s your
head?”

After the door closes,
James turns to speak to Doc.  “How is she Doc?  Does she have a concussion?”

“No, no sign of
concussion.  She’s going to need stitches and I would like to keep her here
overnight for observation.  She’ll be fine, nothing to worry about.  That girl
still has a hard head.”

“That’s a relief.  With
everything that is going on, either Logan or I will be here at all times.”

“Perfectly understandable.
 Any idea who is behind all this?”

“No, but we are working on
it.  Until we figure it out, I’m going to be watching her like a hawk.”

James’ phone rings and he
answers, “Sheriff Marsten.  Did you get anything usable Steve?  No? Damn, I was
hoping for a break there.  Thanks Steve, I’ll expect your report tomorrow
morning.”

Doc walks into the exam
room to stitch up Cassie’s head wound.

“Well, looks like we’re
back to square one Logan.  Everything in the bathroom was wiped down, only
Cassie’s fingerprints where she grabbed the mirror to close the cabinet.  Whoever
it is thinks they’re smart but they will make a mistake eventually.  Maybe they
already have and we just haven’t found it yet.”  James starts pacing, his
frustration with the situation growing.  He starts talking to himself as he
paces, “David owes me a couple of favors, I’m going to send the mirror to him. 
He can compare the handwriting to Matt’s.  Maybe he can find something.”

Twenty minutes later and
I’m in a regular room.  Marie has gone home and James and Logan are talking just
inside my room.  “James, I’ll stay and keep an eye on her tonight.  You go home
with your family.  I’ll call you if anything happens…”

“Are you sure, Logan? You
still haven’t gotten your day off.”

“You’ll make it up to me
when we go out on a double date…”

That grabs my attention.  “When
we what?  I only agreed to one date to get you off my back Mr. Deputy!” I sputter.

Logan looks over at me
with that lopsided grin, “You’ll change your mind, Darlin’.  You’re going to
realize you can’t live without me!”

“Yeah, when pigs fly!” I sputter.

I am running down the
hallway, trying to find somewhere to hide. All the doors are locked, there is
no escape and I can hear him coming up the stairs after me.  Oh God, what am I
going to do? I keep trying all the doors until finally one of them opens.  I
rush in and close the door, looking for the lock.  I’ve got to keep him out.  He’s
not himself.  I don’t know what set him off but there’s no calming him down
this time!  Oh god, someone help me, he’s coming!  I hide beside the dresser,
holding my breath, I don’t want him to hear me breathing.  He finds me anyway
and grabs my arm and pulls me to the center of the room.

“Why do you try to hide
when, you know I will find you?  Come here.  It’s time for Cassie to die.  I
begin to scream and scream and scream.

”Why do you always scream
like that?”  Suddenly, there is a knife in is hand.  I look up at his face.  My
God, those aren’t his eyes!  His eyes are brown, not green!  Why is this
happening?

I try to pull away but he
is too strong; I can’t get away!

“I’m sorry Cassie, it must
be this way.  You must die!” he says as he stabs me with the knife!  I can feel
it; the burning pain.  I scream and scream and scream…

“Cassie!  Wake up Cassie.  Come
on Darlin’, it’s OK.  It’s just a dream.  You’re going to wake the whole
hospital.”  Logan’s voice finally gets through, pulling me out of the
nightmare.

I start to sob, clinging
to him.

The floor nurse opens the
door.  “Is everything OK in here?”

“Yes, it’s just a
nightmare.  I’ll get her calmed down in a minute.  Sorry if she woke anyone.”

“Let me know if she needs
something to help her get back to sleep.  Poor thing.”  She closes the door and
we are alone.

Logan hugs me tighter,
pushing the images in the nightmare away with his presence.  “My god, Cassie. 
That must have been some nightmare.”  He says, obviously shaken.  “Tell me
about it.”  He hands me the box of tissues, letting me get myself under
control.

“I thought I was done with
the nightmares.  I’ve relived the night Matt beat me up so many times but since
I’ve been back in Fairfield Corners the nightmares have gotten worse.  The
dream starts out just as it happened, up until he catches up to me.  In the
dream, he has a knife and tells me that I must die and then he stabs me, I can
even feel the knife going in.  Why am I dreaming this?  That isn’t how it
happened, he just beat me up and pushed me down the stairs, no stabbing.  I
feel like I’m losing my mind.” I sob, covering my face with my hands.

Logan pulls me into his
arms again, “Shhh, Darlin’, it’s OK.  No one is going to get to you tonight.  I’ll
make sure of it.”

I am finally starting to
calm down, burrowing my face into Logan’s shirt.  “Don’t you get any ideas, I
still only agreed to one date.”  I feel so safe in Logan’s arms that I finally
start to relax.

“Sure, Darlin’, whatever
you say.”

The next time I wake, it’s
morning.  I am curled up next to Logan wrapped in his arms.  Just like last
night I feel so protected.  He stirs and says, “Hey there, Darlin’, feeling
better this morning?”

“I am not your ‘Darlin’’
so don’t get any ideas.  It must have been a momentary lapse in judgment due to
my head injury.”

He chuckles, “You believe
whatever gets you through the day, Darlin’.  I’m willing to wait for you to
realize what is right in front of you.”  As he kisses me on the forehead, James
walks into the room.

James is smiling until he
sees me lying in Logan’s arms.  “What the hell is going on here?  Logan, you’re
supposed to be protecting her, not taking advantage of her!”

James looks like he wants
to take Logan out back and shoot him.  Logan explains, “She had a nightmare
last night. Holding her was the only way I could get her back to sleep.”  Logan
gets up off the bed and walks towards the door.  “We’ll talk about this later.  I’ll
get my hat and get out of your way.”  After grabbing his hat off the chair he
turns and grins at me, “See you later Darlin’,” he says as he’s walking out the
door.

“I wish he would stop
calling me that!”  I look at James and see the stormy look on his face.  Uh oh,
better change the subject quick.  “When is Doc gonna let me out of here,
James?”

James shakes his head as
if he’s trying to get the image of me bleeding out of his head, “He’s headed
this way.  Hopefully, it won’t be too long.”  He starts pacing, “I’m sorry I
went all big brother on you, but I keep seeing you bleeding and looking so
small and helpless.”  He sits on the edge of the bed and grabs my hand.  “We
need to talk about what happened.  There is definitely something going on and I
believe you are in serious danger.  I am not going to allow you to stay in that
house by yourself.  Next time, they may do more than leave a threatening
message!”

“So, what are you
suggesting?  That I stay with you indefinitely?”  I look him in the eye, “I am
not going to stay at your house more than a day or two.  There isn’t room.”

“It’s either that, or
someone will have to stay at your house with you.  I am not going to risk
losing you.  Do you understand what it felt like when I found out what Matt did
to you?  You don’t have to worry about him, I want to rip his head off.  If he
shows his face here in Fairfield Corners he’s going to have to answer to me!”

“Oh jeez, here we go with
the big brother act. When are you going to realize I can take care of myself?  That’s
exactly why I didn’t tell you about Matt.  I’m a big girl and I handled it just
fine on my own.”

James snorts at my last
comment.  “You’ve got to understand that’s what families do. We worry and we
overprotect.  You are just going to have to deal with it.  We may not be
related by blood, but you are my sister in my heart and my best friend. I love
you.”

“God, James,” I sniffle,
“quit trying to make me cry.  It’ll give me a headache and I’ve had my fill of
those for a while.”

He gives me a big hug,
“I’ll always want to protect you.  It’s part of who I am, deal with it.”

“I love you too.  You are
the only family I have left.  But I am not going to stay at your house when I
have a perfectly good house of my own.”

Doc peeks around the door.
 “You ready to get out of here, Cassie?”

“Sure am, let’s get this
show on the road.”  Whew, saved by Doc.  I’ve got to figure out some way to
convince James to let me stay in my own house.

Doc looks me in the face,
wearing his ‘I’m the doctor and I’m in charge’ face.  “Now, I want you to take
it easy for the next two days.  Let Mel take care of the store; she’s been
doing it for the last couple of months.  A couple more days isn’t going to hurt
anything.”

“What am I supposed to do
with myself for two days?”

“Doesn’t matter to me as
long as you don’t overdo it.  You could have a slight concussion so I want you
to let me know if you have any double vision or get dizzy or nauseous.  No
driving for at least two days, Cassie, I mean it!”

“Oh, all right.  I promise.”

“I’ll go get the paperwork
so you can get out of here.”

“Thanks Doc!”

He comes over and gives me
kiss on the forehead, just like Logan did.  Doesn’t affect me in the same way
as Logan’s kiss.  Hmmm.

“Do you want me to send in
the nurse to help you get changed, Cassie?”

I scowl.  “No, I think I
can handle it.  I’ll holler if I need any help.”

“OK then.  I’ll be back in
about 15 minutes with the paperwork,” he says and walks out the door.

As soon as Doc is out the
door James starts in on me again, “Cassie, there is no way I’m letting you go
back to that house alone.  You are coming to stay with me and Marie”.

I cross my arms and dig in
my heels, not willing to give in, “No way! I want to go to my own house.”

“Dammit, Cassie!  There is
someone out there threatening you.  I just want you to be safe.”  James starts
pacing.  I can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he’s trying to find
a solution we can both live with.  “If you insist on staying in your house,
someone has to stay there with you. Preferably a cop!”  His eyes light up as he
comes up with an idea, “I know; I’ll have Logan stay with you.  No wife or
girlfriend to get upset about it.  It’s the perfect solution!”  He turns around
and pulls out his phone, muttering to himself that this will work if he makes
sure Logan understands that he’s not to touch Cassie.

I look at him in
disbelief.  “What?!  No way!” I sputter.

“Yes way, otherwise you
are coming to my house.”

I groan.  “Oh, all right.  I
guess I can put up with it for a couple of days.”  I grab my clothes and make
my way to the bathroom to change.  I grumble at James as I’m walking past him,
“Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”  I get to the bathroom and turn
around and look at James, “Just tell him to quit calling me Darlin’.  There’s no
way I’m going to fall for his southern boy charm!”