Chapter Eighteen
“He knows where I live.”
Dani swirled her glass of red wine and stared out into the night as she held her cell phone to her ear.
Detective Owens patiently listened on the other line as she reported the most recent disturbing event to one of the only people that she still trusted.
Her hair was damp from the shower, and she smelled of coconut and clean laundry instead of adrenaline and fear.
Flood lights illuminated every inch of her fenced-in backyard, leaving no shadowy spots for monsters to lurk in.
A half bottle of cabernet sauvignon sloshed in her belly, but her efforts at unwinding were futile.
No matter what, she couldn’t shake the images she had seen on that VHS tape.
“Now, don’t jump to any conclusions. A whole lot of Vickers’ personal items got pinched from our evidence room and sold to collectors on eBay.
Someone could just be messing with you.” Detective Owens came across soft, but business-like on the other line.
Even though Dani was anxious that it had taken so long for her to answer her text, it was nice to hear her voice.
Detective Owens could take care of herself, but the thought that Vickers could go after her too often crossed her mind.
“Janet, the tape had footage of me as a teenager intercut by footage of me from only a few days ago. He’s already here. He’s just waiting to make his move.”
“Well, that’s definitely disturbing,” Detective Owens said. “Ahh, fuck it. I’m about ready to retire anyway. Let’s call it in.”
Maybe this was a mistake. Vickers was so close she could practically taste his cologne on the tip of her tongue.
She couldn’t let him get away and slink into the shadows again this time.
Who was she kidding? The police couldn’t help her, they couldn’t even keep Vickers locked up.
The only way she would know for sure that he was dead is if she did the job herself.
Dani needed to think of something fast before Janet sent the whole S.W.A.T. team to her back yard.
“I’m probably just overreacting.” Dani swallowed and cleared her throat. “You know, it’s probably just another copycat. I’ll be fine, really.”
“I know the system is shitty, Dani. I know you want justice but—,” Detective Owens’ usually stoic voice broke. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
“Something already did happen to me. Twice.” Dani paused, trying to picture the strong, proud officer that had been so kind to her all those years ago.
Detective Owens must have been close to sixty by now.
Dani had been grateful for her kindness on the night of her first attack, and she was even more grateful now.
Time to change the subject. “So, retirement soon, huh?”
“Yeah,” Janet chuckled. “I’m about ready to hang it up.”
“Maybe you’ll finally come out here and visit me,” Dani said. “Beaches out here are just as nice as the other coast.”
“You know I hate the beach.”
Dani smiled and could imagine her friend smiling on the other line clear across the country. “Yeah, I know.”
“You’re sure you’ll be okay?”
“Positive,” Dani said. “I’ll be fine.”
“I know you’ll be fine. I also know you’re strong and stubborn as hell and if you have it in mind to get your revenge, you will. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t. Call me if you hear anything else.”
“Will do, and Danielle?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.” Dani’s smile fell. She hated lying to her friend. But after all this time, if Vicker’s was going to be delivered to her front door, she had to take the opportunity to strike back. Janet meant well, but in the past, the police only got in her way.
“Oh,” Detective Owens said. “One last thing.”
“Yeah?”
“If you do see that creep, I hope you stick that little knife of yours into his heart this time. All the way to the hilt.”
Dani smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a much bigger knife this time.”
“Take care,” Janet said.
“You too.”
Click.
She placed her unfinished glass of wine on the counter and slipped the phone in her pocket.
Her first day of classes was set to begin tomorrow for what she hoped would be her last year of teaching.
She almost made it to early retirement without a hitch.
Now she had to cobble together a new plan, a plan she had hoped to never need to put in motion.
Dani returned to her office, flopped into her desk chair and pulled up the security footage from the last few days.
The envelope that the tape had come in wasn’t postmarked in any way, so she surmised that whoever delivered it must have done so in person.
She scrolled through hours of her doorbell camera footage, but only saw the usual neighbors walking their dogs, kids on bikes, and the occasional jogger.
It was nearly midnight when she finally crawled into bed, her eyes burning from too much screen time.
She relaxed a little when Aunt Lisa texted to report that she was on the road and was set to arrive at the cabin in Georgia well before dawn.
Dani had to be awake again in five hours to get ready for work, but she couldn’t sleep a wink.
Then again, sleep was always hard for her to find, and Matt Vickers was never too far from her thoughts.
Twenty-five years, gone. Sometimes she allowed herself to drift and dream about what life would look like if she hadn’t crossed paths with her stalker.
Would she still be living on the west coast, married to Tommy with a gaggle of kids?
Would her parents still be around, supporting her screenwriting efforts and showing up for her however they could?
Would she be a better version of herself and not a neurotic, lonely mess?
None of those questions mattered now—not her dreams and aspirations.
Not the “what ifs” about her stolen life.
All that mattered now was revenge. Dani laid in her bed with her laptop open, displaying her security cameras.
She watched dust motes and moths fly around the security lights and leaves whirl across the sidewalk.
A late night dog walker. Headlights rushing past her mailbox.
Her hackles raised as a stray cat slunk behind the bushes near her front door.
Every outside movement was scrutinized, every rustling leaf a potential home invader.
It was good that Dani would soon be leaving this place. Nowhere felt safe.
What was she willing to pay for her revenge?
What was she willing to sacrifice? As Dani sat in her bed that night, Dani realized that killing Vickers was the only thing that mattered anymore.
Her career, her house, her friends … it was all for nothing if it meant that she had to live like a caged, frightened animal for the rest of her life.
Dani kept her gaze locked on her surveillance cameras until her eyes grew heavy and the world melted away.