8. 8
8
B onnie finished her shift at the hotel later that afternoon and went out to her car. She sat for a moment and debated whether or not to go home or take care of a couple of errands before going back to her apartment. At least with an apartment there were other people around, even if they were in their own homes. Having other people around and the fact her apartment building had cameras, made her feel better than if she lived in a house all by itself on a lot.
With a sigh, she started the engine and backed out of her space. None of her errands were important, or if she admitted it to herself, were more than just killing time. She’d be better off going home and sketching out her latest ideas for the mural rather than spending money she didn’t need to spend.
She couldn’t help but think about Corey’s words that Phillip might be tracking her through her phone. She couldn’t dismiss it as impossible, in fact, the more she thought about it, the more certain she was that he was doing exactly that, but how would she go about stopping it? There had to be a way, but she didn’t know how, or even where to start. She’d already taken it in to the phone store, but they’d looked at it and said they didn’t see anything. They’d also told her that there were programs out there disguised as others, but they didn’t know what they were or how to find them. That would take some kind of tech specialist. The nearest one they knew of was in Denver. She didn’t have time, nor the money for a trip like that, nor the money to pay the specialist. Instead, she pushed the thought out of her mind or it would make her crazy with worry and went home.
Bonnie made it home and into her apartment without an issue. She turned the locks and told herself he wouldn’t be there, so she didn’t have to think about what to do if he came before toeing out of her shoes and curling her toes into the carpeting.
She couldn’t help letting her head fall back and reaching overhead to stretch as she flexed her feet into the rug, letting some of the stress and tension of the day ease from her muscles. A hot soak would do wonders but she didn’t want to take the time, not right now. Instead, she stripped out of her work clothes including her bra and put on the oversize sweatshirt and leggings she often wore when lounging around the house, picked up her sketch pad and went to the miniscule balcony off her bedroom.
There wasn’t much space out there, enough room for a chair and a small table but that was all she needed, and the fresh air and sunset view did wonders for her creativity. She folded herself into the chair and stared for a moment at the blank sheet of paper, trying to decide where to start, then put pencil to paper and did her thing.
The first thing she focused on was the landmarks. It was a long wall, nearly fifty feet long, so she would have quite a bit of space and could put more than one Wyoming location along the background. If she did it right, she could probably get several. It wasn’t like the scene would ever be compared to real life or used to give anyone directions. She could put the Devil’s Tower on one side of the room, then maybe a waterfall or even better a geyser on the other side, as if you could see Yellowstone from anywhere you could see the Tower. She felt one corner of her mouth quirk up at the thought, but continued to sketch out the skyline, maybe in the middle, way off in the distance, she could get a mountain skyline like you could see the Tetons.
Bonnie sketched until she had to stop because the light had faded enough that she couldn’t see to keep drawing any longer, then stood, stretching the ache from her muscles before picking up her cup and heading inside. A glance at the clock as she closed the sliding glass door and latched it told her she’d been out there a couple hours.
She set her sketchbook beside the bed, maybe she’d pick it back up, but for now she needed to think about dinner. She rolled her shoulders and headed for the kitchen. After pulling a dish of leftovers from the fridge and putting it into the microwave to heat, she picked up her phone, intending to scan her social media while she ate. But instead, she found she’d missed several calls, all from Phillip. Her stomach flipped and she wondered why she hadn’t heard it. No, she knew, she’d been so absorbed in her drawing she’d barely been aware of anything happening around her. There probably could have been a bomb go off beside her and she only would have noticed if it had thrown debris across her page.
She checked her notifications and found that though he’d called more than a dozen times, he’d only left one message. It looked like it might have been the last time he’d called. She stared at the screen for a moment as she wondered what she should do. It would do no good to call the police. Calling someone, even repeatedly wasn’t illegal. Hell, if it was, every teenager in the country would have a criminal record.
No, calling the police was out, but what about the message, she didn’t want to even listen to it. But should she?
What if she ignored it and later found that it contained something she should have heard? She wished she knew someone in Gillette she trusted enough to have listen to it for her. Someone who would tell her if it was something she should worry about or just more of Phillip’s bullshit.
An image of Corey’s face flashed in her mind, but she quickly dismissed calling him. Sure, he’d been nice and had rescued her. And he’d told her to call him if she needed anything, but she didn’t want him to think she was needy or a child. Why? She didn’t want to look at that right now, at least not too closely.
Besides, he’d told her he was more than thirty minutes away, and while this wasn’t an emergency, she didn’t know how to send a voicemail message to someone else, so he’d have to come into town to listen to it. Or she could go to him. Still no. That was too much.
Or was it? She glanced at the window that told her it was completely dark now. No, for it to be that dark, it was later than she’d realized. This time of year, that dark meant after nine, and while that wasn’t too late, it would be even later before she could make it to the ranch, not to mention back to her apartment.
She shook her head and deleted the message without listening to it before she could think about it too much, then shoved her phone into her pocket and grabbed her food from the microwave and took it to the bar to eat.
She really should have eaten earlier, and had planned to but then, she hadn’t planned to get so absorbed in her sketch either. Not that she minded, she loved her art to the point that it didn’t feel like work, which was why she spent so much of her time off working on it. Which, now that she thought about it, was also likely why she had so few close friends, at least here in Gillette.
She could call Anna, but she was even farther away from her than Corey and she didn’t want to worry her best friend. Not when all she could do from two hours away was worry. And because it was so late, Anna had to work the next morning and since she still lived on the ranch she’d grown up on, that meant early mornings.
Bonnie pushed thoughts of both Anna and Corey from her mind as she took the last bite and stood. She dealt with the dishes from her dinner and headed into the bedroom. If she planned to get up on time for her own workday, she needed to get some sleep.
B onnie struggled to get up the next morning, not because she’d been unable to sleep, but because as she’d been getting ready for bed an idea for the mural had come to her and she’d taken the time to sketch it out. It had been rough, just enough so she wouldn’t lose the concept, but it had taken longer than she’d planned and had been well after midnight before she’d finally turned out the light.
Now, she forced herself to get up and moving, despite her screaming body and a brain that felt like someone had poured cold tar into the gears she imagined in her head that kept everything moving.
The first cup of coffee helped. It seemed to warm the tar, though her thoughts were still slow, and she felt like she had to force herself to do each step of her morning routine, from dressing, doing her hair and make-up to getting her shoes on and heading for the door. On second thought, a second cup of coffee was in order. She turned around before opening her door and fixed another cup, making sure she had her keys and a spare sketch pad in her bag for during her lunch hour while she waited for the coffee to brew.
When it was ready, she went out to the car, hurrying because she felt like the delay for coffee had made her late, despite knowing she had plenty of time. She always did. It was her habit to arrive at least ten minutes early, and even with the delay for coffee she still would be.
She hurried down the stairs, thinking about her day, it was the middle of the week, it shouldn’t be too busy, at least she didn’t think they had any big groups coming in and couldn’t think of anything that would be a big deal at work today.
When she reached her parking space she stopped in her tracks. Her car sat where she’d left it, but not in the same condition. Now the windshield was shattered, and it looked like someone had used some kind of tool to etch words into the paint.
She stood frozen and staring for a moment as her mind stuttered then seemed to kick into high gear. What did she need to do?
A quick glance around told her there didn’t appear to be anyone around. That was a relief. Or was it?
The first thing she needed to do was report this. With shaking fingers, she pulled her phone out and dialed 911.
After reporting the incident and assuring the dispatcher she would be okay until someone showed up, she hung up from them and dialed her boss, letting him know what had happened and that she didn’t know what was going to happen next or if she would be able to make it in today. Bonnie was grateful for her wonderful boss, not for the first time, as he told her not to worry about work today, take the day and take care of what she needed to. Let him know about tomorrow.
When she got off the phone with her boss, the police hadn’t yet shown up, she took a shaky breath and tried to decide what to do next.
Corey. He’d said call the cops then call him. She didn’t know what he could do, but she’d do that. She dialed the number he’d programmed into her phone a couple nights before and listened while it rang.
“This is Malice,” a voice said in answer.
“I’m sorry. I’m looking for Corey. I must have the wrong number.” She was ready to hang up when the voice spoke again.
“Bonnie? Wait, is that you? What’s wrong?”
“Corey, is it you?”
“It’s me. What’s wrong?”
“I think Phillip knows where I live.”
“Are you safe? Is he there?”
“I’m safe. I’m standing outside my apartment building staring at my car. Someone smashed the windshield and scratched things like whore and slut into the paint.”
“Sonofabitch. Are you sure you’re safe? Did you call the police?” There was movement on the other end of the line, but she couldn’t tell what was going on.
“I’m standing in plain sight. And yes, I called the police. I’m waiting for them to show up.”
“You were in plain sight when he tried to grab you off the street the other day. That’s not a deterrent to him, it would be to some. Can you get inside while you wait? Did you touch anything?”
She glanced around again, there were a few people around, but only people she recognized as her neighbors. She could step inside, but then she wouldn’t be able to see when the police arrived, and she told him that. “But I didn’t touch anything. I stopped several feet away, as soon as I saw it. It took me a moment, but I called the police right away.”
“Can you stay on the phone with me? At least until the police show up?”
“I can.”
“Good. Give me just a second.”
“Okay,” she said.
There was still sound on his end of the line, but it was muted, as if he’d put his thumb over the microphone. Only a few seconds passed before the sound changed back and he spoke.
“All right. I’m back. Give me your address. I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.”
She gave him her address and wondered what good his coming would do, but she didn’t ask. The idea that soon she wouldn’t be alone made her feel better. At least a little.
“Look around, tell me what you see, other than your car that is.”
Bonnie frowned and scanned the parking area again. “It’s just the parking lot. There have been a couple of my neighbors headed to their cars, but that’s all. Other than my car, it all looks normal.”
“What’s behind you?”
“My apartment building,” she said without looking or turning around.
“Did you turn to look at it?” he asked. A vehicle door closed in the background then an engine started.
“No.”
“Do it, please.” The sound changed and she knew the sound had switched to the vehicle’s speakers. Since he’d said he worked and lived on a ranch she assumed it was a pickup.
Bonnie rolled her eyes, not seeing why she would need to turn around and look at the building she’d lived in for the last three years but did it anyway.
“Okay, I’m looking at the building. What am I looking for.”
“Not for anything in particular but tell me what you see.”
She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush as she let her eyes play over the surface, trying to find anything to tell him about.
“Four floors of windows, the front door, the keypad to get in the door, the security camera, the bank of mailboxes, a couple of the windows have blinds, the rest are covered with curtains.”
“Okay, good. Turn around again and see if there’s anyone new around you, anyone you’re not used to seeing.”
She shook her head but did as he said.
“Nope, nothing new. There are a couple fewer cars, the ones people got into and left but that’s all.”
“That’s okay. I just wanted to distract you. Do you feel a little calmer, maybe a little more with it?”
Bonnie frowned and took a sip of the coffee from the mug still in her hand. Maybe the first since she’d stepped outside.
“I do but I’m not sure why.”
“That’s good. I’ve almost reached the highway. I’m sure the police will be there before I can get there. I’ll let you go when they get there, so you can talk to them.”
“Good.” A large black SUV with the word POLICE stenciled in gray turned into the parking lot. “They’re here. They just pulled in.”
“Good. Once they start talking to you, I’ll let you go. What’s your apartment number, in case you’re up there by the time I get there?”
She gave him the number and watched as the cruiser pulled in and stopped behind her car before a large officer in a black uniform stepped down and approached her.
“Are you Miss Iverson?” he asked.
“I am.” Bonnie nodded. “They’re here. I’ll let you go. Drive safe and I’ll see you soon.”
“Take care. And tell him about the security camera you told me about. I’ll be there soon.”
The line went dead, and she stood a moment, staring at the blank phone screen.
“Is this your car?” The officer’s words broke into her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and braced herself for this.