Chapter 2
Hands tight on the steering wheel, Jennie aimed her sedan toward home.
Her face flamed hot at the memory of her reaction during her shift.
She’d made a fool of herself in front of the handsome detective.
After Kenny had come close to ending her life, she’d escaped under the radar to her Aunt Emily’s in Pinewood Shores.
She’d settled in and loved the small-town life, but now she wanted to hide in a hole and never come out.
Please don’t ever make me cross paths with Detective Whitman again.
Streetlights glowed, creating shadows along the sidewalks. Jennie’s shoulders tensed as she maneuvered the car through town. She hated the dark. Evil hid in the corners, waiting to jump out, or so her mind told her. Especially tonight.
What had been a calm day had turned into a nightmare.
One that her brain refused to release. The recollection of her near-death experience at the hands of Kenny flashbacked in full color when Detective Whitman attempted to help her.
His hands on her triggered the memory of the worst day of her life.
When would her past quit haunting her?
She’d conceived her precocious ten-year-old daughter Zoey in her rush to find love.
The bad choices in Jennie’s life stacked higher than the tallest building in the city, but she’d never include Zoey in that list. Her heart belonged to that young girl.
Young and stupid, Jennie had walked away from her college friends and Aunt Emily for a future with Brad.
It hadn’t taken long for her to realize she’d married a drunk.
He’d loved her in his own sad way and had given her Zoey.
For that, she’d forever be grateful. But after his death, her decisions had gotten worse.
Jennie turned into her driveway and shut off the engine. The porch light illuminated the front door and chased away darkness on the path. She inhaled, staring at the short walk.
Her heart raced. She struggled to grab the truth. Kenny had four more years on his ten-year prison sentence and wasn’t outside watching—waiting to finish what he’d started.
Hand in her purse, she wrapped her fingers around her stun gun and sprinted inside. She slammed the door closed and flipped the three strong locks. A little overkill, but her Aunt Emily, who owned the cottage, hadn’t blinked when Jennie requested the extra security measure.
She rested her back against the wall and fought the tears flooding her eyes.
Her cheek throbbed where Detective Whitman had taken her to the ground to protect her from the crazed patient.
Then she’d tumbled into a flashback and embarrassed herself.
She hadn’t had a reaction like tonight’s in over a year and hated the regression to the dark places of her past.
Breathe deep. You can do it. She talked herself through the swarming panic and willed her pulse to slow.
Her trembling fingers hit speed dial. One ring. Two rings. A tear slipped down Jennie’s cheek. Three rings. Come on, Tina, pick up.
“Hello.”
“Tina.” Her voice quivered.
“Jennie, what’s wrong?”
“Tonight…Panicked…He thinks…freak.” Her inability to get the words out only made the sobs come harder.
“Slow down, honey. Okay. Let me get this straight. Something happened, and you panicked.”
“Uh-huh.” She sucked in a breath, trying to gain control.
“And someone thinks you’re a freak?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’ll have to give me more to go on than that, my friend.”
Jennie took a deep breath, then another. “Sorry.”
“Better?”
“A bit.” Just hearing Tina’s calm tone helped.
“Want to try that again?”
Jennie laughed. “I’m surprised you got as much as you did.” She sniffed then proceeded to explain what had happened in the emergency room.
“Oh, honey. I’m sure he doesn’t think that. And if he did, he’s not worth your energy.”
“It was humiliating. I have no idea what my coworkers think about me now. And the detective….” She covered her face with her hands.
“Next time you go to work, hold your head high. You’re an awesome nurse. Don’t forget that. And if that detective so much as says one negative thing about you, tell him he’ll face my wrath.”
Jennie smiled. “Thanks, Tina.” She wiped tears from her cheeks. Her chest loosened and she took her first full deep breath since she arrived home.
“Anytime, honey.”
“I miss you.”
“Ah, girl, I miss you too. Maybe someday soon, I’ll come visit.”
Except for her once-a-year visit, Tina had stayed away to guard Jennie’s location. She appreciated her protectiveness. But Jennie didn’t have many friends. “Promise?”
“You know it. Feel better?”
“Yes. Thanks for listening.”
“Any time, my friend.”
They said their goodbyes.
Jennie pushed to a stand. Once her legs quit wobbling, she moved to her bedroom. The phone call with Tina helped, but the deep-seated fear lingered in the quiet house.
After changing clothes, she crawled under the fluffy light green duvet that wrapped her in a false sense of security.
She felt like a child hiding under blankets from imaginary monsters.
But her monster had proven real and had almost cost her her life.
She glanced at her bedside lamp but couldn’t convince herself to turn it off.
Thankfully, Zoey had stayed the night with Aunt Emily and hadn’t witnessed Jennie’s panic attack. She’d never kept the truth from Zoey, and the young girl knew more than anyone her age ever should. She refused to allow her daughter to endure the same horrors again.
The thought of Kenny made Jennie’s nerves zing like live wires. She snatched her cell phone from the nightstand and clasped it to her chest like her life depended on it.
Because if Kenny got out of prison, the phone might be the only thing that saved her life.
**
Thursday 7:00 a.m.
David hobbled to the living room with the phone to his ear, listening to his mom chatter on about him getting hurt, and halted in front of the family pictures that lined the fireplace mantel.
He stepped closer and studied the photo of his parents and his sister.
He struggled to pull air into his lungs when his gaze landed on Brenda.
His fiancée had died three years ago from a gunshot wound.
The ache refused to dissipate. The woman he’d longed to spend the rest of his life with—gone.
“David?”
“Sorry, Mom. Got lost in thought looking at family pictures.”
“She loved you, you know.”
A lump occupied his throat. He nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “I know.”
“You could take it down if it’s too hard.”
He swallowed hard and traced the frame with his finger. “No. I don’t want to forget her.”
“I know it hurts, but she wouldn’t want you to go through life alone.”
He snorted. “Subtle, Mom.”
She laughed. “Would I love to see you married and give me grandkids? Yes. But more than anything, I want to see you happy.”
“Thanks.”
A horn honked outside.
“I better go before my partner wakes the neighborhood.”
“Go. But please be careful.”
“I will, Mom. Bye.” David tucked the phone into his pocket and closed the front door behind him.
Brandon waved from his department-issued vehicle. David inhaled the morning air as he hobbled to the passenger side and collapsed in the seat.
“How’d it go?”
“Better than I expected. Mom didn’t give me too much grief.”
His partner laughed and pulled away from the house for the short drive to the school.
Tall pines dotted the street outside Pinewood Shores Elementary. Deciduous trees intermixed with the evergreens had splotches of yellow and orange—a sign that fall was coming, even though the heat continued to linger.
He loved the small town. He hated the reason for the change in location, but aside from the loss of his fiancée, he’d made a good choice to make Pinewood Shores his new home.
He strode to the school entrance and held the door open for his partner. They checked in with the front office and chatted with the administrative assistant. He attached the visitor badge to his shirt and headed to room eight.
The main hallway brought back memories of his own elementary school. Some of his fondest recollections were from his second-grade class. His teacher that year made him feel special.
Boots clacking on the hard floors, he and Brandon continued down the hall.
His partner’s sister taught fifth grade and had requested their annual presentation on cell phone and internet safety. He’d come with Brandon to Meredith’s classroom several times since he’d transferred to Pinewood Shores three years ago.
Brandon pushed the classroom door open and waltzed in. A big grin graced his partner’s face when his gaze landed on his sister.
David sniffed and wrinkled his nose. The stench of sweat and body odor made his eyes water. Mental note to self, put Vapor Rub under your nose next time you visit a fifth-grade class. He gave Meredith a quick hug and faced the ten and eleven-year-old crowd.
After introductions, he and Brandon went into their speech about not trusting strangers on social media and only communicating with people they knew.
Glancing around the room at thirty faces, he spotted one young girl whose attention had never wavered. Most of the students either rolled their eyes or chose to stare off into space, but not the girl in a light green t-shirt with a rainbow-colored unicorn declaring, I believe in unicorns.
Good for her. Maybe the girl had listened, and his words hadn’t gone unheard.
He had to at least try to crack the nothing can happen to me shell of these kids. They’d seen too many young boys and girls caught up in the social media world talking to the wrong people and end up victims of the slime bags who lured them in.
“If anyone has any questions or would like a business card, please come see me on your way out.” David glanced at the clock. Right on time.
Merideth stepped forward. “Okay, kids, time for recess. Please be sure to thank Detectives Whitman and Pierce. See you in a little while.”