Authors: Rayven T. Hill
She chided herself for thinking about unimportant matters and turned back to the subject at hand.
Why was he here?
Had she been wrong about Jake? Was he planning to kill Overstone? And why wasn’t Annie with him?
But then, the cops had barely given Jake a look when he went inside, and she was confused about what it all meant.
She watched and waited, holding her camera steady. She planned to zoom in and get some shots of Jake as he left. If he was up to no good, chances were he’d be leaving in an almighty hurry. She had to be ready.
She leaned forward, focused, zoomed in, and waited.
Then the door opened, and he stepped into view and hurried down the steps. The camera clicked a dozen times before his back was to her. She took a few more shots as he climbed into the Mustang and sped away.
Lisa zoomed in on the cops outside the door. They were chatting and laughing. One was having a smoke. If something had happened inside, they would’ve known about it by now.
She turned her attention to the camera, worked her way through the images, and stopped at the picture she’d taken as Jake exited the building.
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open when she zoomed in on his face.
It wasn’t Jake.
Thursday, 8:18 p.m.
IT APPEARED JAKE wasn’t going to be home for breakfast in the morning. Annie had missed their family meals the last couple of days. Her thoughts had been consumed with her husband, and though he was foremost in her mind, she couldn’t neglect Matty.
While preparing their supper, she’d found she was running low on a lot of items. She’d been so busy trying to help solve Jake’s dilemma that she’d let things slip.
She decided to take a run to Mortino’s and stock up on some necessities. The store would be closing soon, and she wanted to get her shopping out of the way so she could concentrate on the task at hand bright and early the next morning.
She hustled Matty outside, then locked up the house and hurried to the Corolla. It was starting to get dark, the lowering sun displaying reds and oranges as it dropped behind the roof of the house.
Matty jumped into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt, then turned to his mother, a worried look on his face. “Mom, Dad’s in some kind of trouble, isn’t he?”
It wasn’t a question as much as a statement, and she knew he suspected there was more to Jake’s absence than the little she had explained to him.
Annie started the car and sat back, choosing her words with care before turning to face her son.
“Matty, there are certain people who think your father killed a man. We know he didn’t, but whoever did made it look like it was your father. He can’t come home right now. But soon.”
“Can’t Uncle Hank do something?”
Annie put her hand on her son’s shoulder. “He’s trying, Matty. We’re all trying. But Uncle Hank’s a police officer, and he has to do what the law tells him to.”
Matty frowned. “Is there anything I can do?”
Annie smiled. “As a matter of fact, all I need you to do is be strong until this is all over. That’ll help both of us.” Matty’s frown lessened and she spoke again. “We’re getting close to finding the real killer, and this’ll be over soon, and your father will be back.”
Matty nodded slowly. “I guess I can wait another day.”
Annie pulled from the driveway and onto the street. Her son had faith in his father. It wasn’t that she didn’t, but the situation was a lot more complicated than she’d expected.
She was worried she still hadn’t been able to reach Jake on the phone, and her concern that something might’ve happened to him was growing by the minute.
She glanced in her rearview mirror as she turned off Carver Street onto Main. A red Mustang seemed to be following rather closely.
She switched lanes, and it followed. If it was the police, the driver was being a lot more obvious about it this time, and she had an uneasy feeling it wasn’t a cop.
Annie touched the gas and the Toyota sped up. The Mustang lost ground, then she heard the rumble of its engine, and the vehicle was back on her tail. And this time it was closer.
Now she had no doubt the vehicle was following her. And if he was trying to frighten her, he was doing a good job of it. But Annie feared the driver might have more in mind than giving her a good scare.
She glanced at Matty. The boy was looking out the side window, oblivious to the potential threat, and she felt indignant someone would endanger a child’s life.
Traffic was clear to her left, so she wrenched the wheel hard and swerved into the lane. He followed, now right behind her again.
Three seconds later, she turned the wheel to the right, bounced across two lanes, and took an exit to the four-lane highway leading out of town.
Matty’s head spun toward her, alarm in his voice. “Why’re you driving like a maniac, Mom?”
He must’ve noticed her eyes glued to the rearview mirror. He turned toward the backseat, then shouted, “Watch out, Mom.”
She’d seen it, too. The Mustang had hit the brakes and spun fully around, and now it was gaining on her from behind. She had an open road ahead of her, but her Corolla could never outrun a Mustang. There was no point in even trying, but she couldn’t just come to a stop.
“Hang on, Matty!”
She pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The speedometer edged up as the Toyota sped ahead.
Thirty. Forty. Now fifty.
The car jolted. Her head whacked into the headrest. He’d rammed her from behind. Tires squealed and the vehicle went into a fishtail.
She hung on. Jake might drive fast and appear to be a crazy driver to the untrained, but he knew how to handle a vehicle in just about any situation. And he’d taught her some of the finer points of driving. She put that knowledge to use now and brought the vehicle under control.
“He’s way behind now, Mom.”
He had lost ground when he’d slammed into them, but he’d soon gain it again.
She kept her speed under forty, making another hit from behind easier to control. He couldn’t keep this up forever.
Annie strained to get a glimpse of the Mustang’s license plate. The car was too far behind now, too close before.
The attacking vehicle crept closer, then swung into the passing lane and slowed. Annie spun her head to the left as the vehicle pulled alongside.
The passenger-side window of the Mustang was open, and the driver had a pistol pointed directly at her.
The gun exploded. She slammed on the brakes, and the Mustang shot ahead. She whipped the steering wheel to the left, and tires squealed. The rear end spun around, and the vehicle faced back toward the way she’d come.
Annie poured on the gas and glanced in the rearview mirror. The driver of the Mustang had tried a similar high-speed U-turn and failed. The nose of his vehicle was tipped into the shallow ditch at the edge of the road.
He wasn’t down and out, and she had but a few precious seconds before he could spin back onto the highway and overtake her again.
“He’s coming, Mom.”
It was less than a quarter mile back to Main Street, and Annie pushed her new car to the limit. As she approached Main, she slowed to allow a lazy car to drift through the intersection, then spun in behind it. She touched the gas and surged ahead, passed the vehicle, then narrowly missed another one as she took a quick left onto a side street.
She’d made it.
The Toyota cruised down the street, and Annie kept an eye in her rearview mirror. She’d lost the Mustang.
“You did it, Mom. Nice driving.”
Annie circled the block, ending back on Main. The Mustang was nowhere in sight. She pulled into a strip plaza and sat back, closing her eyes.
“Mom, you should call Uncle Hank.”
Annie looked at Matty and nodded. “Give me a second to catch my breath.”
She took a few deep breaths to calm her jangling nerves and thumping heart, then pulled out her cell phone and dialed Hank’s number. When he answered, she filled him in as quickly as possible on what’d taken place. “I’m not sure what year the Mustang was,” she said. “Fairly recent, and I never had a chance to see the license plate.”
“I’ll put out a BOLO immediately,” Hank said. “It’s bound to have some front end damage. A scratch or two at least. How’s your vehicle?”
“I haven’t taken a look yet, but there must be some damage.”
“You’re safe, and that’s the main thing,” Hank said. “Did you see the driver’s face?”
Annie hesitated. “He looked a little like Jake. You know—clean cut. Much the same features. And he was wearing a suit and tie.”
“You’d better go home. I’ll send a car around to watch the house overnight. You’ll be safe, and they’ll stay there as long as is necessary.”
“Hank, I’m betting this is all connected to the Overstone affair. I have no doubt.”
“Then let me get on it. As soon as we bring him in, we’ll find out what it’s all about.”
Annie hung up the phone and looked at Matty. Her son had unfastened his seat belt, and he was turned around in the seat, keeping an eye through the back window.
“I guess he’s gone, Mom. But Uncle Hank’ll get him.”
She hoped Matty was right, and though she hadn’t mentioned it to Hank, there was no doubt in her mind the driver of the Mustang was the guy Jake was looking for.
It had to be Ace.
And if it was, the maniac had already proved himself to be a murderer, and Annie feared the killer wouldn’t let up until he finished the job.
Thursday, 8:39 p.m.
ANNIE KEPT A CLOSE watch around her as she pulled down Carver Street and into the driveway of her home. The Mustang hadn’t returned.
She hurried Matty into the house. If the man she was sure was Ace was lurking nearby, she feared he wouldn’t be deterred by the presence of a child. His actions had already proven that.
Going into the kitchen, she sat at the table and called Jake’s number. She was caught off guard when he answered.
“I was worried when I couldn’t get ahold of you,” she said. “I was imagining the worst had happened.”
“I was about to call you. I didn’t realize the battery was dead at first,” he explained. “And when I did, I had to find a safe place to charge it up. I ended up at a little coffee shop where they have a recharging service for customers.”
“I got a call from Detective Benson,” Annie said.
“I had a talk with him and O’Day, as well. I hope he had something for you.”
“He told me Ace hangs around a place called Backstreet Billiards. It’s not far from the bank that was robbed.”
“That’s uptown,” Jake said. “I’m not even close to there.”
“Can you take a cab? The public still isn’t aware the police are looking for you.”
“Should be able to. But I have no way of knowing where Ace might be. He was down here this afternoon. I met him briefly, but I wasn’t able to grab him.”
For a moment, she considered not telling him about her run-in with Ace. He had enough to worry about. But if Ace was up here, and Jake was downtown, he might be wasting his time.
“Jake, does Ace look somewhat like you?”
“He’s about as tall as me,” Jake said. “Not quite as muscular, but close. I didn’t see his face, but I doubt he had my charming good looks.”
Annie hesitated. “I think we met him.”
“We?”
Annie explained, purposely minimizing the extent of the danger they’d been in. “We’re fine,” she said. “But Hank’s sending a car to watch the house.”
“What kind of vehicle was he driving?”
“A red Mustang.”
“A red Mustang?” Jake said. “There was a red Mustang parked in the lane where I had a run-in with Ace. He must’ve returned for it later. I should’ve known, but the thing looked like it’d been abandoned.”
“You had no way of knowing it was his,” Annie said. “But now you do.”
“Any idea what year it was?”
“No. But it wasn’t very old. Maybe ten years.”
“Close enough. I’m gonna find out where Backstreet Billiards is and get up there this evening.”
“Keep an eye on your battery,” Annie said.
“I will.”
“And be careful.”
“Always,” Jake said. “Let me speak to Matty.”
Annie called Matty into the room and handed him the phone. The boy’s face lit up when she told him who was on the other end.
She watched her son as he laughed and joked around with his father. Jake was doing a good job of putting his boy at ease.
“Dad said he’ll be home soon,” Matty said, hanging up and handing her the phone. He ran into the living room, a cheerful look on his face.
When the doorbell rang a few minutes later, Annie went to the door and peered through the viewer. She frowned. It was Lisa Krunk. The newswoman was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.
Annie sighed and opened the door. Lisa had an urgent look on her face and a manila envelope in one hand.
“I need to speak to you. Can I come in?”
Annie opened the door, and Lisa stepped into the foyer, handing Annie the envelope. “I think you’ll be very interested in this.”
Taking the envelope, Annie opened it and slipped out a pair of five-by-seven photos, both the same. She caught her breath. “Where’d you get these?”
“At the funeral home. He came to Merrilla Overstone’s wake.”
Annie looked closer at the picture. It was the same man who’d tried to run them off the road, and he was wearing the same suit. It was Ace, but what’d he been doing at the wake?
“I thought it was Jake at first,” Lisa said. “Until I got a close-up view. That’s when I put two and two together. This might be the man you’re looking for. From a distance, anyone might think it was Jake.”
“I think that’s exactly what happened, Lisa. Witnesses who were familiar with Jake IDed him because the real killer looks like him.”
Lisa shrugged. “It almost had me fooled.” Her face took on a smug look. “But of course, I knew better.”
“Was he driving a red Mustang?” Annie asked.