Deadly Obsession (12 page)

Suddenly Nick grabbed her around the throat and began to violently choke her; she couldn’t break free from his grip. Just when she thought she would die, he dropped her to the floor; she lay there desperately gasping for air. Nick was now standing over Dexter and as he raised his hands in the air, Carmen could see the knife.

“Wake up Dexter! Nick is going to kill you! For God sakes, please wake up!” she screamed with horror.

Nick forcefully jabbed the knife into Dexter’s chest. He made no movement, he was dead. He now turned back to her, knife drawn, it was her turn. This was it; she’d spent her last moments. In the midst of all the chaos, Dave was now standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing Nick? What did you do to Dexter? Where’s my grandson?” Dave wanted to know.

Nick’s full attention was turned to Dave. He moved towards him as he pulled a gun from his pocket. Raising it in the air, he pulled the trigger. Dave hit the floor, his painful moaning was confirmation that he’d been shot. As Carmen looked on in horror, there was no way to defend her life against the monster. Dexter and Dave were killed as she was forced to helplessly witness the unspeakable acts against them. The loud sound from the gun had woken Eva and she appeared in the doorway now.

“Oh my God, you monster, what have you done? You killed them, how could you?” Eva screamed as she lunged towards him.

There was a loud thump as Eva’s body hit the floor; Nick had slit her throat. There was no one left alive but Carmen. Suddenly she could hear loud sirens as they approached. The neighbors must have heard the commotion and called the cops. Nick jumped out the window and ran into the darkness. Everyone who meant anything to her was dead. She knew it wasn’t over, he’d come back for her.

The police were busting through the front door. The lights came on; the horror which surrounded her was more than Carmen could bear. Dexter was lying in a puddle of his own blood; a hole in his chest. Dave was sitting straight up on the floor, next to the doorway with his eyes still open; the left side of his head gone. Poor Eva lying face up on the floor; her throat slit from ear to ear. Everyone was dead. Officer Smith appeared with a baby in his arms.

“I’m sorry Carmen, I found him lying on the front lawn, he’s dead.” He told her.

“No! No! My baby, he killed them all, oh my God, everyone’s gone!” Carmen screamed hysterically.

“Carmen, wake up, you’re dreaming; it’s just a bad dream, wake up.” Dexter said as he shook her awake.

She rose straight up in bed, drenched with sweat, shaking all over. She realized it was a nightmare.

“It seemed so real. It was horrible, he killed you all, even Zachary. I was the only survivor but knew he was coming back for me. Hold me, please.”

“It was just a nightmare, everything’s

okay and I’m here.” Dexter consoled.

Chapter Thirteen

The bright light shining through the window woke Carmen. The first thing she thought of was the dream she’d had last night; could it have been an omen of some sort? Could Nick be planning to kill her entire family; was Zachary still alive? She began to cry.

“What’s wrong Carmen, are you okay?” Dexter asked.

“No, I’m not okay, he has our son, I want him home with me right now.”

“We’re going to find him, I promise you. I won’t stop until he’s safely tucked away in his crib.”

In California, Beth and Jackson Dasher had no idea what their son was up to. They hadn’t talked with him in months and hadn’t seen him in years.

“Wow, what are you doing here, come to steal something else?” Jackson asked.

“Can I come in dad; I won’t take

anything, meet my son, your grandson. This is Nick, Jr., his mom ran out on us. I don’t know where she is and I need help with the baby.”

“Let me see him.” Beth said.

Zachary was screaming to the top of his lungs.

“When’s the last time you changed this little guy and when did he last eat?”

“It’s been a while, can you take care of him mom; I don’t know what to do for him.”

Beth changed his diaper and fixed him a bottle, he went right to sleep.

“Mom, can I leave him here while I go to the super market to pick up milk and diapers?”

“Don’t be long; I’m due in to work.” Beth told him.

Nick left without intentions of ever returning. Zachary was only slowing him down and his crying was nerve-racking. He would be safe with Beth. Several hours passed without word from Nick. It didn’t take long to realize what had happened; Nick had abandoned his son. Beth couldn’t raise this child as she wasn’t financially able not to mention her lack of desire for wanting to be tied down to a baby, even if it was her grandchild.

“What do we do, you know Nick isn’t coming back. He expects us to raise him and I won’t do it.”

“If he hasn’t come to pick him up by the ending of this week, I’m calling child services. I feel sorry for the little guy but there’s nothing else we can do.”

As the Haines’s sat down for breakfast, the phone rang.

“We have an address for the Dasher’s, Sacramento, just as Janice said. I’ve notified authorities there, they’re going to check out the location for me. With any luck, Nick’s parents have heard from him and we’ll be able to get Zachary back.

Dexter turned to Carmen.

“Police found the Dashers. They’re headed out to their residence now. Maybe they’ll find Nick there.”

“I hope so; I’m ready for my baby to come home.”

Sacramento Police had a warrant in hand for the purpose of searching the Dashers’ residence.

“Police, open up!”

Jackson immediately opened the door uncertain of their purpose.

“What’s going on here, what do you want?”

“We’re looking for Nick, is he here?”

“No he’s not, he came by yesterday long enough to leave his son and we haven’t heard from him since. Why what did he do this time?”

“He’s wanted in connection to a murder and two kidnappings; Zachary Crane, who’s about the same size as your little guy. Are you sure he belongs to Nick?”

“I’m not sure of anything; I only know what Nick told me.”

The officer pulled out a picture, and the baby he was looking at now, much resembled the baby in the picture. This wasn’t Nick’s baby; this was Zachary Crane.

“Here take him; I was going to call child protective services at the end of the week anyway. Heck, this way just saves me a ton of trouble; thanks.”

The Dasher’s assured the authorities that they would notify them immediately if Nick came back. Meanwhile they had a little boy to reunite with his family.

“Dexter, we found Zachary, Nick abandoned him with his parents. They were under the impression that he was Nick’s son. Child services are transporting him here as we speak. He should be arriving soon.” Officer Smith informed.

“What about Nick, did you get him?”

“Not yet, he wasn’t there but I assure

you it’s only a matter of time; we’ll get him.”

“In the meantime, what do you expect us to do? My family isn’t safe with him out there roaming around freely. He needs to pay for what he’s done.”

“I understand your feelings, Dexter, we’ll find him.”

“How can you understand my feelings sir, when you’ve never gone through anything like this before? Don’t you dare say you know how I feel! If Nick Dasher sets foot back around me or my family, I swear I’ll kill him. Do you understand what I’m saying? I’ll kill him.”

Dexter was extremely frustrated and angry. Nick had put his family through hell and was somewhere living it up as if he’d done nothing wrong. He had never experienced such hostility and rage. There was no controlling it, he wanted Nick to die. He wouldn’t live the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.

“They’re here, Zachary’s here!” Carmen shouted as she ran to open the door.

As soon as she saw him, she began to cry. She took him from the woman holding him and pulled him to her chest in a tight embrace. She was relieved to see with her own eyes that he was really okay. He was back in her arms where he belonged. Dexter looked at him in amazement. He was absolutely beautiful.

“Can I hold him, please?”

He held Zachary, cherishing the moment as he was meeting him for the first time and it felt great.

“Hi there little guy, I’m your daddy. You’re safe now; no one will ever take you again. I love you.” He told him with tear-filled eyes.

The warm moment melted Carmen’s heart. She put her arms around both of them. Her family was finally complete.

Chapter Fourteen

Weeks had gone by since Zachary was reunited with his family. The police still hadn’t gained any new leads concerning Nick Dasher’s whereabouts. He was lying low in order to avoid prison time.

Carmen and Dexter were working hard to put their lives back together. Carmen’s nightmares were relentless, often waking her in the middle of the night, by the sound of her own screaming, so terrified and her clothes drenched with sweat. Dexter continued to search the shadows for some sign of Nick. He wouldn’t be taken by surprise, not again. As long as he was free, the couple’s sense of security was absent; non-existent. They no longer lived with Carmen’s parents as they had rented an apartment of their own in Cedartown. Dexter had finally returned to work, earning a living for his family. They decided that Carmen would be a stay-at-home mom, until Zachary was at least a year old.

“Don’t you think it’s about time we tied the knot?” Dexter asked.

“Are you sure?” Carmen replied.

“I think it’s time to put this whole thing behind us, what do you say?”

“I say, I think you’re right, let’s do it.”

“Let’s reset the date and reserve the church make it as soon as possible.”

“I’ll talk to Reverend Harrell today.” She agreed.

Dexter hugged Carmen and kissed her goodbye. He then kissed Zachary on the forehead.

“I’ll see you after work, have a good day; I love you guys.” He said as he went out the door.

Carmen was ecstatic; the day she had been waiting for, for most of her life was finally going to happen. This time nothing could stop them, she would soon be Mrs. Dexter Crane. She wasted no time in calling the Reverend. It was set, she and Dexter would be married on Saturday; she couldn’t wait. Carmen had to share her excitement.

“Guess what mom?”

“What is it dear, is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, in fact everything is perfect. Dexter and I have the church reserved for this Saturday. We’re finally going to be married.”

“That’s wonderful Carmen, I’m happy for you.”

She filled her in on all the details. There would be a candle lighting ceremony, releasing of doves, and beautiful decorations. Nothing could take away this moment of happiness Carmen felt; nothing but the sight of Nick’s car parked outside her house causing her to stop dead in her tracks. He was sitting inside. Carmen grabbed Zachary and her phone and ran to the bedroom.

“Please help me, Nick Dasher is parked outside my house, he’s going to kill me. There’s no one here but me and my son, please hurry.”

She ran to lock the door and hid inside

the closet. This couldn’t be happening, not again. Suddenly there was a jolting of the knob, he was inside her house, and she was petrified. The gun was in the bedside table out of her reach.

“Come out Carmen, I know you’re here. You know why I’m here, let’s get this over with.”

The knob on the closet door was slowly turning; Carmen braced herself for the worst. This was her nightmare, Nick was here to kill her and Zachary and she was defenseless to stop him. The sound of sirens loudly blaring outside scared him away. Carmen could hear his panicked footsteps as they scurried across the floor, trying desperately to elude the authorities. She was too scared to move, decided to wait for the police to come and get her.

“Police, are you here?”

Carmen anxiously slammed open the closet door in search of safety; she ran into the policeman’s arms.

“What happened, ma’am?”

“Nick Dasher was here, he was going to kill me and my son. The sound of sirens scared him away. If you’ll call Officer Smith, he can explain everything.”

Moments later Officer Smith was arriving on the scene.

“Carmen, are you okay? Where’s Dexter, has anyone called him? He needs to be aware that Nick’s back in town. He could be in danger.”

Officer Smith immediately called Dexter’s cell phone but oddly enough there was no answer. He called his place of work.

“This is Officer Smith, I need to speak with Dexter Crane, please, it’s an emergency.”

I’ll see if I can get him to the phone for you. He returned moments later.