The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (46 page)

“Damn. I wish we thought of that one on Thursday,” Marcus remarks.

We pull up to Evan’s house and I’m immediately disappointed.  I had hoped to find his car sitting here in the driveway.  Not wishing to waste any more time, I quickly punch in the code to unlock the door.  As I’m entering the number, it becomes clear to me that anyone who knows Evan well enough to know his birthday might be able to gain access to the house. 

As we enter, I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Something inside me is telling me to be cautious.

Evan’s laptop is in the bedroom.  Marcus follows me as I lead him through the house to the master suite.  As soon as I step in the doorway, I stop short.  The shock of the sight before me is frightening.  The bed we share has been slashed.  The pillows are ripped to pieces and tossed on the floor.  There is a long gash across the top of the bed, through the blanket and sheets, destroying the top layer of the mattress.  A butcher knife is lying in the middle of the shredded linens. 

The few clothing items I brought to Evan’s are strewn all around the room, cut to pieces.  It appears that Averee was in some sort of frenzy.  Some of my clothes are torn, others are sliced, and they are tossed about haphazardly throughout the room.  Some pieces landed on lampshades, on the dresser, but mostly all across the floor.  One of my panties is left hanging on the closet doorknob.

Marcus hears me gasp, grabs me by the shoulders, and practically tosses me to the side.  He takes one look inside the bedroom and closes the door shut.  “Jette, stay close to me.  We need to check the other rooms and make sure no one’s still here before we go any further.”

I step lightly into the main room and sweep the area visually.  Sure enough, on the floor in the kitchen I can see shattered glass and water spilled everywhere.  As Marcus and I step further into the kitchen, we can see that it’s not simply glass that shattered, but a beautiful flower vase and dozens of dahlias in vibrant radiant colors. 

Tonight was to be my first night here under our new living arrangements.  I love that he thought about marking it with a gift of flowers.  Evan has a knack for making me feel special and appreciated.  I wish I had seen them as a bouquet.

“Jette, come here.  Check this out!”  Marcus calls for me to join him by the sink.  There is a piece of paper sitting in the bottom of the sink, burned to a crisp.  Beside it is a lone matchstick, which was used to set it aflame.

“I guess that was my love note from Evan,” I sigh.

Marcus continues to sweep the house, searching in every closet, cabinet, and pantry.  He even gets down on the floor and checks under the bed in the spare bedroom.

I bring Marcus upstairs to Evan’s workout room.  We can tell rather quickly that there’s no one up here.  The room is simply four walls with windows and tons of equipment scattered throughout the room.

Confident that we’re alone in the house, Marcus refocuses our attention.  “Let’s get back to your room and grab that laptop.”

We go back to the master suite.  I’m relieved to see Evan’s laptop is untouched exactly where I expected it to be, sitting on his dresser, charging. I unplug it and hand it to Marcus.  “Just click on the
Find my iPhone
icon on the dock.  It looks like a green radar screen.”  I want to see if my red dress is still hanging in the closet.

I open the door slowly, unsure what awaits me inside, and sure enough, my dress bag from Saks is empty.  Making matters worse, hanging neatly on a hanger beside the dress bag is a change of clothes,
her
clothes.  This must be what she was wearing before she slipped into my dress.  All my clothes have been tossed from the closet, and now the only article of clothing remaining beside Evan’s are hers.  Does she think she’s replacing me?

I take a peek in the master bath, and there’s more evidence left behind.  An empty box of brown hair dye is lying in the trash.  My flat iron is still out on the counter.  She must have been here for a while.  I feel nauseous, like I’m going to throw up.

“Jette, what’s the address at your place?”  Marcus calls to me.  I’m sure he’s asking about the house I shared with Auggie until a few hours ago.

“Comanche Avenue.  Why?”

“Evan’s phone is there, at your house,” he tells me.

I’m relieved that he’s so close by, but I can’t imagine why, of all places, he’d take her there.  I need to check on Auggie.  I pray to God he’s not caught in the middle of this.

Quickly, I dial Auggie’s phone number.  It rings and rings, but he doesn’t answer.  My mind immediately makes a checklist of possible reasons why he didn’t answer his phone, and the list is rather long.  There’s no reason to panic, yet. 

Just then, the front door bursts open and Adam comes rushing through the house and into the bedroom, frantic.  He takes one look at the mess and he knows.  “She was here, wasn’t she?  Did she do this?”

Marcus and I nod our heads.  “Shit!  I tried to warn him.”

Adam turns around and walks out of the bedroom, heading straight to the kitchen where he inspects the mess left behind there.  “Did she do this, too?”

“She did,” I confirm.  “Adam, you can explain all of this to me later.  We found Evan.  He’s at my house.  If we leave now, we’ll be there in five minutes,” I plea.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.  Look at what she’s done, Jette.  She’s gotten violent.  Up until now, she’s been an annoyance and a source of torment, but never dangerous.  This is different.  Something’s changed.  Something pushed her over the edge.”  Adam is now pacing around the room, trying to put all the clues together and solve the puzzle.

Marcus bends down to start picking up the broken glass and flowers. 

“Stop!” Adam shouts, stopping Marcus dead in his tracks.  “That’s evidence.  We need to call the police now.”

Adam pulls out his cell phone, calls 9-1-1, and reports a home invasion.  He tells us the police will be here right away.  There are lots of police patrolling the boardwalk area in their cruisers, and one will be dispatched to Evan’s house.

I walk mindlessly around the house with Evan’s MacBook Air in my hands.  If that dot moves, I want to know immediately.  It’s taking all my willpower not to force one of the boys to take me to him.  But if she’s dangerous and deranged, my appearance might only escalate things, putting Evan in greater danger.

As we wait for the police to arrive, I try to think back to each incident that I now know Averee was responsible for.  First of all, there was the car chase. I never saw the driver, so it certainly could have been her.  And that means I led her right to Evan’s house that night.

Then there was the note and flower on my car.  I assumed the note was written by a man, but really, who knows?  I have no idea what her handwriting looks like.

The things that stump me are my home invasion, e-mail hacking, and Craigslist ad.  How did she pull those off?

I find Adam to ask him if he has any insight while he and Marcus are raiding Evan’s liquor cabinet.  We could all use a good stiff drink to calm our nerves right now.  Marcus pours me a shot and I toss it back.  I don’t even know what I’m drinking.  The burning sensation as it slides down my throat is strangely soothing.

“Hey, Adam, do you really think it’s possible that Averee is responsible for everything?  Including the e-mail and Craigslist stuff?”

“Yes, I do.  I’ve been working on that, Jette.  Frankly, you set yourself up a little bit.  I checked your Facebook page, and you have your personal cell phone number and your e-mail listed as a part of your personal information.  The day you moved back home to Jersey, you ‘checked in’ on Facebook, giving everyone your new home address.  With that kind of personal information and enough cash, there are all kinds of computer nerds willing to take Averee’s money and do whatever she wants.”

Holy crap, he’s right.  I hardly ever go on Facebook anymore.  I didn’t even realize I was making it so easy for someone to find me.

“But how did she know about me?  This all started way before you made that public announcement and our trip to the city.”

Adam explains.  “I’m pretty sure it started the same day you and Evan first had your picture taken by the paparazzi.  You know, that over-the-shoulder beach carry picture?  Word was already spreading that Evan was seeing someone, the picture just confirmed the rumor.  Averee’s been keeping very close tabs on Evan for months now.”

It’s a very disconcerting feeling to know that you can be watched and monitored without your knowledge by people you’ve never met before. 

Just then, there’s a loud knock on the door.  “Point Pleasant Police.”  Thank God!  I look up as Adam invites them in, and I’m relieved to see one of the officers is my new friend, Officer Harper. 

Adam and I tell him everything.  Fortunately, he has enough background information that he puts all the pieces together pretty easily.  He calls for police to report to my house immediately for a domestic disturbance and a possible assault with a deadly weapon.  We know she used a knife here, and that means it’s entirely possible she may use a weapon again.

The police ask us to step outside while they check and process the house.  Adam grabs a bottle of tequila and I give Officer Harper Evan’s laptop so he can monitor Evan’s movements.  Now I have absolutely no idea what’s happening.  At least when I had the laptop, I knew where they were.

Adam, Marcus and I go sit outside on the deck to wait.  I gaze around this beautiful deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and memories come flooding back to me.  This is where Evan first brought me that day on the beach when I twisted my ankle, carrying me in his strong arms.  We sat here and talked for hours.  I fell in love with him that day, right here. 

I can’t just sit and wait.  I need to do something, anything.  Then I realize I should probably call Evan’s parents.  I’m certain they’re sleeping at this hour, but I think they need to know what’s happening.  Adam agrees, and together, we call the McGuire’s. 

We’re careful not to tell them every detail, but just enough so they know the seriousness of the situation.  Evan’s dad, John, is a very rational man.  He listens carefully and asks very few questions.  I can hear Evan’s mother, Jill, in the background, in near hysterics once she finds out that Evan’s in danger.  John thanks us for calling, and tells us they’ll be here as soon as they can.

Police sirens are getting louder and louder, and it sounds like a dozen cruisers are headed straight for Evan’s house.  We watch through the sliding glass door into the house as police multiply in numbers, invading our home like a hungry swarm of locust. 

As we sit here, minutes feel like hours.  My phone rings and I nearly jump out of my skin.  I look down at the phone, and it’s Emmy.

“Jette, Derek and I are here at Evan’s, but the police won’t let us in.  Where are you?”

“We’re on the deck.  Come around back.  Just follow the path.”  I know the bar’s not closed yet.  Why are they here?

Emmy runs up to me and wraps her arms around me, holding me tightly.  When she releases me, Derek comes over and hugs me, too.  I hold onto him a little tighter and slightly longer than I probably should have.  He and I have a special bond, and having him with me makes me feel better.

“What are you two doing here?  How did you find Evan’s house?  I never gave you guys the address.”

Derek explains.  “Once we found out that the two of you were fired, we quit and walked out.  As we started driving down Route 35, it wasn’t hard to find McGuire’s house.  Between the news vans and the police cars parked out front, it was pretty easy to find you guys.”

“What did you just say?”  Did I hear them correctly?

Derek repeats, “We followed the news vans and police sirens.”

“No, not that part .  The other part.”

“What?  That we quit?  Of course we did,” Emmy says.

“Did you say I got fired?”  Emmy and Derek look at Marcus for help.

Marcus walks over to me, and takes my hands into his.  “It’s true, Jette.  Jack said we could leave, but not to bother coming back.  I didn’t hesitate, and I knew you wouldn’t either.”

“No, you’re right, I was leaving no matter what.  But you didn’t have to do this, too.  You lost your job.  Oh, Marcus, I’m so sorry!  And you two,” I give Emmy and Derek an apologetic look, “I don’t know how I’ll make it up to any of you.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Jette.  This is the way things had to go down. We’re all in this together to the end, no matter what.”  Marcus is a man of few words, but when he says something, I know he means it and it’s coming from his heart.

“I’ll find a way to thank you someday, all three of you.”  I hope that I will.

I wrap my arms around myself and shiver.  I have a chill that I can’t seem to shake.  Maybe there’s a cool breeze coming off the ocean.  Derek starts a fire in the fire pit, trying to be helpful.  I don’t think even the warmth of the fire will make me feel better.  I won’t be comfortable again until I know Evan’s safe.

Everyone gathers around the fire pit trying to get warm.  “So, Adam,” Emmy starts, “what do we know about De-Ho?”

“I’m sorry, about who?” Adam looks confused.

“DeVeau, De-Ho, same thing,” Emmy chides.

“Well, I guess it’s best if we put all our cards on the table now.  There’s no sense holding back at this point,” he begins.  “Averee’s been calling and texting Evan.  A lot.  We didn’t think much of it until recently. The calls got so bad that he stopped taking her calls and blocked her number.  That’s when she started texting him nearly a hundred times a day.”

“Seriously?  Evan told me she was still calling him, but I had no idea it was that bad.”  He did get a lot of texts that he ignored while we were together.  I’m guessing most of those calls and texts were from
her
. 

“Jette, you have to understand, until tonight, we had no idea Averee was the one stalking you.  If we had, I promise you, this would have ended a long time ago.”  Adam’s leaning down, holding his head in his hands.  He won’t look at me.  “We’re pretty sure she took that Broadway gig just to be closer to Evan.  She thought that when she confronted him at the Knick’s game and he saw her in person, he would run back to her.  When that didn’t happen, things got worse.” Adam explains.