-1Secret Admirer
By Matthew Stephens
Copyright by Matthew Stephens 2012
Published by Smashwords
For Shuntel
Stacy woke up to an annoying alarm clock ringing in her ear. She didn’t want to get out of bed, but she knew that if she didn’t get to work on time, she would likely be fired. She drug herself off the mattress and stumbled into the bathroom. She was an attractive woman even without make-up and a bad case of bed head. She splashed water on her face and tied her hair back, then headed to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.
Her dog, Prince, followed at her heels. She rubbed his head and let him out to go potty. It was a warm summer morning and the birds chirped happily as she stood and waited for the dog to finish his business. She waved to a neighbor who was walking out to get the morning paper. The neighbor man waved back with a goofy grin on his face. She was dressed in a tiny nightgown, and that pretty much explained the guys expression. She enjoyed being a slight tease, and she had been teasing this poor man for years now. He even tried to make a pass at her once, which she kindly denied. He was too old and not remotely close to her type. Regardless, she still loved his reaction to her. It was her way of getting attention and proof that she still had it in the looks department.
She was a mid-thirties blond that feared growing old, because that meant that her perfect face would soon start to wrinkle and her perky breasts would soon start to sag, and being imperfect frightened the hell out of her. She would never want to see the day where guys would hardly acknowledge her walking down the street. It was her biggest fear not to be eye candy for lusting men, that is, until the lake county police department came knocking at the door. Then she found something to really be afraid of.
After the dog urinated on his favorite tree, she let him in and ate a quick bowl of cereal. She was standing at the bathroom mirror applying eye shadow when the doorbell rang. She quickly finished her make-up and went to answer it. It was quite a surprise seeing two uniformed gentlemen standing on her front step. She had no clue as to why the police would be here, but she also knew that she’d done nothing wrong. So she smiled sweetly and let them in. She told them they needed to make their business quick because she had to scoot off to work. The older officer explained that they had a lot to talk about and that her place of employment was the least of her worries.
“We need you to please take a seat, Ms. Stevens.” Officer Brad Haze said gently.
Stacy quickly became uneasy. These men were serious. Hell, they weren’t even taking time to look her up and down. Their grave looks made her wonder if she had lost a family member or something. She was divorced a few years back and had no kids, but her mother was still alive and living in Florida. She immediately started to fear that something may of happened to her.
“What we have to tell you is going to be a little unsettling.”
Stacy did not like the sound of that at all. Whatever they were about to tell her was not going to improve her day. The best she could hope for was that it didn’t ruin the oncoming months, or possibly her entire life. She took a deep breath and prepared herself as best as she could.
“Before we start, I suggest you call into work and tell them you won’t be in today.” Brad said.
“But that could get me fired.” Stacy protested.
“Trust me. By the time we’re through, you’ll understand and so will they, even if I have to go there and explain the situation myself.”
Stacy shook her head and grabbed the phone. She was getting fed-up with the run around and couldn’t understand why they didn’t just come out with it already. She punched in the numbers and waited for her boss to answer. When he did, she got the response she figured she would. Her boss informed her that if her reasons for missing work were anything short of an emergency, she could pretty much kiss her ass goodbye. With that fine statement, he hung up on her. Stacy was angry now and she was going to let it be known.
“Okay, now that you might of cost me my job, what the fuck is going on?”
Officer Brad didn’t respond at first, then he reached into a black bag and pulled out a lap top. He booted it up, scooted next to her, and turned the screen so she could see.
What came up was confusing at first. The first image was footage of her sitting on the couch taken from outside the living room window. Then it cut to footage of someone walking down her hall. Then, whoever was shooting the video, was slowly opening the bathroom door. She could hear herself humming in the shower. A chill came over her and goose pimples began to rise on her skin. Remarkably, the next scene was of her stark naked standing under the shower head. Her first reaction was, how the hell did I not notice or hear someone filming me? Her next thought was, where the hell was my pit bull?
Officer Brad paused the footage and looked Stacy in the eye. “Now you see why it was so important?”
“But…I don’t get it. I mean, how the hell does this happen? And how did you guys get the tapes? Did you catch this guy or something?” She could feel herself starting to ramble, so she got out of her seat and started pacing the kitchen.
“This is where the disturbing part comes in.” Brad kept his voice low in a weak effort to comfort her. “The guy actually sent us these tapes, and some other stuff too. It’s like he’s taunting us. He either wants to get caught, or it’s all some sick game.”
“I just don’t understand how he could get in here without Prince going nuts. The damn dog practically barks at anything that moves.” She said.
“Well, I can’t explain that, but what I need you to understand is that you might be in some great danger. It’s very possible that he may want to harm you. And it’s pretty obvious that he’s had the opportunity. So, the question is, why hasn’t he, and why would he lead us on to his intensions?”
Stacy couldn’t stop her mind from racing. She started chewing her nails and trying to map out how someone could get so close to her in her private moments without her noticing. Besides that, how long has this freak been watching her?
“I’m afraid that’s not all we have to show you.” Brad began digging in his bag.
“Oh fucking great, now what?”
The officer spread out a piece of paper that appeared to be torn from a notebook. Written in red smears that could only be blood was, “You got two days to find me otherwise she dies.” The last S ran in a long line to the bottom of the paper. This was all becoming too much for Stacy. She flopped into a chair and started sobbing.
The other officer went to her side and started rubbing her shoulders. Brad said he was sorry to dump this on her, but she had to be strong until he was finished. He explained that they had taken DNA samples from the paper, but results usually take at the very least a week, and according to the psycho’s message, they only had two days.
“We assume, or at least hope, that it’s his own blood and not some previous victims.” He kept his eyes firmly locked on Stacy even though her head was buried in the crook of her elbow. “So, our promise to you, is that we’ll have officers here to watch this place around the clock until this mess is cleared up.”
Stacy finally raised her head and wiped her eyes. Her smeared mascara did nothing to deter her beauty. Brad couldn’t deny that it even gave her a messy-sexy look that was very enticing, but he was a man who lived under the badge, and his business here would remain strictly professional.
“So what now?” Stacy’s voice was still a bit shaky.
“Well, I’m headed back to headquarters to continue the investigation. Officer McDonald will stay here on lookout. It’s your choice on whether you want him inside or if you’d prefer he sit in his car. Regardless, there will always be an officer looking out for you, if not two.”
Stacy looked up to officer McDonald who was still rubbing her shoulder. “I think I need some time alone to sort things out. After I get myself together, I’ll invite you in for lunch or something. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me.” McDonald said and the officers headed to the door. Prince followed at their heels sniffing, and when they walked out, he whined at the door. The dog could obviously sense there was something wrong with its owner.
“Some watchdog you are.” She muttered and went to the bathroom to straighten her make-up.
***
The rest of that day and night passed without incident. Officer McDonald came in for lunch, constantly repeating that she didn’t have to go through the trouble of feeding him, but she blew his subtleties off and insisted he sit down and keep her company. He gladly obliged and they enjoyed ham sandwiches and potato salad.
Stacy’s mood appeared to be improving much to the officers relief. It would be one thing to enjoy a meal from a woman in trouble, but to have to try and eat as she sat across from you weeping would be too much. Officer McDonald was nervous around women anyways. Especially pretty ones. He supposed that was probably the reason he was still single at forty. When it came to criminals, he was one bad motherfucker you didn’t want to mess with. When it came to women, he was a blubbering buffoon.
Stacy noticed this quality about McDonald immediately. The poor guy was shaking like a leaf. He almost dropped the potato salad twice in his lap. It didn’t comfort her. She thought to herself, “Man, if this guy has to gun down my attacker, is he going to be trembling like this? God, let’s hope not.” Besides these thoughts, she thought he was rather cute. There was just something about a man in uniform that really turned her crank. If things went well, she just might have a notion to seduce him.
The next day came in a flash and she was surprised that she was able to sleep so easily. She went to the front window to make sure there was still a squad parked out there. When it was confirmed that she was still under the watchful eye of the law, she went about her routine as if it were a normal day. With a coffee cup in hand, she spent the morning flipping through channels and painting her nails. Her mind kept creeping back to the fact that some lunatic stood inches from her in the shower filming her in the buff. When she actually went to take a shower this morning, she kept looking around the curtain every second to make sure no one was sneaking a peek. She wondered how long it would be until she was able to comfortably take a shower again.
A different officer sat outside most of the day and Stacy decided to leave him there. At about six in the evening, officer McDonald returned, and this time she invited him in for supper. He insisted she was being too generous and she responded with, “Shut up and sit down!”
After a nice meal of broiled pork chops and mashed potatoes, they sat on the sofa together and shot the shit. When she found out that he was single and pretty much a hopeless romantic, she began to like him even more. She put the photo album they had been looking through aside and strutted to the bathroom. McDonald sat twiddling his thumbs while awaiting her return. When she did return, he turned as red as an apple.
Stacy stood in the doorway in nothing but panties, “You gonna put me to bed?”
***
They had finished doing the dirty, and to her surprise, he was actually pretty good. Now she sat propped up on a pillow smoking a cigarette as he snored beside her. The dog lay at the foot of the bed snoring as well. She thought, “Some watchmen you guys are,” and laughed to herself. She stuffed out the butt in the ashtray and turned off the light.
Stacy had been fast asleep and awoke to movement on the bed. She almost panicked, but then she remembered she had been sleeping with a partner, and if that wasn’t it, it was probably the damn dog. She moved to wrap her arm around the officer and got nothing but air. She felt around and realized that she might be alone in the bed. She moved her legs around and there was no sign of the dog either. She assumed that they were probably in the kitchen and was about to go back to sleep when a strange voice spoke to her in the darkness.
“Hello Stacy, I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
She bolted from the bed like a cat and tripped over a tangle of blankets. She crashed to the ground and started crawling for the door on her hands and knees. She sprang to her feet and flipped on the light switch. Standing in the corner was a hideous looking man, dressed all in black with a weaving mess of scars on his face. She couldn’t bare to look at him and glanced at the floor instead. What she saw there was even worse.
Prince, her reliable companion for so many years, was dead. Not just dead, but decapitated. She let out a scream when she spotted his head propped on one of the bedposts. She turned and ran through the hall with blurry vision from the constant flow of tears. She slipped a little but kept her balance as she came upon the next nightmare.
Officer McDonald was sitting at the kitchen table like he was taking a rest, but from the looks of it, it would be a permanent one. He was naked and castrated. With an unwanted second look, she could see his mouth was full of bloody tissue. It was likely that he was enjoying his own genitals. She heaved, tried to hold it back, then puked her guts out. She meant to run for the door but slipped on her own yak and went sliding across the kitchen floor. Before she could get to her feet, old scar face was standing over her with a pistol pointed at her head. She pleaded for her life.
“No. Please, please don’t”
He cocked the hammer and she never even heard the shot. Her world went black.
***
Marshall Stevens was sitting at his computer surfing the web. It was early in the morning and the sun was yet to show its face. He was reading an article on the process of filing for a divorce when a scream from the bedroom almost sent his cup of coffee into his lap. He ran to his wife who was sitting up sweating profusely and breathing like she just got done running a marathon.
“What? What is it?” He said.
“I…I had the most awful nightmare. It seemed so real though.” She took a swig of water from the nightstand. “You weren’t even in it, we weren’t even married, this…this guy was after me, and, and… Oh my God, I thought I was dead.” Stacy started crying.
“Oh honey. It was just a bad dream is all.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She sat back on her pillow and their new little puppy came up and licked her face.