21 Dares: A Florida Suspense Mystery (25 page)

“I—I’m
sorry. I don’t know what to say.” Josh pulled up to her apartment building. He
stopped at the curb. Abbie looked up at the windows, listening.

 
“I don’t think I can go in there,” she said.
“I just keep thinking about Susan and McKenzie.”

“Do
you have somewhere else you can go?” He watched her.

“Not
till Clinton Reed gets here.”

“Why
do you call him that—Clinton Reed?” He turned off the engine and placed his
forearms on the top edge of the steering wheel. “He’s your dad, right?”

“Yes.”
She hesitated, measuring him a moment. “He’s my father.”

 
But he’d been “Clinton Reed” for as long as
she could remember. It’s what the two policemen had called him when they
knocked on their door.
Knocked on that old house of bad
memories.

How
long ago was that? It was, perhaps, her oldest memory. She was just three and a
half years old.

Little Abbie opened the
door. It was about time for the school bus to drop Heather and the big kids off
at the corner. Instead, two policemen stood on the front porch. Her father came
up behind her.

“Yes?” he asked, holding
the door open wider.

“Are you Clinton Reed?”
one of them asked.

Abbie
remembered absolutely every single detail about that moment.
The mid-afternoon sun.
The oscillating fan blowing in the living room.
The rippling of the window curtains.
The
chipped paint on door.
The way the police officer said, “Clinton Reed.”

Abbie looked up at her
father. She’d never connected that name with him. And it was at that moment he
changed. He was no longer Daddy. He was someone else… something else. She saw
it in his eyes when he looked down at her and said, “Go to your room.”

Abbie walked to the
staircase, made her way up a few steps. Listened to Clinton Reed talk to the
policemen.

“I’m sorry but we have
some bad news, Mr. Reed. We found your wife’s car.”

At the time, she didn’t
understand what they were talking about. Or even that they were referring to
her mother. She made that connection much later. Then, at that time, she just
focused on the policemen calling her father, “Clinton Reed.”

She’d never considered
him having another name besides “Daddy.” But he did. And like her name was
“Abbie Reed,” his name was “Clinton Reed.”

She called him that ever
since, and he never corrected her. When they moved in with her
grandparents—after that night, after Heather—her grandmother scolded her for
not calling him Daddy. But, he stepped in and said that Abbie could call him
whatever she wanted.

She
hadn’t thought about the policemen visiting, or that warm spring day, in a long
time.

Josh
pulled his keys from the ignition. Abbie opened the car door,
then
froze. Josh looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

She
pointed to her third floor apartment. “A light just came on.”

Josh
leaned forward toward the windshield and cocked his head. Abbie pointed to a
lit window. A shadow crossed the glass. Abbie froze.

“There’s
someone in my apartment.”

“Maybe
it’s your Dad?”

“No.
He would’ve called.”

“Susan’s family then?”
Josh
squinted
his eyes, his head titled up as if trying to use x-ray vision to see into the
apartment. Abbie shook her head.

“I
think they’re all at the hospital.”

Springing
back, Josh stretched an arm under his seat and pulled out a black boxy gun with
yellow lettering. He held it up, showing her a Civilian x26 taser. “Stay put.”

“Is
that a gun?”

“It’s
a taser,” he said. He opened his car door. “Wait here.”

He
headed for the apartment building,
then
started up the
steps to the third floor. Abbie got out of the truck. She followed behind him.
They rounded the third landing and headed down the hallway to the front of the
building. They stopped at Abbie’s door. It was slightly ajar, and the light
shone through the crack in the door. Josh put a finger to his lips.

Chapter 28

J
osh pushed open the apartment door. Clem
strutted out, meowing and winding between Abbie’s legs. Abbie picked up the cat
as she peeked into the living room. Everything looked quiet. They stepped into
the dimly lit apartment.
Josh in front.
Abbie,
cradling Clem in her arms, one step behind.

A
lamp shined in the living room. The TV was showing an old episode of the
Twilight Zone. Wrapping paper and uneaten cake still lay scattered on the coffee
table. Clem meowed as Abbie turned toward the kitchen.

Dharma
came around the corner, her black lace dress flowing. She carried a plate with
a slice of cake on it. Josh jumped. Clem leaped out of Abbie’s arms and landed
on the floor. Dharma screamed and dropped the plate. Chocolate cake spilled to
the carpet.

“Dharma,”
Abbie screamed. “What are you doing here?”

“I
came over to check on you.” Dharma put a hand on her chest, as if feigning a
heart attack. She took a couple of breaths,
then
leaned down to pick up pieces of crumbling cake in the carpet. She
straightened, placing the soiled cake on the plate, and licked her fingers.
“Your door was unlocked.
Wide open in fact.”

“We
left the door open?” Abbie looked back at it, then over at Clem. She was glad
the cat didn’t run out. She stared at Dharma. “What are you doing here?”

“I
didn’t want you to be alone. Not after everything that happened.” Dharma
finished licking her fingers then waved her hand as if she were drying her
nails.

Abbie
rushed to her and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. Just a few
hours ago, Dharma was a nameless classmate in Professor Cunningham’s class. Now
she was a familiar face. One Abbie was thankful to see.

Josh
brushed past them, checking the apartment. He walked into Susan’s bedroom.
Abbie ignored him.
 

“I’m
just in shock.” She sat down on the sofa.

“Me too.”
Dharma sat beside her. She placed the
plate of chocolate cake crumbs on the coffee table. “I didn’t know Susan very
well, but she seemed nice.”

“I
hope she pulls through.” Abbie watched Josh walk out of Susan’s bedroom then disappear
into her bedroom. She looked back at Dharma. “She was still in surgery when I
left the hospital.”

“She’ll
make it.” Dharma covered Abbie’s hands with her own. “She’s a strong woman.”

Josh
came out of Abbie’s bedroom.
He moved
to the side chair and sat on the arm, shaking his head.

“It’s
all clear,” he said.
Clem
crossed the rug in front of Josh, tail swaying.

Abbie
looked down at her chipped cell phone. She typed a message then waited for an
answer.

“What
are you doing?” Josh leaned closer to her.

“I’m
texting Charlie Hicks.”

He
took her phone and set it on the coffee table. “I told you to leave this alone.
I’m turning it off. ”

“But
I have to do something.”

“There’s
nothing else you can do tonight but get some sleep.”

“Who’s
Charlie Hicks?” Dharma asked.

“He’s
the man that’s been following me. He was on top the roof at that old cigar
factory.” Abbie watched as Clem
laid
down beneath the
coffee table, licked a paw, pawed his face. Abbie looked back at Dharma. “He
helped me up and said he was protecting me.”

“Protecting
you?” Dharma asked. “I don’t get it.”

Josh
stood and reached toward Abbie. “I get it. He rescued you when you were a
child. That’s a powerful influence. But I don’t think you’re seeing this for
what it is.”

Abbie
moved his hand away. “And what exactly is it?”

“I
don’t exactly know. But whatever it is, he’s not protecting you.”

“Charlie Hicks.
Charlie
Hicks.
Charlie Hicks.”
Dharma lay down on the
sofa, using the armrest as a pillow. She got out her cell phone.

“Who
are you calling?” Abbie watched her.

“I’m
Googling Charlie Hicks.” Dharma was already typing. A moment later, she was
reading her search results. “He was discharged from the Tampa Police Department
and he has a record,” she said, without lifting her gaze from the screen.

“What
else?” Abbie slid across the sofa next to her as Josh crowded around.

Dharma
typed furiously for about twenty seconds, then read some more. “Looks like he
was acquitted for the murder of a teenager,” Dharma said, sitting up and giving
Abbie and Josh more room. “He was stalking this girl. Her body was found in
Hick’s lake house. Looks like her throat was cut with a razor blade and Officer
Charlie Hicks was charged with the murder.
Looks like he was
acquitted though.
He still lost his position on the police force.”

Josh
stood. “This guy is doing the same thing again. He’s stalking you.”

“But
he said he was trying to protect me.”

“Protect
you from what?” Dharma asked. “If you ask me, he’s a repeat offender.”

“He’s
not protecting you, Abbie. He wants something.”
Josh took Dharma’s phone and scanned the article. “I’ve
seen this before. This guy might be hearing little voices in his head, but he’s
got a master plan, and he’s not going to stop until he sees it through.”

Abbie watched Josh as her breath seemed to
solidify in her throat. The ferocity of his passion frightened her.

“Stop
it, Josh,” Dharma said. “You’re scaring her.”

“No,
I’m okay,” Abbie said.

“You
should be scared.” Josh moved to sit on the arm of the sofa. “This man is
organized. He’s driven by something, probably something from his past. He
orchestrated this whole night and he has something planned for his big finale.
He has a point to make.”

“Stop
it, Josh!” Dharma got up from the sofa. “That’s enough.”

Josh
looked at Abbie. “Well, don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. You can get some
sleep till your dad gets here.”

Abbie
looked at her watch. It was after three AM. “I can’t sleep. I’m too wired.”

“I’ll
stay with you too.” Dharma stretched out on the sofa. Josh plopped down on the adjacent
chair.

“We’ll
be out here, catching some shut eye while you go to bed,” he said, putting his
arms behind his head. Abbie smiled at him.

“I
couldn’t ask you to do that,” she said.

“You’re
not asking.” He let out a big yawn and stretched his arms. “Besides, I’m too
tired to drive home anyway.”

Abbie
thanked them both, then went into her room and grabbed the pillows off her bed.
She brought them to Josh and Dharma. Josh locked the door and put the chain
link clip in the door frame.

“I
really appreciate this,” Abbie said. They nodded. She picked Clem up off the
floor and returned to her bedroom.
 
Shutting the door, she threw Clem on the bed. Abbie walked to the widow
and gazed out at the night.

Charlie
Hicks was out there.

Somewhere.

Watching.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Some sixth
sense brought Abbie fully awake. She glanced at the clock. It was four AM, barely
an hour since she
laid
down. Still something woke her.
She climbed out of bed, disturbing Clem. He stretched, scratched at the
comforter a couple of times, repositioned himself then curled up in a ball and
went back to sleep. Abbie cracked open the bedroom door.

She
stepped into the living room. Dharma was passed out on the sofa, like Susan had
been the other night. Josh was nowhere in sight. She looked toward the bathroom.
The door was open, light off. There was a note taped to the front door. Abbie
walked to it and read it.

“Talking to the Landlord.
Be right back. –Josh”

At four
AM
?
Abbie thought. She looked around the room and found her
phone on the coffee table. She turned it on. The shattered screen lit up. More
text messages came through. She ignored them,
then
noticed a new voicemail. She looked at the number and saw it was from Clinton
Reed.
 
She clicked the icon to listen to
the voice message.

“Hi Abigail.”
Her father’s voice
crackled through the speaker. Abbie looked at Dharma. Dharma stirred and turned
over on her side, but didn’t wake. Abbie turned back to her phone and turned
down the volume. “I just got a message from your therapist. He said that you’re
not doing well and wants me to pick you up at our old house. What are you doing
there, Abbie? Call me as soon as you get this. I’m worried about you.”

The
voicemail ended.

Abbie
thumbed the icon closed the best she could on the cracked screen, then brought
up the text messages.

Abbie
froze. There were more than thirty identical messages. All were from Charlie
Hicks’ phone number. Looking around the room, she saw Dharma’s purse and car keys
on the coffee table. Dharma was sound asleep. Abbie stepped over to the table
and picked up the keys.

She
slipped out the front door, careful not to wake Dharma.