The Impostor, A Love Story (35 page)

“I don’t have a driver that can go out there
right now, ma’am. There is a three-hour wait.”

“A three-hour wait? It’s an emergency.
Please, sir.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t help you.”

I didn’t bother saying good-bye as I slammed
the phone down. “What can I do? Where’s Officer Jackson?” I
exclaimed in the silence. I realized I had left his card at the
bar.

Picking up the phone, I dialed 911, babbling
frantically. “Someone is trying to kill me. I’m stuck in this
house, and I’m scared he is coming back to kill me.”

“Did someone threaten you? Is someone
there?”

“No, I’m alone, but I think he’s coming
back.”

“Calm down, ma’am. Are you at 224 Burgundy
Lane?”

“Yes.”

“I will send an officer over.”

“Please hurry. I’m stuck in the house, and I
am really scared.”

The beautiful house set back in the Alaskan
mountains was now a prison, especially because no one knew I was
there alone. The picture-perfect window, the same window from which
I had searched for the magic of the aurora borealis, was now a
screen to the miles of wilderness I would have to overcome in order
to escape.

I looked at my stranded car through the bay
window. I had to find a way to get out of here. Why hadn’t I left
with Emily? I picked the receiver back up and began dialing
frantically, but got the answering machine at Brad’s sister’s
house.

“Bradley, I don’t know what to do. I’m really
scared. I’m at Steve’s.” My heart was pounding. “If you’re there,
please pick up. Karen? Are you there? Brad, do you hear me? Please
pick up. I’m terrified.”

My head jerked in the direction of a
sound.

“Shit. I hear him; he’s coming back. Damn, I
don’t know what to do. I gotta go.” My stomach twisted in knots. I
realized I had to escape. Running downstairs to my room, I
froze.

Breathe
.
Breathe
. What was he
doing?
Breathe slowly. Breathe slowly
. I glanced around and
found a window I could escape from. It was small, but I thought I
could squeeze through. I made my way to the glass. I pulled with
all my might. It was stuck. I yanked at the window. It wouldn’t
move. Then I realized the glass wasn’t stuck . . . it was locked.
The window was locked from the outside.

Silently, I waited. I peeked out the tiny
window. There was no truck.
He isn’t here.
It wasn’t Steve,
I rushed upstairs. I grabbed the phone and dialed Brad’s cell
number, hoping he had service.

“Brad. Please pick up, Bradley.”

He answered the phone.“ Nicole?”

I babbled before he could get another word
in. “I‘m at Steve’s . . . my car . . . my car isn’t starting.
Please hurry. Steve—Steve is wanted, Bradley. He is wanted for
murder. I’m scared. I’m really scared. Please Bradley, please help
me! Officer Jackson isn’t here. I called the police, but I want to
get the hell out of here. Bradley, please.”

“I’ll leave right now. I can get there in
about fifteen minutes. Be careful, Nicole. I’ll get there as fast
as I can.” I could hear the concern in Brad’s voice.

“I’m so scared.”

“Get out of the house as soon as you can.
Nicole, you have to hide. Get out of the house. Wear your coat,
Nicole. It’s freezing out there. Be careful.”

Fifteen minutes, fifteen whole
minutes
. Didn’t his sister tell him I called? What if Steve
realized I was lying about Jessica? What if he forgot something? He
could be back any minute.

Waiting seemed like an eternity.

Dropping my purse, I grabbed a coat and
gloves from the closet. They were still damp from when Jessica and
I had played in the snow yesterday. I dropped them on the floor.
They would do me no good damp. I layered a sweater under my jacket
to keep me warm and searched to see if there was anything else I
could wear. Most of my warm clothes were either damp or in the
storage unit. As I passed by the mirror, I saw the locket Steve had
given me wrapped around my neck. I ripped it off, disgusted. I
tried quickly to pry Jessica’s picture out of it, damaging the
picture instead. I threw the necklace on the dresser, and then
wrapped myself in a blanket and ran outside.

Should I hide in the woods? Where is the
detective!

The cold air stung. I saw the shop down the
hill. It would be warmer inside the mechanic shop. I’d hide
there
.

Running to the front door of the shop, I
anxiously turned the knob. It was locked. Nervously, I searched the
building for a window or another door so I could protect myself
from the cold.
Why is it locked
?
Is he hiding something
inside
? In the back, I discovered a small window I could fit
through. Jumping, I found it out of my reach. The bitter cold bit
my naked hands, as I clutched the blanket around me.

I found a barrel that had been abandoned in
the trees. I tugged at it. I finally dislodged it from the snow and
rolled it toward the small building. My heart still raced.
Brad,
please hurry
.
I steadied it against the side of the
shelter and climbed upon it to see if the window was open. Pulling
myself up I grabbed onto the window ledge.
What the hell am I
doing? What if he has axes in there or ropes or dead bodies
? I
pushed at the window, but the pane was locked.

The crunch of the snow from a vehicle’s
wheels startled me as it came down the driveway. I peered around
the building, and I prayed I would see the red and blue lights of a
police car, but they didn’t appear.

Shit. It’s too early for Brad to be
here
. I was afraid to move. Anywhere I went would leave tracks.
How could I explain being on a barrel trying to get into the locked
shop? I glanced around. I had already made a path of footprints in
the snow. What if he saw them? I took my hands off the ledge and
the barrel began to rock. I held back onto the ledge to steady
myself.

Peeking around the shop, I saw the bumper of
a truck and heard someone get out of the vehicle. They were coming
toward the shop. I listened as each footstep seeped into the snow.
Suddenly, the noise stopped. He must have seen my footprints.
What could I do
?

My breath seeped out of my mouth as if I was
on fire. The smoke from my lips sent up signals to give away my
position.
Why wasn’t he moving
?
Or was he moving?
Had he begun to prowl?
My eyes darted around.
Should I jump?
Should I run
?

My body started to shake.
I am going to
die
. My nose burned. I tried to hold my breath, but it caused
me to gasp.

Had he heard me? Had he detected my tracks?
Was I to be hunted like an animal? Suddenly, the movement seemed to
head toward the house. My heart still pounding against my chest, I
could hear the stride move further away from the shop.
Was it
safe to run? Should I run? How would Brad find me
?

I was cold, so cold. My ears stung.

I had to find something—something to help me
defend myself in case he came back this way. Something
big
I
could protect myself with. I searched the forest from my little
barrel. I saw broken branches, but they were either too big or too
small for me to use to defend myself. He entered the house. I
searched the area for a place to hide. Then suddenly before I could
move, the door slammed shut.

“That bitch!” I heard him scream. I
froze.

The footsteps were now moving away from the
house and back toward me.
I have to get down. I am freezing.
Maybe if I just stay here, he won’t find me
. The strides got
louder and louder, coming closer and closer to the shop.

If I ran, I would only get a few feet before
his long stride overtook mine. It was silent again. I leaned
against the shop. The barrel started to wobble.

I could hear the door to the truck slam shut
and the wheels skid on the snow as it drove away. I jumped off the
barrel. Pins stabbed my feet as I landed and tried to make my way
around the building.

The cold had entered my joints, and I could
barely move from behind the shop. Each unbearable step stabbed in
my feet, crippling me as I walked. There was a pine tree up
ahead
.
I could burrow myself under there until Brad got
here. I was so cold.

With each piercing step, I finally stumbled
over to the pine tree. I climbed underneath. Oh, the pine needles
made the perfect bed. I pulled some over me, trying to slightly
cover myself. My blanket was now soaked and worthless. I waited.
Where was he? Where was he? I made myself into a little ball.
Somehow, it seemed warmer that way.

I heard the rattling sound of a truck
speeding down the driveway. My heart started pounding with
anticipation. I shivered uncontrollably.
Who could it be?
My
body ached from the intense chill.
Should I cry out for help? Or
must I stay silent?
I listened as the tire tracks came
closer.

A throbbing pain stung my skin. I held my
breath and tried to lay undetected.
Am I to be saved? Or am I .
. . about . . . to be hunted
?

“Nicole? Nicole, are you here? Nicole?”

Was the call real
?

“Nicole?” It was Brad.

“I’m here.” Only a whisper came out. I
couldn’t move; my limbs were numb.

“Brad, I’m here.” I couldn’t speak. Fear had
stolen my voice. “Brad, please save me.” I was screaming with all
my might, but only a whisper left my lips. No voice echoed
throughout the mountains.

“Brad.” I cleared my throat. “Brad.” My cry
became a little stronger. “Bradley.”
Please hear me.
“Braad!” I could hear his feet crunch through the snow in my
direction.

“Nicole, where are you, you okay?”

“Bradley, I’m here.”

“Nicole, keep talking.” I rustled in the
tree.

“Bradley, over here.”

He began walking in closer, “Nicole.” The
sound of an angel. He pushed away the branches where I lay
trembling amongst the pine needles.

“Let me get you to the truck.” He pulled me
out of the brush.

“We have to hurry.” I whispered. He put me in
the truck and turned the heat on full blast.

“Where is your stuff?”

“On the floor of my room downstairs. In the
first room.” My breath carried the words.

“I’ll be right back.” He ran to the house.
The heat felt so good.
My teeth chattered. It became
impossible to hold my body still. I waited.

Where was he?
I put my hands to the
heater vent one more time.
Where was he? Maybe I should go
in.
My head gently hit the back of the seat.
So warm. So
warm
.

Then something—something big—jolted the whole
truck. My head jerked back. I locked the doors. I was still
shaking. I could barely move my hands away from the heater much
less get out of the car and become a hero. Then a face peeked into
the truck.

“Aaaaahh,” I screamed with all my might.

“Let me in. Nicole, let me in,” Brad’s voice
pleaded.

“Oh my god, Brad.” He had put the suitcase in
the back of the truck. I unlocked the door.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I thought I was
being careful . . . I thought . . .” I started
hyperventilating.

“Shh, it’s okay now. You are safe. I won’t
let anything happen to you.” He started to change the gear so we
could drive away quickly.

“Oh my god, my purse. I need to go back. My
purse, my purse is by the closet. I have everything in there—my
driver’s license and all, and—oh my god, my address book is still
in the house. If he gets that, he will have the address to everyone
I love. Bradley, I’m sorry, I have to go in there. My parents’ new
number and new address is in there. I need to get it.”

I continued babbling. “And there is a stack
of fake IDs with his aliases on them. If we get them, it will help
the police. I called them but they haven’t gotten here yet.”

“I’ll run in. Where are they?”

“I don’t want to be out here alone. I feel
stronger, let me go with you. It will go faster because I know
where to look.” He pulled the truck behind some trees to hide it
just in case Steve came home. The snow gently fell, kissing our
faces ever-so-slightly as we made our way toward the house.

“Isn’t this your car, Nicole?” He searched
around to make sure there was no sign of Steve returning.

“Yeah, it is. I finally paid it off, and now
it isn’t working.”

“What happened?”

“It was working fine this morning.”

“Let me see your keys. I don’t want to have
to come back here. Let’s see if we can get it started quickly so we
can bring your car with us now.” He took the keys and opened the
hood.

“Nikki, come here.” I walked over to the
engine. “Look at this. He must have disconnected your battery.”
Brad reconnected the cables. “Try starting the car.”

I got into the car and turned the switch. It
started right up.

“Perfect. Turn it off.” He closed the hood.
“Nicole, Steve disconnected this. This was deliberate. He wanted
you be stuck here. We’ve got to hurry.”

We entered the front door and made our way
through the hallway. “I want to grab Jessica’s picture, it’s on her
dresser.” I ducked into her room and gasped, running to the
mutilated pieces of the carousel horse’s body. I fell to my knees.
I touched the broken pieces, splintering my hand.

“Nicole, we have to get out of here. That
wasn’t an accident. He used an ax to destroy that thing.”

I couldn’t bear to move. I had allowed it to
be destroyed.

“Dylan gave me this carousel. It played our
first dance.”