Killer Yarns

Getting Away

There wasn’t anything there except a dish towel that had fallen to the floor.  That is probably what I saw moving out of the corner of my eye.  It never occurred to her that she wouldn’t have been able to see the towel fall off the other side of the counter.

She looked back at the broken glass on the floor thinking she should clean it up but deciding she was just too tired.  She walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bedroom. I am just going to take a little rest and then I will deal with everything.  She sat on the edge of the bed and reached for the alarm clock. I will just lie down for an hour and then I will start cleaning.  An hour won’t make that much difference right?   Once the clock was set she pulled back the blankets, took off her shoes and settled in for what she thought would be a little nap.  She drifted off trying not to think of all that had happened.

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Jessica stood in her bedroom looking at the phone.  This can’t be happening.  He went to the doctor yesterday.  But you had a dream about that, it wasn’t real.  No, that’s not right it happened I know it did. I have to get out of here before he gets home.

She raced to the closet and pulled her old duffle bag off the shelf then opened it and threw it on the bed in one smooth motion. She opened her dresser drawers pulling out under ware, t-shirts and jeans, tossing them all on the bed on her way to the bathroom.  She grabbed her tooth brush, make-up and the bottle of aspirin.  Once she had everything in the bag she sat down to put on her shoes and saw something sticking out from under the bed.  She reached down and slid it out.  It was the box the UPS driver had delivered yesterday.  I knew it was real; knew it couldn’t be a dream. She started to flip open the lid but tossed it into the bag instead.  You have to get out before he gets here.  She closed the bag and started to go downstairs.  I will just get in the car and drive until it feels safe.  That’s a stupid idea, where will you feel safe. He can track you down just by looking at the credit card you don’t have any cash. Oh get a grip! This isn’t a TV crime drama, this is your life.  This is actually happening.  She was almost to the kitchen when she heard the garage door start opening. Shit! Shit! Shit!  She turned and ran toward the front door.  She tried to close the door as quietly as she could but she knew she had to get to the garage before the door closed again. If I can just get in there in time then he will only hear it when I open it again to get the car out. By then it will be too late I will be on my way.  She made it just in time and ran around to her car.  She slid into the seat tossing her bag in the back and hit the button before the door got all the way down. She started her car and inched toward the door while silently screaming at the door to open faster. 

“Jessica is that you?  Hey Jess where are you going?  Is something wrong?”

Mike was standing just inside the kitchen door to the garage.  Jessica’s heart was racing as she pushed the gas pedal to the floor, the garage door open just enough to get her Honda through.  Her car bottomed out at the end of her driveway causing her sweaty hands to slide off the wheel and jerk the car to the right.  She had the wheel again but not in time to keep from dragging her car along the side of her neighbor’s.  The side mirror flipped up onto the hood and bounced off the windshield and she yanked the wheel to the left, pushing harder on the accelerator.  She managed to pull the wheel back to the left just before she ran straight into another car parked across the street. Steady girl, you got away now don’t get yourself killed. She wove through town until she got to the freeway.  I will just go to the cabin for a few days it’s been so many years since he was there he won’t even think about it.

Through all of this Jessica didn’t look in her rearview mirror once.  It never occurred to her that Mike would be following her.  He was, in fact right behind her gripping his steering wheel so hard he left indented hand prints in the leather.  He watched her as she drove erratically through town and knew she would be a problem.  He considered running into her or cutting her off to make her stop but decided for the time being he would just follow and see where she went. They entered the north bound side of the freeway and he backed off just a little.  He didn’t see any point in letting her know he was there. She moved into the far left lane, something she never did, so he moved into the middle.  “Looks like we are going for a ride Mikey boy.  Might as well just settle in and enjoy the view.”  He threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably.

……To Be Continued

Join me Friday August 14th for the next installment of Deadly Medicine.

Dawnda Schaefer

http://www.killeryarns.com/