Stalking
than she’d felt in years. The night before, she and Justin had a heart-to-heart and cleared up the misunderstandings that had been festering between them. Her life had a purpose beyond keeping the house clean and preparing meals again. Justin was trusting her to monitor the movements of the men who came to her home and scared her all those weeks ago.
Her husband made her agree not to follow the men anywhere, and if they came close to their house, call June for help, then the police. June made it no secret she still had a firearm in her home and wasn’t afraid to use it. At ninety-two, a life sentence didn’t seem like much of a deterrent.
Scarlett watched the blue dot move across the virtual map of their town, tracking the movements of the men and noting any stops they made. So far, they’d only been driving around in aimless circles with no pattern to their route. They hadn’t stopped once, but Scarlett came to realize they had looped down Wellington Street three times.
The way the GPS tracker worked, the dot bounced across the screen in jerky movements as the signal refreshed every few seconds. It was hard to tell if the men slowed down at any spot in particular, and she wanted to know.
She grabbed her purse and keys, then threw on a pair of shoes to dash out the door.
Two doors down, she knocked. When the door crept open, Scarlett was staring at the one person she trusted to have her back, even if she smelled like Earl Grey tea and mothballs.
“Hi, June. Are you busy?”
The woman leaned on the door jamb with a sour expression on her face. Her usual. “I’ve been retired for thirty years. Trust me, I’m caught up on everything pressing.”
“I… uh… well…”
“Spit it out. Just because I’m bored enough to knit myself some knickers doesn’t mean I want to stand here all day.”
“Right. Sorry. The men who came to our house are the same ones breaking into businesses in town. I know where they are and want to watch what they’re doing, but Justin made me promise I wouldn’t. I thought maybe you…”
“Say no more. Let me get my gun and my bulletproof vest.”
Bulletproof vest? “Oh, I don’t intend on getting near enough to them to…” Scarlett stopped speaking when she heard ammunition clicking into the chamber of a gun while June’s head was tucked in her foyer closet. Best not annoy her right now.
June backed out of the closet and practically dragged her bulletproof vest to Scarlett, her old bones not strong enough to carry it. “This is for you. My shot isn’t what it used to be.”
Scarlett’s eyes widened, regretting her decision to involve her elderly neighbour. “Maybe we should just—”
“Lock ’n’ load. Mount up, Crimson.”
Crimson? This was a bad idea. “Sure. I’ll just keep this in the van,” she replied, patting the Kevlar vest. “I guess let’s go?”
“It’s about time this town saw some action. This must be the most boring place on Earth,” June added, hobbling down the sidewalk with her curved back and bad hip toward Scarlett’s minivan. “It’s been years since I was part of a good old-fashioned drive by.”
Scarlett tripped on air as she neared her vehicle, suddenly terrified of a granny with a gun. Her hands were shaking as she opened the door for June, and despite her suggestion, the elderly woman was not willing to part with her sidearm.
One last check of her phone showed the GPS tracker was looping around on the far side of town. That would give the ladies time to get themselves in place.
Scarlett pulled up behind four other vehicles parked on the side of the road and turned off her van. She yanked the handle to lean her seat back so she could stay hidden. It never occurred to her that June’s cotton ball head would stand out so much against the green grass and brightly coloured gardens lining the street.
Afraid to ask the woman a simple question for fear of being shot, holding up a silk scarf, Scarlett quietly suggested, “June, do you want to wrap this around your hair? It’s… it’s beautiful, but…” The words died in Scarlett’s throat as the black Sprinter van turned onto the street coming from the opposite direction.
She watched as the vehicle kept a steady pace, slowing ever so slightly in front of a home that doubled as a hairdresser. Confused, she kept watching from her spot, slouched in her seat. When she glanced back at June, the woman’s head was tucked to her chin and she appeared to be asleep. Oh, please don’t be dead.
Once the large van passed, Scarlett reached her hand out to feel for the woman’s breath, not wanting to wake her, and removed the gun from June’s grip. She wrapped it in her silk scarf, and secured it in her centre console.
A quick text to Justin let him know what she’d learned.
Sweet Cheeks: They’re looking for something on Wellington. Not the main street.
Instead of texting, Justin called, and Scarlett jolted to answer before it woke June. “Hello,” she whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
“Um… I’m with June and she’s having a nap.”
“You called her over? Did they come near the house again?”
Scarlett didn’t want to lie to her husband—especially when they’d just turned a corner by being open and honest—but she knew he wouldn’t approve of what she was doing and didn’t want to worry him. Even she wasn’t sure it was a smart idea. “We were just hanging out. You know? Us girls.” She let out a nervous giggle.
“Well, okay then. Not sure how you have a visit with someone who’s taking a nap, but I’ll let you get back to it. Good work watching the GPS. Love you.”
Scarlett’s heart warmed at hearing those words. It had been far too long since her husband said them, and even longer since she believed he meant them. “I love you too.”
She went back to her surveillance duty, and when the criminals were a good distance away, she went around her van to lay back the passenger seat so June wouldn’t wake with a sore neck. It also helped to keep her hair out of anyone’s line of sight.
The sprinter van went past four more times in the next ninety minutes before it stopped for a brief second and one man she recognized jumped in the sliding door. They were on the move immediately, and according to the tracking app, headed back to where they started their day from.
Confident the men were far away, Scarlett turned on her van and pulled onto the street, slowing in front of where the man jumped in. A doctor’s office. More specifically, the doctor’s office Nicole Morris worked at.
That’s their next target. If Scarlett had it her way, it would be their last.
It took some creative storytelling to explain to June why she was asleep in Scarlett’s van upon returning home. Something about a mechanical bull and a skipping rope. Don’t ask. She hobbled back into her house, without her firearm, mumbling something to herself.
When Justin came home for the day, shortly after Ollie had gotten home from school, Scarlett greeted him with an enthusiastic smile. They ate dinner as a family, including Karma, who had taken to sitting at the table with her big brother, and things were feeling peaceful in the Peterson house again.
Once Ollie finished his homework, bathed, and went to bed, Scarlett sat down to tell Justin the truth about what she had discovered—June’s handgun and all.
He wasn’t happy she had put herself at risk, but he was pleased with the results. He kissed her with renewed vigour and told her how grateful he was. To her surprise, not grateful for her information, but because she was safe.
Justin said he needed to report in with Morrie stat so he could be informed of the impending threat to Nicole’s workplace. He sent Morrie a text to meet him outside to take Karma for a walk. It was urgent.
Morrie met Justin outside fifteen minutes later, and it only took a few words for them to morph into Fat Tony and Whitey.
“You’re sure?” Whitey asked.
“Scarlett tracked the GPS today, and they circled the block seven times. On their final round, a guy came running out of Nicole’s work. We’re pretty sure that’s their target.”
Whitey felt sick to his stomach. All the times he wanted to give up to keep his family safe, he never could have predicted this being the result. He was tempted to tell Nicole to quit and never go back, just to keep her out of harm’s way.
“It doesn’t really make sense, though. What are they going to get from a doctor’s office? They don’t have much there for drugs or money. It seems like a wasted effort. Maybe they just had an appointment.”
“Whitey, if they had an appointment, one guy would have driven himself. They were casing the joint. I know it. This is their next target.”
With a sigh of resignation, Whitey braced himself for another crime, way too close to home. Again.
He returned inside, after they walked Karma a few kilometres, and explained to his wife the situation. Nicole, being the tough, determined woman she was, said she wouldn’t leave her co-workers to fend for themselves. She’d go to work but keep her eyes open for anything suspicious.
Reluctantly, Morrie agreed, and he drifted into a fitful sleep.
Fat Tony and Karma arrived back home and filled Scarlett in on the conversation with Whitey. Scarlett was convinced the men were preparing to hit the doctor’s office and was grateful Justin trusted her instincts. It was nice, feeling as though she had contributed something helpful.
An hour later, Scarlett fell asleep in Justin’s arms with the dog at the foot of their bed. Even if she took up half of their sleeping area, Scarlett had warmed up to the slobbery beast. Maybe Karma wasn’t all bad. You got what you gave with her.