Fear clawed its way up her throat as she reached for the envelope. She wasn’t supposed to open it, but she had to be sure it was from him. At least, she assumed it was a man sending her the death threats. Her hands shook as she pushed the other mail aside in an effort to see the plain, gray envelope. There were no markings, no return address, just her name and address printed in neat block letters in the center of the envelope. The same neat block lettering that had adorned the first three.
Her hands shook so badly, it took three attempts before she was able to dial Detective Sturgis’ number.
“Hello?”
“Ron. It’s me, Ali. I got another one.”
He gave a sharp intake of breath, and a curse followed, as she pulled the afghan from the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. Her teeth chattered more from fear than cold. She couldn’t sit still, had to keep moving, so she paced back and forth through the apartment. Was he out there? Thankful for the rain probably blocking any view into her apartment, she still avoided the windows.
“I’ll be right there. Don’t touch anything. Stay inside and lock the doors.”
Ali took her first full breath since she’d spotted the envelope. Ron lived about five minutes away. Past experience had taught her he’d look around outside before he came in, but just knowing he was out there comforted her.
Even though she’d been expecting it, the knock on the door still startled her.
“Ali, it’s me.” Ron’s familiar voice propelled her into action.
She opened the door.
“Are you OK?” The older man pulled her into his arms. “It’ll be all right. We’ll find him.” He held her at arm’s length, studying her.
“I’m fine. Thanks for coming, Ron.” The pounding of her heart nearly drowned out his response.
“Ali?” His eyebrows drew together, his concern for her obvious in his expression.
“I’m sorry, Ron. I didn’t hear you.” Ali tried to pull herself together, to concentrate on what he was saying. The last thing she needed was for him to tell Mark she’d fallen apart.
“I said, did you touch anything?”
“No, well, maybe the envelope when I took it from the mailbox. I wasn’t paying attention.” She had originally dismissed the first threat, but since the second envelope had come in, she’d experienced anxiety every time she opened the mailbox. Today, however, she’d been so preoccupied with thoughts of Mark, his Barbie doll girlfriend and self-pity, she hadn’t even thought about it.
She led Ron to the table and pointed out the offending envelope. It still lay in the middle of the scattered mail, staring at her, threatening. Ali tried to shake off the impending sense of doom that surrounded her.
Ron pulled gloves from his pocket, donned them and sifted through all of the mail before picking up what Ali already knew was another death threat. “Did you call Mark?”
Although the question seemed casual enough, the tension in his shoulders and the thin line of his mouth told her otherwise. He paused in the middle of opening the envelope, staring pointedly at her, eyebrow raised, waiting for an answer.
“No.” She wouldn’t elaborate. Ron was Mark’s partner, and if they’d been on duty, Mark would have been with him. She’d known they weren’t when she called. Would she have called Ron if she thought Mark would be with him? She didn’t know. The call had been made instinctively during a moment of sheer panic.
She waited.
“You know—”
“Please, Ron. Not now. I’m tired.” She shook her head. She couldn’t do this right now. She couldn’t listen to him lecture her about moving back in with Mark.
“I’m just sayin’. If you moved back in with Mark for a while, at least you wouldn’t be alone.” His frown of disapproval irritated her. Obviously, Mark hadn’t shared with him he was the one who wanted the divorce.
“Look, Ron. You asked me to call if I got any more of these, and I did, but I don’t want to think about Mark right now. Okay?”
He pulled the note from the envelope. When he spoke again, his tone and his expression had softened. “It’s the same as the others.” His mouth was a grim line and his eyes hard. “I’ll take care of it.” Placing the note in a plastic bag, Ron’s gaze found hers once again.
She looked away. There was no need for her to read the note. She’d memorized the first two already, could pull up a clear vision of it with no problem. They were both the same. The note was covered with the same block lettering as the envelope, childlike writing, that made the words even creepier.
You Will Die
A shiver sent goose bumps racing up her arms and a chill running down her spine. She hugged the blanket tighter around her, as much as for comfort as for warmth.
“Thank you, Ron.” Ali reached around his considerable girth to hug him. Ron was a good guy and an even better friend.
“I only want the best for you, honey.” He gazed into her eyes. “You know that, right?”
“I know.” She offered him a tentative smile, and he landed a fatherly kiss on top of her head.
“I’ve got to go. Will you be OK?”
“I’ll be fine.”
He held her gaze a moment longer. Apparently deciding she’d be all right, he turned to leave. “Lock the door behind me and don’t open it for anyone.”
“Yes, Dad.” She closed and locked the door, then turned and fell back against it. Staring at the empty apartment, fear crept through her and a chill raced down her back. She hugged herself in an effort to ward it off. Loneliness threatened to suffocate her.
“All right. Enough of this.” She couldn’t stand here all night.
Riiing!
Ali nearly jumped out of her skin. Her heart stuttered. Stopped.
Riiing!
Forcing herself to exhale, she sucked in a deep breath and went to answer the phone. “Hello?” She worked to control the tremor in her voice.
“Hey, it’s me.” Kendra paused.
Ali couldn’t answer.
“Is everything okay?”
“Um…yeah. I just…” Her breath rushed out. “Oh, Kendra. I got another threat.”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, just a little shaken up.” This was ridiculous. She laughed at herself. Talking to Kendra helped release some of the tension, and she crossed the room and dropped onto the couch, relieved to be able to function again.
“Did you call Mark?”
Ali seethed. “No, I didn’t call Mark.”
“Ali, you need to call him.”
“No. Besides, he’s probably busy with Candi.” The anger quickly turned to sadness. “Anyway, I called Ron and he came over.”
Kendra rambled for a bit, but Ali’s mind was still on Mark. She couldn’t keep doing this. Somehow, she had to get over him and move on. She pulled the computer into her lap and logged on.
“What are you doing later? Do you want company? I’ll call a sitter for the kids and bring pizza and ice cream.”
Flipping through her e-mail, she discarded everything she could safely eliminate without opening it. “I appreciate it, but I’m exhausted, and I just want to relax tonight. Maybe tomorrow?” She felt bad blowing Kendra off, but she didn’t want company. She wanted to sit in her pajamas, relax and not think about any of her problems tonight. She was going to finish sifting through her e-mail, answer anything urgent and go to bed. The stack of work she’d brought home nagged at her, but she wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway. She’d have to get up early tomorrow and deal with it.
“No problem.” Disappointment colored Kendra’s tone.
Cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder, Ali continued working her way through her email. Junk, delete, more junk, delete…Anonymous. Her finger hovered over the delete button. “I joined Anonymous.” She hadn’t meant to say it. The words, having a mind of their own, just blurted out.
“For real?” Kendra perked up at that.
Ali shrugged. She hit open. You have six new messages appeared on the screen. “I decided you’re right. Mark isn’t coming back. It’s time I move on.”
They talked for a few more minutes, but Ali was distracted. She signed on to the Anonymous website.
“Are you listening to me, Ali?”
“What…Oh…I’m sorry.” She opened her Anonymous mailbox. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ’kay?”
“Sure. I’ll see you then.”
She disconnected and tossed the phone onto the couch beside her. Turning her full attention to the computer screen, she opened her first message.
Hi, Sweetheart, Are you looking for a good time? Well, don’t look any further. I’m your— Ewww. Delete. Next.
Carl was looking for fun too. He enjoyed women, cars and beer. No thank you. Delete. This was a waste of time. She wasn’t going to find her soul mate in this pile of desperation.
Simon wasn’t looking for a good time, he was searching for companionship. His idea of a fun evening was playing scrabble and eating chips. Aww…he sounded sweet. But only with hot women. Yeah, right. “Bye-bye, Simon.”
Her finger hovered over the delete button. Should she just delete all of them and be done with it? What the heck. If nothing else, it was entertaining.
Bob shared his whole life story. His wife cheated on him, leaving him bitter, distrustful and depressed. He hoped meeting someone new would make him feel better. “Sorry, Bob.” Delete.
Hi, Jane, How are you? I’d like to get to know you. Joe. Nice, but not too much.
She took a deep breath and held it. Was she really contemplating talking to a strange man online? She blew her bangs up off her forehead. Yup. She really was.
Hi, Joe. I’m doing well, and you? This was ridiculous. She had no idea what to write. Well, why not just be honest? I’ve never done this before, and I’m not sure what to say. It would be nice to get to know you better. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, or what I expect to find on here, but I would like to talk.
Did that sound corny? She shrugged and hit send. Oh well, too late to back out now. What did it matter, anyway? She didn’t ever have to meet this guy. She opened the last e-mail.
Chad. He had to be kidding. Chad liked hot sex in semi-public places. Okay, no. She deleted Chad’s note, and was ready to log off when the incoming message light flashed.
Are you still here?
Her heart rate kicked up. Excitement fluttered through her belly. The reaction startled her. Maybe she was more ready to move on than she’d thought.
Yes. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pajama pants.
Want to get a room?
Her heart stuttered and stopped. Then she started to laugh.
Sure. A chat room sounds good.
I’ll set it up.
Ali waited while Joe set up a private chat room through the Anonymous website. The rooms allowed you privacy to get to know one another, while still maintaining complete anonymity.
So, tell me about yourself, Jane.
I’m not sure what to say. This was strange. How did you tell someone about yourself without divulging any personal information, including what you do for a living?
Want to play what’s your favorite?
How do you play?
I’ll type a word then you tell me what your favorite is.
Sure, I’ll give it a try. She took a couple sips of her tea.
Food
Chocolate
Flowers
Daffodils
Movie
Godzilla
No way, mine too.
Ali laughed. This was actually kind of fun. Who would have thought?
* * *
“I tried to call you last night.” Ron passed Mark’s desk on his way to his. He tossed the sealed evidence bag on top of the file Mark was reading. His partner’s voice held a note of disapproval.
Mark wasn’t in the mood for anyone’s attitude this morning. Maybe if he just ignored it, the attitude would go away. He picked up the bag and studied the envelope inside. Anger surged through him. “Is she all right?”
“She’s fine.” Ron pulled out a folder and pushed his glasses farther up on his nose.
Okay, clearly the attitude wasn’t going to go away. Mark blew out a pent-up breath and tried to shrug it off. Ron’s marriage had ended disastrously when his wife ran off with their next door neighbor. He blamed himself. The long hours. The stress. He just hadn’t had the time or patience to pay attention to his wife. So she’d sought it elsewhere.
“Look, Ron.” Mark sighed, knowing they’d have to clear this up before they could move on to more important matters. “Let’s not do this again, okay? I know you want us to work things out, but it’s not going to happen.” He looked at the note in his hand. A jolt of pure rage shot through him. How dare someone threaten Ali?
“I always admired what you and Ali had.” The admission seemed to make Ron uncomfortable, and he shifted in his chair. “You two always seemed so content to be with each other, so compatible.”
Mark rubbed at his temples then gave up and dug a bottle of ibuprofen out of his desk drawer. He swallowed three dry, before turning his attention back to the letter. “Have you talked to her boss about this?”
Ron removed his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He shrugged and tossed the folder he’d been holding onto his desk, frustration adding color to his usually pale cheeks. “Yeah, I spoke to Calvin this morning on my way in. The case she’s working is high profile, but no one else on the team has been threatened in any way.”
“The time between notes is decreasing. This is the second one this month.” Mark winced as he swallowed the dregs of the cold coffee left in his mug.
“I’m going to drop the note at the lab. I just wanted to let you take a look first.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.” Mark shoved his hand through his hair and shook his head. “Was she really OK?”
Ron didn’t even try to hide his smirk, but then he turned serious. “She’s scared.”
The questions pounded through Mark’s head. What could he do? Even if he asked her to move back in, she’d say no. How had things gotten this bad? He loved Ali. They’d been together for so long. How had they grown so far apart? She was a good person, a good wife. What made him begin to lose interest? Had the problem really been between him and Ali, or had he just been trying to recapture his youth?
His search for old girlfriends had been wrong. He knew that. Ali might have been able to accept his restlessness, forgiven him even, if he hadn’t taken it a step further. There was no excuse for meeting up with Laura. Lord knows he’d tried to excuse it a million times. He’d tried to tell Ali it had only been dinner, and only one time. She hadn’t believed him.
Her accusations played through his mind, bringing his anger bubbling to the surface. How dare she accuse him of lying? Cheating? He hadn’t really cheated on her. He’d just shared dinner with an old friend. It had been nice to sit and enjoy a meal, talk about old times and get to know each other again. Laura had been attentive and interested in everything he’d said.
More often than not, when he and Ali had gone out together, one or the other of them would be harassed by business calls, either or both of their cell phones ringing constantly. Life had driven a wedge between them, and reality was a constant intrusion that forced them apart.
No matter how he tried to justify his actions, he couldn’t shake the feelings of regret.