In a nutshell, he at last felt free.
Ann had her life; he had his.
Love was no longer a pain, or even an issue. It had become something that had once existed but no longer existed.
After breakfast, he and Shelley had decided to go for a drive in the state forest. They had parked the Jeep and taken a long walk hand in hand-a few kisses now and then but no sex. Fun without sex: something new in his life since the divorce. Then they’d driven back to the house and Sam had pulled Shelley’s car out of the mud, told her what an excellent weekend it had been, then in the same breath told her that he needed some time to think things over. She seemed to understand what he was telling her and kissed him before climbing into her car and heading back to Kentucky.
When Sam had gone to bed later that night, he hadn’t been able to get to sleep. He found that he couldn’t turn his thinker off. He started thinking about Ann and Amy and realized that although he may have fallen out of love with his ex-wife, he still loved the both of them in a way that simply couldn’t be labeled. And he knew that he would always love them in this special way.
Then he had begun thinking of how empty and meaningless his life would be if something bad ever happened to the most important girls in his life, just as he had so many times before. He realized that he would always care for them and that he’d never quit worrying about them. And ever since Marsha Bradley had been murdered, he had acquired an uneasiness that he knew would never go away until Stanley Jenkins was caught and put away.
Then his thoughts had drifted to Shelley Hatcher and how she was like a breath of fresh air amidst all of the malevolence going on. When he was with Shelley, the world suddenly seemed to stop turning. All the bad went away and everything was good again. Ann became a distant memory, the past evaporated and the future was within his grasp.
Then he’d think about the murderer again.
The murderer continued prevailing throughout it all.
Stanley Jenkins had to be stopped.
Sam had finally fallen asleep at around 3:30 in the morning. Then he’d had a nightmare. In the nightmare, he was lying on a beach with Shelley Hatcher. They were alone on the beach, stark naked, making love. Suddenly he’d heard a telephone ring. He’d opened his eyes and reached for the phone lying beside him on the sand. It was the police calling-they told him that Ann and Amy had been found in their home raped and strangled to death. He’d started crying and turned to Shelley to tell her what had happened. She had started laughing hideously…
Sam’s eyes remained focused on the computer screen.
This murderer has got to be stopped…
He opened up MS Word for Mac and began typing: Suspect Sought In Bradley Murder…
CHAPTER 16
On Wednesday morning, Ann Middleton had a smug grin on her face when Karen Walker strode over to her desk.
“What are you grinning about?” she asked Ann.
Ann replied, “That was Sam I was just talking to. He apparently tried calling me last night and got a recording that my telephone number had been changed to an unpublished number. He was madder than hell-he had actually thought I’d changed my number because of him!”
Karen chuckled. “Did you tell him the real reason you did it?”
“It was tempting not to, but of course I told him the truth. Then he got all upset at me because not only had I refrained form letting him know about the unpublished number, which honestly had slipped my mind, but I hadn’t told him about the obscene phone calls either. He’s been really worried about the murder case anyway and now he’s all paranoid that Stanley Jenkins made the obscene calls and is out to get me.”
“You shouldn’t come down on Sam for that, Ann. He’s only looking out for you and Amy, which is understandable.”
Ann sighed. “I’m not criticizing him for that, Karen. I know he means well and I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t appreciate his concern. It’s just sort of fun seeing him all bent out of shape over nothing. That’s a terrible thing to say, I know, but I guess this Shelley Hatcher thing has sort of gone to my head and I’m still having trouble dealing with it.”
“Aren’t you being a little flippant about this Stanley Jenkins character, Ann?” Karen asked. “I mean-you act as though there isn’t even the slightest chance that he might come after you.”
“Well, of course there’s a slim chance, I suppose. But you’ve read the article in the Dispatch-why should I feel any more threatened by him than anyone else? Hell, you’re just as much at risk as I am.”
Karen shook her head. “Not true. The article said that he seems to prefer beautiful women, remember. That definitely puts me out of contention as a potential victim.”
“You’re talking nonsense, now. And I think that Bill will agree with me on that,” Ann declared to her friend.
“Bullshit!” Karen exclaimed good-naturedly. “Have you told Sam about the prowler, yet?”
“I was going to until I saw how upset he was about the phone calls. Then I decided not to. I mean, why get him uptight over a false alarm, anyway? Ever since I learned from Amy that she had indeed come home to change clothes last Friday I have quit worrying about it. It’s been quite awhile since that incident in the backyard and I’m not even sure it was a prowler I heard that night.”
“Speaking of Amy, does she still seem to be okay with Jerry?” Karen asked.
“Yes, so far. I still can’t believe how well everything went with dinner Sunday night and I was especially proud of my little girl. She was well-mannered all evening and at one point actually modeled the dress she’s wearing to the homecoming dance for Jerry.”
Karen laughed. “So they got along pretty well, it sounds. Do you think she might actually like Jerry?”
“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far. But she at least seems to be tolerant of him, which is about as much as I can hope for at this stage.”
“Are you seeing him again?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. We’re going to see a movie.”
“Sounds like Jerry is becoming habit-forming.” Karen declared with a sly grin.
“I have to admit it, Karen, I really like being with him. He helps make me forget all of the lousy things that have been happening lately, like Marsha’s death and now Sam’s latest little stunt with that woman. I’m having fun for a change instead of just sitting around brooding over everything.”
“Well, it’s sure good to see you so cheerful. In the short time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you so upbeat and together as you’ve been since you met Jerry. I think he’s really good for you, Ann.”
“I do, too,” Ann replied. “I just hope he can continue playing by the rules though. I’m afraid he’s starting to break down a little already.”
Karen Walker’s eyes narrowed. “What did he do?”
“Nothing, really. I think it’s more a matter of what he’d like to do.”
“What do you mean?”
Ann’s eyes looked away for a moment then returned to Karen. “Well, we were at the dinner table and I caught him staring at me… At my boobs, to be more specific. I was wearing a sort of low-cut sweater that evening. That probably doesn’t sound like any big deal but it was the way he was staring that made me feel a little uncomfortable. Then, when he realized that I’d caught him, he quickly looked away and his face got redder than a beet. Thankfully, I don’t think Amy witnessed any of this.”
Karen laughed out loud. “Good Lord, Ann, aren’t you being a little paranoid? He’s only human, after all. I catch men staring at my breasts all the time-they seem to have a natural affinity to them-but I don’t get all worked up about it. And now here’s poor Jerry trying to be a perfect angel for you but he lets his guard down and dares to stare at you in a manner that isn’t quite god-like, so you act as though it’s a federal offense. Give the poor man a break, dear!”