The Night Stalker_ A Novel of Suspense - James Swain [45]
“Recognize this?” I asked.
Jed shook his head.
“It’s Piper Stone’s cell phone,” I said.
Jed’s mouth dropped open. If he was acting, he was doing a hell of a job. Lying on the bag of garbage inside the pail was a piece of clothing. It was frilly and feminine, and I held it up by a single finger. It was a pair of women’s black lace underwear.
“How about these?” I asked.
Jed said “Shit” under his breath. Heather clasped her hands over her mouth, and stared at her ex-husband.
“Oh, my God, Jed. Oh, my God,” she said.
Jed looked at the underwear, then at me. His breathing had gone shallow, and for the first time, I saw how strongly he resembled his father.
“I don’t know how those got there, either,” he said.
“You need to tell that to the police,” I said.
“I’m not talking to the police.”
I started to tell him that was a bad idea, but before I could, Jed jumped off the stoop and ran around the side of the house.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Coming around the front of the house, I yelled for Jed to stop. He was halfway across the front lawn, and he glanced at me over his shoulder, his face wild with fear.
“Fucking cop!” he screamed.
LeAnn Grimes stood just around the corner, holding a broom. Moments later, my legs were tripped out from beneath me, and I was lying on my back in the grass, staring at a formation of clouds. Buster began barking, and I heard fabric being torn.
“Get away from me!” LeAnn screamed.
I lifted my head. Buster had grabbed the hem of her dress and was shredding it.
“Make him stop!” LeAnn yelled to me.
I pulled myself to my feet, my head spinning. Jed sat in a beat-up Firebird parked at the curb in front of my Legend. He was desperately trying to get the car started, only the engine refused to turn over. Each time he twisted the key, he jerked his head in my direction and shot me a crazed look.
I walked toward the Firebird with my palms out in a neutral pose. Jed didn’t appear to be armed, nor did I see any guns lying on the passenger seat. The tourists had returned, watching now with mouths agape.
When I was a few yards from the car, Jed got the engine started, and backed up into my Legend. I winced at the sounds of crunching steel and shattering headlights. Throwing the Firebird into drive, Jed plowed into the tourist’s rental van, parked in front of him. The rental bucked into the air, but didn’t move. Jed did another backward thrust and again smashed my car. It was enough to make me cry.
The Firebird’s right front tire let out a mournful hiss and the car sank into the ground. Now we were both without wheels.
Reaching the curb, I grabbed the Firebird’s passenger door with my free hand. If I could get Jed out of the car without hurting him, so much the better. Something heavy fell on my back, and I realized there was a person on top of me.
“Run, Jed, run!” Heather yelled.
Heather was holding on to me with all her might. My legs buckled and my body started to spin from her weight.
“Get off me,” I said angrily.
“Leave my husband alone,” Heather said.
“I said off !”
“Run, Jed!”
Reaching behind me, I grabbed one of Heather’s ankles, and gave it a healthy pull. She came off my back and fell on her rump on the lawn.
I chased Jed down the street. I wasn’t going to catch him—he was half my age, and probably twice as fast—but I wanted to see where he was going.
Two blocks later, I got my answer. Jed turned off the street and darted between two houses. I was ten seconds behind him, and as I ran between the houses, I saw that both had “For Sale” signs on the front lawn. No one was living in them.
I came to a tall fence with a latched gate. I unlatched it, and cautiously entered a backyard that led to a swamp thick with trees and dense vegetation. Jed’s footprints ran into the middle of the swamp, then disappeared.
I stood perfectly still and listened. There was no sound coming from the swamp, save for a squirrel’s frantic chirping. I sensed that Jed was close by, but that didn’t mean I was going to blindly