Someone is Watching Page 3

  Their gazes connected for the longest moment. Ellie could have sworn the woman mouthed something up to her. That had to be her imagination. She couldn’t even see the woman’s features. Maybe this wasn’t real, just another waking dream.

  The woman glanced over her shoulder. Then she shot one last glance up at Ellie’s window before she plunged deeper into the shadows and disappeared into the woods.

  Ellie put her hand on the glass as she leaned in, trying to catch another glance. Clearly, someone was playing a cruel joke on her. Whoever the woman was, she knew Ellie’s house well enough to look up at her bedroom window.

  The ringtone of her cell phone shattered the loaded silence, leaving Ellie trembling as she moved back to her nightstand to glance at the screen. Unknown Caller. She told herself to let the call go to voice mail. Someone was messing with her big time. Someone wanted her scared and on edge, but why?

  She snatched up the phone and lifted it to her ear. “Hello?”

  Nothing but static.

  “Hello? Hello?”

  “He’s coming,” a whispery voice warned through the crackles.

  Ellie’s fingers curled around the plastic case. “Who is this?”

  Silence.

  “What do you want?”

  Silence.

  Ellie closed her eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

  “He’s coming, Elle.”

  She stifled a gasp at the nickname. No one had called her that in a very long time. “Who’s coming?”

  “Preacher,” said the whispery voice.

  “Preacher is dead,” Ellie said fiercely.

  “He’s not dead, Elle. He’s coming back for you.”

  Cold sweat beaded across her brow as she clutched the phone. “Even if he were alive, why would he risk coming back here after all this time?”

  A wrenching pause. “Because you’re the one that got away.”

  * * *

  ELLIE TRACKED HER brother’s flashlight beam as he walked the bank and then disappeared into the woods. He was gone for a good thirty minutes before she heard his footsteps on the deck. She went outside to join him and they sat drinking coffee as the sun climbed over the horizon and the sky turned a flaming pink. Streamers of mist hung like wet cotton from the treetops. The day was already warm and still, the early morning silence broken only by the melodic whistle of an overeager wood thrush.

  When Tom had first arrived, Ellie had played him the recording of the call that had come in during the previous night’s broadcast and now she reluctantly admitted to her near-panic attack on the way home.

  “This has really got you wound up,” Tom said as he stretched his long legs in front of him.

  “The calls that came in on Monday and Tuesday night were so staticky. I could barely make out a voice. As you heard for yourself, last night was different.”

  “Last night’s call came in at the same time as the others?”

  “Yes. They seem timed to be the last call of the show.”

  “After you signed off, you came straight home?”

  “Except for the brief panic attack on the trail. I took a shower, drank some wine and fell asleep on the couch.”

  “How much wine?”

  “Not enough that I hallucinated the doorbell or the woman staring up at my window.”

  “Did you happen to notice the time when the doorbell woke you up?”

  “It was a little after one.”

  “What did you do after that?”

  “I went up to bed, but it took me awhile to fall asleep. Just before dawn, I woke up again and that’s when I saw the woman down by the lake.”

  “What woke you up?”

  “A nightmare, I think.”

  He frowned. “You’re having nightmares again? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She tried to shrug off his concern. “Everybody has nightmares now and then. I’m not going to bother you every time I have a bad dream.”

  He looked as if he wanted to argue, but asked instead, “What happened then?”

  “That’s when I got the next call.” Ellie raked fingers through her tangled hair. “I know how all this sounds, but it wasn’t a dream or a hallucination. I’m not making any of this up.”

  “I never thought you were.”

  “Obviously, it’s someone’s idea of a sick joke. I probably shouldn’t have bothered you with any of this.”

  He gave her a stern scrutiny. “You’re not bothering me. You know you can always call me about anything. That’s what brothers are for.”

  “You’re not just my brother, though. You’re also the county sheriff. I don’t like wasting your time.”

  “Listen to me. You call whenever you need me. I’ll let you know when and if I think you’re wasting my time. Agreed?”

  Ellie nodded, wrapping her hands around the warm mug. “You didn’t find anything down by the lake?” she asked reluctantly.

  “I saw some footprints along the bank. A broken twig or two at the edge of the woods.” He sipped slowly. “When was the last time you walked down that way?”

  “Late yesterday afternoon when I went over to the Thayer house to feed the peacocks.”

  “Some of those prints are probably yours then. Now that it’s daylight, we can go down and have a look around together. But I think you’re right. Someone is having a go at you. Ever since Sophie’s disappearance and all that business with Jackson, Riley’s kidnapping has been in the news again,” he said, referring to a recent kidnapping incident involving yet another Cavanaugh.

  Ellie let her head fall back against the rocker as she stared out over the water. Such a peaceful scene and yet her thoughts were increasingly chaotic. “The caller said Preacher is coming back for me.”

  “You know that’s not possible.”

  She turned to study her brother’s profile. “Do I? For all any of us knows, he’s still out there somewhere.”

  “Silas Creed would be an old man by now. If he isn’t dead, he’s likely incarcerated for another crime. He’s not coming back.”

  “She called me Elle.”

  Tom shrugged. “I sometimes call you Elle. That doesn’t prove anything.”

  She gave him a reproachful look. “You rarely call me Elle. Riley was the only one who used that name on a regular basis.”

  “She’s not coming back, either, sis.”

  “I know. It’s just...” She shot him an anxious look. “You believe that I saw someone down there, don’t you? I didn’t dream her up. I didn’t imagine those phone calls or someone ringing my doorbell.”

  “You certainly didn’t imagine the caller who phoned into your radio program last night. I heard the recording myself,” Tom reminded her.

  Doubt still niggled, but Ellie hated giving voice to her old worries. She folded her arms defensively as she searched the lake.

  “What is it?” Tom coaxed.

  “What if that phone call somehow set everything else into motion?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It triggered a panic attack. Maybe it also awakened old memories. Old fears. Maybe everything else that came afterward really was a dream. Or maybe I’m losing it,” she said. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “A minute ago, you were certain it wasn’t a dream.”

  “Maybe I was trying to convince myself.”

  He placed his cup on the floor beside his rocker and turned to face her. “It’s not surprising you’re on edge. Anyone would be rattled. That doesn’t mean you’re losing it. It just means you’re human.”

  “You’re a good brother, Tom. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  “I’ll remind you of that next time you’re on my case.” He picked up his cup and turned back to the sunrise.

  They sat in companionable silence while they drank their coffee.
Ellie could tell that Tom had dressed in a hurry after her call. Later, he’d take more care with his appearance, discarding the sneakers for his signature polished boots. As the Nance County sheriff, he had a certain image to uphold. Ellie had no such restrictions. Shorts, tank top and canvas slip-ons were her everyday summer uniform.

  She bent and swatted a mosquito at her ankle. “If you believe the woman I saw by the lake was real, then why don’t you have more questions about her?”

  “Is there something else I need to know? I assumed you’d told me everything.”

  “I told you everything I remember, but maybe the right question will jog my memory. Don’t be afraid to challenge me. Don’t treat me any different than you would anyone else who’d called you out at the crack of dawn.”

  Tom nodded. “All right, then. You say you didn’t get a look at her face, but you saw her silhouette. What about height, weight?”

  “She was about my size, but taller, I think.”

  “What about her hair? Long, short, curly, straight?”

  Ellie closed her eyes, summoning an image. “I had the impression she was blond.” Like Riley. Like Ellie herself. “I remember the way moonlight gleamed off the strands when she whirled toward the woods.”

  “What about her clothes?”

  “A white dress, I think. Or a nightgown.”

  “You said she looked up at your window and mouthed something to you. Yet it was too dark to make out her features.”

  Ellie pounced. “See? I knew you didn’t believe me.”

  “I never said that. If you’re asking whether or not I think Riley Cavanaugh called tonight to warn you about Preacher or that she came to your house to stare up at your bedroom window, then the answer is no. I don’t believe that. But I do believe someone is messing with you. Probably some bored kids egging each other on, but whoever it is and whatever their motivation, I don’t like it. Maybe you should come stay in town for a few days until all this blows over.”

  “I have to prepare for tonight’s show and besides, you and Rae don’t need me underfoot while you’re trying to plan a wedding.”

  “She wouldn’t mind.”

  “I mind. You two deserve this time together.”

  Tom and Rae Cavanaugh had gotten engaged at the start of the summer. Funny how things sometimes worked out, Ellie reflected. For most of their adult lives, Rae had blamed Tom for her sister’s disappearance. They’d barely spoken to one another in the fifteen years since Riley had gone missing and now here they were planning to spend the rest of their lives together.

  Ellie was happy for her brother, but their bliss sometimes served to magnify her loneliness. She would never want Tom to know that, of course. He was still the protective big brother. He didn’t need another reason to worry about her.

  He gave her a look.

  “What?” she asked.

  “There’s something you need to know. I probably should have brought it up when I first got here.”

  Ellie straightened. She didn’t like his tone. “What is it?”

  “Do you remember that reporter named Melanie Kent? The one that wrote the series of articles about Riley’s disappearance?”

  Icy fingers curled around the base of Ellie’s spine. “I’m not likely to forget her. She made our lives a living hell until you finally exposed her. Why are you bringing her up now?”

  Tom paused. “She may be back in town.”

  Ellie shot forward, clutching the arms of her chair. “What? What do you mean may be back in town?”

  He could hardly meet her gaze. “I haven’t seen her myself, but Rae said one of her cousins at the newspaper told her Melanie had applied for a job there.”

  “When was this?”

  “Recently. In the last week or two.”

  “And you’re just now telling me?” Ellie’s voice rose in agitation. “You didn’t think this was something I needed to know?”

  “She didn’t get the job,” Tom said. “I’d hoped she’d leave town as quietly as she came in.”

  “But she didn’t.”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to locate her.”

  “Tom.” Ellie stared daggers at her brother. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  He shrugged helplessly. “I knew it would upset you. I was trying to protect you.”

  “By allowing me to be blindsided by a woman who tried to destroy me?”

  “When you put it like that.” He winced. “You’re right. I should have told you.”

  Ellie tried to quell her anger as she settled back in her chair. Taking out her frustration on Tom wasn’t going to help anything. If Melanie Kent was back in town, they needed to stick together.

  Melanie had first entered their lives when Ellie was a junior in college. A few weeks into a new assignment as host for a call-in show at the university radio station, Ellie had started receiving calls from a troubled young woman named Marie Nightingale, an obvious alias. Marie claimed to have been kidnapped and held prisoner for years before her daring escape. Night after night, she captivated Ellie and her audience with her harrowing tales. Once a connection had been established based on their histories, Marie started showing up on campus, insinuating herself into Ellie’s circle of friends in order to ferret out information about her personal life and Riley’s disappearance.

  Tom had eventually uncovered the woman’s real identity and her true motivation. By then, however, she’d already published a sensational, mostly fictional book on the kidnapping, calling into question Ellie’s innocence and tainting Tom’s reputation in the process. Why had Ellie been the only one of the three friends to escape Preacher’s clutches that night? And how convenient that her brother had been able to save her but not the other two girls.

  Melanie Kent wasn’t the only one who’d harbored those dark suspicions. When Tom had discovered that Ellie and her friends had snuck out of the house that night, he’d rushed out to the Ruins to find them, only to be ambushed and also left for dead on the banks of Echo Lake. Regaining consciousness, he’d had to make the tragic choice of searching for the missing girls or rushing his sister to the ER. His actions had likely saved Ellie’s life, but there were still doubters in town that held to the notion both Tom and Ellie had abandoned Riley and Jenna in order to save themselves.

  It had taken a lot of years and a very thick skin to live down the ugly innuendoes. Which was why Ellie had been reluctant to call Tom earlier, why she hated dragging him into a situation that might stir bad memories and bitter feelings. The Cavanaughs weren’t the only family that had been put through the wringer by Riley’s disappearance.

  “I’ve made some inquiries,” Tom said. “Melanie was recently fired from the publication she worked for in Tyler and before that she was let go from the Dallas Herald. I’m guessing that’s why she’s sniffing around Belle Pointe again.”

  “You think she’s behind these calls?”

  “I wouldn’t put anything past her, especially if she’s desperate. She was always a ruthless and ambitious reporter. It wouldn’t be the first time she cooked up an outlandish scheme to get a story or a book deal.”

  “I wish you’d told me sooner,” Ellie said again worriedly.

  “Yeah, me, too. I should have told you the minute I heard she was back in town. That was my mistake.”

  “Don’t keep something like that from me again.”

  “I won’t.” He paused, looking discomforted.

  “What?” Ellie pressed. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing about Melanie, I swear. But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather Rae not know about the phone calls or the woman you saw by the lake. At least not yet.”

  “You think it’s a good idea to keep secrets? She’s bound to find out sooner or later,” Ellie warned.

  “I know, but after everything she and her f
amily have been through, I want her to enjoy all the wedding preparations without having the specter of her sister’s kidnapping hanging over her. I say we keep a close eye on things and see if we can put a stop to this nonsense quietly.”

  “Fine by me,” Ellie said.

  “Meanwhile, I’ll keep digging and see if I can find out what Melanie Kent is really up to.”

  “You do that, Tom.”

  His gaze deepened. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, but promise me you’ll take precautions. Lock the studio door when you’re on the air. Secure the house when you get home. And call me night or day if you hear or see anything suspicious or troublesome.”

  “I will. Let’s hope whoever is behind this has had their fun and nothing else will happen. But, Tom...” She closed her eyes on a breath. “What if it isn’t someone playing a cruel joke or a sleazy reporter after a story? I’m not saying I think Riley is still alive or anything, but what if that caller really is in trouble?”

  “Then why wouldn’t she go to the police?”

  “Maybe she can’t for some reason. I don’t know,” Ellie said helplessly. “I just need to make sure for my own peace of mind that I’ve done all I can.”

  “I understand. We’ll get it all sorted out, I promise.”

  Ellie nodded, but she couldn’t shake a lingering unease that something darker than a prank may have motivated those phone calls.

  * * *

  THEY SPENT AN hour examining footprints and tramping through the woods, searching for additional evidence left by the predawn visitor. Coming up empty-handed, Tom reluctantly headed back into town and Ellie set out for the Thayer place to feed the peacocks.

  She told herself she wouldn’t dwell on the motivation behind those phone calls or the reason some strange woman had been staring up at her bedroom window. Maybe she really had imagined the whole episode. She recalled vividly the disturbing phone conversation that had come after the sighting, but already the figure at the water’s edge seemed hazy and surreal.

  It wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen or heard something that wasn’t really there. She’d been plagued by nightmares and hypnagogic visions for years. In some ways a figment of her imagination might be the preferable explanation. A flesh-and-blood intruder was a whole different worry. The notion that she might be the target of a stalker or even a malicious prankster chilled her more deeply than she wanted to admit.