MYSTERY: Distance Hours - Walking alone: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Series ) (ADDITIONAL BOOK INCLUDED ) (Mystery & Suspense, Suspense Thriller Mystery Collection)

Mystery:

Distance Hours:

Walking Alone

Jason Wood

2

Copyright © 2016
Jason Wood

All rights reserved.

Table Of Content

Copyright

Summary

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter3

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Copyright 2016

All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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Summary

Walking alone

Michaela Rhodes was not your average citizen. She didn’t think of herself as conventional, but she hid a terrible secret from the ones that she cared for the most. Neil was a man that had come into her life and had shown her that she was destined for happiness. Her therapist and friend Emily had helped her to deal with some long buried issues. It wasn’t until she found herself face to face with someone that wanted her to relive those Glory days all over again that she realized that her past was never going to be behind her. What will she do to rectify the situation? How is she supposed to keep this from Neil?

Chapter one

I had that painting in front of me. I’d taken it from the studio to get a closer look. I really didn’t know what I was looking at and maybe this was something that I was blowing out of proportion. I just didn’t understand how it was possible somebody could know me, when it was a known fact that I had hidden myself from the world. The only person that knew of those tendencies was Emily and I knew that she was above reproach. It was probably somebody from my past that had come back to call upon me as an answer to some kind of retribution.

The words on the page cut me deeper than any knife. I thought that I had found a way to overcome the shadow of my past, but now it appeared that somebody wanted to make near relive the gory details of what I had done in the past. I didn’t want to think about the idea that I was going to have to brush off that cold feeling in my veins.

Neil was going to be home in a few minutes and I had a decision to make. I didn’t think that there was much of a decision. If I was going to be completely honest, then I was going to have to be open with everything about me. I didn’t think that I could do that. I had denied that this was going to happen and that I could sweep it underneath the rug and not worry about it ever again. I thought that with Emily helping me to deal with this that I was going to find a way to eliminate that very idea of what I was before.

I was down in the basement, a dark and dreary place that made me feel like I was at home. It was fitting to be surrounded by the macabre. This was a thread that I didn’t want pulled, but apparently somebody wanted to see just how far they could push me.

I heard the door upstairs and the sound of the customary pizza box landing on the kitchen table. It was his night to cook and since we were both swamped with work, I guess I was going to have to contend with takeout. I wasn’t much into the greasy side of fast food, but he did manage to find a pizza joint that was run by a mom and pop. It was a family enterprise and I have to say that the pizza was something that only the artists of such fare could come up with. I had turned into a vegetarian, swearing off meat and dairy for the sake of believing that all life was precious.

“Don’t tell me that you’re down there again meditating. Are you ever going to allow me to join you, or is this going to be something private for only your thoughts? I don’t mind either way and I suppose that I can understand the feeling of wanting to be alone. I’m going to heat up the pizza and pour us a couple of cold beers. I was this close to buying a couple of steaks and putting them on the barbecue, but then I got hit hard at work.” His voice was coming down the stairs and I managed to hide away the painting.

“I don’t think that I have to dignify that with a response. You know that this is part of my therapy and something that I take seriously. I have a few cracks in my foundation that needs to be repaired and I think that you can agree that we both have a little bit more baggage than others. I don’t regret the day we met and I would never say that I would want to get rid of you out of my life. You made it better and I would never want to admit this to anybody else, but you made me better.” I walked up the stairs wearing my customary sweats with ½ t-shirt that was making his eyes bug out of his skull.

“I’m sorry I asked. I should have known better than to interrupt your desire for mental health. I know what I have to go through and how many exercises that Emily has me jumping through hoops. I can only imagine what she has been telling you about how to live your life. I thought about going to somebody else, but she really is the only one that gets me. She has this way of making you think that you’re not in therapy and just talking to a friend.” I found him upstairs and he was slicing the pizza with the pizza cutter. The steam that was rolling off the pepperoni and meat on his side of the pizza was tempting, but not something that I was going to allow myself to take a taste.

My side had only sauce, mushrooms and peppers. I did miss eating meat, but getting rid of it had been necessary for my dietary necessities.

“I feel the same way about Emily. She makes you feel comfortable and you’re right, she does make you feel like you’re talking to a friend and not a therapist.” My kitchen was built to make food sing on a plate, but unfortunately our time was limited when we got back from work. I was the only one that made the effort, but there were times that he would roll up his sleeves and give me a hand in the kitchen. I remember having a few unusual food fights that ended with us making out. I had a feeling that he was going to call me on the carpet with a ring on my finger soon.

“I almost forgot to tell you that I got a message from Wilson. He didn’t make much sense and was screaming why and who was responsible. I tried to call him back, but I only got his voice mail. I hope that everything is OK with him and Rebecca. I know that they’re your friends, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know them in a way that makes them my friends.” Rebecca was my sister from another mother. We shared everything about each other, except for the one thing that remained the elephant in the room.

“I’ll give her a call on her main line. She sometimes vets phone numbers and doesn’t like to talk to those telemarketers that are looking to do their job.” I understood why she would feel that way, but they were being paid and it seemed rude not to at least hear them out. “Rebecca will still be up and she’s been known to watch all of those late night talk shows.” I picked up my phone and the first ring meant nothing, but after the 10
th
, I started to get this sinking feeling in my stomach.

This was her personal cell phone and one that would never be found out of her hand. Even when she went to bed, she would keep it nearby in case somebody had to call for some kind of emergency. She was a paramedic and was always on call, but today was one of those days that she had off. I was planning to stop by and have a chat, but I never did get that far. She knew that I was busy and that if I didn’t show up it was probably for a good reason.

After the 15
th
ring, I finally gave up and was about to put down the phone, when somebody else came on the other end of the line. “Rebecca, I was little worried there for a second and you really shouldn’t pull at my heartstrings like that.” I waited for an answer, but all I got was this heavy breathing of the other and. “This isn’t funny. If you think that you are being funny, then you’re sadly mistaken. Say something damn it.” I was getting a little hot under the collar. Rebecca wasn’t known for practical jokes and this in itself was causing me great concern.

“Won’t you come out to play.” It was a child’s voice, but digitized to make it sound that way. “Won’t you come out to play…Michaela?” I stood there in the kitchen with Neil behind me waiting for some kind of explanation. “If you really want to see your friend alive again, then you’ll come to the park at 7:00 AM sharp. Sit on the bench further south of the park. We’re going to play a little game. You do like games, don’t you Michaela? I want you to come out to play.” The line went dead and then a photo of Rebecca gagged and bound with red masking tape across her mouth came on to my phone. It was there one second and then the next the pixels of the photo began to disappear like a virus had eaten it.

“Are you going to leave me in suspense? What’s going on with Rebecca and Wilson? I have him on the other line and all I can hear is screaming. The last thing he said was no and that it couldn’t be and then the line went dead. I think that it might be a good idea for us to go over there and it’s not more than a couple of minutes away.” It wasn’t like I could tell him what was going on, so I was going to have to take his lead and follow him over to Rebecca and Wilson’s place. They were really the only ones that understood our relationship and why we were preventing ourselves from making the cardinal mistake of jumping into bed with each other.

Chapter two

We drove his pickup truck, a red clunker that had seen its day in the sun. The thing was put together by wire and duct tape, but he somehow managed to make it work. The exhaust was loud, but it was almost like he was dealing with aftermarket parts.

I stared at my phone not quite believing what I had heard and seen with my own eyes. This sick little bastard was calling me out and I had no choice, but to obey his every command. I didn’t like having somebody to pull my strings, but this was an unavoidable circumstance that had me by the throat.

Neil raced up to the front door to find that it was already wide open. I saw the streak of blood down the door by somebody that was crawling away in a mad haste to protect themselves from harm.

I should have shown more panic and worry, but I really didn’t feel that way. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to fix something like that. It was bad enough that I was getting in touch with my human side, but this was taking things to a whole different level. “I’ll check upstairs and you check downstairs. We’ll meet down here in a couple of minutes. If you find anything, then holler and I will come running.” He was being protective and it was kind of endearing, but also a little insulting at the same time. He thought that I needed him to hold my hand, but I could probably handle my own better than he could.

I had many lessons that I had learned and the one that was the most telling was how wrong I was about using those tendencies to kill. It wasn’t like I was getting rid of those people that needed to be taken care of. I took the highest bid and the Maestro was right there to take his percentage off the top. He was my conduit and my go between, so that I didn’t have to deal with the messiness of arranging such a task.

I walked into the kitchen. I saw that Wilson was holding onto the phone. It was obvious that he was dead and the way that his guts were splayed out on the table was like somebody was inviting me to dinner. I should’ve turned away in disgust, but I was kind of fascinated by how this malevolent mind worked on my level. This was exactly something that I would do. It seemed a little surreal to see my work from the other side.

“Neil, you might wanna come down here. I think it best that you call 911 and report some kind of home invasion.” I went over to the display. It was really like some kind of art form come to life. It would stand a reason that they would want to put on a big show, considering that they had started this by revealing their true purpose on that painting.

Neil came in and I heard the audible gasp that escaped him. I turn to see that he had turned pure white and was now falling back against the entrance to the kitchen. He had his hand up to his mouth and he was looking at Wilson and then at me. He pointed his shaky finger and I walked over to take the phone from his hand. He had the numbers 9-1 punched into his phone, but he didn’t get any further than that.

“Neil, I think that it might be a good idea that you give me a moment. Go out to the living room and sit down and wait for the police to get here. Put your hands in your lap and breathe deeply through your nose and out through your mouth. Take some time and find that happy place. We all have one. It’s that one place that you feel the most safe. It doesn’t matter if it’s with your mother, a cousin or some tropical getaway that made you feel like you were on top of the world.” In combination with electroshock therapy, I was also doing an envisioning exercise to make myself feel like I was normal.

“How… How is it that you can stand there and be so calm? That’s Wilson lying there in a pool of his own blood. You can’t be that unfeeling or maybe you just haven’t fully realized what this means.” He left me alone and I called the police and told them that they needed to come here posthaste. I wonder what kind of questions they would have and if I was in any position to answer them.

The 911 operator told me that the police would be there shortly and that I should not leave the scene of the crime. She did mention not to touch anything, but I felt compelled to touch his neck and rub my fingers in the blood. I would tell them that I was only checking for a pulse, but that was only part of the story. Seeing death this close once again was like a shroud being lifted from my eyes.

I went back out to find Neil rocking back and forth on the couch. His knees were up against his chest and his arms wrapped around himself for protection. “I checked the rest of the house and there’s no sign of anything that would indicate that something happened to Rebecca. Their bed is untouched and the keys are still in the lock of the door.” I remember what he said about what Wilson said to him on the phone before he screamed bloody murder.

“I want you to stay here and center yourself. I know that this is hard for you to see, but this is the natural way of life. People live and die and the only thing that you can count on in this life is death and taxes. I’m going to see if I can find the murder weapon.” I had a twofold purpose for going back into the kitchen. One was to find the murder weapon, but two was to find whatever had frightened Wilson in acting like a complete crazy person on the phone.

It was then that it dawned on me that maybe his phone had some of the answers that I was looking for. I peeled it out of his grip and kept my eye on the door to make sure that Neil didn’t interrupt me. He would question me on the reason why I would want to examine the phone more closely.

His eyes were open and I could see that there was no life left behind. The soul was gone and the only thing left behind was the human shell what he was. It meant nothing to me, but I’m sure that others would think that I was callous and unfeeling for feeling that way.

The phone was covered in his blood. I turned it on to see that he had gotten the exact same message that I had been given. It was almost like he had copied the very thing that he had sent me. That was the reason why he was asking why and who was responsible for this. The photo was a little different and this one had a newspaper in front of her with today’s date. It meant that she was alive and that they had given him proof of life. There was no demand for ransom and I didn’t think that there was one forthcoming.