Jenna was going stir crazy. It was a long day for her. She hadn’t imagined missing Jackson the way she did.
“I’m getting pathetic,” Jenna said to herself. “I saw him this morning.”
Even though they were lovers, neither of them thought to exchange numbers. When the phone rang at seven-thirty, Jenna jumped up to answer it. She noticed Jackson hadn’t come home yet and a part of her hoped that he might be calling her from somewhere she could meet him, even though her home number was unlisted. A break from her writing might do her some good; seeing him definitely would.
“Hello.”
“Listen carefully, Miss Monroe,” a throaty voice ordered.
“Who is this?”
“The person who is going to kill you if you don’t listen and do as I say. Do I have your attention?”
Jenna felt her heart skip a beat. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Yes.”
“Go into your spare bedroom and remove the drawer to the nightstand. There’s a present for you taped to the bottom.”
Jenna walked down the hallway and removed the drawer. This was surreal. It couldn’t be real. As promised, there was a letter-sized manila envelope taped to the bottom. She opened it and dumped the contents onto the bed.
What she saw almost killed her.
A picture of Lana sitting on the swing in her backyard. Another picture showed her taking a drink from a water fountain at her school. The last picture was the most disturbing. In the background, Lana was skipping rope with one of her friends. In the foreground was a gloved hand holding a hunting knife.
“By your silence, I’ll assume you understand how far I’m willing to go,” the voice said, icy calm.
Jenna couldn’t rip her eyes away from the image of the knife close to her niece. This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t.
“What do you want?”
“One tiny favor is all I ask. Your brother-in-law is a pilot, yes?”
“Yes,” Jenna whispered.
“Get me his security badge.”
“How will I get that to you?”
“I’ve enclosed information on when and where to make the drop. I suggest you memorize it and burn everything. A word of caution to you: tell no one about this. The police will not find a trace of evidence on what I’ve left you. If you tell anyone, including your boyfriend, I will gut that precious child and leave her head on your doorstep.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“So self-centered, Miss Monroe, always thinking of yourself. This is a means to an end for me. The decision is yours. You can choose to do the simple task I’ve requested of you, or you may choose to kill your niece. I’ll leave you to it. Have a pleasant evening.”
Jenna held the phone long after the line went dead. She stared at the pictures for an eternity, the reality of what was going on seeping into her brain. When the full implications hit her, first came tear, then bile.
If someone wanted airline security clearance bad enough to murder a little girl, what would they be willing to do when they had it?
Her legs didn’t get the message to move before her stomach emptied its contents.
© 2009, Sydney Katt. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of content will result in dragon attacks.
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Yay!! *huge hugs for you*
Thought you might like that.
O.M.G!!! How totally creepy, and what a shock for poor Jenna. Obviously Chad needs her (I am of course assuming that the voice is Chad’s) to get the security pass, and I know that he is obsessive about her, having said that, I thought he would not use her because he cares for her in his own twisted way. Ok……I’ve just answered my own question…lol…
Looking forward to the next riveting update!!!
Well, Chad does seem to be the only bad guy in this story at the moment, so that’s probably a good assumption.
Why is he pulling her into this? *wicked grin* You’ll see…within a few chapters.
Don’t forget…Starting Monday, this story has a post everyday except for Friday through the end of the year.