It
was late when she went to bed. Paul had
again fixed a wonderful dinner and the three of them sat laughing in the
library sharing stories of growing up.
Alex felt herself drawn to Gene, which she thought was strange since she
spent most of her time with Paul. But
she also thought he felt the same about her.
At
times, like tonight, she would look at Gene and sense that he wanted to take
her in his arms but he always held back.
She wasn't opposed to dating Gene, if she was honest with herself she
found herself fantasizing about how it would feel to be held in his arms, but
she admitted that since he was her employer it was probably best that she not
dwell on those kinds of thoughts.
The
way he had looked at her tonight though, made her blood run hot. Then like always he turned his attention to
Paul and there was always something they had to take care of.
It
was the middle of the night and something had awakened her. She was thirsty so headed off to the kitchen
to get a glass of juice. On her way
back to her room she heard a noise in the foyer and walking toward the stairs
she saw Paul with a woman in his arms and Gene standing at the top of the
stairs.
A
sudden wave of fear washed over her.
This woman looked strange, she wasn't moving and she looked very
pale. Paul looked up and saw Alex there
in the doorway to the foyer and Alex thought she saw a look of panic cross his
face. He looked up the stairs at Gene
who motioned for him to go. Paul turned
and left through the front door taking the woman with him. Alex looked up the stairs at Gene and for
the first time since coming to work for him she felt real fear.
She
rushed back to her room and closed and locked the door. Alarms were going off in her head and the
hair was standing up on her neck. 'Was
that woman dead? Could Gene and Paul
have killed that woman?'
There
was a knock at the door, "Alexandra."
Before
she could move the doorknob turned and Gene walked into the room. She had locked the door she was sure she had
locked the door, how did he get in?
"Alexandra,"
he repeated as he walked toward her, Alex backed away from him in fear. "Let me explain. What you saw was, well, that was a friend of
Paul's and she had a fight with her boyfriend and she showed up on our doorstep
tonight pretty much intoxicated. Well,
she passed out and Paul is taking her home." 'I hope she believes me.'
"She
was drunk?" Alex stammered still very much afraid.
"Yes,
something about her boyfriend being gone all the time and another woman. You know something like a lover's
triangle." He continued to walk
toward her until he was standing directly in front of her. "I hope we didn't frighten you. I can understand how you might think there
was something dastardly going on." Gene smiled. 'Stay calm. Don't let
her know you are nervous.'
"Paul
is just taking her home? That is
all? She's just drunk?" Alex was
nervously repeating herself.
Gene
took her in his arms and held her trembling body next to his. She felt so good, he didn't want to let her
go but it wasn't time yet, she wasn't ready.
"There
now I will tuck you back into bed and you go to sleep, everything will be back
to normal in the morning and we can forget this happened." Gene led Alex to bed and pulled back the
covers and waited for her to climb in.
He covered her up and kissed her on the forehead, "Good night
Alex."
"I
feel like a little girl again." she giggled.
"And
it’s time for little girls to be asleep.
See you in the morning."
With that he turned off the light and closed the door. He waited to make sure he didn't hear
anything from her room and breathing a sigh of relief when he didn’t headed
back upstairs.
* * *
Nothing
was said the following morning about the night's adventure. Paul made breakfast for her like always and
then she headed to the study for more typing.
She was a little tired from being up in the middle of the night so she
decided to turn on the television hoping that would help keep her awake.
The
10:00 news came on and there was a story that caught her attention.
'Early this morning the body of a young woman was found along the highway.'
Alex
watched the television as a picture of a young woman's face appeared on
screen. 'That face seems
familiar. Where have I seen her?'
Paralyzing
fear swept over her as Alex realized the woman on the television was the same
woman that Paul had carried out the night before. Not breathing Alex continued to watch the news.
'Police say the woman was found by road workers
around 6:00 this morning, apparently she had been killed elsewhere and left
along the road as there was no sign of any blood. This is the third murder matching this profile that has been reported by the police. The two other victims were Irma Burns a
homeless woman and Scott Moore. No
motive for the killings has been found.
A few homeless shelters in the area have mentioned that some people are
missing, their bodies have not turned up so it is unknown at this time if they
are dead or alive. Stay tuned for more
news as it develops.'
Scott
Moore? Scott? Her Scott was dead? The
room began to spin as Alex started piecing together all the things she knew. Paul and Gene had been the last ones to see
that woman alive she was sure of it.
Paul had to get rid of the body.
But Scott? She was sure they had
killed Scott but why? She had never met
Gene or Paul before that day in the diner…'Paul was watching me.' Paul had been watching her since she met
them. Could they have been stalking
her? Did they kill Scott to get to her?
Alex
raced to her room and pulled out her suitcase. 'Must get away from here
now!' She packed everything she
had and then quietly crept down the hall to the front door wanting to get away
before anyone saw her.
Gene
and Paul both were no where to be found so Alex made it to her car
unnoticed. She started the car and
drove away as fast as she could. Where
would she go? She couldn't go to
Michelle that might put her in danger.
No, Alex had to run away, again.
* * *
"You
should have been more careful." Gene was angry with Paul. "I am not sure if she believed me or
not."
"I'm
sorry. I didn't expect her to wake up
she never has before." Paul paced around the room.
"Have
you gotten rid of the rest of them?"
"Yes. There is no trace of them."
"We
have to go now even if she isn't ready.
Have the plane ready to leave this afternoon."
* * *
Paul
was busy in the library when Gene came downstairs. Something was wrong he could feel it. The television was on in the study; Alex had never turned the TV
on before.
"Alex? How are things going?" Gene stopped as
he gazed at the empty room.
Paul
rushed into the study, "Gene, her car is gone. Did Alex say she was going out?"
Just
then a repeat of the news came on the television showing the pictures of the
three known murder victims. Gene raced
to Alex's room with Paul close behind.
Everything was gone; there was no trace of her.
"We
have to go after her." Gene said matter of factly.
"How
will we find her?" Paul questioned.
"I
will tell you where to go."
* * *
Alex
had driven for days, so it seemed. In
reality she had been driving for about 8 hours. It was dark now and she was tired. She found a motel and got a room for the night. She parked her car as far in the back as she
could so that her car could not be seen from the street. She was sure they would not find her. She double checked all the windows to make
sure they were closed and locked, then she double bolted the door and even
moved the chair in front of the door, she wanted to make sure if anyone tried to
get in she would hear them.
Alex
had been on an emotional roller coaster all day and it had completely drained
all her energy. She fell into a
restless sleep.
Gene
moved the chair away from the door and unlocked it to let Paul inside.
"Take
her bags and put them in the car." he instructed.
"What
about her car?"
"Leave
it. She won't need it any more."
Gene
sat down on the side of the bed watching her sleep. It was a restless sleep full of dreams. He stoked her hair and caressed her face. 'I didn't want you to find out like this
my dear.'
Alex
opened her eyes and saw Gene sitting on the side of the bed smiling at
her. Terror crossed her face,
"Please, I won't tell anyone. I
don't know anything really. Please
don't kill me." she begged.
A look
of agony crossed Gene's face, 'How could she possibly think I could ever
kill her?' "Everything will be fine Alexandra. It is time to go home now."
"No,
please don't hurt me." Alex tried to get away from him but Gene had a hold
on her arm.
"Sleep
Alexandra."
Suddenly
she was so tired she couldn't keep her eyes open and fell into a hypnotic
sleep.
"Is
she alright?" Paul asked.
"Yes,
just sleeping. Carry her to the car and
let's head for the plane. We need to
get out of here."
Paul
carried the sleeping Alex to the car and placed her on the seat next to
Gene. Gene turned her so that her head
was in his lap and she was stretched out in the backseat. He continued to
stroke her hair as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. 'It would have been so much easier if she
hadn't seen that woman.'
Paul
drove all night heading for the airport where the plane was waiting for
them. Because of Gene's hypnotic trance
she had slept the whole trip. With
Gene's help Paul got Alex out of the car and carried her into the plane. He sat her in a seat next to Gene and put on
her seat belt. He took the seat facing
Gene and told the pilot they were ready.
"She
has been out a long time. What happens
if she wakes up?" Paul asked as he looked at the sleeping Alex.
"It
doesn't matter now. We’re going
home." Gene took her hand and held it as the plane took off from the
runway taking them all home.