Pieces of You

Chapter Two: Jana

The nose, the nose, the goddamn nose. It's all I can think about as Officer Jenkins drives me home. Who did it belong to? Is the person still alive? If so, what would happen to them? I feel insane as I look out the window, watching the houses go by. We pull up in front of mine, and I can't help feeling trepidation as I consider entering it. 

Officer Jenkins must pick up on my anxiety because he asks, "Do you want me to come in."

"If it's not too much to ask," I say gratefully. 

I climb out of the car reluctantly and fish for my keys in my purse as we climb the front steps, thinking about my account on GOgeocache.com. I didn't have any identifying information on there, did I? Anything to give away my full name or address? My username was "Nurse J." but there was nothing about exactly where I worked or lived. The psycho could deduce that I was from the area just by looking at the caches I found, but nothing precise. Still, I can't help worrying that they followed us home from the trail. 

I take a deep breath. That's why Jenkins is with me. Just to be safe. Besides, I don't think the killer would wait around with all those police there. That would just be stupid of them.

Having reassured myself sufficiently, I push the key into the lock and turn the knob. Jenkins points inside questioningly, and I let him go in first, which he cautiously does. I wait in the entryway while he walks through the kitchen, laundry room, and living room before going upstairs. When he returns, I heave a sigh of relief. No nose-butchering psychos waiting to slice me up, too.

"I'll be in the car," Jenkins says. "Don't take too long."

"I won't." I want to get out of here as soon as possible.

When Jenkins leaves, I climb the stairs, thinking about what I'll need for the next few days. A couple changes of clothes, pajamas, toothbrush, and... my laptop? 

I remember what Fox said about social media and pause in my bedroom, eyeing the computer on my desk. What had Fox seen on my phone that made him so jumpy? There had to be something that triggered that last order. I know I promised I'd stay offline, but a part of me is itching to know what he saw.

Looking out the window at the driveway, I see Jenkins sitting in the squad car, preoccupied with something on his phone.

He won't notice if I take just a second to check my GOgeocache account. I slide into the chair and swiftly open up my laptop. Heart pounding, I enter my password and click on the internet icon. Select my bookmark for GOgeocache.com. 

My recent caches pop up, including my last one. I want to see if anyone else checked the cache recently. When I hit the button for "recent cachers," I see that the last person who found it was almost a week ago, and they didn't write anything notable about the cache--just that it was a pretty easy find as long as you knew where to look. There was even a picture of the container with the list of cachers on it.

But no nose.

It must have been placed in the last few days. 

A crazy thought enters my head. Did the psycho know I was going there today? Was it somehow meant for me? I click on my list of caches to find. Usually I make a plan on Saturday to complete on Sunday, listing all the caches that look good to me. If they'd looked at my account, they would have been able to see my plan for today.

No, that's ridiculous, I tell myself. It's just a coincidence.

A red notification on my profile picture catches my eye. I have a new message from someone named Dark_Knight.

My heart starts racing. Is this what Detective Fox didn't want me to see? I don't want to open the message, but I have to. 

I have to know.

My fingers hover over the touch pad for a moment. Swallowing hard, I click the message notification. A dialogue box pops up on my screen.

DID YOU ENJOY THE PRESENT I LEFT BEHIND?

My stomach drops. I leap up and back away from the computer.

Holy shit. Holy shit, they know who I am.

Of course they do. I remember the moment before I found the nose. I went to my list of planned caches and clicked on 'found.' Whoever left the nose would be able to see that. Why did I do that? Why? I chastise myself for not waiting. Now I have a psychopath sending me messages. No wonder Detective Fox wanted me to hide away for a few days.

I feel like I'm going to be sick. Rushing to my closet, I grab my duffel bag. Throw it on my bed and then ransack my chest of drawers, grabbing underwear, my scrubs, a pair of jeans, a few t-shirts. I race into my bathroom and grab my toothbrush, then stuff it in my bag and zip it shut. 

I turn and face my laptop, not wanting to go near it. But, standing a few feet away, I see the red notification sign pop up. The psychopath had seen that I read their message. 

And they'd sent a followup.

I want to leave. I want to grab my bag and rush out to the squad car and get far away from my house, where the psycho can't reach me. But the notification is glaring and angry, almost like the person is standing right there in my room, taunting me. I can't fight the urge. 

I have to know what they said. 

Slowly, I creep toward the desk and reach out with one finger. 

I click the notification.

A word document pops up.

The psycho has sent me a file.

Finger shaking, I tap on the track pad to open it.

The document fills my screen.