Your Worst Fears

Chapter 30: Always Watching

As I watched the clock, it was as if time had slowed to a crawl, each second taking more than your average one-thousand-and-one, one-thousand-and-two. I tried not to keep checking the time, but it was hard not to. Every minute that ticked by made me wonder where Nick was and what they were doing.

Were they in the detective's office again? An interrogation room? Or had they arrested him and put him in a holding cell?

Not being able to stand it anymore, I got up and walked across the police station's lobby to the same lady who'd been sitting behind the desk the last time I'd been here. "Hello," I said with a smile as she looked up at me, "I was just wondering if Nick Bradley was almost ready to go. I've been waiting a really—"

"Does the deputy who brought him in know you're here?" she interrupted.

"It was Detective Seals. And I'm not sure if he does or not. Could you let him know?"

"What's your name?"

"Amber Davis."

She picked up the phone that was on the counter in front of her. "Amber Davis is here for Nick Bradley." She stared up at me as the person on the other end talked to her, which was awkward, so I looked away, right back up at that stupid clock. "Okay, thanks." When she hung up, I turned my attention back toward her. "He'll be out shortly."

"Nick?"

"No, Detective Seals."

My heart sank. "Okay, thanks."

As I sat down, different scenarios went through my mind, each one worse than the last. What if he came out only to tell me Nick wouldn't be needing his car for a while and to take it back to his house? What if they'd found some type of evidence that proved Nick killed that man? What if... what if....

I took a deep breath, looking back up at the clock, yet again, refusing to let 'what ifs' be what made me lose it.

Blinking back the wetness from my eyes, I stood up to go outside and get some fresh air, but a voice stopped me. "You ready to go?"

When I turned to see Nick smiling at me, I almost ran and jumped in his arms, but just beamed back instead. "Yeah, I've been ready."

Once we were in the car, he told me all that the detective had said. "Luckily, they couldn't prove when my computer was stolen and exactly who had done all the research on it. The documents with the list of some of the murdered doctors had dates, but since I said I wasn't sure exactly when Erik had taken it, they couldn't prove I'd made them. So, now, it looks like they are pinning it all on Erik."

"Oh, no." As thankful as I was that Nick was cleared, for now, I didn't want the guilt falling on Erik, either.

"Well, with the condition he's in, his lawyer could plead insanity and it'd probably stick."

I looked out the car window, trying to process everything, when I heard Nick sigh. "What?" I asked. "Is there something else?"

He shrugged. "I just remember that there were several psychiatric doctors on that list; doctors who are still alive, as far as I know."

"So? Isn't that a good thing?" I asked, my mind too overloaded to understand.

"No, not really. Not with Erik in the hospital. Now, if that thing kills again, who do you think they'll come after?"

The realization of what he was saying hit me. Hit me hard. "Oh."

"Yeah." He reached over and grabbed my hand. "But I'm sure everything will be okay. Erik said...."