Song: Last Hurrah - Bebe Rexha
Jaine
"What does the note say?" I asked, my gaze not wavering from the orange coloured note which was tucked in between the divorce papers.
Arthur's eyes swept over it, his blank expression changing to surprised and then he handed it to me.
"It's not like I can't have you if you don't divorce that bastard. Consider these papers your lovely husband's life. If you sign, he lives."
-V.M.
Dread settled in the pit of my stomach before he spoke "Did you notice the two letters under the note?"
Flabbergasted, I read the note once again and noticed the initials of the Stalker's name, 'V.M.'
The doorbell rang and Arthur went to see who it was. I slumped on the couch, reading the note over and over again.
There's no way I'm going to divorce my husband. But how do I save him?
"Mrs. Austen" I looked up to see officer Elroy standing in front of me "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. I was out of town due to another case."
We settled in the living room to discuss about the case. Detective Arthur filled Officer Elroy about everything that had happened and he looked to be in deep thought.
"He could be playing with us for all we know" officer Elroy spoke.
"This note has come right after you called him a coward, right?" Arthur asked.
"Yes" I said "I asked him to at least write his name on the notes. I didn't think he would actually listen and write the initials of his name."
"Try to think Jaine" Arthur spoke and I saw James raising his eyebrows out of the corner of my eyes "Have you ever met anyone in the past whose name starts with V or M?"
"Or perhaps anyone with this last name?" Officer Elroy added.
"No" I said, after taking more than fifteen minutes to think of every single person I know.
James sighed "Well, we kept an eye on Kevin for a week. He doesn't do anything suspicious."
I'm glad Kevin isn't the one. He has a kid for God's sake.
"What do we do now?" I asked.
"Don't worry, we will think of a plan soon" Arthur continued "For now, we should get the cameras installed so that he doesn't gets inside the house again. The team should be here any minute for installation."
The camera installation took almost five hours and I kept dozing off on the couch while James and Arthur took care of everything.
I jumped on the couch when my phone rang and saw that it was my brother calling.
"Hunter, why are you calling me?"
"Seems like I disturbed your nap. Wait, aren't you supposed to be in college?" He asked and I heard someone chuckling in the background.
"I just didn't go today" I lied.
"I need to have some serious talk with your husband about rules and regulations of slacking off" he mumbled.
"Hunter" I snapped.
"What's gotten into you baby sis? Did you and Walden fight? I'm coming here at your house and believe me we could-"
"What? Why are you coming here?" I cut him off, panicked.
I can't have him coming over when there's a crazy psycho after me.
"You sound too excited" he said being sarcastic.
"No..." I paused, trying to calm myself before lying "It's just that we aren't here. We are at Walden's parents'. So you can't come."
"But me and Priscilla were missing you so much" he whined.
"It's alright, honey. Don't worry, we'll come when you're back. You enjoy your stay, take care. I need to calm down your five year old brother" I heard his fiancée, Priscilla's voice and then she cut the phone.
"The work is done" Detective Arthur announced.
He and James showed me how to change the settings on the computer screen.
"Mrs. Austen, the guards outside your door are going to be there 24/7. Tell them if you need anything or you can call us anytime" Officer Elroy continued "Don't worry about Mr. Austen. I just talked to the guards stationed outside his door, he's doing just fine. You should probably sleep now, you look very tired."
"Thank you, Officer Elroy. I'm going to be fine. I already took rest, I don't need to sleep" I tried to smile at him.
I didn't want to sleep even though I was in dire need of one.
I was afraid. He always manages to somehow sneak inside. What if he comes inside while I'm sleeping without being seen by the guards?
It's already dark outside, it won't be too hard for him.
Even though the cameras will catch him but they don't assure any safety. He covers himself up properly before coming here. The only help the cameras are going to provide is that I'd know that someone is trying to break in.
And what if he just cuts the wires and then comes inside without being seen?
My mind came up with the horrifying thought.
"Jaine" I snapped back out of my head and looked at Arthur and James.
"He won't be able to come inside this time. Relax" Arthur said and I nodded.
"If it helps, I can stay the night" he said and I saw James' eyes narrow at him.
"No thanks, I don't want to be a hassle and you have work to do-"
He cut me off "It's already way past work time and I could work on my files here while you can go upstairs and sleep peacefully."
I turned silent. If he stays, I can sleep peacefully which I haven't since days.
"Alright, thank you so much" I smiled at him gratefully.
James took his leave after wishing us good night and giving a look to Arthur making me frown.
Arthur settled in the living room working on his files and I offered him coffee. He took it gratefully and I sat across him.
"I think I should drop out of college" I said absentmindedly "They aren't gonna let me take my exams anyway. My attendance is low already."
"You could talk to them and explain your situation. I'm sure they would understand" he said.
"I don't think so."
We were silent for a few minutes until he blurted out "Why did you marry so young?"
I looked at him and he blushed and looked away "Sorry that's none of my business."
"It's alright, I get that question a lot. I married young because I knew Walden was the one for me" I said and changed the topic "How do you plan on luring him in?"
"Well, he's gonna need those divorce papers back, isn't he?"