“I can’t. I have the Morrison trial starting tomorrow, remember?”
“With all this outlaw biker junk, who can remember anything?”
“Let’s get through this week. I know this will all pass.”
They worked most of the day putting all the files back together, and by the end of the afternoon, Cara was exhausted.
There was a chill in the late October air as Cara walked to her car. Wisps of smoke curled around the town like ghostly fingers while streams of it drifted from the chimneys of the houses dotting the hills around the town center. The thick scent of hickory permeated the town, and the streetlights lining Main Street cast eerie reflections in the dark, misty night.
As Cara approached her car, footsteps echoed behind her. She paused. The footsteps paused. She took a few steps. The footsteps took a few steps. As the hair lifted on the nape of her neck and arms, iciness weaved throughout her body, making her muscles tighten and her nerves jump. Stopping in the parking lot with a few steps to go until she reached her car, she froze while her heart pounded and her pulse raced. Behind her, a shuffled step scraped the asphalt. She sucked in her breath as she willed herself to move, but she couldn’t. Small sparks reflected on the mist-coated pavement, then the sliver of a flickering flame danced against the wind. Lighter fluid invaded her nose, and she swore she felt the heat from the narrow flame. Cold sweat poured down her back as she swallowed hard, heaving her body forward in an unexpected burst of energy.
Clicking on her car’s keyless entry and remote-start buttons at the same moment, her door unlocked and her engine sprang to life. With stinging eyes and pumping adrenaline, she leapt to her car door and flung it open. From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy figure stretching out a thin arm toward her. Yelling, she threw herself into the driver’s seat, but before she could close the door, a strong hand yanked her hair and pulled her backward. With a force she didn’t know she possessed, she shoved the hand away from her, slammed the car door, and floored the gas pedal.
As her car surged forward, a macabre scream bounced off her car windows, and a deep, creepy voice screamed, “Bitch!” Rubbing her aching scalp, she glanced in her rear view mirror and observed the silhouette of a tall man holding a cigarette in his hand, its tip glowing in the night. Shuddering and her teeth chattering, she exited the parking lot.
Driving around for a long time, she debated whether she should go home since she lived alone and had no doubt Viper knew her address. Not wanting to involve her parents, she dialed Eric’s phone number.
“Hey, Eric, it’s me.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. Why?”
“Come on, Cara, I can hear it in your voice. Something’s wrong.”
“Can I come over?”
“Sure, you don’t need to ask.”
Fifteen minutes later, Cara found herself curled up on Eric’s couch in front of a spitting fire, sipping hot tea. Eric stared at her.
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” he asked.
Cara told Eric about her ransacked office and her scare earlier that night.
“Are you sure whoever was following you was part of this biker gang? I mean, you do have a lot of shady people for clients. Maybe it was one of them?”
“I don’t think so. I know it was Viper. The way he grabbed my hair and his damn fingernail cutting me, it felt like the time he did that crap to me at the office. The guy following me was also tall and lanky, like Viper, and he had a cigarette. No, I’m sure it was that asshole.” Cara shuddered as she thought of what could have happened if she hadn’t made it to her car.
“I told you to drop all this fucking shit.”
“I did. I’m not involved with any of it anymore. I just looked into it because the sister of one of the murder victims came and pleaded for me to help her find out what happened to her sister. I’ve moved on, really.”
“Good. I’m sure this biker guy, what’s his name, will lose interest in you,” Eric reassured her.
“I don’t know. I kind of doubt it. I don’t know what to do. Asher told me I should tell Hawk.”
“Fuck no! Why the hell would you go to him? You’re done with his case, so move on. He’s not of our class. He’s scum.”
“He’s not scum. He’s intelligent, and I’m pretty sure he’d know how to handle this thing with Viper. How did you know I was done with his case?”
“You told me.”
“No, I didn’t tell you. I’m positive I didn’t tell you.”
“Then I must have heard it from the other judges. You know, we do talk about each other’s cases. Anyway, what difference does it make? The point is, you’ve got yourself mixed up with a bunch of trash, and the sooner you stay away from all of them the better you’ll be. You should be concentrating on Luke. He’s a real nice guy.”