Deadly Obsession (7 page)

Carmen finished breakfast and gathered the morning paper. Dexter’s disappearance was on the front page. He was nowhere to be found, not a single clue in his case had been discovered. Carmen was devastated; how could the happiest day in her life be turned into the most miserable experience she’d gone through in an instant? She felt helpless; there was nothing she could do to help the man she loved. No one could just evaporate from the face of the earth, someone had to see something.

Carmen looked over her guest list from

the wedding. She refused to sit there any longer and do nothing. She would question everyone until someone remembered something for Dexter’s sake.

The news of Dexter’s disappearance was quickly becoming the talk of the small town. Everyone was familiar with the case but no one had offered a prominent lead in solving it. Carmen’s perseverance finally paid off.

“Hey Amy, how are you? I would like to ask you a few questions in regards to Dexter’s disappearance if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, come in. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to him. Dexter’s a good guy. Do police know anything yet?” she enquired.

“Nothing yet, that’s why I’m here. Someone had to see something that day and just failed to realize its relevance at the time.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe  there  was  a  strange  vehicle

hanging around the church or something.”

“You know, now that you mention it, I do remember a blue mustang exiting the back alley. It seemed to be in a hurry but I didn’t think anything of it. I couldn’t make out the driver, except that it was a woman.”

“Was it an older model mustang?”

“Probably a sixty-seven I would say.”

“Thank you Amy, you don’t know how much help you’ve been, thanks so much.” She said running away.

There was no doubt in Carmen’s mind concerning the identification of the driver. She needed to get in touch with Officer Smith and share the new information with him. Carmen was suddenly overcome with terrible cramps in her stomach. She feared that something was wrong with the baby; she had to get to the hospital right away.

“Help me please! I need to see a doctor now. I think I may be having a miscarriage.” She informed.

The nurse quickly found her a wheelchair and wheeled her back to an exam room. She then obtained blood and urine specimens for necessary testing. Soon there was a knock at the door.

“Ms. Haines, how are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

“I’m fine doctor but how is my baby?”

“He’s fine but I’m ordering bed rest until you’ve seen your OBGYN. You need to make an appointment as soon as possible.”

“Yes sir, I will; thank you so much. I was so scared. I thought I was having a miscarriage. Thank you again doctor.”

Carmen was relieved to learn that her baby was fine and healthy. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him this far into her pregnancy. Suddenly she remembered her meeting with Amy.

“Officer Smith please, this is Carmen Haines. I have some information concerning Dexter’s kidnapping.”

There was a short pause on the line as she was placed on hold.

“Officer Smith here, how can I help you?”

“I spoke with one of the guest at my wedding; she remembers seeing an older model mustang pull out of the back alley behind the church. The driver was a female. Carol Avery drives a car fitting that description.”

“I’ll run her through the system and see if we can return a positive ID on her tag plates and issue an APB. Good work Carmen, I’ll keep you informed.” He promised.

Carmen was relieved, police would soon be closing in on Carol and Dexter would return to her. Then it hit her; what if Dexter was dead, causing her to shudder at the thought. How could she live without him? He had to be alive and well.

Chapter Seven

A week had gone by and not a single new lead had surfaced in Dexter’s case. No one had seen him or Carol Avery. More than likely Carol had read the papers and discovered her picture to be in connection with Dexter’s kidnapping as she was the number one suspect in the case. Police were offering a cash reward to anyone who could lead them to her, causing Carol to be extremely cautious not to reveal her true identity.

Dexter was contemplating his next escape attempt with obvious uncertainty. Carol was a sick-minded, yet highly intelligent person and was to be dealt with very carefully. He had to find a way to regain her trust; it wouldn’t be easy.

“I need to go to the bathroom please.” Dexter said.

“I’m coming with you and don’t do anything stupid; I still have my gun.” Carol warned, pointing it at him.

He  stood  up  and  went  towards  the

bathroom, Carol closely following. She was taking no chance on his trying to escape again.

“I need you to untie my hands; I can’t go with them tied up.”

“I’m warning you Dexter, I’ll shoot you if you try anything funny.” She told him, untying his hands.

When he finished his business, Carol immediately reached for the rope.

“Can’t you leave them loose for a while? My wrists are sore, I won’t try anything, I promise. I’m not stupid, you have a gun and besides I’ve already tried that route once and failed miserably. I’m tired of fighting with you.”

“It’s about time you figured out who’s in control here. Okay, you get one chance, you understand.”

“What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”

“What about meatloaf and mashed potatoes?”

“That sounds great.”

Carol went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Dexter’s first instinct was to run out the front door but he fought the urge as he knew he could never make it to safety before Carol put a bullet in him. He would eventually reclaim his freedom but now wasn’t the time, he had to be patient.

“Dinner’s ready.” Carol called.

Dexter went to the kitchen.

“Smells great, Carol, and it looks good too.” He said sitting down at the table.

“Hey, you think we can catch some television tonight? A Walk to Remember is coming on at eight.”

“I suppose we could do that; I do love that movie.”

They quietly finished up dinner and Carol cleared the table. Dexter offered to help her do the dishes but she thanked him and politely refused. He went back into the living room and patiently waited for her. She was surprised that he made no attempt to escape. Maybe he was beginning to give in, ready to freely accept her love for him. He hadn’t made mention of Carmen in a few days. Could it be that he was willing to move on?

Carol took the remote from the coffee table and turned the television to A Walk to Remember, just as she had promised. The two of them sat quietly on the couch, and watched the movie together.

The worriment of Dexter’s disappearance and the uncertainty of his safety had begun to affect Carmen immensely. She walked around in a constant daze, spending most of her time alone crying; she had become an emotional wreck. Unfortunately the circumstances were now taking a toll on her physically as well; she couldn’t eat or sleep, there were dark circles under her eyes and she was constantly tired and run down. She had to get through this somehow, for the baby’s sake. She’d already lost Dexter; she didn’t want to lose their son too.

Carmen got dressed and went to the living room to watch some television. She was flipping through the channels when she was disturbed by a knock at the door.

“Hi, how are you?” the stranger asked.

Carmen had no idea who he was; she’d never seen him before.

“Fine thank you, can I help you?” she offered.

“My name’s Nick; I’m new in the neighborhood, I just moved into the old Jameson house up the street. You know the one?”

“Sure I know it, so what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if I could borrow a cup of sugar. I am dying for a glass of tea and I haven’t had time to go to the grocery store yet.”

Carmen excused herself and returned shortly with a cup of sugar in her hand. She kindly handed it to him.

“Thank you so much, I promise I’ll repay you once I make a run to the store.” He said.

“No problem, glad I could help, have a nice day.” She said closing the door.

Carmen returned to her television programming without another thought of the stranger. After all, what was out of the ordinary about his asking for a cup of sugar? As soon as Nick was out of sight, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

“I made contact with Carmen; she has no idea who I am. I told her I moved into the Old Jameson house up the street, she looks like she’s about ready to pop.”

“I know all about her pregnancy, how did she appear otherwise?”

“She looked pale and worn out.”

“I need you to find out what’s going on with the cops; find out if there are any new leads in Dexter’s case. I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.”

Dexter had been secretly listening in on Carol’s conversation. He couldn’t believe it; she was spying on Carmen, using her to gain information concerning his case. He had to find some way to warn Carmen, but how, with Carol keeping him under foot twenty-four seven. He could only think of one way to distract her.

“Why are you sitting over there by yourself, come sit next to me?”

She gladly accepted his invitation.

“This is nice, huh?” Dexter asked.

“Yeah it’s nice but I’m not sure what your motive is.”

“No motive, I just feel like being close to you.”

Dexter gently stroked her face with his fingers as he leaned in to kiss her. She gave in to his seduction. Carol was pleased with Dexter’s willingness to be with her intimately. He was finally beginning to put Carmen behind him once and for all; the two of them could be a happy couple.

“I love you Dexter, no one has ever made me feel the way that you do. We were meant to be together.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it, I was just confused. I thought I loved Carmen and when she became pregnant, I didn’t know how to break things off with her. It’s you I really want to be with, I know that now, I love you Carol.”

Carol put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Secretly, he was filled with regret and disgust, he couldn’t stand to touch her and she made his skin crawl. He would never love her, Carmen was his soul mate and he would eventually find his way back to her and their son. He missed her terribly and wondered how she was doing with her pregnancy, hoping that everything was okay with the baby.

Hours soon turned to days and days to months and still no word from Dexter. Carmen was expecting the arrival of their son any day now. Although, she’d hoped for Dexter’s safe return by the time the baby came, hope of that happening was quickly fading. She remained close to her parents as she didn’t want to be alone through her delivery.

Nick had been exceptionally helpful to Carmen and her parents; he mowed their grass on a regular basis and helped her father make a few other long needed repairs around the house. The Haines’s were thankful for his friendship and the kindness he’d shown them.

“Help mom! Come quick, please!” Carmen screamed from her bedroom.

Eva Haines hurried to her rescue without hesitation.

“What’s wrong Carmen? What is it?”

“I’m bleeding; I need to get to the hospital right away, something’s wrong with the baby.”

On the bed where Carmen was lying, Eva could see a vast amount of blood, immediately alarming her, causing her to scream for her husband.

“What’s going on?” Dave asked nervously.

“Get the car and pull it out front, we need to get her to the hospital, she’s bleeding.” Eva explained.

Dave Haines grabbed his keys and scurried out the door. Nick had been helping him do yard work and wondered what the chaos was all about. He quickly ran inside, Eva explained the circumstances to him and asked for his assistance in getting Carmen to the car. They couldn’t afford to waste any time for the baby’s sake.

Carmen was terrified, with only two weeks remaining in her pregnancy; she could be losing her baby. She had definitely experienced enough loss in her life recently; she couldn’t bear the thought of losing anything else, especially her child, he had to be alright. Dave wheeled his car into the emergency parking in front of the doors and hastily ran inside to get help.

“We need a wheelchair, my daughter’s in the car, she needs help, she’s pregnant and bleeding, her due date is two weeks away!” Dave shouted.

The nurses hurriedly located a chair and ran to assist Carmen into the hospital.

“Who’s your doctor ma’am, your OBGYN?” asked the nurse.

“Doctor Harrell, will you call him please. I don’t want to see anyone else, he knows my pregnancy, and I’m scared.”

By now Carmen was shaking uncontrollably, she was frightened of the final outcome they were leading up to. She was exceptionally careful not to do anything physically strenuous throughout her pregnancy but feared her stress level had taken a toll.

After careful consideration of Carmen’s condition, Doctor Harrell decided it best to perform an emergency C-section as the baby was in distress, causing Carmen to be even more alarmed. She needed Dexter, she couldn’t go through this alone, just having him at her side would make all the difference but unfortunately it wasn’t possible.