Stalker

Chapter three~ Anne's past

Sweat trickles down the side of my face. The knot in my stomach tightens as one of my own officers walks to me.
Anne's tired eyes reflect my own exhaustion.

"Now, what did you see exactly?" She clicks her pen and taps a notepad gently.

"As I said to the nice police officer that works with the city, I was watching TV when I heard a knock at the door. I grabbed my gun because god knows who it could've been!" I take a deep breath to calm myself after my angry gesture to the apartment building. "When I opened it I saw the man with a kitchen knife sticking out of his back and he muttered 'beware of Jeff' before he died."

Anne scratches vigorously to keep up with my fast pace speech.

A cold breeze brings a shiver to my bare arms. Clouds slowly make their way across the sky, promising a storm of some sort.

Anne puts a hand on my shoulder, "boss, I know you don't like sympathy, but you are welcome to come stay at my house while the apartment is under investigation."

I nod slightly, "that would be much appreciated, thank you."

She smiles, "anything for the man who saved my life in the line of duty." She points to my scar on my shoulder.

"You mean the .50 cal that shot me when I got in your way?" I break out laughing. "I didn't save your life."

"Well you did in my book." She slaps my back before walking off.

I rub my shoulder and run a finger over the slight indent. That's a day that will be impossible to forget.

~

Anne's house is finely decorated for a single mother. Other than the toys and wireless game controllers scattering the living room floor, it is quite clean.

A teen boy with a green tipped Mohawk sits on the couch across from the front door. He has his music plugged in and he plays on his phone quietly. A small girl, about the age of six, sits on the floor with her Barbie dolls.

"Rem, Jennifer, can you please clean up around here?" Anne says sweetly while she hangs up her jacket.

"Mommy!" Jennifer leaps from where she was sitting and runs to her mother. She freezes when she sees me.

Yeah... It must be weird seeing an adult man in sweats and a worn out tank-top with your mother. I joke to myself.

"Mommy, is this your boyfriend?" Her innocence makes me smile.

"No." Anne and I say at the same time.
Jennifer smiles. "Well hi not mommy's boyfriend!"

I chuckle and wave. "Hi Jennifer, I'm Zach."

She giggles before running to clean up her toys.

"Rem." Anne says with a hint of frustration towards the boy.

He doesn't move.

"Remington Mark Woods." She storms over to the boy and rips out his earbuds. "Clean up then go to bed or you're grounded. You have school in the morning."

He groans furiously before getting up and throwing the controllers and other random cords into a box then sliding it onto a shelf under the entertainment center. He grabs his stack of games then puts them in their place on a bookshelf. Finally, he heads to the stairs and starts going down them.

Anne clears her throat.

"Now what?" Rem rolls his eyes and turns to face his mother.

"Good night." She attempts a smile. "I love you."

"Love you too." He mutters and goes downstairs.

After Jennifer was done cleaning up, she runs and hugs her mom and runs down the hall to my left. "Night mommy!"

"I'll be in there in a few to read you a story, okay?" Anne smiles.

Jennifer stops before turning the corner, "can Zach read me the story?"

I chuckle softly.

"I think Zach wants to go to bed as w-"

"I would love to." I wave to her. "Go get ready then I'll be in there in a bit."

~

After I read "the princess and the frog" to Jennifer for the fifth time, she finally starts drifting off.

"I love you... Zach..." She says softly.
I stare at her, shocked, before leaning over and kissing her head. I stand and out, turning the light off and closing the door behind me.

~

Anne sets a few blankets and a pillow on the couch. "The bathroom is down the hall, fridge is over there-" she points to the fridge in the kitchen.

"Hey, Anne... I've been meaning to ask you for a while now..." I rub the back of my neck.

"Hm?" She turns and looks at me.

"What ever happened to your husband? You never seem to talk about him."

"Oh you mean Edward?" She sighs. "I don't know... He just went up and left me and the kids."

"Is that why Remington is so... What's the word..."

"Upset? Quiet? Anti-social?" Anne chuckles. "I guess so. He was only six when it happened."

"And... Did your husband name him?"
She nods. "It was Ed's father's name."

"Was?"

"He was killed in the line of duty."

I nod. "I'm sorry to hear that..."

"Why? I didn't know him. I don't even care to learn about him."

"Right..." I sigh softly.

After a minute if silence, Anne finally speaks. "Well, good night. I'm off to bed." She walks off and flips the light switch, leaving me alone in the dark.