Learn To Love Again

Chapter 32

I knew that officer Barnes had said that the backup officers would be keeping an eye on me from next door, but I was still very uncomfortable staying in the house alone, especially since the disturbing conversation with Officer Barnes and Officer Wright. I tried to sleep that night, but couldn't do so for more than twenty minutes at a time. Every time I woke up, I'd have the same question on my mind:

What if Malcolm decides to attack now?

I finally gave up trying to sleep at about 3am and went downstairs. I remembered officer Barnes had said they would be back about dawn, but that was still about three hours away. Until then, I needed a distraction. The rain hadn't started yet and I was happy to see I still had electricity. I'd have hated to have to go power up the generator alone at this hour.

I turned on the television and skipped through the channels until I landed on a seemingly interesting action movie. I tried to zone in to it and shut out all the noise in my head. I couldn't, of course. The majority of my brain  was occupied thinking about Mr. Detective and our spontaneous exchange; not to mention the fact that I was scared senseless of a psycho stalker that had tried to kill me once and planned to try again.

The movie ended before I even figured out the plot and another started. I watched without concentration or focus until I felt myself dosing off. I got more comfortable on the sofa, covered myself with the blanket, and let sleep consume my thoughts.

When I heard the knocking some time later, my heart jumped all the way up to my throat and I reflexively jumped out of the sofa, almost tripping over the blanket in the process. It sounded again and I realized it was coming from the back door. The officers must've arrived.

"Who is it?" I called, as i made my way to the back door.

"Officer Barnes and Officer Wright," came a hushed response.

I quickly opened the door and the two officers stepped inside.

Normally, Officer Barnes would be in uniform, but today, he wore jeans and a yellow T-shirt that made him look skinnier than usual. "Good morning," he said politely.

"Morning." I locked the door behind them and they followed me to the living room. When they both sat on the sofa, I stood uncomfortably in front of the kitchen doorway, not sure what to do. "Can I get you anything?" I asked.

"No, thanks," Officer Wright responded.

Officer Barnes asked for some water and I went to the kitchen to get it. When I returned, I handed it to him and took a seat on the recliner.

A long time passed and no one spoke. I shifted  uncomfortably on the recliner. Not that I really wanted to start a conversation, but the silence was becoming awkward.

"So..." I said. "Did you find out anything new about where Malcolm is staying?"

"We haven't found anything important," Officer Barnes answered, "but we're still looking."

I nodded, then got up from the sofa. "Be right back," I said, before heading upstairs to get the Agatha Christie novel I had been reading.

I couldn't remember where I had put it. After quickly scanning the bookshelf in my room, I went to the library and began searching for it. I found it on one of the shelves and started back downstairs.

The rain had already started by then and, when I returned to the living room, I found Officer Wright wasn't there.

"Where's Officer Wright?" I asked Officer Barnes as I returned to the recliner.

"She went to the garage to switch off your your main circuit breaker," he said calmly. There was something menacing about his tone and it took me a while to process what he'd said.