Someone To Run To

18

Jack got up early. His morning started like any other. He brushed his teeth and took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs. He took his seat in the living room and turned on the news. His maid brought him his breakfast a few seconds later. He had a meeting he had to go to soon, so he draped a towel over his suit. He didn't want to take a chance of ruining it before he even got out the door. He was in the market to buy another newspaper outfit or two. The money was rolling in from his other businesses. Life was glorious.

He was about to take a bite of his breakfast when the news channel showed a photo that immediately caught his attention. He threw the fork back down on the plate and set it off his lap onto the table beside him. He turned up the volume, suddenly interested in what they were saying.

"A shooting took place in Talulu yesterday after an apparent attempt on a young woman's life," the woman reported. "The front desk clerk and several guests recall hearing loud noises coming from the room of a woman named Gina Turner. The police were called and when they arrived at the scene, they found the body of 34-year-old Amy Newman. According to Ms. Turner and the police, after reconstructing the crime scene, it was a case of self-defense. Ms. Turner was not on the scene to comment, but sources say she headed home. After such a traumatic event, who could blame her?"

The camera moved from the woman to shots of the police department bringing the body out in a bag on a stretcher. The coroner was walking behind it and they all had grim expressions on their faces. Jack turned the television off. He was livid. So Amy had failed. He took a deep breath. He had to get over to her place. He had to remove any evidence he was ever tied to her at all. If the police found out she was hired to murder Gina and those other six girls, he would be charged as an accessory to murder if not full murder charges. Of course, Gina wasn't dead yet, but she would be. He couldn't believe Amy was shot. He didn't even know Gina knew how to shoot a gun. He had underestimated her abilities.

He slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. He couldn't wait another moment. He had to get going, and as soon as he was through at Amy's he was going to figure out what to do about Gina. This was all her fault.

Jack had a perfect thing going. He would pick the girls he knew he could control and date them. No family ties, no money. Then he used his business trips to be with Amy. She was such a willing participant in his twisted life. It was easy for him to convince her to kill for him. All he had to do was seduce her with money. Then Gina had to go and kill her. It angered him she had gotten away. She needed to be dealt with and the sooner the better.

Jack forgot all about his breakfast. He put on the suit jacket and headed for the front door. He flung it open, prepared to leave. He had to be at the meeting at 9 am and it was already 7 am. It would give him just enough of a time window to swing by Amy's and tidy up a little. That is until he saw he had visitors in his driveway the moment he looked up. His eyes widened in surprise. The police were there. It looked as if they had just pulled in. They began getting out of their cruisers. There were a couple of black SUVs too. He stopped there in the doorway of the house. He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what they would be doing there unless something had happened. Then it hit him. Gina.

They walked toward him with straight, expressionless faces. The man in the front was the one he was worried about. He knew who he was. He had been the lead investigator for the FBI for years. He handled the shootings of those six dead girls. It was Agent John Harmon.

"Good morning, Mr. Keebler," John greeted him as he made his way up the steps in front of his house. He extended his hand. It was only polite for him to shake hands with someone whose house he was about to tear apart, wasn't it?