“These four men live within five blocks of one another. I say we start in that cluster. We can split up if need be, but this is our best method,” Detective Louis stated.
Just then, Matt entered the club. “What the fuck happened?”
Tyler explained.
“Let’s move,” the sheriff commanded, and both Matt and Tyler headed out with him.
“So you really think these guys might be the one? Fuck, man, I was so worried about leaving her that I left a job to get here to see her and make sure that she was okay.”
“I know, man. This is insane. We should have stuck to our guns and made her stay with us,” Tyler added.
They got to the first house and Tyler and Matt had to wait while the sheriff, Detective Louis, and their deputies followed procedure. It was torture, waiting to see if they had the right guy. As a man and a woman, half dressed, came toward the front door with the sheriff, they knew that he wasn’t their guy.
“One down,” the sheriff stated.
* * * *
Her jaw hurt and her arm wouldn’t stop bleeding, no matter how hard she tried to apply pressure. She was shaking in fear, and her heart pounded inside of her chest. Jimmy was her stalker. He was the arsonist and killer. It made sense now because he knew so much about fire. He was a firefighter in Cellar County. She remembered him mentioning that when she was looking at the vase in town and he offered to pay for it. My God, how could I not see this coming? He was obsessed with her and even tried to apologize and blame his actions on alcohol. She thought back to how many times he’d asked her out or come over to her to flirt or touch her. She thought about the last time and how he and his friends started touching her and how Tyler and Matt broke it up. Oh God! Tyler and Matt. Would they be looking for her by now? At least Alexa and Susanna were safe, but how was she going to get away from Jimmy?
She felt the tears sting her eyes. She was a weak person. Men like this always controlled and dominated her by using her fear against her. Why was this happening to her? Why now when she had finally met two men she loved. Tyler and Matt were everything she could have ever hoped for in boyfriends. Even though their sexual needs initially scared the crap out of her and were difficult at times to provide for, they made her see the care and love in their actions and ultimately her pleasure and sexual satisfaction. She now craved their dominance and control. She wanted their arms around her, protecting her, and now this asshole was ruining it for her.
He’d killed so many women. He’d burned those buildings, the hotel, and the trailer homes. He’d threatened Tyler and Matt, and he’d made her feel helpless.
I can’t do this. I can’t fight him off.
The car stopped abruptly and she knew she couldn’t give up. She was alone, and Tyler, Matt, and even the sheriff may not know she was gone yet. She had to take matters into her own hands despite the possibility of dying. She wouldn’t allow this guy to have her. No way.
As the trunk opened, she threw all her weight toward Jimmy, making him stumble back. But as he reached for her, her rib hit the metal bumper and she tumbled to the ground, knocking her breath from her.
As she scurried away, she felt the kick to her side, and her body flipped over like a sack of potatoes.
He kicked her again with his pointed cowboy boot. She screamed out in pain.
“Don’t fight me, Paula. I will fuck you dead or alive. I’d prefer alive so I can hear you scream, but I won’t let the decision be yours.”
He grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up. He was tall, over six feet, and thin but muscular.
He dragged her across the dirt driveway, and as she glanced around while holding his hands to try to ease his grip so her hair wasn’t ripped from the roots, she noticed the empty area and one single house done up nicely. That must be a neighbor’s home.
She screamed for help.
“Help me!”
He threw her down on the concrete steps. Her mouth hit the step, cutting her lip.
“Shut up. There’s no one around. No one is gonna find us.”
He lifted her up and carried her into the small shack. It wasn’t a house. It appeared as an extra-large shed. When he got her inside, she saw the large mattress, her pictures scattered like wallpaper along the wooden plank walls, and also ropes, knives, and other weapons.
He threw her onto the floor next to the mattress.
“Get undressed now.”
She stared at him, her arm bleeding, her lips slit and bleeding as well, and fear gripped her insides. Her teeth began to chatter, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
“Why are you doing this, Jimmy? What do you want?”
He backhanded her across the mouth, and she nearly fell over.