Stephanie nodded emphatically, fear threatening to overwhelm her. Her mind raced as she considered how she could escape this monster. Before she could fabricate any plan he continued, “I will be here, watching you. If you scream out, if you even take one step in a direction other than that car, your children will be dead before you can get to a phone to call the police. By the time they get here, I will be gone, and so will your children. I think you are a smart girl Stephanie; you’ll do what you are told. I’m correct, aren’t I?”
Again Stephanie nodded knowing she was going to absolutely follow his instructions. Once he got away from Michael and Cameron she could consider escaping, but not until he was out of her house, away from her babies.
He walked her to the front door, his thick fingers gripping her elbow through leather gloves she just now noticed. “Do not run to the car, do not do anything that will call attention to yourself. I will be watching, and if I see a neighbor’s light come on, if I see a window blind open up, if I hear a dog bark, I will kill your son. You need all the luck you can muster right now Stephanie, you need to be invisible.”
He spoke so matter of factly that Stephanie could do nothing but listen and when it came time to move, she would obey, there was no doubt.
The intruder went to the picture window to the left of the front door and pulled the curtains aside, looking out. It was quiet and dark, no lights on in any of the surrounding houses. It was a good time to take her, he knew that. “It’s time to go,” was all he said as he unlatched the door and opened it for Stephanie.
“You’re doing the right thing Stephanie. Your kids are going to be all right. You are a smart girl; don’t get stupid all of a sudden.” With that he opened the door and stepped back. She reached for the handle of the screen door and the man said, “You go get in the car, I’ll be in Michael’s room.” With that he retreated through the house and down the hallway to her son’s room.
For an instant Stephanie considered going after the man, but she knew that he would get to Michael before she could get to him. She was going to have to listen to him if she was going to protect her children.
With great trepidation she opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch stoop. Her hands shook as she closed the door, making sure it didn’t slam. It was if every sound she made was intensified. Her biggest fear right now was that a neighbor’s light would come on or some random noise would rouse the people from their sleep.
The stone of the porch was chilly on her bare feet, but she hardly noticed. Her focus was on the sedan parked down the street. Glancing side to side, to make sure no one saw her, she crept down the steps. Rather than walk along the sidewalk, Stephanie quickly cut across the grass. The lawn was dewy and cold, chilling her physically to go with the bitter cold of the terror she was current living.
After what seemed like an eternity, she finally reached the car parked unobtrusively on the side of the street. It was a dark blue Ford Taurus, just like her dad used to drive. Stephanie grabbed the handle of the passenger back seat door, just like she had been told when she ventured a glance back at her little house. From where she stood she could see the window of Michael’s room and what she saw chilled her to the bone. Standing in the window was the man, watching her as she followed his instructions. She knew that no less that two from where the man stood was her little boy, sleeping the night away as if there was nothing wrong.
“What would Michael do in the morning when he woke up,” she thought. In her mind she knew that she wouldn’t be back. She had read the news reports about the killer stalking the outskirts of
She opened the door to the car and was relieved when the dome light didn’t come on. She had feared that someone, somewhere in one of the homes along the street would notice her. Glancing around, she guessed that this was not the case. Getting in the backseat, she closed the backdoor, cringing as the door made the recognizable slam as she pulled it closed.
Fearing that someone heard her, she ducked down behind the seat and stayed that way for at least a minute. When she poked her head back up she saw him still standing in Michael’s window, just watching the car she was now inside.
The backseat was empty, not even a hint of dirt on the floor or seat. There were no papers on the floor, no pop cans rolling around, no nothing. This guy was meticulous. She wished she could venture to reach into the glove box, but she knew he would see her. There was nothing she could leave for the police to find that would tell them where she was.
With nothing left to do but obey the man who right now stood over her son, Stephanie Gimble opened the seat, crawled into the trunk and shut the seat behind her. With a quiet click, she sealed herself within a coffin of steel.
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