Episode 4

     My work phone rang and echoed through the halls. I was packed up to leave and debated on even answering. I picked up the phone, but it wasn’t a call at all, instead it was an entry request for the building. Odd for 11:30pm. I went to the door to see. Police at this hour never bring good news. My stomach dropped. I fell to my knees. In a matter of seconds, I went from a mother of 4 to a widowed mother with only one living child.

     I went with them to the station, where Clara was safe and waiting. On our way they filled me in on the details. How the intruder smashed our window open, took what they could, and executed my husband and 3 children. Clara hid in a closet behind some boxes and called the police, but they were too late to save the others. “Mommy, I was so scared!” I remember Clara cried when she saw me. After that things were different. We moved a few times, usually as soon as a break-in happened nearby. They never caught the person responsible, no DNA. Instead, we lived in fear.

     Clara’s doctor suggested finding a permanent home to bring some stability and security. So, we set down new roots in a town called Arnsville, with the lowest crime rate in the area. Therapists suggested we tried to start moving forward, but it’s hard not to be filled with fear when you read about similar things happening in nearby towns. Still we tried.

     Clara started a new school, and I kept working my job post from home. No matter what, I couldn’t risk Clara being alone or without me home if anything were to happen again. I spent most of my day working but carved out a couple of hours to check the news for the surrounding area. Everything was always calm for a couple weeks, then the similar break-ins and murders would start. It was if the criminal was following us, wanting to keep us afraid and on edge. If that was their goal, they were doing a great job.

     Clara and I rarely left each other’s sides. We’d go on walks together and point out interesting things on the way. One day we heard footsteps behinds us. The lights flickered and we only caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure before it was gone. As time passed more murders and break-ins popped up. But when I started looking for a new place to live, Clara was livid. She threw the type of tantrum I didn’t even know she was capable of.

     The days passed and turned to weeks. Thankfully, it seemed the criminal must have been caught. While Clara was at school I decided to go for a walk. It felt like it had been forever. I stopped at a park bench for a rest when I saw him. A stalky man ducked behind a tree. By this point I had, had enough. I was tired of running. Instead, I stormed directly up to him, “What do you want from me? What is going on?”

     The man looked at me with fear, as if I was the stalker in this situation. “Ma’am, I’m police.” He showed me his badge, but nothing about it put me at ease. “We need to talk.” We sat on the bench and he explained, “We have no leads on the person who killed your family. The only pattern we’ve notice, is it looks like they’re following you. It’s too much of a coincidence to not be.”

     “So, you’ve been watching me? Watching us? You think I had something to do with this?! I told the police this person was following us, and you all called me crazy.” I ran my fingers through my hair, holding the back of my neck. “What now? Why? Can- Can you tell me anything?”

     The officer just looked at me, waiting for me to interject again. “If you give me a chance… I can answer some of your questions.” I nodded slow, but it felt like a raceway in my veins. “Yes, you were right. It seems the criminal is following you. I’m sorry we made you feel crazy, but with so few leads we had to be careful. And honestly, we considered you a suspect for a little minute.” He laughed like I should join, but my face stayed still. “We know they must be connected to you somehow. I need you to gather some information for me. Past e-mails, some files, and a few photos from this list of dates. Can you do that for me?” He handed me a piece of paper and I nodded, though a bit confused as to how these things would help. “We can meet back here tomorrow at 10am. Try to be patient ma’am, we’re closing in on this guy.” The officer left, but I was frozen in place. So many thoughts raced through my mind that I had a hard time understanding any. But I had the list and I had hope. I raced home to go through our old files and photo albums.

     The next day I went to grab my keys, thinking it’d be easier to drive with the box of files than walk, but they were no where to be found. After spending way too much time looking, I decided to just leave the files and tell him to discreetly pick them up. I sped walked to the park, since I was already 15 minutes late. I saw him waiting for me on the bench and picked up the pace. Then I stopped. There was so much blood. I stumbled back only to see my keys, under the bench. It was like the world stood still for a moment. It felt like a direct threat, but I didn’t know what to do. The seconds that ticked by felt like hours. Home. I needed to get home. 

     While running home, I passed two firetrucks and somehow knew. I turned the corner and saw my entire porch, engulfed in flames. Where once sat my box of files, now sat a pile of ash. I picked up Clara from school and got a hotel for the evening. The reality of our dangerous situation had fully set in, and I knew we were in trouble. The police were stationed around and inside the hotel, yet somehow, another victim was discovered in the morning. When the body was found, Clara and I were moved to a “safe house”. It was there I discussed with Clara that we would need to move yet again. As expected, Clara had no interest in moving. She hated starting over. I made lists of what we’d need and what the police would need to gather from the house. We went to sleep for the last time in Arnsville. We would begin the relocating process in the morning.

     It was still dark when I heard the door creak open. I shot up and looked around. Clara stood in the doorway, the light behind her covered her in darkness. “Honey, did you have a bad dream? Do you wanna crawl in bed with me?” 

     The silence hung. “I want to play.”

     “It’s nighttime Clara, what’s going on?” I clicked on the light to see Clara drenched in blood, clutching a knife. 

     “Night, night Mommy.”