The Christmas Stalking by Lillian Duncan Read Free Book Online Page B

what happened and maybe get help faster for Mark.
    Her gaze moved to the steep rocky path to Len’s house. She might not be able to make it up that steep path to Len’s. The last of her energy was almost gone.
    But he had a phone.
    Please God show me the right way.
    Her gaze moved from the fishing shack to the rocky path and back.
    She made her choice.
     
     
     
     

12
     
    Her knees and hands had lost all feeling by the time she made it to the shack. She’d tried to keep weight off her leg as she hobbled, but then she fell and had to crawl the rest of the way.
    The snow fell harder.
    Using the door as an anchor, she stood. She grimaced as she put weight on the ankle.
    In the moonlight, the padlock glistened.
    She shivered and brushed snow from her face.
    Exhausted or not, she had no choice but to go up the path to Len’s house—unless…she knelt in front of the door mat and brushed the snow away. No key.
    Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
    She eyed the rocky path.
    Maybe the key is above the doorjamb. Her gaze moved upward. It looked a mile away.
    She stood on wobbly legs. As she pressed up on tiptoes, pain shot through her ankle. She ran a finger along the piece of wood, brushing away snow. There it was…a small, cold metal key. With trembling hands, she slipped the key into the padlock and turned it.
    The lock broke open.
    She wasted no time opening the door and hobbling inside.
    The shelter from the howling wind and falling snow was wonderful.
    Slivers of moonlight streamed through the doorway and windows. The place probably didn’t have electricity. At least it didn’t when she was a child.
    Perhaps she could find a lantern or a flashlight. She searched the room and almost gave a shout of joy when she found a small heater instead. She flipped the switch. Within seconds, the heater glowed orange-red. Another switch turned on the blower. She limped over and closed the door to shut out the wind. Her clothes were soaked, her hands and feet so cold she worried about frostbite.
    Mark’s face flashed in her mind.
    Please, let the firemen find him. He shouldn’t die because of me.
    She couldn’t stay here long. Once warm, she’d have to make it to Len’s farm.
    She prayed that Mark would hang on until she got help.
    Turning towards the other wall, her heart skipped a beat.
    She put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
     
     
     
     

13
     
    Holly stood, mesmerized by the images of herself.
    Like a bizarre fun house, pictures of her—of Destiny, had been glued to the wall. In concert, promo pictures, personal pictures, photos of her by her pool, of her walking out her front door, coming out of the grocery store.
    Her mind was as frozen as her feet had been minutes before.
    She leaned back against the wall to relieve the pressure on her ankle. She had to be hallucinating. Her heart thumped. These bizarre pictures made no sense.
    Robby was her stalker—he had to be.
    Robby had brought her to this shack many years ago.
    She replayed the images of the past few days.
    Robby stopping her as she came to town. Robby just happening to recognize her as his childhood playmate, and then pretending to be surprised that she was Destiny.
    Then the night the cabin was vandalized, he’d slipped out during the children’s program. He had more than enough time to destroy her property.
    Closing her eyes, she remembered the smell when he’d hugged her. She’d assumed it was gasoline, but it might have been some kind of cleaner so he could remove paint from his hands—the evidence that he was the stalker.
    It was her fault Mark was hurt—maybe dead. She doubled over and her head swirled. Her breathing grew ragged as fear raged.
    Robby had accused Mark. Robby had guns—he was the chief of police. Had he shot Mark? If so, she’d played right into his hands and was running straight to him.
    She’d thought they might have a future together.
    But why shoot at her? She was here now and clearly