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Sierra’s eyes went wide, mouth slightly agape.
‘‘What I’m asking is’’—I sat back next to her—‘‘how did you send the letter? Is it possible that you accidentally sent it to someone else, with the same name? Because if that’s a possibility, I told a serial killer that I’m a fan of his work and that I work in the same field.’’
‘‘Oh my God.’’ She clamped her hands over her mouth. ‘‘I am so sorry, Storm! I had no idea there could be a mix-up.’’ She fumbled over the words, but I managed to understand her. ‘‘Since I used that website before, I knew that it’s quicker to send the letter as you’d normally do it, and not follow all the protocols, and since I had a name, I just went with it.’’
I closed my eyes, feeling all air leave my lungs.
‘‘It’s possible there was a mix-up and that another inmate with the same name got it, but Micah isn’t that common of a name. The thought of someone else getting it never crossed my mind. I’m so, so sorry, Storm.’’
‘‘It’s okay,’’ I responded softly. The sight of her tear-stained face made my heart ache. She had good intentions at heart, and I was going to figure out this mess somehow. ‘‘I’m just worried about how he managed to send me a letter and have it delivered within a day.’’
‘‘Okay, listen.’’ She grabbed my hands in hers, stroking them with her thumb, as if to ease my anxiety. ‘‘He’s locked up, okay? All he can do is send some silly, little letters. You’ll never go there again anyway, so he's bound to stop.’’
I swallowed a knot in my throat, allowing a tear to slip from the corner of my eye.
‘‘But it doesn’t make any sense,’’ I whispered. ‘‘The return address was a PO box, and I wrote under my pen name, Storm Matthews. I got it back under my real name and in front of my door. I’m afraid, Sierra.’’
Sierra’s response was to hug me tightly. It managed to soothe me slightly, at least enough to stop the tears from falling down my face. I’d never felt like this.
In reality, it was ridiculous.
I was going to work with a lot of criminals that are out there, in the open, and my job will be to catch them. This one was behind bars where he couldn’t hurt me, and he would die soon. So why did I dream of him last night? Why was I paranoid that somehow, one morning, I’ll open my eyes and I’ll see him staring at me?
‘‘Do you want to go to the police station?’’
I snorted. ‘‘And tell them what? That I’m afraid someone on death row is coming to get me? I’ll become their laughingstock. No, thank you.’’
Sierra saw through the facade I put on, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, she grabbed the remote from the table, brought two glasses of wine and poured us a glass each.
‘‘Let’s just watch something, and don’t think about him tonight, okay?’’
‘‘Fine.’’ I took the glass out of her hands and sipped on it, whilst she turned on the TV.
She was flipping through the channels, briefly pausing to see if any movie that was currently on would be to our liking. We mutually decided that horror movies are a big no for the night and tried to find a comedy.
Then, I caught a glimpse of something.
‘‘Hey, return to the previous channel.’’
Sierra gave me a confused look. ‘‘What, the news?’’
I nodded and she listened.
‘‘…has now escaped. It’s believed that it happened late last night, during the power outage. One of the guards, Mike Clinton, was found dead and is assumed to be his accomplice. The other four guards are now at the hospital, expecting to make a full recovery.’’
All I saw were those dangerous eyes from a mugshot. Even in that awful picture, he managed to stand out. I’d seen my fair share of mugshots, and they were all equally terrible, but this one? Even through a photograph, he radiated with dominance and wickedness.
The camera returned to the lady delivering the news, zooming in enough to see her face clearly.
‘‘Until the Terror of the Night is caught, we advise everyone to remain safe in your homes. We hope he doesn’t strike again.’’
Her eyes were blank, with enough warning lacing within. It seemed as if she was staring right at me, trying to probe into my soul.
And that made me shiver.
My beautiful Storm,
I saw that distressed look on your face. I must say it pained me to see it. Seeing you almost break down in tears for anything other than me is truly making my heart ache. Do not worry, my love. Soon enough, I’ll come to you, and I’ll ease all your worries.
