Page 93 of Putting Out
Just as the thought occurred to him, an engine roared to life. Kenny didn’t believe the creep had been that far ahead of him that he could have jumped the fence, gotten to his car, and drove off, but that’s what happened. He had to reevaluate his commitment to no exercise.
Bending over, he sucked in air and listened to the peal of tires taking the stalker well out of his reach.
He heard Reilly puffing behind him. “I lost him.”
“I heard the car.”
“He must be a track star,” Kenny said between puffs.
“Sure, Kenny. You weren’t too slow, he just happens to be a track star.”
“Maybe since I charged to your rescue you could not mock me.”
He tossed back the driver to her and she caught the shaft in midair.
“What rescue? He was running away.”
“Yes, but I scared him.”
She rubbed his arm. “You did. You’re my hero. But can I just say I’m glad you’re allergic to exercise. The last thing I wanted you to do was catch him. You don’t know what kind of nut he is. He could have been dangerous.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Not against a gun you can’t,” she said.
“If he had a gun he would have used it when he broke in. He had cans of paint. This guy’s a coward. I know it. If I could get my hands on him, I could end this once and for all.
They walked back to the spot where they decided he must have been watching her from. It wasn’t that hard to find.
“Jesus,” Kenny breathed as he knelt down among the debris littered at his feet within a huddle of trees. It was trash that had been accumulated over weeks not days. As if the person had been making a camp out of the same spot each day. There were dried-up apple cores, black banana peels, tissues, candy wrappers, and golf balls. Lots and lots of golf balls.
Reilly crouched next to him and studied the trash.
“That’s the wrapper from the protein bar I ate yesterday. I recognize the brand. And I had a banana three days ago. Those are all my balls, too. God knows how he found so many of them among the mass of balls lost on this course. He must have picked up every one to see if it had my mark. This is scary, Kenny. Almost as scary as the ball mark.”
Kenny looked at his sister and watched her face as she found a ponytail holder that must have fallen out of her pocket as she walked the course. There were still a few hairs attached to it from the last time she’d worn it. He saw her shudder and it rocked him.
For as long as he’d known her she’d never backed away from any challenge in her life. He remembered her always following at his heels, ready to do whatever he did despite being almost eight years younger.
If he was watching a scary movie then she wanted to watch it, too. If he could ride the roller coaster at the fair then she could, too. It didn’t matter if she was scared or the ride made her sick, what mattered was proving herself to him.
Kenny was sure there was some shrink who would diagnose her need to keep up as a result of losing parents she never knew. Something deep inside of her needed to hang on to him even when he was growing up and pulling away. At the same time she needed to prove she was worthy to tag along so he wouldn’t leave her behind.
It was why she had started playing golf with him and Pop. Her big brother was going somewhere and she wouldn’t tolerate staying back at the house without him. It had just been fate, or good genes, or something else that made her so much more talented at the game than he was.
All of that led to this and now she was biting her lip as she picked through trash some psycho had collected. He hadn’t seen her do that since she was a kid.
“Maybe you should pull out.”
Her body jerked.
“I’m serious. This isn’t worth your life. He’s not going away liked we hoped.”
“All he was doing was watching me, Kenny. Watching me and gathering this stuff like some kind of squirrel. None of this is dangerous.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what he would have done if you hadn’t woken up. You don’t know what he’s thinking. Agent Leonard said a stalker’s actions can escalate. Breaking in, following you out there. That’s an escalation.”
“Yes, but he also said that he thinks this is just a first timer whose fanaticism has turned into obsession.”
