Just Me - M J Marlow (reading strategies book .txt) 📗

burst open bringing wind and rain into the room. The door caught me in the temple and I went down. I heard footsteps on the balcony and saw black boots and black pants. A black rose drifted down and landed in front of my eyes and I saw the note wrapped around it. He pulled me up onto my feet and dragged me out into the storm. I pushed him as hard as I could and he fell back over the railing. I watched him hit the ground and disappear. But then he was standing next to me as I collapsed to my knees and I screamed as his hands tightened around my throat. “Maggie!” Maxine’s voice cut through the nightmare. I looked up and saw her standing next to the bed, eyeing me in concern. “What’s wrong, dear?” “It wasn’t real,” I sobbed. I threw my arms around her and sobbed in relief. “It was just a dream.” I looked out the window and saw the storm still raging. “Joseph wouldn’t let me stay up, Maxie. Could I…” “No, you may not,” Maxine shook her head. “It’s only half past midnight, Maggie. You need to be sleeping.” She went to get the pills and handed me one. I knew she was right, but I had a strange feeling I had to stay awake. So I put the pill in my mouth and let it rest under my tongue as I drank the water. I laid back and she kissed me on the forehead and turned out the lights. I spit the pill out into my hand and got up. “I just gave it to her,” Maxine was saying as I crept down the stairs slowly. “She’ll be asleep in twenty minutes. You can come for her then.” I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Maxine was my friend. She would never betray me like this. I heard her close the door to the office and I went to the front door and got my coat and purse. I saw Maxine’s purse and changed my mind. Leaving my things behind, I grabbed hers. I bent down and got the laptop from the living room where I’d left it earlier and went to Maxine’s car. I got in and drove into town, pulling out onto the road just minutes before another car was slowing down to turn onto the driveway. “What do you mean she’s not there?” Maxine cried in dismay as James came down the stairs. “I gave her the medication. She should be sleeping.” “This isn’t good, Maxine,” James frowned. “We’ve identified the man who’s been sending her the roses. He left a fingerprint on the last note.” He looked over his shoulder at Cheryl. “Simon and Robert are looking for him now but we wanted Maggie in protective custody until they had him.” “Wherever she is,” Maggie said worriedly, “I hope it’s somewhere safe.” “Joseph?” I cried out as I ran into the Sheriff’s Office. The deputies turned and I did not recognize them. I went into Joseph’s office clutching my laptop to my chest and decided to do something I probably should have done sooner. I unlocked the program and found the photo I had taken the day I had almost been abducted from the library. I emailed it to James and to Cheryl without looking at it and erased the photo from the hard drive. I slid the laptop in the bottom drawer of the desk and went to get myself some water. I heard someone moan and looked towards the cell block. That was when I saw Joseph lying in a cell, out cold. “Joseph!” I cried in dismay. I picked up the keys and got into the cell and knelt next to Joseph. “Wake up, Joseph. Please wake up.” “Maggie?” Joseph moaned. “Oh God, Maggie! What are you doing here? The deputies…” “I know, Joseph,” I broke in softly. “They aren’t your men. We’re safe in here for now.” I searched his eyes and saw the pain in them. “Did they hurt you?” “You are risking his life, Kerrigan.” I looked up in shock and saw the hooded man standing there. “You remember the last note I sent you, don’t you, little girl?” I nodded. “If you don’t come out of the cell now, my friends will shoot your handsome friend. You don’t want him to die, do you?” “Don’t listen to him, Maggie,” Joseph said as he pulled himself up and leaned against the cot. He pulled out his cell phone and hit a speed dial number. “Agent Kellogg? Sheriff’s Office now!” “That was the wrong thing to do, Sheriff North,” the man snarled. He raised his gun and shot Joseph in the shoulder. “The next shot will be fatal, Kerrigan. Bring me the keys, little girl.” “Maggie, no!” Joseph moaned as I got to my feet. He tried to stop me and fell over. “I can’t let him hurt you any more, Joseph,” I sobbed as I got the keys and approached the door. “I’ll give you the keys if you put the gun away,” I told the man. “I’d hurry. I’m going to pass out soon and there’s no telling where these keys will end up.” “Very well, Kerrigan,” the man nodded and put the gun back in its holster and I held out the keys. He tossed them to one of the deputies and held my wrists as the man unlocked the door. He yanked me out and looked at the deputies. “Once we’re gone,” he said as he headed for the door, “kill him. Then join us at the Grady property.” “No!” I protested and tried to get free. “Please…” “Now Kerrigan,” the man laughed as he took a bottle out of his pocket and forced me to take a pill. “We can’t let him live. He’ll come after you and we can’t have anyone interrupting our plans now.” He stroked my cheek. “We’ll find another man for you.” “Joseph!” I screamed as the man carried me outside. I beat at his face and he just laughed as my blows grew weaker and weaker. He set me down on the seat of his car and put a blanket over me. As he got behind the wheel, I sat up and opened the door. I got out and ran as fast as my weakening legs would carry me. My robe and pajamas were plastered to my body now and the rain was still coming down hard. I knew my time was running out but I kept going. I saw the lights of his car and ducked back behind the church. I saw the basement door open and I ran in and shut and bolted the door behind me. I was shivering with cold and growing numb and I went to the old storage room where I knew the donations for the charity drive were being held. I slipped inside and found everything I needed to dry off and change into dry clothing. I fell asleep on a pile of blankets praying someone other than my stalker would find me. Simpson pulled the car up behind the church, smiling as he saw me run around to the back. I was a very resourceful and strong-willed girl, he thought to himself. I would make the man they had chosen for me an excellent pet once he had trained me. He knew I was out cold by now, so he returned to the hospital and went about his shift. If anyone found me before he was through, he would be in a position to move. If not, he knew exactly where I was. It wouldn’t be that hard to convince the Pastor and his wife that it was crucial for me to be returned to the hospital. “Pastor Andrews?” he was there twenty minutes before I should be awake. “I’m Dr. Simpson from Methodist Hospital.” The Pastor nodded. “We have a situation developing with Miss Grady.” He saw the man’s confusion. “I believe she was known as Maggie Mason before the truth became known.” “Is Maggie all right?” Mrs. Andrews paled. “We heard she had a problem with her heart…” “She’s supposed to be home on bed rest before her surgery, Mrs. Andrews,” Simpson broke in, “but she’s run away. We are asking the residents to keep their eyes open for her.” He looked down a moment. “I’d like your permission to search here. She might have gotten in during the storm last night and be lying unconscious somewhere in the building.” “Oh the poor child!” Mrs. Andrews exclaimed. She looked at her husband. “Of course we have to search. I’ll look up here, darling. Why don’t you take Dr. Simpson and search the rooms in the basement?” Simpson followed the man downstairs and they separated to make the search go faster. He was the one who found the storage room and saw me stirring on the pile of blankets. He had gauged the down time incorrectly. He slipped into the room and hid in the shadows near the door. “Kerrigan!” My eyes shot open and I looked around the darkened room in fear. Was he in here with me? He hadn’t sounded that close, so I guessed he was out in the hall somewhere searching for me. I held a pillow to my lips and moved into the corner near the furniture. I got in behind a chifferobe and held the pillow to my chest, doing my best to stay calm. I tried to stay as quiet as possible as Simpson stepped away from the door. I couldn’t see who it was. I didn’t need to see who it was. “Little girl,” he called out softly. “You’re only making it worse for yourself. I wasn’t going to hurt you.” He moved into the room slowly. “But you’re being a very naughty girl. I’m going to have to punish you now like I did all the others.” I couldn’t help the sob that rose up in my throat as I thought of what he had done to the other girls. Simpson started forward and then fell back as the Pastor stepped into the room and caught sight of me. “There you are,” the man said in relief as he came directly towards me. I rose slowly to my feet and shoved the chifferobe at him then I ran. I heard him cry out in surprise as the piece of furniture came at him but I didn’t stop running. “Going somewhere, little girl?” Simpson laughed as he stepped out of the shadows near the door. He came at me and I backed into the man I’d shoved the chifferobe onto. I shook my head in disbelief. It was the Pastor lying there under the chifferobe and he was out cold. Simpson grabbed my arms, laughing. “Very neatly done, Kerrigan. He was coming to help you and you took him out for me.” “No!” I sobbed and tried to pull free so I could help the man I’d hurt in my fear. “Let me go!” “You’ve wasted enough of my time, little girl,” Simpson replied. “It’s time to go.” He slugged me across the jaw and I collapsed. I was barely conscious as he carried me out of the church and dumped me into the trunk of his car. He tied my wrists behind my back and bound my ankles and then gagged me. I heard him slam the lid shut and struggled to come back to awareness. The man who shot Joseph had me captive now and I knew I was not going to live through this encounter. I felt around the trunk and it was completely empty. There was nothing there for me to use to defend myself. James was at the hospital watching Joseph being lifted out of the ambulance as a black car drove by slowly and he recognized the driver. Something about the man’s expression made him uneasy and he