DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story. You know the drill.
STARTED: MAY 29, 2003.
Here's.. CHapter Two!! Read and enjoy! Please R&R. Thank you! ~*Silver SPrite*~ ^_~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Chapter Two**
Helga had no destination in mind when she left the place. She drove aimlessly south. When she passed the
car dealership where she'd worked for the past five months, she didn't even glance back. She'd driven away
from so many different places in the past thirty months that it barely caused her a pang to do so now.
She would call Monday and let someone know she wouldn't be back. Her employer would be angry, but no one
would worry about her enough to list her as a missing person. They would simply assume that she'd rudely
quit without notice. She doubted that anyone ever missed her when she made these abrupt moves. There was
only one person in the past almost three years ago who'd probably grieved for her when she'd left, and
she'd told herself that he'd gotten over her a long time ago. Out of habit, she touched the thin gold
chain at her throat, where it disappeared beneath the collar of her shirt. She still coudn't believe
that Arnold had found her. She'd nearly had a heart attack when he'd stepped in front of her on that
walkway. It had been like seeing a ghost.
Or like seeing a long-mourned part of herself.
How had he found her? How long had he been searching for her? And what was the connection between
running into him and the photographs that had arrived in her mail? Both incidents had occurred the same
day. Was it simply a bizarre twist of fate - or was it something much more sinister?
She tried to calm herself by focusing on the music coming from the cassete deck. And then she realized
what song was playing. The song was warning her that even the quickest way wasn't fast enough when you
run from love. She turned off the stereo and reached up to wipe at her face, finding it wet. She didn't
know how long she'd been driving with tears streaming down her face. She swallowed a sob. She wouldn't
cry. She never allowed herself to cry. Not ever. Ever again.
She forced herself to concentrate on her driving. Though she had little regard for her own life these days,
as cold an empty as it had become, she was desperately determined not to cause harm to anyone else. That
sole motivation had kept her alone and on the run for more than two years.
Keeping in touch by cell phone, Jake and Arnold caught up with Helga in Wichita, Kansas, several hours
after she'd escaped Arnold in Des Moines. Arnold couldnt help but be impressed with Jake. THe guy seemed
to have an almost psychic ability to locate Helga. THe other two detectives Arnold had previously hired
had not been really as good. As though sensing that he'd be needed, Jake had been nearby when Arnold had
gone to confront Helga at her apartment. He'd seen what had happened with the young men who'd rushed to
"rescue" her from Arnold, and had followed Helga at a discreet distance when she'd left town. When she
checked into a motel in Wishita, Jake had taken a room directly across from hers where he could keep an
eye on things until Arnold arrived.
Her only stop, Jake informed his client after Arnold had slipped discreetly into his room, had been at a
small pharmacy just inside the Wichita city limits. She'd emerged with a small plastic bag and had driven
straight to this motel. She hadn't been out of her room ever since.
Arnold paced the cramped motel room like an enraged panther, his blood pounding in his ears.
"Why did she look at me that way when I tried to talk to her?" he demanded. "Why did she scream and run
when I touched her arm?"
Sprawled in a chair by the window, his fingers templed in front of him, Jake watched Arnold's movement with
searching eyes.
"You said she acted terrified to see you. What threat do you pose to her?"
"None," Arnold replied. "I never laid a hand on her. Hell, we weren't married long enough to have our first
fight. There's no reason on earth for her to fear me."
STARTED: MAY 29, 2003.
Here's.. CHapter Two!! Read and enjoy! Please R&R. Thank you! ~*Silver SPrite*~ ^_~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Chapter Two**
Helga had no destination in mind when she left the place. She drove aimlessly south. When she passed the
car dealership where she'd worked for the past five months, she didn't even glance back. She'd driven away
from so many different places in the past thirty months that it barely caused her a pang to do so now.
She would call Monday and let someone know she wouldn't be back. Her employer would be angry, but no one
would worry about her enough to list her as a missing person. They would simply assume that she'd rudely
quit without notice. She doubted that anyone ever missed her when she made these abrupt moves. There was
only one person in the past almost three years ago who'd probably grieved for her when she'd left, and
she'd told herself that he'd gotten over her a long time ago. Out of habit, she touched the thin gold
chain at her throat, where it disappeared beneath the collar of her shirt. She still coudn't believe
that Arnold had found her. She'd nearly had a heart attack when he'd stepped in front of her on that
walkway. It had been like seeing a ghost.
Or like seeing a long-mourned part of herself.
How had he found her? How long had he been searching for her? And what was the connection between
running into him and the photographs that had arrived in her mail? Both incidents had occurred the same
day. Was it simply a bizarre twist of fate - or was it something much more sinister?
She tried to calm herself by focusing on the music coming from the cassete deck. And then she realized
what song was playing. The song was warning her that even the quickest way wasn't fast enough when you
run from love. She turned off the stereo and reached up to wipe at her face, finding it wet. She didn't
know how long she'd been driving with tears streaming down her face. She swallowed a sob. She wouldn't
cry. She never allowed herself to cry. Not ever. Ever again.
She forced herself to concentrate on her driving. Though she had little regard for her own life these days,
as cold an empty as it had become, she was desperately determined not to cause harm to anyone else. That
sole motivation had kept her alone and on the run for more than two years.
Keeping in touch by cell phone, Jake and Arnold caught up with Helga in Wichita, Kansas, several hours
after she'd escaped Arnold in Des Moines. Arnold couldnt help but be impressed with Jake. THe guy seemed
to have an almost psychic ability to locate Helga. THe other two detectives Arnold had previously hired
had not been really as good. As though sensing that he'd be needed, Jake had been nearby when Arnold had
gone to confront Helga at her apartment. He'd seen what had happened with the young men who'd rushed to
"rescue" her from Arnold, and had followed Helga at a discreet distance when she'd left town. When she
checked into a motel in Wishita, Jake had taken a room directly across from hers where he could keep an
eye on things until Arnold arrived.
Her only stop, Jake informed his client after Arnold had slipped discreetly into his room, had been at a
small pharmacy just inside the Wichita city limits. She'd emerged with a small plastic bag and had driven
straight to this motel. She hadn't been out of her room ever since.
Arnold paced the cramped motel room like an enraged panther, his blood pounding in his ears.
"Why did she look at me that way when I tried to talk to her?" he demanded. "Why did she scream and run
when I touched her arm?"
Sprawled in a chair by the window, his fingers templed in front of him, Jake watched Arnold's movement with
searching eyes.
"You said she acted terrified to see you. What threat do you pose to her?"
"None," Arnold replied. "I never laid a hand on her. Hell, we weren't married long enough to have our first
fight. There's no reason on earth for her to fear me."