Empathy

By Shamaho

Rating: R, strong violence and crude language, plus some sexual material not suitable for anyone under 16.

Disclaimer- I do not own Stephen King's character Mort Rainey, or any other character from Secret Window, nor do I own the setting of The Secret Window, and sadly I do not own Joel Madden or any other member of Good Charlotte. I am in no way affiliated with anyone who worked on or starred in the film, or Stephen King, or any member of Good Charlotte. I think you get the picture. If you haven't heard of them before, they're mine, please ask to use them.

Summary- This story is an other direction for my character Jennifer Lloyd from Halloween 3- The Heirs of Michael Myers (Under the name sharonarnotdon on this site) (One of my Halloween fics) to have gone in, if she had escaped before the jail had blown up. It will not be hugely if at all focused on events discussed in any story of mine Jennifer is in, maybe I'll bring Michael into the story later on.

Basically, Jennifer is grown up and has relocated to the small quiet town Rainey lives in, has heard stories of the 'psychotic murderer' who killed his ex-wife and her lover, but could not be charged as there were no bodies. She's spooked, and shortly after moving there meets Rainey, and also her new neighbor, Joel Madden, who has a home there for work, because of the quiet. Both men develop an interest in the Haddonfield native, and a competition ensues, but the winner may have yet to gain the approval of an even bigger psychopath, Michael Myers.

Sharing- If, for any reason you would like me to email you a copy of the story when it is finished, I would be much obliged. I can send it in Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, Wordpad, Notepad, and HTML forms. Please be specific as to which form and state why you want it whether it be for casual reading at random or for posting to a website or other online place. If you do want to post it somewhere, tell me where, and be sure to give full credit. Once you have it for say leisure use I don't care if you toy around with it, add stuff, subtract it, make it one big joke, if you'd like to even share what you've done with it with me I would be more than happy to read it, again, if you plan on posting such versions, let me know, give me credit and be sure to say you revised it.

Now let's see if Jennifer can feel empathy to a man who's killed, or if she'll fly to the arms of a rock and roll stranger.

Chapter One

Walk Around Town

"I'm really glad you could find time to take me around," Jennifer Lloyd stated gently, brushing a brown lock of hair behind her ear. "I don't know anyone around here, I'm no stranger to small towns but it's always helpful to have a look around with someone that knows the place."

Clinton Jamison smiled, nodded as he turned onto a more remote road. "It was no problem Miss Lloyd, I know what it's like to be the stranger in town." He pointed to a building ahead. "That there's the drugstore, it's also a diner, and a food mart." They drove in silence for about ten minutes when a long driveway came into view, it ran through the woods, and she could just barely make out a small wooden cabin.

"What's that?"

Clinton pulled the truck aside and bent closer over the steering wheel to look. "Oh, that's Mort Rainey's place, you ain't got no reason to be up around there."

She frowned and squinted, thought she had seen someone in the window highest to the top. "Mort Rainey? I've heard of him, he wrote that one story, the short one, The Secret Window? I read it when it was printed."

"That's him," Clinton snorted, put the truck back into gear and drove off. "Sick son of a bitch."

She looked at him, shocked, to say the least. "I take it you don't like his work?"

"I mind his work just fine," Clinton growled to himself, then looked at her solemnly. "It's him I hate." He saw how she didn't register what he was saying, or at least why he was saying it, and so he nodded back to the fading driveway. "About a year ago, Rainey went nuts, killed his almost ex-wife and her lover."

"That's . . . terrible. But, if he did why is he free?"

"Police can't find the bodies." Clinton said, turning back onto the main road. "They looked all up and down the property, his cellar, checked to see if the walls was hollow, didn't find a damn thing, not even blood."

"Oh," she frowned and looked up into the middle aged man's face. "How do they know he killed them?"

"She just disappeared, so did the guy. It was no secret they was going through a divorce, and he hated the guys guts and was just as pissed off at her as could be. He caught her cheating on him 'bout six months before he killed her. End 'o' story, no pun intended."

"Huh," she sighed as he pulled up to her home. "Well, thanks again, I had a great time, and uh, well, I guess I'll see you around."

He grinned and nodded as she stepped out of the truck, he saluted her. "Welcome to town, Miss Lloyd."

She smiled and turned from her door. "Call me Jen." And she unlocked and opened it, stepped in and closed it, went straight to the answering machine as she heard Clinton pull out of the driveway, she looked at the flashing number '2' and sighed, pressed the play button.

"Hey Jen, it's Jamie, just calling to see if you're ok, call me back, 346-555-8784. Love ya."

Jennifer smiled more brightly and shook her head, the next message was from a solicitor, and she deleted it without thought. She sighed and picked up the phone, dialed Jamie's new number and listened to it ringing, soon it picked up. "Hello?"

"James, it's Jenni."

"Hey!" Her younger sister's voice sounded enthralled. "How you doin', what's it like up there?"

"Mmm, quiet. I like it. Really nice people and not a lot of gossip."

"That's good. I like it here too, kind of reminds me of Haddonfield."

Jennifer paused, sat down. "How's that?"

"Well it's set up exactly like it, minus the serial killer who stalks his prey on Halloween."

"James that isn't even funny, he came close to killing us a couple of times."

"I know, I know." There was an awkward silence for some time, then Jennifer asked her.

"Hey, um, do you remember reading The Secret Window?"

"Describe."

"Mort Rainey, it was a short story in that one magazine like, in I don't know, '95, '96. Creepy, guy kills cheating girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah, Wynn gave us that to read to scare us. Why do you ask?"

"Rainey lives up here, the guy that took me around, he's a realtor here that sold me this house, he said Rainey's been accused of murdering his ex-wife and her boyfriend."

"Oh yeah, I remember reading about that, they ever find the bodies?"

"No, when did you read about it?"

"Dunno, bout a year ago."

Jennifer groaned and stood, went to the fridge for a bottle of water. "Great, as always I'm the clueless one."

"Shut up, listen I gotta go, but you keep in touch, ok? We gotta watch out for each other."

"Ok, bye Jamie. I love you."

"Love you too, sis."

She hung up the phone and sipped the water, looked over to the camera lying on the counter, decided to take advantage of the many rolls of film she had by taking some pictures. She grabbed an extra roll of film and walked out, stuffed the extra roll into the pocket of her jeans, then grabbed her keys, locked up and left, taking some pictures of the woods when the driveway of the Rainey place was at her feet, she looked up from the gravel to the house in the distance, snapped a picture, decided to go closer, just a bit.

She noticed no car around the house and figured with the escaping experience she had she would be able to successfully get away unnoticed if he should pull up, by way of the woods or maybe some other way, she wasn't sure. She walked a few feet so the house was in good view, snapped a picture, then she noticed the large corn stalks in a surrounded garden, overlooked by the window she had thought she'd seen Rainey in earlier that day. She turned her attention to the corn, snapped some pictures, then one or two of the window, she turned to leave the garden and jumped as she was face to face with a man, brown hair highlighted with blonde, small rimmed glasses and the most powerful eyes. He didn't look pleased.

"What the hell are you doing here? What are you, one of those investigators!"

She shook her head and desperately attempted to find her voice, smiled as charmingly as possible, placed a hand to her numbly beating heart. "I'm so sorry! You gave me quite a fright!" She attempted to hide said fear, but he was like an x-ray machine. "I . .. I was just taking some pictures for my sister, I didn't see a car and thought I could get in and out, I'm sorry, it was wrong of me, I'll be going." She moved past him and began walking in the direction of the driveway when his voice called to her.

"You're not from around here, are you? I've never seen you before."

She turned back, he was looking at her with a perplexed expression. She shook her head. "No. I just moved here from Illinois."

He began walking up to her and her pulse began raging again, he extended his hand and she withdrew a bit until he smiled at her, silver braces revealed. "Hi, I'm sorry. I just hate when people snoop around what with the accusations that fly. I'm Mort Rainey."

"I'm sorry again, Jennifer Lloyd." She shook his offered hand.

"Lloyd of Illinois? You're one of them little girls that Halloween guy was after, his niece."

She laughed and shrugged. "Not such a little girl anymore." She slung the camera over her neck. "So, you like corn?"

He chuckled and nodded, looking back to his field, giving her a chance to observe him, his posture, his build, the way his shoulders shook as he laughed and the firm, round shape of his . . . "So when did you move into town?" He asked, turning back around, forcing her to pull her eyes up to meet his the second her saw her.

"Last weekend, actually, things are finally taking shape."

"Well I'm jealous, took me six months to pull my ass into gear!" He placed his hands on his hips, then motioned to the cabin. "Well I gotta go back to work, just ran into town to grab lunch." he motioned to the random burger joint's bag on his step and she nodded. "Well, see you around, maybe."

She began to move away again when he said. "Um, hey, I've got, two burgers you wanna join me?"

She bit her lip, she didn't have anything to do better than this, this could be her chance not only to have some fun but possibly make a friend. But then he had probably ordered with the intention of eating both, he probably had a bigger appetite. "Um, no, I don't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be," as if reading her thoughts he added. "I always get two in case I feel like having another in the fridge before it goes bad and more often than not it does go bad. I'd be happy to let you have it."

She studied him, his friendly expression, her eyes partially squinted, she shrugged. "I guess it would be ok." She stepped into the screened in porch as he held the door open, while she looked around he pocketed the extra roll of film she had lost in the corn patch when she'd spun to look at him.

It'll CUM in handy, partner. Shooter's voice snickered in his head, and so he smiled. "I have a feeling that you're absolutely right."

"What's that?" She asked, turning to face him as he stepped in.

"I said 'I hope I didn't give you too much of a fright'." he covered expertly, smiling his usual charming smile, relishing in the way she blushed.

"No," she chuckled softly as he passed her to unlock the door. "I deserved it."

Bet you can think of a dozen things she deserves and they got nothing to do with what Amy deserved. Mort's own voice taunted in his head, he smiled and chuckled. "I wouldn't say that."

"Yes I did, I shouldn't have been snooping around."

"Uh, well it's ok. You didn't harm anything." Except you've got a massive boner coming on, don't you Morty? "Yes, yes." He noticed her and said. "Well, let's chow."

After about a half hour of idle conversation about her sister, her parents, Haddonfield, a bit about him and this place she stood from the table and sighed, blushed when she burped, her hand flew to her mouth and she giggled. "Sorry, 'scuse me."

He grinned and stood, walked her to the door. "Well, it was nice to find you snooping around, and then nice to have met you. I'll uh, be seeing you around." She was about to head out when he said. "Oh! Shit, hold on, I want to give you something!" He ran up the stairs and she moved away from the door, calmly made her way over to the coffee table, where a newspaper sat. She lifted it and several, upside down Polaroids slipped out and hit the table, curious she reached down and looked at them.

And her stomach tightened into a knot.

Corpses, the bodies of his ex-wife and her lover, freshly dead, torn to pieces by having a shovel thrust through them repeatedly, the bloody murder weapon nearby. The woman had a cut on her head, and another picture revealed blood coming from her back, she'd been stabbed with something.

She heard him move upstairs.

Quickly she shoved the pictures back into the paper where they'd fallen from, set the paper down and looked to the stairs as he ambled down, a notepad and pen in hand. He moved to her. "I had an awesome time so, I was hoping I could get your number, and address, and I can give you mine, well, you know where I live so I'll give you my number. He scribbled something down, tore a sheet in half, then handed her the pen, pad and half sheet of paper. Afraid to let him know what she'd seen she quickly wrote her address down but paused about the number. "I don't have a phone yet," she lied, faked a smile. "But I can get you the number as soon as I get one."

He smiled that friendly smile that scared her now, then shrugged. "Ok, sounds good to me."

"Great, um, is there any particular time I should call during? I don't want to interrupt your work. . ."

"Mmm, I don't think you need to worry about that." She would have stopped him but he had her wrapped in a kiss so suddenly it was impossible to breathe, soon she shoved him away, unable to look shocked or angry as she tried desperately to catch her breath.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry, I just . . . I know, first time meeting and all, that was kind of . . . Inappropriate. I apologize." He squeezed her hand, despite what his hands had done, she liked the feel, and the kiss had been anything but bad. She shook her head nervously and pointed to the door, an embarrassed smile spreading as she could not move. "I . . . better go, it's getting late."

"Ok, I'll talk to you soon though?"

She nodded. "I have a feeling you will."

He watched her walk out until she was out of sight past the driveway, Shooter came up behind him and watched too, told him.

'She saw the pictures.'

"I know." Mort said dryly, turning to him.

'She could be dangerous. She could reveal you.'

"I'd have them burned by then John. Besides, I think I can keep her mouth shut, if you catch my drift."

'How? By wanking off to the thought of her? Only chance you have of getting to fuck her now is if she gets amnesia because I guarantee after seeing those pictures she's more afraid of you then ever. Plus, she does have a phone.'

"I already knew that."

'How?'

"She asked when she should call, why would she if she didn't have a phone?"

'You're getting better at this.'

"At what?"

'Life.'