Never Lose Sight

Chapter 3

Lita took a deep breath as she pulled out another folder from the file cabinet. She held it upside down over her desk and watched numbly as several plastic bags spilled out. Each bag contained a letter from Dean. Captain Moceri, the man who had worked on her case and helped save her life, had released the evidence to her after his department had aptly documented it with photos and a detailed diagnosis. Now, watching the letters fall into a disorganized pile, Lita was stuck with several memories that had haunted her nightmares for several weeks after Matt had nearly killed her. She could recall the nights when she woke up screaming in the night, her eyes flashing open to escape the freezing black waves that threatened to pull her down.

But Benoit had been there. In her room; next to her room; across the hall; it didn't matter. He always came to comfort her, holding her in his strong arms and waiting patiently until she fell asleep, the demons of the past temporarily forgotten in her safe haven. Together the two had gotten through Dean and Matt, and then the aftermath, just as they would get through this.

Determined, Lita focused on the task at hand. She slipped on her glasses and read each of the notes separately, refusing to let the old fear grow again. Carefully she scoured the letters, imprinting the style of the writing onto her mind. Once she had scanned all of the old letters, she turned toward the new ones, skimming over them once more.

Her heart was a lead weight in her chest. They seemed to be written in the same style. But how could that be? Dean was dead and he had been the one who had written the letters. Maybe he had mailed them before he died? No, no… That couldn't be it. The writer had mentioned current things in the letter. Lita sighed, resting her chin on her hands as she reread one of the letters.

Red,

That is what your friends call you, isn't it?

She stopped, sitting up. Quickly she reread the line a few times before skipping ahead, certain sentences striking out at her.

I've been watching every move you've made for the past few months…

Her fingers trembled as she shifted through the letters.

He's not nearly good enough for you, but you always do badly on your second try at love.

'It's not the same person,' Lita thought to herself, exhaling. If it had been, he would've known for sure what her friends called her, he would've sent something before now and he obviously would've known about the other relationship that had been in her life before Benoit and Matt. 'Why did I keep thinking that? Dean is dead for Christ sake!' Lita sighed, running her hand through her hair and setting her glasses down on the desk. She closed her eyes, leaning back in the chair. She felt exhausted, going through all of those letters all at once. The newer ones burned into her memory.

I know everything about your family.

It'd be a shame if your daughter got hurt, don't you think?

Benoit's not nearly good enough for you.

So intent on the phrases, Lita was surprised—and, she didn't want to admit, scared of her wits—when the phone rang. She screamed, jumping in her seat. The silence her yell was met with was broken with the furious pounding of her heart. Realizing that it was just the phone, Lita sighed with relief, waiting until she caught her breath before picking up the receiver. "Hello—" she stopped before saying 'Lita Benoit speaking'. It hit her with a cold wave that anyone could be on the phone…including her new stalker.

"Hello, am I speaking to Lita?" the male voice asked over the phone. Lita breathed another sigh of relief, recognizing the voice as that of a retired Captain Moceri. The two still kept in contact—Lita ever grateful and in debt to him after he helped her rescue.

"Hey Captain," Lita greeted.

She could sense his smile over the phone. "Hey, it's Trevor now, I'm retired, how many times do I have to tell you that?" he teased.

"At least once more," Lita laughed, tucking the receiver between her shoulder and ear as she began returning the letters to their respective bags. "How are you?"

"Okay," he replied and Lita frowned at the tense pull in his voice. "And you?" he prompted.

Lita looked at the plastic bags she held in her hands and swallowed. "Fine." There was an awkward silence between them. Lita bit down on her lip, nervous. It was clear that Moceri was calling with bad news.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but Lita… Matt's appeal ended last week," he sighed softly. Lita held her breath tensely. Matt had hired a shark of a lawyer to appeal for him. She longed to hear the words 'he lost' come through the receiver, but her heart already felt as if the statement was already proven false. She swallowed tightly and let a shaky breath out, not wanting to hear Trevor's next words, but she heard them anyway. "His lawyer won it for him."

Lita swallowed. "So what does that mean?"

"Matt's free," Trevor said, weight crushing his voice. He was worried for the young lady that he had become friends with, "He's on temporary probation and he's got a restraining order still in place from you."

"But….How?" Lita said, well aware her voice was getting high-pitched. "How could a jury let him go?" she asked, pursing her lips to battle the tears. "He killed Dean and he tried to kill me, not to mention what he would've done to you, Chris and Edge if he'd gotten the chance!"

Moceri sighed softly, agreeing with her completely. The law sometimes wasn't as just as it should be and this was just one of several times it wasn't. He hated seeing people he'd arrested let free on bogus defenses. "His lawyer got the insanity defense. The jury basically discarded Dean's death because he wasn't exactly the innocent bystander and they refused to acknowledge Matt's potential threat to anyone else because it was 'pure speculation'. So, basically they let Matt go as long as he's watched for a few months, he does some community service and shows up for some consoling."

Lita forced herself to take even breaths. Was it just a coincidence that the new letters started when Matt's appeal did? She shivered, but it just wasn't from that thought. Matt Hardy, a man who had nearly killed her and probably still wanted to do so, was free to roam the streets at his whim. "I…I need some time to think about this," Lita said haltingly into the phone, "I'll call you back tonight," she promised and hung up before Moceri protested. She stared into the blank space ahead of her, slowly digesting the terrifying facts.

That was when it happened. Two hands fell onto her shoulders and gripped them tightly. Lita dropped the bags and they spilled on her lap and slid to the floor as her petrified scream echoed throughout the basement.


Author's Note: Thank you so much for all of the wondeful reviews! They really mean a lot to me. I hope you liked this chapter! Please review!

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