Chapter 16: Self Preservation
Esther hurried through the woods, running at top speed. She jumped over tree roots and bushes, ducking under over growth and branches as she hurried away, hearing approaching sirens. She knew Detective Alan had to be dead by now, as the explosion probably would have scattered him all over. He probably wouldn't be recognizable himself, but later he'd be identified by his license plate. She laughed at the thought as she went on. It was a victorious day for her, even though she knew she couldn't hide back at the old mattress factory. Her hideout, food and sleeping bag had all been compromised.
She stopped against a tree, catching her breath. She smiled and pulled something out of her bag that the detective didn't see her grab when she went for her gun. When he'd knocked her gun away and she reached down to grab it, she grabbed something else. It was his personal address book, with all the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the people he knew. She also knew that Kate's address would be in there. He was very protective over someone he hardly knew. But it was his job to care.
She started reading through it, scanning them for Kate's name. She stopped at the K's and stared the page down. She spotted Kate's name and address, and she smiled pleasantly. How she missed them all. She opened the chamber and seen she now had 3 rounds left. After deciding to reload it, she snapped it shut and rolled the gun barrel along her arm hearing it click rhythmically. Now she had 3 rounds on back up. It was looking to be a beautiful night out tonight. But the next morning was already going to come too soon. And she'd have to be gone by then.
She smiled, unfolding a long map from her bag. She pulled a flashlight out and held it with her teeth as she straightened the map out. She then looked it up and down, trying to locate where the Coleman's were. She found them, right in a cul-de-sac near the edge of town, about 30 minutes from here. She nodded her head and folded the map up, walking off towards the Coleman residence. Excitement built up in her, knowing that she'd soon again see her little sister Max.
Kate was busy getting ready for the dinner date. She was finishing putting on her lipstick and started rubbing her lips together. She turned and screamed, seeing 2 shapes behind her. Her startled kids jumped at this, looking at her. She started laughing after catching her breath. They followed too, as they all thought it was pretty funny for the time being. They were all dressed nicely for the occasion. Her co-workers were all taking her to a nice grilled family restaurant that Kate loved.
"Sorry kids, I'm almost ready," she said, checking the sides of her face. "You look perfect, mom," Daniel said, "I think I hear Helen and Colin outside." There was a honking noise from downstairs. "Oh, right," Kate said, stuffing her make up in her bag, "Kids, go get your coats on. Let them know we're still here and I'll be down in a minute." Both Daniel and Max went off downstairs, and she smiled at herself in the mirror. "Kate, you look wonderful tonight," she said to herself, nodding her head. She turned around and left her room bathroom, switching off the light. She then walked by a picture of her and John at the mountains, smiling happily. She smiled at it. "I love you, John," she said, smiling at it. She then left.
"Kate, you're beautiful enough," Helen called from upstairs, her arm around Daniel. Colin held little Max and bounced her in his arms, making her laugh. "I'm coming right down," Kate called, walking down to them. Everybody froze, smiling at her. She wore her sexy black dress and her hair was partially tied back. She even had broken out the jewelry on this night. She smiled at them and grabbed her black over coat. Colin checked her out, smiling with awe.
"Alright everyone," Kate said, "Let's be on our way." "Kate, you look beautiful!" Helen said, looking her up and down, "Really, I mean that. Don't you think, Colin?" "Oh yeah," he said, still stunned. Kate smiled at them, going a bit red in the face. "Oh, you guys!" she chuckled they all went out, shutting and locking the door behind them. Kate was laughing, and then she looked over and spotted McNally's cruiser sitting there parked across the street. She seen him reading something and taking a sip of his coffee. He looked at her and waved. She waved back and climbed in beside Helen.
As they sped off, Esther stood up on a high steep hill over the Coleman's backyard. The trees surrounding the steep hill helped camouflage her in darkness. She saw the cop start talking on his radio, so she started down the hill, keeping to the shadows. She gained speed as she ran and grabbed onto the back fence, jumped up and pulled herself over it. She landed on her feet and kept low to the grass. She looked around Kate's huge backyard seeing the greenhouse in her corner, a swing and a slide set with Daniel's bike chained to it, flowerbeds on all sides of the yard, Max's little tricycle lying on its side and the ground still covered in snow.
She went across the yard to the giant house on the other side of it. She liked the look of their new home, but realized it wasn't like their other one. But nonetheless, she was here now. She smiled and looked for a quiet way in, getting butterflies in her stomach. This is where her family had moved. They had moved on and it seemed they were taking really good care of themselves. The still had lots of money and each other, and that seemed that's all they needed. But she needed Max.
Esther saw a basement window by the huge balcony and started fumbling with it. It stayed shut solidly but then she gave it a hard shake, hearing something click. She shook it harder making her face jiggle and it slid open to the side. She smiled and slid her leg in and then lowered the rest of herself in. She found a footing and rested her foot on it. She quickly disappeared into the window and it slid closed and locked. She was now within the Coleman residence.
The basement doorknob jingled around after a few minutes. The door then flew open and Esther came out of the dark door way. She peered around in the dark, knowing the house would have to stay dark. That fat cop was sitting outside. She went into the kitchen and seen the giant size of it. It was larger than Kate's old one. She giggled, went over to the fridge and looked inside. She reached in, opening a bottle of milk and drank it. She then wiped her mouth off with her sleeve and went upstairs.
She opened Max's room after finding it and smiled. It looked similar to her old room. There were crayon drawings and school awards tacked up on the wall. She smiled, knowing that her little Max was doing alright for herself. She sat down on Max's bed and spotted an old shoebox poking out from under it. She reached down and picked it up, opening the lid. It had pictures and a key locked diary. She started going through the photos, seeing ones of Max with the family. She seen a birthday themed set of photos and realized that her birthday was last month. Esther got all choked up, knowing that she missed that.
She saw an envelope with the word SECRET on it and opened it up. She pulled out pictures of herself and Max. There were only a couple of them left in there. 'Why does she have these,' Esther thought to herself, 'I though she hated me for what I did to John.' She felt her heart melt, not knowing the answer. Did Max still love her? Esther held her mouth, closing her eyes and a few tears streaming down her face. She didn't think Max could ever forgive her. But it looked like Max still missed her and believed there was good in her. She always would love Max, to her dying day.
Esther then kicked open Kate's door and went in her room, looking around. She started pulling shelves open and closing them, looking for something. She opened the closet and switched on its light, going through the clothes on the hangers and the boxes on the shelves. She put everything back once she found what she was looking for in the last round box on the shelf. She smiled and held up John's wedding ring. She smiled, and started at it mesmerized. It was a thing of beauty.
"With this ring, I thee wed," Esther said gently, placing it on her wedding finger. She stared down at it and smiled. She felt happy wearing something he'd given straight from the heart. She turned the light off and giggled.
She went downstairs and made herself a bowl of Corn Flakes, wondering what to do next. As she turned on the radio, she heard the news announcing her return. She slowed her chewing and listened, hearing that Detective Alan Emerson had survived his attack and identified her. She knew this was it now; she had even less time to prepare. This had to be it. 'It's going down tonight,' she thought to herself as she ate some more cereal, 'First I have to take out that cop, and when the Coleman's arrive, I'll kill them and make Max my daughter'.