The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.
-Mignon Mclaughlin-

Chapter 24

Haley hadn't bitten her fingernails in fourteen years. However, she had chewed off at least three nails in the few minutes. It was either that or screaming at the top of her lungs in the quiet of the wilderness. Right now, that didn't seem like a bad idea. At least she could get out of this stuff car and possibly see a lot better with the binoculars she had handy. Searching the pocket of her sweat jacket, Haley found the beautiful blue hair ribbon Nathan had brought her during one of his trips to Okinawa. She tied her hair into a ponytail so the wind would quit wiping it around her face.

She had dropped the money at the assigned destination twenty minutes ago, then walked back to her car and drove away. Haley parked just around the corner in a private driveway covered in heavy brush. Nothing moved around her but the sound of the wind and the rustling of the leaves as she decided to get a closer look, running across the ditch that lead to the back street of the camp and hiding behind a dense bush. Where was Smith?

She was practically chewing the skin off her bottom lip when she heard the snap of some branches and the crunch of fallen leaves. She sat stiff, holding her breath.

A man in a long, brown and hooded bomber jacket walked with in inches of her hiding place. He moved carefully, scouting the area before finally the bright yellow bag perched against the giant pine tree at the edge of the dead-end road. He circled the tree a couple of times, before grabbing the loot, but the oversized hood left his face hidden, Stuffing it inside the large coat his was wearing, he started to job down one of the tree lined trails of the campground, passing several unused cabins.

Haley was glad she was avid runner. Although she distanced herself from Smith, his pace was fast and she almost struggled to keep him in sight. The fact that it had rained the night before didn't help matters. The ground was muddy and slick, making it difficult, especially around the lake. The soggy ground there covered her running shoes and made even walking a struggle.

Haley was forced to duck behind a tree when he stopped to tie his shoes. She didn't even blink until he stood back up and took off into the distance at a brisk pace.

Suddenly, the terrain changed. They were running through what was left of some farmers cornfield. Haley knew not to move out into the open. He could be checking his way there and she would be spotted. She would let him get out of view, then catch up by listening to the sound of his heavy boots on the noisy ground.

Upon reaching the edge of the field, she saw him heading for the gate of the fence that bordered the farm land. There was no way she could jump the tall wooden planks and they were too far apart to climb up. She was too short for that. As soon as he let himself out the open gate to right of the field. She scampered across the lawn and under the lowest wooden section of the fenced in area closest to her. Her clothing was caked with mud and her fingers cold and dirty from the dam soil. But she was proud of herself when she the object of her curiosity came into view again. She could hold her own physically. She had learned that as just a teen, trying to keep pace with Lucas and Nathan or get left in the dust.

From a nearby weeping willow tree, she watched Smith slow down. Why did he seem taller? More muscular? She wondered to herself. But quickly wrote it off to his heavy outerwear causing the change in his body type.

Again, he scanned his surrounding a couple of times, his motions very precise before going out of her sight and around to the front of a large secluded mountain home.

Haley snuck around the back, hoping to find entry, so she could reach Jersey before Smith noticed she was there. Then she would hold him at gunpoint long enough for her and the child to escape. Unfortunately, the back door was locked and the three back windows were so high, Haley couldn't reach them.

Giving him several minutes to settle in the home, Haley lay against the backside of the cabin thinking of an alternate plan. Her right hand felt for the pistol in her pocket. Damn! it was gone. She must have dropped it going under that fence or when she was racing to catch up with Smith in the cornfield.

Luckily, her cell phone was still present. Flipping it open, it started beeping before she could press three digits of the Brooke's phone number. "LOW BATTERY" it read, and "NO SIGNAL". Shit! Fucking Cingular! She continued to press button with no success as she rounded the corner of the house, hoping to gain access to one of the lower side windows. But she hadn't re-checked for clearance before making her move and she was so wrapped up in her phone crisis, that as she threw the unusable device to the ground her body crashed into another, knocking her flat on her ass.

Looking up to a familiar face, she let out a sigh of relief! "Thank God!" She exclaimed as the man helped her to her feet. "I guess you guys trailed me? Is Jersey okay? Have you arrested Smith yet?"

"I'm sure the kids fine and you don't have to worry about Smith." He smiled, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dark slacks. "You're a busy little thing. I figured you show up."

Haley followed him towards the front of the cabin. "I know I shouldn't try and take matters in my own hands, but I just felt so guilty. It's my fault he took her in the first place." She explain as he made his way a few steps in front of her. Haley noticed that their was only one vehicle present when his words finally registered in her ears. As he made his way up the first step, that's when she saw it, the coat, hanging across the passenger seat of his car. Haley turned to gawk at her friend with fear.

"It is your fault, and now you're going to pay….not only with your money, Ms. James." He spoke in a high pitched girls voice, Jersey's voice.

"Oh my God! It was you!" Haley screamed recognizing her real stalker before he started laughing devilishly and reaching for his victim.

Haley was faster than him and took off running, heading for her automobile less than a mile away. Her mind was muddled with thoughts. If he was only pretended to be the girl, then where was Jersey? Why was Gary Wallace Jr. pretended to be Tim Smith?

Those were her last thoughts before Gary caught up to the shorter legged woman. The blow from the butt of the sheriff deputy's gun sent her spiraling into blackness…

The McFadden's were counting down the minutes until they could leave for the airport to retrieve their wayward but perfectly fine daughter. The could strangler her for running off, but they were also glad she hadn't been harmed. They were anxious to hold her and shower her with kisses. Well, before grounding her until she graduates high school that is. They are also worried sick about Haley James since they have clue who has been or why someone that wasn't Tim Smith has been harassing Ms. James and had lured her to that secluded campground under false pretenses…..and why did they need so much money?

Cooper Lee couldn't believe there was still no word from the agents he sent out to Camp Croatan. He knew he should have gone himself, but the whole town was in an uproar. It was a lengthy drive and the dense forestry made it impossible to go by helicopter. He knew every second counted. He had to at least figure out who the perpetrator was so that if they were no longer there, they could put a search out. Nathan Scott would hang him by his thumbs if Haley ended up hurt or worse. Besides, he liked the spunky little woman. She didn't deserve any of this and it was time he finally brought it to an end.

He sat by the speaker phone with the FBI agent that was interviewing Tim Smith in Milwaukee. He was hoping Smith could lead him to Haley's real stalker. Apparently, he knew a great deal about accused child murder, more than public knowledge. Lee wanted to know how and whom.

"Want to wait on your lawyer?"

"I don't need a lawyer. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Okay, Smith. I'm going to ask you one more time. Who did you get to stalk Haley James?"

"Nobody! I swear…….Yes, I was mad when she fired me. I thought it was her fault my life was going back to hell, but I was a drunk that couldn't get more than two hours sleep a night at that time. I wasn't thinking clearly……… In Milwaukee, I got new meds that don't make me sick at this free clinic. I've been taking them since the day I got there and there's no more sleepless nights and nightmares. I was afraid I was going to get caught if I didn't straighten up……I didn't hurt Ms. James or anyone else…..I swear."

"It's that why you slashed the tires on the daycare bus the day she let you go?"

"I didn't do that? I saw it on the news at the Greyhound bus station in Charleston. You can check. I don't know why some asshole would want to pretend to be me, even I'm not that crazy."

"Did you have any friends in Tree Hill, Tim?"

The man was silent for a moment, still dressed in a clown costume, (his real hair had been dyed a shocking red and cut low before he left town. A fake id proving that lay on the table.) his face makeup was long washed away. "Umm, Jersey was nice to me… Ms. McFadden's daughter."

"Yeah. We know how you love little girls." The agent urged.

Tim jumped to his feet, hitting his fist on the table. "Not like that…never like that. I know how that feels…..I know." His voice drowning out as his returned to his seat and put his head down.

"I bet you weren't saying that when you were kidnapping those girls, tying pretty ribbons around their necks to choke them with."

Tim shook his head frantically. "No. Ribbons are for your hair or a belt. …..Just like…. Just like…" He was sobbing now and holding his hands over his ears.

The agent walked around to the young man, bent down and pulled his hands from his ears before taunting, "You didn't put a ribbon in Todd's hair. You strangled him with it."

Smith pushed him off before cowering in a corner, trying to get the awful flashbacks out his head. "Day after day I asked begged him stop, but he wouldn't. Big brothers aren't suppose to make you do things like that….ever." He cringed, covering his ears and rocking himself. "They're not."

"Oh, please! You killed him in cold blood, Smith and they locked you up for it. As soon as I can prove it, we'll have you behind bars for doing the same thing to those kids!"

"I wouldn't molest or attack them the way he beat up and raped me! I wouldn't!" Tim screamed, his eyes clouded over like he was far away. " I strangled him with the ribbon because he made me wear them, made me keep my hair long and put it in ponytails or French braids, always with a ribbon. He dressed me up like a girl, in dresses, mini skirts and low cut tops, made me wear a bra and make up. He called me his bitch….made me do things to him before he did bad, bad, grown-up things to me! That's why I always have a ribbon with me now, to remind me to never treat anyone like he treated me", pulling a shiny silver ribbon from his clown shoe. He threw his head back against the corner and didn't speak another word. After all these years, police investigators, long term incarceration, dozens of psychiatrist, and several different types of medication, Tim Smith finally told someone why he killed his brother.

Cooper hung up the phone and threw his notebook across the table. The DNA results weren't back on Smith, but he had a feeling this guy was telling the truth. He hadn't murdered those girls and the lunatic that was after Haley James was the real killer. He could feel it. Unfortunately, Agent Morgan had completely freaked Tim out and he had become unresponsive. He was never going to find out if Smith knows who could possibly be copycatting the way he killed his brother. It was more than likely someone that had been institutionalized with Smith. Apparently, a small town like Tree Hill wasn't void of its own skeleton.

Haley woke to a pounding headache. She tried holding her head as she took in her surroundings. That's when she felt the cold steel of the handcuffs on her wrist slap against her face and dropped her arms back into her lap. She was buckled into the passenger seat of Gary Wallace's unmarked patrol car. The bag of cash in the floorboard and two suitcases was in the back seat behind the driver. She recognized one of them as her own. She didn't even realized it had been missing.

"Why are you doing this? Just let me go. You've got the money." Haley insisted to her kidnapper feeling dizzy.

The sweet faced young man winked at her. "The money's for us, Baby. We're going to use it to start our new life in a place they'll never to think to look for us, Ecuador. I'm going to make you my wife, Haley. We're going to be so happy."

"I'm not marrying you. We? There is no us!" Haley said indignantly, causing Gary to clench the wheel tighter and press further on the gas.

"Well, there would have been if that pretty boy journalist hadn't shown up. I was going to ask you out again, make you fall in love with me. But he stole that from me! I'm just taking back what was mine in the first place!" He said ever so sweetly, " I love you, Haley."

"I love Nathan. How do you think I could ever love someone who would do this to me?" Haley could see he was about to explode and decided a new approach. Her tone softened. "You're a really nice guy, handsome and funny. I'm sure there a wonderful woman out there for you. How about we just turn around and go back home, forget this all happen?…..I won't tell a soul. I promise." Haley pleaded with her lashes fluttering and her big brown eyes drooping.

Gary smiled at her as they waited at a traffic light on the rural highway. "Where we're going, there will be no one to tell." He mimic Tim's voice this time, followed by an evil laugh.

Flight 278 to Wilmington had just boarded. Nervously, a young man tapped his foot as he waited for the seat belt sign to come on so this bird would finally get off the ground and get him to North Carolina. He had spent the last couple of hours watching his fellow journalist describing his worst nightmares. Haley was missing and assumed abducted along with five hundred thousand dollars in cash and no one knew who the fuck had her!

All Nathan Scott knew was if his woman wasn't back by the time her got to Tree Hill in the car Cooper Lee was sending for him, there was going to be serious hell to pay!…..

Pamela