A New Journey (Second Chance #3) (7 page)

As soon as they walked through the front door Karla called Rylee and Callie and asked them to come over. Then she went into the kitchen and told Leslie what was going on. “Mom, I have a problem.”

“Correction, we have a problem.” Conner said as he walked up behind her.

“What’s going on?” Leslie asked, concern lasing her voice.

“It has to do with Trevor Carpenter.” Elliot said as he walked into the kitchen.

“Dr. Carpenter’s son?” Andrew asked as he entered the kitchen behind Elliot.

Karla groaned before she turned to look at Andrew. “Yes, Dad.”

“What’s going on, sweetheart?”

“I’ll explain everything once everyone else gets here.” Karla told them just as the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” Elliot said and walked out of the kitchen. A moment later Callie, Rylee and Travis walked in followed by Elliot, Malinda and Madison.

“What’s going on?” Callie asked as she walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of apple juice. “Does anyone want anything?” She asked before she closed the door.

“I’m not hungry.” Conner answered and everyone in the room looked at him in shock.

“This must be bad if Conner isn’t hungry.” Rylee said as she sat at the table. “Tell us what’s going on.”

“Travis, can you tell everyone what you told me this morning?” Conner asked his friend.

“Sure can.” Travis answered and told everyone about the box he found in Trevor’s room.

When he was finished Andrew stood from his place at the bar and started to walk toward his office. “Dad, wait. There’s more.” Karla stopped him. When he sat back down he was shaking with anger.

“Elliot, ready to tell them the rest” Conner asked and Elliot told them what he overheard on the restroom.

“Sharlet is our cousin. Her dad lost his job over the summer and they moved here in hopes that dad would help him find a job. Dad got him a job in the business offices of the hospital a couple of weeks ago so they’re staying. Sharlet is a sophomore and her sister, Sabrina, is a senior.” Travis told them.

“So Trevor is asking your cousin to try to seduce my boyfriend and she’s actually willing to do it?” Karla asked in disgust.

“Yep. Sharlet is a bit of a loose cannon and will do anything Trevor asks her to do.” Travis told them.

“Great, another psycho to deal with.” Rylee said with a roll of her eyes then she flinched and looked at Travis sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Travis reached over and ran his hand down her hair. “It’s okay. Trev is a bit off sometimes. He really isn’t a bad guy when he isn’t being creepy.”

“I need to go call Ron.” Andrew said as he stood again. “This needs to stop now.”

“Dad, can you let me try to handle this first?” Karla asked Andrew before he walked out of the room.

“Karla, I know how much you want to handle things on your own, but this is bordering on criminal stalking.”

“I know, Dad, but he hasn’t done anything yet. Go talk to Dr. Carpenter, but please let me try to figure this out. I need to know that I won’t cower in the face of adversity.”

Andrew looked at her for a minute before he nodded and sat back down again. “Okay, Karla. I will let you handle this for now, but if he does anything, and I mean anything, to hurt you he will have to answer to me.”

“With all due respect, sir, he will have to answer to me too and I won’t go to jail for beating the crap out of him.” Conner told Andrew.

“True enough.” Andrew said in response.

“You will both have to get in line because if that idiot brother does something to hurt Karla I’ll beat the crap out of him myself. I love Trevor, he’s like the other half of me, but I will not stand idly by while he hurts someone.”

“So we agree that if he hurts Karla you will all kick his butt. My question is what can we do to prevent that from happening?” Rylee spoke up. “I don’t want Karla hurt at all so we have to devise a plan to keep that from happening.”

“I agree with Rylee.” Karla said to them all. “As much as I appreciate you all wanting to kick his butt for hurting me, I’d rather it not get to that point.”

“We all would.” Leslie agreed. “What did you have in mind, Karla?”

“We beat him at his own game.” Karla said with a devious grin.  

The next few weeks passed quickly. Trevor didn’t try anything, but they all just waited and watched for him to make his move. As the first competition of the year approached Karla started getting the feeling she was being watched, but could never see anyone. The Saturday night before the competition she was driving home from a regular babysitting job she had taken when a car pulled out in front of her and slowed down. She immediately pulled her cell phone from her purse and laid it in her lap. She wasn’t a paranoid person, but a teenage girl alone on a dark road could never be too cautious.

The car slowed down a little more and Karla tapped her breaks. When the road shifted into four lanes she switched lanes and started passing the car. She glanced over as she passed and she almost ran off the road. The driver of the car was someone she never thought she would see again. Karla pressed the gas and sped past the car, her only thought was of getting home where she knew she would be safe.

“It cannot be him.” She said out loud to the empty car. “I’m wrong.” She kept repeating these things to herself the rest of the way home. When she pulled into the driveway she hit the garage opener and pulled her Nissan into its usual spot as the car she passed stopped at the end of the driveway. She immediately hit the button to close the garage door, but before it closed she saw his face again and knew she’d been right.

Once the door was completely closed she turned the car off, snatched her keys out of the ignition and ran to the back door. Leslie looked up from her place at the bar when Karla slammed the door shut behind her and locked it quickly.

“Karla, what happened? What’s wrong?”

“Can you look out the front window and see if there is a black car sitting out there?”

“If I do will you tell me what’s wrong?” Leslie asked and when Karla nodded she walked into the family room and looked out the front door. She saw a black sedan sitting across from the house and looked back at Karla. “There’s a black car right across from the house. Now what’s going on?”

“I was hoping I was imagining things.” Karla said and sank to the floor where she stood. “I can’t believe he’s here. I don’t know how he found me.” She mumbled to herself as she pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head on them.

“Sweetheart, please tell me what happened.” Leslie said as she sank to the floor beside Karla.

Karla looked up and Leslie saw the fear in her eyes. “I was driving home from the Anderson’s and a car pulled out in front of me and slowed down. I wasn’t really worried at first, but I pulled my phone from my purse just in case. When the car slowed down a little more I started to get worried. When we reached the place where the road changes to four lanes I went to pass the car, but I glanced over to see if the driver was alright. Mom, the driver of the car was Tony. He smiled at me as I passed him and he followed me the rest of the way home. He’s sitting outside right now.”

“Are you sure it’s him? It’s hard to see into a car at night and you haven’t seen him in over two years.”

“I thought the same thing, but after I pulled into the garage he stopped the car at the end of the driveway and I saw his face clearly as the door closed. He smiled the same way he did that night. I thought I had moved past that, but seeing him brings it all back to the surface.”

“Can I use your phone? Mine is in the kitchen still and I need to call Andrew and Trent.”

Karla handed her phone to Leslie and dropped her head back to her knees. “Where’s Elliot?”

“He’s with Andrew and Manuel. They went to help Kiara rearrange her dorm room.” Leslie answered as she put the phone to her ear.

“Karla?” Trent asked when he answered the phone.

“Trent, its Leslie. I’m sorry to bother you, but can you come by the house? Karla was followed home tonight and the man who followed her is parked across from the house.”

“Does she know who it is?” Trent asked as he grabbed his keys off the counter.

“She says it’s Tony.” Leslie said in a quiet voice.

“On my way. Call me back if he leaves or tries anything.” Trent said as he jumped in his car and pealed out of his driveway. “I’ll be there in under ten minutes.”

“Thank you, Trent.” Leslie said and ended the call as she peeked out the window again. The car was still out there, but she didn’t see the man sitting behind the wheel any longer.

“Mom, can you come upstairs with me? I want to grab my tablet and email Conner, but I don’t want to go alone.”

“Sure, honey.” Leslie answered and pulled Karla to her feet. They had just made it to Karla’s room when the security alarm started going off. Leslie pushed Karla though her bedroom door and locked it behind them. “Let’s get in your closet. Trent is on his way.”

Karla nodded and hurried to her closet. Once inside Leslie locked that door too and they crouched down in the corner. She still had Karla’s phone in her hand so she called Trent again. When he answered she immediately started talking. “Trent, I think he’s messing around the house. The alarm is going off and Karla and I have locked ourselves in her closet.”

“I’m still about five minutes from you. I’ll call it in, you two just stay there and turn the volume off on the phone just in case he’s in the house.”

“Okay.” Leslie whispered and hit the end key. She silenced the phone and wrapped her arms around Karla. “It’s going to be okay. Trent will be here in just a few minutes and he’s calling in back-up.”

“I’m so scared.” Karla admitted in an almost soundless whisper.

“Me too, honey, but we will be alright.” Leslie reassured her.

They sat there for a minute before Karla stood up abruptly. “Mom, I smell smoke.”

As soon as the words left Karla’s mouth the smoke detectors started blaring within the house.

Trent’s tires squealed on the asphalt as he turned onto the road the Peterson’s lived on. When he saw the smoke billowing out the front door and windows he immediately pulled out his cell phone and called 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“This is Detective Trent Greeves. I am at 1714 Hunters Lane and I need the fire department and rescue personal here immediately. There are two people trapped inside the house.”

“I will dispatch them right away, Detective.”

Trent ended the call and called Karla’s cell phone. “Trent, we’re trapped in Karla’s closet and the house is on fire.” Leslie said as soon as she answered the phone.

“I’m right outside and have called the fire department. Can you two make it to Karla’s window?”

“We can try. Why?”

“I have a rope ladder in my trunk and if you can make it to her window I can try to get y’all out.” Trent explained as he opened his trunk and took out the ladder.

“We’ll try.” Leslie said as she grabbed Karla’s hand.

“I’m hanging up now. Open her window and we’ll try to get you out.”

Once Leslie ended the call she opened Karla’s closet door and pulled Karla over to the window. She threw the curtain aside and opened the window. There wasn’t any smoke up here yet, but she could hear the alarms sounding from downstairs. She saw Trent walking toward them carrying the ladder, but she also saw the car from earlier parked a few houses down on the street.

Before Trent could get to them the night sky filled with red lights and sirens. Leslie knew in that moment that she and Karla would be alright. “Trent, we’re up here.” She shouted down and Trent waved to the firefighters on the street. She noticed the black car still sitting in the same spot and she decided it needed to be checked out. She sent a text to Trent while the firefighters approached with a tall ladder.

When Trent’s phone vibrated he pulled it out and looked at the text Leslie had sent. He grinned to himself at her ability to keep calm and do what needed to be done. He calmly walked back to his car, which was parked pretty close to the black sedan. He climbed into his front seat, focused on the license plate through the rearview mirror and called it in. “Hey, Connie, Greeves here. I need you to run a plate for me please.” He said and rattled off the tag number.

  “Detective, the car is registered to Anthony Knopp Jr. He has outstanding warrants in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama and here in Tennessee.”

“Thanks, Connie. Can you dispatch all available units to block off both ends of Hunters Lane? Tell them to come in silent.”

“You got it.” Connie said and thirty seconds later Trent heard his radio beep and the order come through.

He grinned, got out of the car and walked back toward the house. He didn’t want to tip off the driver of the car that he knew who he was. When he reached the house Karla was just stepping off the ladder and jumped into his arms.

“I am so happy you got here when you did.” She said with tears streaming down her face.

“I am too, sweetheart.” He answered as Leslie stepped off the ladder and joined them.

“Are you Detective Greeves?” One of the firefighters asked as he approached them. When Trent nodded he said, “The fire was contained to the mud room and kitchen area, but there is smoke damage to the living room and upstairs hall. All the doors were shut so it seems none of the bedrooms were affected.”

“That’s something at least.” Leslie said as she wrapped her arms around Karla. “I need to call Andrew. He needs to know what happened before he comes home and sees all of this.”

“Go ahead and call him. He won’t be able to get down the street for a couple of hours though. Which brings me to ask, Karla, what can you tell me about Tony?”

Karla stood there for a minute before she answered. “Not much really. Diane was with him for about two months before the night he raped me, then a few days later he took off with someone and we never heard from him again.”

“Does he have any tattoos or scars that you can remember?”

Karla thought again for a moment. “He has a tattoo on his chest of a scorpion with the initials
AK
above it.”

“That’s good. I think you were right about it being him who as following you tonight, but I need to be sure.” Trent said just as his cell phone signaled an incoming text. When he looked at it he grinned. “Now we find out if we’re right.”

When he turned and ran toward the parked car the driver started it and peeled away from the house. When he reached the road block he slammed on the breaks and jumped out of the car. Before he made it five feet Trent tackled him from behind. Two uniformed officers stepped up to assist Trent and in a matter of seconds they had him cuffed. “Anthony Knopp?” Trent asked.

The man just stood there in silence. “Okay, if that’s how you’re going to be that’s fine. You are under arrest for arson and two counts of attempted murder.” Trent said and went on to read him his Miranda Rights before handing him over to a uniformed officer. “Take him to Central, process him and put him in holding. Be sure to run his prints through AFIS. I want to be sure we have the right scumbag. Also check to see if he has a tattoo on his chest of a scorpion with initials above it.”

“Yes, sir.” The officer responded before he loaded the suspect into the squad car and pulled away.

When Trent made it back to where he’d left Karla and Leslie, Leslie was on the phone with Andrew. “We got him, Karla. He wouldn’t tell us his name, but that doesn’t matter because his fingerprints won’t lie.”

Karla sank to the ground at Trent’s feet, hugged her knees to her chest and started sobbing uncontrollably.