Chapter 8


                                                                                                                   Chapter 9

John and Julie sat in the café looking from waitress to waitress, wondering if they had any hope of finding the right one. This was the right café according to the description, and its name was the Java Hut and in the book, it was Java House, but even if it was the right café the waitress could be off, or she could have quit long ago. The descriptions of Jack and Joan in Cold Terror nearly matched the way John and Julie actually looked and they were sure that the woman in Night Stalker would look like her character, Sherrie, as well. That is if their unusual suspicions were correct. It didn't seem real. People didn't live suspense novels, and books didn't write themselves. It was insane, and illogical, but it was happening, so they had to try to stop it.
"This is a goose chase; we should have started by looking for the author's address."
Julie shook her head, negating her own words.
"No, we could never have found his address, and if we did, what would we say."
She lowered her voice in a mock formal tone that made him smile.
"Excuse me sir, did you get in a fight with this man and put some sort of voodoo curse on him and then write about it in your latest book?"
John took her hand and smiled at her.
"It'll be ok, we'll be ok."
A small blond waitress came out of the back, her short hair pinned into a little bun. She fit the physical description in the book, but he couldn't see her name tag. She walked to the table and pulled a pen from behind her ear.
"What can I get you?"
She seemed distracted, never really looking at the couple before her. She glanced from the door to the back room where the kitchen stood, hidden by a swinging door. They ordered coffees and she moved to the kitchen watching the front door as she went.
"It could be her, the girl in the book is Sherrie, and her name is Shawna. It could be her."

The excitement in her tone and was written across her face. She was his girl Friday and he was the faithful PI that must solve the case. He felt his heart lurch as her loveliness struck him once again. He was amazed that even in this dire situation he could notice things like that. He had expected to be looking over his shoulder for the claws and the eyes constantly. Expected to be haunted with every step. Expected terror to consume his every thought. She, however, had not been what he had expected from that first phone call. None of her actions or responses were predictable. He supposed that was what he liked most about her. After only one day, he felt like he could truly love her, quirks and all.
"She looks like her too, and the way that she keeps watching the door, it all fits."
The girl returned with their coffee and asked if they were ready to order.
He smiled in his most charming way and asked her if they could speak to her for a moment. She looked horror struck at the two of them as though they had just asked if they could have a knife to stab her with.
"Look," she said, "I am a waitress, I am here to bring you food and that's all. I'm not looking to talk to the press, or anyone else. Now, can I take your order, or are you leaving?"
He had overplayed his hand, and he regretted it, but he also knew that he must continue play, even if it meant scaring her off.
"Listen, I think that I may know who your stalker really was. I know that you stabbed him and left him by the ocean. I also know that they never found the body, and I know why."
Droplets of sweat broke out on her forehead and upper lip, and she started to fidget from right foot to left.
"Who are you?" She asked, looking as though she might bolt at any second.
He had to do something to stop her before she really did run, but Julie broke in and saved the day.
"We think that we're being stalked by the same guy, and we need some answers, or he will just keep on hurting people."
The words seemed to break through the girl's terror. She visibly calmed, and her eyes flew from John to Julie. She seemed to be a bit more relaxed now that she was sure they weren't with the media, or the stalker, who she obviously still feared.

"Ok, I have a break coming up in about thirteen minutes. I'll come talk to you then, but with one stipulation, we have to stay in the restaurant and as soon as we're done, you leave and never come back."
Her voice had lowered to a whisper but they understood perfectly. She felt they were endangering her by coming here and just wanted them to leave; the sooner; the better.

Fifteen minutes later, Shawna was sitting at their table with a cup of coffee and a nervous stare.
"Have you ever met Donald Kingsley? He writes fiction novels."
Shawna looked a bit confused and annoyed. Her leg shook convulsively and she glanced at the door once again.
"Yeah, I met him once when he came in here for lunch. I know he's not my stalker, if that's what your going to try to tell me."
The defiance in her voice told him that either she was in love with him, or she wrongly thought him incapable of anything so terrible.
"We need you to answer our questions and we'll tell you who it was that stalked you."
"Ok, but if this gets too personal, I'm outta' here."
They agreed and she continued, shaking her leg so hard it made the table shake.
"He was charming and funny. When he asked me out, I thought that it might be fun, after all, I had never dated anyone famous before. After a few months, I noticed that he had a creepy quality. He had a quick temper and he would act weird sometimes."
"What do you mean?" John asked, studying her movements.
"He loved the gorier things in life, but he was a writer, so I never thought too much about it. He would never let me see his work when he was writing a new book, and though he spent very little time in his basement working on it, he never missed a deadline. I had to dump him after a while. I couldn't handle some of the weird things that he did."
"What kind of weird things did he do?" Julie asked.

"Well, he would get this look in his eye sometimes; as if he were a cat and he had just eaten grandma's canary. He would watch the news as if he were watching for something terrible and sometimes he would laugh and clap when something bad did happen. It wasn't all the time, just every once in a while, but it freaked me out, know what I mean?"
John nodded, he probably understood better than she did. Kingsley was looking for news of his victims, watching his stories unfold.
"Was he upset after you dumped him?"
Shawna looked at John as if he was insane for even asking.
"Yeah, I mean, who wouldn't be. But I know that the man in the ski mask wasn't him, because he was at least a foot taller and much thinner than Don and a man can't just lose thirty pounds in one month, even if he could grow taller. If they ever found that kind of pill they'd make millions."
"When did you break up with him?" John asked.
"About seven months ago."
"So that's when the stalking started? About six months ago?"
She nodded and glanced at the door, then at the clock, her leg shaking again.
AI only have a few more minutes, so you better get to it."
"Ok, Kingsley isn't exactly the one who stalked you-"
Julie broke into his explanation cutting him off.
"He hired someone to do it." She finished quickly.
She looked at him pointedly and he understood. The girl would probably call the police on the 'crazy people' if they told her the truth. Honestly, they didn't even know how he did it. If they told her that he somehow magically made a monster to chase them and then the story wrote itself in his books, they would be in a nuthouse by morning.
"That's right. I used to live next to him about a year ago and we had a dispute over a tree. He had me stalked and then wrote about it in his newest book. I think that his anger toward you might have made him do the same thing. I believe that he wrote this book about you."
He pulled the book from inside his jacket and handed it to her. She stared at it for a moment, apparently certain that it would bite her if she touched it. Hesitantly she took the book and read the back cover. Her face paled and she began to look sick. She excused herself and ran to the bathroom.
When she came out a few minutes later she was shaking, but she sat down anyhow. John was glad to see her sit, he had been afraid that she would ask them to leave. "Do you know where he lives now?" John asked as the color slowly returned to her face.

Chapter 10