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TITLE: "Close By" AUTHOR: Celeste (CRHyde1@aol.com) RATING: Fun for all ages! :) well, maybe PG at least. SUMMARY: So far...Lucy receives a disturbing phone call and note. Bobby, Ellenor, and Eugene also make an appearance. NOTES: This is just the very beginning of my story, and it also happens to be everything I've got so far. I gladly welcome and comments, or suggestions on how I should continue it. ARCHIVE: anywhere, with my name and email. DISCLAIMER: Let's see, how do people usually do this. All the characters (except for ones I make up)belong to David Kelley and ABC, and all that mumbo jumbo.There, that should do it :) Now on with the story: Lucy Hatcher sat at her desk, pen in hand, hovering over the message pad. The dead receiver still raised to her ear. It was early morning, the sun was not yet up and wouldn’t be for another hour or so. She had been having trouble sleeping that night, and had decided to put her insomnia to good use and catch up on some work at the office. She enjoyed coming to work early, before anyone else. It was peaceful. No one to shout at her or belittle her for her curiosity. She knew she could be a bit pushy at times, but she couldn’t help it. She had a nose for mischief, and she liked to know everything that was going on. That’s one of the reasons she loved to answer the phones. Most of the calls were from clients, and by being the one to answer, she got the inside scoop first. But right now she was wishing anyone but her had answered the phone, and she wasn’t enjoying the silent morning. She’d give anything for someone else to be in the room with her. She was terrified. She had answered the phone, pen and paper ready to take the message from the other end. “Donnell, Young, Dole, and Frutt. How may I help you?” she had asked, thinking the caller was an existing client, or even a potential one. Heavy breathing had greeted her, then a deep raspy voice. “Is this Lucy Hatcher?” the voice had inquired. “Depends on who’s asking,” was her reply. More heavy breathing, then a short chuckle. ‘If he asks me what my favorite scary movie is I’m hanging up,’ she had thought. “Have you been watching the news Lucy Hatcher?” the voice came again, “All those young teenage girls showing up dead. Their poor families.” She sucked in a breath. “Who is this,” she demanded. “Do you have a family, Lucy Hatcher? I wonder what they’d do if you showed up like one of those girls?” Chills had ran up her spine. Was that supposed to be a threat? “Don’t worry Lucy. Wherever you go, I’ll be there to protect you. I’ll always be close by.” She had been about to threaten him with the police when the phone went dead. Now here she sat, mouth open, receiver in hand. What should she do? Should she actually call the police? What if it turned out to be just a lousy prank caller? Her fingers trembled as she hung the phone up, then thought better of it. Maybe she should call someone. Bobby? Eugene? Both? She started to feel uneasy. The guy had sounded too threatening to be a prank caller. She glanced out the window. Still dark out. She would feel a lot safer if the sun would just pop its head up. The man wouldn’t possibly try anything in broad daylight would he? Most crimes happened at night didn’t they? Great, she was making herself even more nervous. That’s it. She had to call someone. She’d call Bobby, then he’d tell her what she should do. She had just picked up the phone when a scuffle outside the office door startled her. She turned toward it, frozen by fear. Could it be the man on the phone? She frantically looked around for a weapon, her eyes falling to the letter opener. She picked it up and slowly advanced to the door. Each footstep seemed to take forever. As she neared the door, she reached for the light switch and turned the lights off. The room was bathed in darkness. She heard more scuffling, and a slip of paper was shoved under the door. She slowly bent down and retrieved it in her free hand. It was a plain white index card with her name on it. She flipped it over and gasped. Printed neatly in block letters was a message: “I’ll always be close by.” A strange sensation began to grow in the pit of her stomach that spread throughout her body. Why was this happening to her? She straightend up, this time she would call someone. As she turned once more to the phone, another scuffle out side the door stopped her. She frantically grabbed for the doorknob, trying to turn and engage the lock, but the door was already opening. She steadied herself, letter opener poised in front of her, ready to be used if necessary. The door opened fully and two figures walked through. She was about to strike when one of the dark forms flicked the light switch. The fluorescent lights flickered on and Lucy let out a sigh. Eugene and Ellenor stood in the doorway, concerned looks on their faces. “Lucy, are you okay?” Ellenor asked, noticing the fear on the girl’s face. “I’m so glad to see you two,” Lucy cried as she dropped the letter opener and hugged Ellenor. “What’s going on,” Eugene asked. *** Bobby stepped out of the cab, paid the driver and headed for the building. It was early. Too early. He had been in the middle of a wonderful dream when the phone woke him. Eugene had been on the other end, saying something about Lucy, and needing him to come to the office right away. He’d quickly showered and dressed, then called for a cab. Now here he was pushing the elevator button. The doors opened and he got on, shifting his workbag to his other hand and punching the floor button. The building had seemed deserted. There had been no sign of anyone, not even a janitor. He watched the numbers above the door light up. When it came to rest on his floor, the doors opened and he stepped off. He made his way toward the office door, and entered. Lucy and Ellenor sat at their desks. Lucy’s face was white with fear. She looked up as he approached. “What’s going on,” he asked her. “She got a call from some loon telling her she might end up dead, and he’d be watching her,” Eugene explained as he came out of the conference room. “Here, take a look at this.” He handed Bobby the index card. “After the phone call, that was shoved under the door,” Lucy added. “We passed him when we got off the elevator,” Eugene motioned to Ellenor. “I was a little suspicious of the guy because I hadn’t seem him in the building before. I should have paid more attention.” “You couldn’t have known, Eugene,” Ellenor got up from her desk and joined them at Lucy’s. “How can you be sure that was the guy?” Bobby asked, dropping his workbag on the desk and hanging his coat. “We got in here a couple of seconds after the card, and that guy passed us, getting on the elevator as we were getting off.” Ellenor looked at Eugene. “Eugene tried to chase him down, but he was gone before…” “What if he tries to kill me,” Lucy asked, suddenly, drawing their attention. “We’ll keep that from happening,” Bobby assured her. To be continued. (duhn duhn duhnnn!) Well, let me know what you all think. |