Squeal

When a young woman lodges a complaint about an inept and unprofessional server, she soon realizes revenge takes many forms!

Chapter 1: The Encounter

Kiley and Chad sat in the coffee shop, watching the people shuffle by. The steady rain pelted those unlucky enough to be without an umbrella. Kiley sighed. They had been sitting there for nearly fifteen minutes, and nobody had been over to take their order. 

     Pluto’s was the most popular place for the college kids, sitting on Main Street just a mile from the campus; still, it wasn’t terribly crowded that day.

     Chad looked around as he tapped his fingers relentlessly on the table. “Any day now, guys,” he muttered. “Look, let’s just go somewhere else,” said Kiley. Just then, their server arrived. “Hey,” he said with disinterest. He handed them each a menu and murmured, “I’ll be right back.” Kiley looked at Chad, her mouth agape. “What was that?” she said, shrugging. “Not another ten minutes, I hope,” said Chad.  The server returned.

     “Okay, do ya know whatcha want?” Kiley glanced at his nametag. “Yeah, Jeff, we’d like to start with coffee and water,” she announced sarcastically. He nodded nonchalantly as he walked off without a word. “We should have gone ahead and ordered,” said Chad. “He’ll be another twenty minutes just gettin’ the coffee.” 

When Jeff returned, he set the drinks down, slamming the cups together and sloshing coffee all over the table. “I’ll be back to get your order.” “Well, we’d like to order now if you don’t mind,” said Chad. Jeff gave an audible sigh as he rolled his eyes and opened his server book. The two ordered, and Jeff left to take the ticket to the kitchen. Kiley looked around for a spoon to stir her coffee. “Great. No spoon! I tell ya, I’ve a good mind to speak to this guy’s manager. He’s the worst!” 

     “Uh, Jeff?” called Chad, waving his hand. Jeff walked past, pretending he didn’t see them. 

Kiley took a spoon from the next table and stirred her coffee briskly. Each time she saw Jeff pass by them without acknowledgment, her stirring became more rigorous. “Don’t say anything to him until after we’ve gotten our food,” Chad smirked. “I don’t want anybody spittin’ in it!” 

     The dinners arrived, and Jeff set the plates down without eye contact. “Ya know, you are the rudest server I’ve ever encountered,” said Kiley, moving her head to and fro, trying to get him to look at her. “Your manager is gonna hear from me.” “Pffft,” Jeff blew through his teeth, “Whatever,” he mumbled.

     Throughout the dinner, Jeff had steered clear of their table and only appeared when it was time to drop off the bill. Kiley set her credit card down, and Jeff swooped in like an eagle, snatching it up without a glance. “Gee, how much of a tip should we leave ‘im?” laughed Chad. 

     “I’m gonna go find the manager,” said Kiley, signing the receipt.” “No, don’t,” said Chad. “We don’t have time. Let’s just give ‘im a review on Squeal.”

Chapter 2: The Review

When Kiley and Chad returned home, Chad went on to bed. Kiley was the sort of person who just couldn’t let things go. All night long, she simmered in anger about Jeff, the rude waiter- and now he was gonna pay. She found Pluto’s web page and typed a review…

     We went to Pluto’s for dinner tonight. Jeff, our server, was the rudest man I’ve ever encountered. It was fifteen minutes before he even came to take our order, NO silverware on the table, DIDN'T come back to check on us, and the only time he was prompt was when it was time to give us our bill! This man should NOT be in the hospitality business!

K. M. 1-star review 

She then went over to Squeal, a social commenting board for restaurants and left the same review there. 

     The next morning, Kiley went to work and told everybody in her office about her poor dining experience. “Oh, that’s weird,” said Mary, who sat in the cubicle next to her, “Pluto’s service is usually pretty good.” She had never seen Jeff in the six months she had been going there.  

     Back at Pluto’s, Mr. Cinzelli, the General Manager, sat in his office drinking his coffee and perusing their website. He often read the reviews from the previous weeks. As he scrolled the site, he came upon the one from Kiley. “Karen, would you come in here for a minute?” he asked Karen, the Day Manager. She came in and sat down. “Jeff Kodaka is getting written up. This is the third complaint we’ve received about him in two weeks. I want you to give him a Corrective Action review as soon as he arrives for his shift.” Karen acknowledged his request, although reluctantly.             “Okay, Mr. C.,” she sighed, “but he’s not gonna like it.” 

 Jeff Kodaka was a young college freshman who had applied at Pluto’s shortly after arriving at the campus. He was awkwardly shy and considered an introvert. His dirty blond hair was parted on the side, and a wavy bang draped over one eye. He looked like something out of Kiley’s parent’s high school yearbook! He had bad skin and mottled teeth and walked in a slump as if the years of teasing and pitiful comments had taken their toll. He spent most of his time alone and always carried a large black binder in which he kept writings and drawings. He was an art major with a minor in computer graphics. That black binder was his life, and he guarded it with everything he had.

     Many of his coworkers had had run-ins with Jeff. He was quick-tempered and couldn’t take constructive criticism of any kind. On one occasion, one of the cooks nearly got into a fistfight with him because he told Jeff he was late picking up his order. There were several workers at Pluto’s who would be more than happy to see him go.

     It was mid-afternoon, and Jeff was late as usual. “Can I see you in the office as soon as you get sorted there, Jeff?” Karen called to him from the hostess stand. She met him at the office door. “Close the door, please,” she said, sitting down. “Jeff, consider this to be a corrective action meeting. You have had yet another negative review on our website as well as Squeal. We will have to take further action if you can’t address your attitude and customer service issues.”

Chapter 3: The Assault 

Jeff sat slumped in the chair, staring at Karen through his long, dirty bangs. His arms were folded in defiance. “So, do we understand each other?” Karen asked, standing up. Jeff unfolded his arms as his face began to turn red. He stood slowly, pushing his clenched fists against the arms of the chair. 

     Karen began to get an uneasy feeling. He walked around to her side of the desk. “Jeff,” she said with a trembling voice. “Sit down, please.” Jeff’s eyes were full of rage. He walked up to Karen and backed her against the wall. “Jeff!” she yelled. “Please, sit down!”  He grabbed her by the neck and began to choke her violently. She kicked the wall and knocked the chair over in hopes that someone would hear the struggle.

     Casey, one of the cooks, was coming from the storeroom and heard the commotion. “Karen? Are you okay?” he called as he knocked lightly on the door. He peered through the slats of the blinds and saw bodies thrashing about the room. He opened the door just in time to see Jeff pinning Karen to the desk. 

     Several waitresses and another cook had come to the door. “Get off her!” yelled Casey, grabbing Jeff by the back of the collar. He twirled him around and slammed his face against the wall. Gena, one of the servers, ran to Karen and helped her into the chair. “Call the police,” Karen whispered as she clutched her throat. The cooks held Jeff tight until the police arrived. 

     When Mr. Cinzelli heard about the incident, he informed Karen the restaurant would be pressing charges. Jeff was terminated, of course, and arrested for assault. Karen was afraid to take the matter any further. “I’m just happy he’s gone,” she said, and the rest of the staff agreed. 

     Several weeks had passed. It was revealed through the HR department at Corporate that Jeff had been released on a suspended sentence. Since this was his first offense and Karen had refused to press additional charges, he would only endure two years’ probation and ten weeks of anger management classes. This made the staff members uneasy. They were instructed to watch out for each other, and the male staff was asked to walk female staff out after their shifts. Mr. C. made sure all the cameras were working in and around the parking lots.

Chapter 4: Jeff 

In the entire time Pluto’s had been open, there had been only one other incident besides Jeff’s.  A young kid had robbed the establishment. He had gone in and even had the audacity to order food. After his meal, he walked to the counter,  paid his bill, then pulled a gun on the hostess. Seeing as he wasn’t very clever, it didn’t take long for the police to find and prosecute him.

     Jeff hadn’t been there very long before several parties began complaining about his customer service, and now, in addition to Kiley’s complaint, these two were the latest to emerge. 

     The first couple wrote a nasty comment on their ticket because Jeff had inadvertently stuck his thumb in the man’s mashed potatoes as he brought the food out to the table.

      The second complaint was taken directly to Mr. Cinzelli himself. It had to do with Jeff’s hygiene. He had an awful habit of constantly touching his hair and face while taking his customers’ orders, and his body odor was sometimes unbearable. Mr. C. had spoken to Jeff on a number of occasions, taking the approach of a concerned father rather than a commanding boss. 

Everyone knew Jeff had come from a dysfunctional family. He had spoken about his alcoholic mother and how she was often too involved with other men to have anything to do with him or his brother. His father abandoned the family when Jeff was only five, so he was left to raise himself, in a sense. Whenever he and his brother did have a sitter, it was usually his uncle who was terribly abusive to both of them. Jeff was angry and bitter, and it was evident that his toxic upbringing affected every facet of his life.

     He rented a room a few blocks from campus. His landlady had no complaints when questioned about his behavior by the police who arrested him. “He’s always been quiet and mainly keeps to himself. He pays his rent on time, and that’s really all I care about,” the landlady reported.

5: Watchful Eyes

One morning, Chen, from the mailroom, approached Kiley as she sat at her work desk. “I got somethin’ for ya,” he said, handing her an envelope. She looked at the piece of mail and tried to make out the return address. Whoever wrote it had deplorable handwriting. She opened it and began to read the brief note:  

     That pink blouse you wore the other day is a little tight on ya, doncha think? It made ya look like a big stuffed PIG! 

Kiley folded the paper and stared blankly. A wall of fear hit her. Who was this from, and why were they making such comments?  Her mind scanned the week, and she remembered wearing her pink blouse and black slacks on Tuesday. She called Chad and told him about the strange note. When she got home, they inspected the envelope with a magnifying glass to see if they could make out the return address. 

     The next week another letter arrived. It looked like the same muddled handwriting, and the return address had been intentionally ‘smudged.’ Kiley wasn’t sure if she wanted to open it or not, but her curiosity soon got the best of her. This letter read: 

That gray outfit doesn’t suit ya. ‘Looks like ya been rollin’ in the mud! 

     This was getting scary. Kiley began to look around the office in a panic. Was it somebody there?  It had to be someone who had seen her at work. The next day she decided to weed the "perpetrator" out via the process of elimination. She packed an extra set of clothes and left her house in a tan, button-up tunic with brown slacks. When she got to work, she hurried into the ladies' room and changed into a white blouse and navy skirt, but as soon as work was over, she changed back into her tan outfit again. If it were somebody at work, they would comment on her skirt and blouse. 

     Friday afternoon, Kiley drove home thinking about the letters. As she opened her mailbox, there sat another envelope. She grabbed it from the box and looked around in fear as she darted into the house -slamming the door and locking it behind her. Her hands trembled as she sat on the couch and proceeded to open the letter. It simply read: 

Mmm! Sizzlin’ hot in your tan and brown. Sizzlin’ - like BACON!

     That’s it. It had to be someone outside of her job who had been watching her. She called Chad. “I’m gonna contact the police,” she said nervously. “It’s probably some harmless dude that has a crush on you or something,” said Chad. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” “Seriously, Chad? A CRUSH? He insinuated I looked like a pig!” As they talked, Kiley’s eyes darted nervously out the window. Could he be watching her now? She wondered.

     Kiley took off work the next day to go to the police department. She gathered the letters and waited in the foyer. An officer took all of the items and asked, “do you have any known enemies or anyone you know of right off who might want to do you harm?” Kiley couldn’t think of anybody at that moment. The officer told her they were turning her case over to a special unit and would contact her soon.  “But, what if this guy’s like stalking me or something? I can’t just go about my day like nothing’s happening.” “If it makes you feel better, we can have a cruiser go by your place for a few nights - at least until we get word back from our unit,” the officer said. Kiley walked to her car with a feeling of uneasiness. 

Chapter 6: The Out-of-Town Trip

One evening, Chad informed Kiley of his plans to go out of town for an upcoming Software Convention. He worked as a sales consultant for a Computer Analytical Firm that specialized in spyware and virus protection.

“Will you be alright on your own for a weekend?” he cooed, kissing her lightly on the ear. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “It’ll give me a chance to get some things done around here without all these distractions.” “Oh, thanks a lot,” Chad smirked, smacking her playfully with a dish towel. 

     Kiley called the police officer in charge of her case the next morning. She was told that they needed more to go on in order to move forward. In the meantime, she was to call them with information about any suspicious activity in her neighborhood. She decided to go and talk to a few of her neighbors to see if they had seen or heard anything unusual in the past month. For her safety, she only spoke to the ones she knew. Unfortunately, no one had heard or seen anything out of the ordinary and most had already been questioned when the officers canvassed the neighborhood the first time.

     Before going into the house, Kiley checked the mailbox. She took the stack of mail into the house and began to rummage through the pile of bills. When she opened one of her credit cards, she was surprised to see she had a balance of $1826.14!  “What thu?” she muttered as she looked over the charges.

     It appeared that someone had charged three gift cards for $500.00 each, to her account.  Kiley locked her card from her phone and scoured the rest of the mail for other credit card bills. Suddenly, a handwritten envelope caught her eye. This one was stiff and had no return address at all. She sat down, took a deep breath, and slowly opened the envelope. When she pulled out the letter, a photograph fell into her lap. She picked it up and was horrified to see a picture of herself asleep in her bed. The note read:

I hope you LOCKED your DOORS and SAID YOUR PRAYERS!

     Total terror embraced Kiley. She grabbed her phone and dialed 9-1-1. “I think someone’s been in my house,” she cried, and I’m alone.” The operator instructed her to go outside and wait for the police. She went and sat in her car. When the police arrived, they went through every inch of the house and inspected the photograph. “We’ll take and add this to the others,'' said the officer. Kiley decided to stay at her friend Kathy’s until Chad returned on Sunday night.

7: The Taunting Continues

Another week had come and gone before the police finally contacted Kiley. They had gone over the envelopes in hopes of collecting DNA from either the stamp or the envelope itself. “This person knows what we’re looking for,” said the officer. “He or she has taken great care to ensure nothing has been touched or licked. They used an adhesive to seal the envelope and attach the stamp.” Kiley asked if they could pinpoint where the letters were mailed from. “We are in the process of tracing the origin of the letter as it was definitely mailed from the area. The Post Office has been notified to be on the lookout for these letters, and we should be able to i.d. a specific place soon.” Well, that’s a relief, Kiley thought. 

     The officer continued, “as for the photograph, it was taken with a high-resolution, telephoto lens. They took it from a distance rather than actually standing directly over you, so you’ll be relieved to know they were not in the house. They did a good job doctoring the image to make it look like they were right in the room, though,” said the officer, admiring the photograph.  The investigators thought he or she must have had some advanced knowledge of photoshop, and that, to them, was a vital clue. 

     Kiley was glad they were at least moving on her case, but it had gotten to the point where Chad would have to leave later for work in order to walk her out to her car first.

     One morning, Kiley got in her car, kissed Chad and started the engine. As she applied her lipstick in the mirror, her phone rang. “Hello,” she muttered through her closed mouth. 

“Don’t put it on too thick - ya don’t wanna look like a trick!” the man snorted as he laughed. 

     Kiley shifted her eyes back and forth in horror as she realized he was watching her from somewhere. She threw her phone on the seat and mashed down on the horn. Chad came out to her window to find her sobbing. “He’s watching me NOW,” she yelled, looking around frantically. “What? '' shouted Chad over her crying, “how do you know?” She tried to explain that the ‘perp’ was watching her apply her lipstick but could only fumble through her words. Chad visually scanned up and down the street as he escorted Kiley back into the house.

     That night, they were awakened by a noise in the yard. “What was that?” Kiley blurted, sitting up suddenly. She looked out the window and clutched the blanket to her chest.  “I dunno, probably an animal,” said Chad, mid-yawn.  “Let’s call the police,” whispered Kiley. “Nooh,” Chad muttered. “I’ll go see what it was.” He dragged himself out of bed and reached for his jeans. “Wait! Don’t go out there!” she protested. “We gotta call the police!” 

     Chad yanked his jeans up and zipped them fast. “Man, chill OUT, Kiley,” he said in frustration.  “You’re just freakin’ out now. It’s probably just a cat or something.” Chad always thought of Kiley as being a bit “melodramatic,” and she considered him to be apathetic. He grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen drawer. Kiley begged him not to go, but he had to check the yard. He knew if he didn’t - she’d never let him sleep!

     Kiley lay cowering in the bed, straining to see Chad in the darkness, and only an occasional beam from the flashlight reassured her that he was okay. “It must have been the neighbor’s cat,” he said as he returned to the room and got undressed again. “I’m sorry, “I didn’t mean to snap at ya; I’m just so tired of it all.” Chad put his arm around Kiley and kissed her on the forehead. They fell asleep in each other’s arms hoping the worst was behind them, but when they awoke the next morning, they discovered a basket of PIGS FEET dangling from the tree.

8. Hacked 

After another round of calls to the police, Kiley became increasingly impatient. Her case had not been resolved, and even though she called the police department relentlessly, they would tell her they were working on it, probably just to appease her. Still, she knew in the back of her mind that hers was not a “priority” case, so it would be filed away behind the dozens of other ‘cold’ cases plaguing the city. 

     She had become a nervous wreck - so much so that her employer had given her the go-ahead to work from home. It was to the point Kiley wouldn’t even venture out to the mailbox but would wait until Chad got home so he could bring the mail in. She had become a virtual prisoner in her own home. 

     One afternoon as she sat at her computer, she received an instant message. It was her friend, Kathy. “Why did you call me those horrible names, Kiley? WHAT’S UR PROBLEM?  Kiley sat stunned. 

“What names? I didn’t call you any names.” 

     Kathy sent her a screenshot of the chat message. It was Kiley’s profile picture, alright, but the message was not from her. 

She called Kathy immediately, and they soon realized that she had been hacked.  Over the next few hours, several other friends contacted her, asking her about her rude, insulting remarks to them. She posted a message on her wall: “I’ve been hacked, guys. Please don’t think I would say anything like this,” and showed a screenshot of one of the messages.

     Kiley began to scroll through her page and found several of her photos had comments on them that weren’t there before. One photo was of her and Chad at one of their favorite restaurants. She was wearing her tan outfit. As she looked at the comments, one stood out:  mmm! Sizzlin’ hot- like bacon! 

     Her eyes darted back and forth as she frantically began scrolling through her photos. Almost every one of them had a comment from the same person, whose profile name was Squeal. When she went to their page, there was no picture or information whatsoever. 

     It was peculiar to Kiley that almost every comment posted made reference to pigs in some way. One photo of her and her sister on a rollercoaster showed her laughing with her hands in the air. Squeal commented, “wee-wee-wee!”  Another photo showed her and Chad at a barbeque. Squeal’s comment: “piggin’ out!” 

     She continued to get messages throughout the day commenting on remarks she supposedly made on all sorts of posts. She filled out a report, took several screenshots and deleted her account.

9: Gathering Evidence 

With each new incident, Kiley was careful to document each one. She had contacted the credit card company, which had begun an investigation on their end and took photos and screenshots of everything before deleting her social media account.

As days passed, the harassment seemed to be getting worse. Kiley was receiving text messages on her phone that suggested the person was becoming more aggressive and angry. They would use horrible, explicit language, describing how they would make Kiley “squeal like a pig.” Of course, the phone number was not legit when she tried calling it, but she was sure the investigators would be able to trace the calls somehow. On one occasion, the caller actually left a voicemail of  nothing but pig noises, which lasted 7 minutes!

     When Chad got home, they sat down to dinner and went over all of the evidence Kiley had been gathering. “Why all the references to pigs?” asked Chad. What’s the significance? Look here. Squeal. This guy’s name is Squeal?” 

SQUEAL! Suddenly Kiley’s mind clicked back to the review she had left about Jeff in the restaurant forum.

     “JEFF!” Kiley blurted.

“Huh?” replied Chad, in confusion.

     “Jeff. I think it’s Jeff, that waiter from Pluto’s. “Ya think so?” asked Chad. “I’m certain of it! He must be retaliating because of the review I left on Squeal. Think about it. Squeal?? Get it?  Those pigs feet in the trees, the phone calls of him “snorting.”

     Chad stood up and began to pace. “Yeah, that would make sense. His work probably saw the reviews and he got chewed out or somethin.” 

He must have saved my information from my credit card and used it to make all those purchases too,” added Kiley.

     After they ate, they drove over to the police department. They had plenty of evidence now. They’d taken pictures of the pigs’ feet before placing them and the twine they were tied to in a plastic bag.   Kiley was convinced it had to be Jeff, but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure. 

     “This is all fine and good, but it doesn’t really zero in on any one person,” one of the investigators remarked. “We would have to have some physical or photographic evidence tying him to these events, and right now, we just don’t have it.” The lead investigator chimed in. “We can pick him up and bring him in for questioning, but that may only provoke him further.” 

Chapter 10: Questioning the Suspect

 When the police arrived at Jeff’s boarding house, they spoke with the landlady who said Jeff had not been seen for a few days. He was later located on campus, where a plain-clothes policeman escorted him to the station to answer some questions. 

      A heavy-set man in a disheveled sports jacket and wrinkled slacks entered the room. “Hi,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Investigator Challis. Whatcha got there?” he asked, pointing to Jeff’s black binder.  “Why do you ask?” replied Jeff smugly. 

     “Mind if I take a look?” 

“Do you have a warrant to search my stuff?” Jeff asked, clutching the binder tightly. “Alright,” said Challis, holding his hands up in surrender. “Never mind.” 

     “Why am I here?” Jeff asked, glaring at the investigator. “Am I under arrest for something?” Challis explained the reason for their inquiries as Jeff shifted nervously in his chair. “Well, if I’m not under arrest, then I can leave,” he said. Another officer came into the room and joined the conversation.

     They began questioning Jeff regarding his whereabouts and his time at Pluto’s. “I’m not answering any questions, and if you don’t have anything to hold me on, I’m gonna be on my way.” Unfortunately, they didn’t have any solid evidence tying him to the harassment, so they had no choice but to let him leave. From that moment on, however,  Jeff was under surveillance. 

     After he had gone, Investigator Challis turned and smiled at the officer in the room. “He’s sure touchy about that black binder, isn’t he? “‘Wonder what’s in it?”  “Must be somethin’ good for him to be so protective of it,”smirked the officer.

     All they could hope for now was that the credit card company and social media accounts would come forward with any leads they might have. The phone that was used to text and call Kiley was a ‘burner phone,’ which would be hard, if not impossible, to trace. 

    “All we can do is hope he slips up, which could give us probable cause to search his stuff. We gotta see what he’s hidin’ in that binder,” said Challis.  What they needed was more time, but that seemed to be slipping away from them.

11: Clues 

Chad came into the house one evening with a stack of mail. “What’s in it?” Kiley asked nervously. “I think it’s just bills,” said Chad, setting his backpack on the table. The letters seemed to have stopped since the Post Office had flagged the incident. 

     “Let’s have a look here,” said Chad. He sat down, and Kiley pulled a chair up next to him. As they skimmed through the mail, another handwritten envelope emerged. This one had no stamp. 

     “How did this get through the mail without a stamp? Kiley asked, inspecting the envelope. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “You don’t suppose he placed it directly in our box, do you?” “Well, if he did, I’m sure someone’s door cam probably captured it,” replied Chad, “and if that’s the case, he just buried himself!” Unfortunately, none of the neighbors seemed to have a camera, the ones Kiley had spoken to, anyway. 

     “You open it, Kiley said, handing him the letter. “I don’t even wanna know anymore.” Chad took the piece of mail from her hand and opened the flap of the envelope. It was an invitation. It had a picture of a short round man in a grass skirt, pounding on a large kettle drum. The card read, “Come One, Come All.  When the invitation was opened, it revealed a large spit over an open fire. Kiley’s face was superimposed on a pig bound with rope.  Another pig was laughing as he turned the handle.

Come to the pig roast in YOUR honor!

Yours truly, 

Squeal

Unbeknownst to Chad and Kiley, the police had had Jeff under surveillance and had indeed seen him placing something in their mailbox. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, and since they didn’t get a shot of his car, they assumed he must have walked. Unfortunately, the DA needed more than a grainy video of a dark figure lingering about the yard before she would bring charges. 

     Challis argued that one could see the figure placing something in the mailbox, even though it was very hard to make out, but that wasn’t enough to sway the DA’s office. “Bring me evidence that he put a letter in the box; a letter tied directly to him (or her), and I’ll reconsider,” the DA said. 

Chapter 12: All-Aboard 

One day, Chad came home and told Kiley he would need to take her car for a few days as his needed to go into the shop. “How will I get to my Monday meeting, though?” asked Kiley. “I can drop you off at work. You’ll just need to take All-aboard back.” 

      All-aboard was a car service created and run by college students to help those without vehicles get around the campus. It had expanded to include all areas within twenty-five miles of the college. It wasn’t the greatest service, as some of the kids’ cars were old clunkers, and they weren’t as strict when it came to their drivers’ credentials. (A few of the kids had gotten in trouble because their driver’s licenses had expired or had even been suspended ) but, it was the least expensive and Chad and Kiley had taken it a few times before they got their second vehicle. They figured for the distance Kiley had to go, it wouldn’t be that big a deal. 

     The Monday meeting was a nice change for Kiley. She missed going to work every day. She missed her friends, the lunches and the gossip, but she was still unwilling to resume her regular schedule, at least until they had made an arrest in her harassment and stalking case. 

     That afternoon, Kiley called All-aboard and arranged a 3:30 pick-up. As she waited in the lobby, she scrolled through her phone for any new messages from her perpetrator. Chad messaged her about their upcoming vacation, and as they texted back and forth, a car drove up and honked. 

     My ride’s here, she texted. She told Chad about the ugly, makeshift sign pasted to the inside of the window that said All-aboard. She snapped a picture and sent it to Chad….

I guess this is the extent of their “top-notch” advertising. Lol 

Chad replied: That must be how they can keep fares so low cuz they certainly don’t splurge on marketing! 

     As Kiley walked to the car, she opened the door and slid into the back seat. “Hi,” she said. 3651 Osage, please.”  The car drove off slowly. As the car continued driving down the highway, Kiley, who had been distracted by her texting, noticed the driver didn’t take the exit they would normally take to get back to her house. “Um-m-m, excuse me, you missed my exit,” she said, pointing over her shoulder.

     The driver peered briefly over his dark sunglasses as Kiley looked at him in the rearview mirror.  There was something creepy about this guy. She glanced at his photo badge attached to the dashboard and froze in terror as she recognized the man in the picture. “Hello, Kiley,”said Jeff. “Need a ride to yer pigsty?”  Kiley swallowed hard and reached for the door handle. It was locked! She started to dial 9-1-1 when suddenly Jeff flashed a gun from his lap. “Toss your phone up here,” he snarled, “or I’ll blow your head off right now.” 

     Okay, Kiley, don’t panic, she said to herself. She knew she still had a slim advantage over the situation since she was sitting in back of him. She thought about ducking behind his seat, which might afford her a few seconds - time enough to dial 911 - but what then? If he didn’t shoot her while he was driving, he would definitely do so once he pulled over. 

     “Okay,” she said, trembling, “please, just don’t shoot.” Thoughts of survival flooded her mind. She considered covering his eyes, but that would do her no good if she couldn’t open the car door to escape once he wrecked the car. Maybe she could cover them with her arm and somehow grab for the gun at the same time.

     “DO IT, PIG! Toss it up here NOW,” Jeff was becoming unhinged. 

Kiley knew she couldn’t use her phone without dire consequences. She just couldn’t take that chance. She tossed her phone on the seat next to him and watched as any hope of rescue faded. 

Chapter 13. The Chase

As Kiley looked outside, she noticed a police car behind them. All at once, its lights came on, and the siren blared. “Oh, so that’s how they’re gonna play it, huh?” smirked Jeff, stepping on the accelerator. Kiley’s heart skipped a beat as Jeff began to speed up, darting in and out of traffic with the police car following right behind him. He was now doing upwards of 90 mph. as he cursed and swore at Kiley. “This is all YOUR fault. YOU got me fired puttin’ that review on Squeal! We’ll see who SQUEALS now!” 

      “Please, Jeff. Please, STOP!” Kiley cried as her body was tossed to and fro like a rag doll. At one point, Jeff hit a bump and she smacked her head hard on the top of the car. Blood began to drip down the side of her head. 

     Eventually, the police car backed off. They knew Kiley was in the car and couldn’t take a chance at them crashing. Were they giving up on her? she thought as she sunk into the seat and wept quietly. Jeff continued speeding until he realized the police were no longer directly behind him. He tried darting between cars to lose them. 

     Kiley kept her eyes on the gun, hoping for a chance to grab it, but Jeff held it tight in one hand. She lowered her head and said a prayer, unsure of her fate. All at once, she glanced down at the floor and noticed Jeff’s black binder. She picked it up. “What are you doing with that? Put that down!” Jeff hollered as he watched her from the rearview mirror. He seemed to take his foot off the gas pedal as he became distracted. Kiley knew this was his most prized possession though she didn’t know why. She slowly began to open the binder. 

    “Stop that! What are you doing with that?” Jeff panicked and tried grabbing at it as he drove. He pulled the gun up and pointed it at Kiley. The car began to slow. Kiley knew she had hit a nerve with him as she took possession of his precious binder. She also knew he couldn’t drive and keep the gun on her too. 

     “Give that to ME NOW!” Jeff hollered. He seemed to be disoriented by all that was happening. Meanwhile, the police car had caught up with them, and now several other cruisers had joined the chase as well. As Jeff turned and grabbed for the binder, the gun dropped to the floor behind his seat. Suddenly, the power of control shifted as Kiley grabbed it and pointed it toward him. She was terrified! She had never held a gun in her life!

      Her hands trembled as she aimed it at his head. “Stop this car right now, Jeff!” she screamed, trying not to sound as petrified as she was. Jeff pushed on the accelerator as he glared at her in the rearview mirror. This was becoming a “survival of the fittest” situation. Who would surrender first? “I mean it, Jeff. I will kill you!” “If I die, you die,” Jeff said with a cold sneer, speeding up again. He had a point. If Kiley shot him, they would crash, going 90 miles an hour.

     She held the gun on him as she picked up his binder again. “No! Put that down! Please!” Jeff begged. For once HE was at her mercy. “I’ll toss it out the window if you don’t stop this car!” Suddenly, Jeff began to slow the car down and merge over to the right shoulder. The police were right behind them. 

     An officer pulled up beside them and saw Kiley holding the gun on Jeff. As the car slowed to a stop, police cars encircled the car. One cop pulled in front of them, cutting them off. All at once, car doors began to swing open with shouts to “exit the vehicle with your hands up!” Jeff opened the door and was soon overtaken by a half dozen officers. Kiley dropped the gun on the seat and began to weep as another officer opened her door and took her by the arm. “You’re safe now, Kiley.” 

Chapter 14: Let It Go

A month had passed, and Jeff had been in jail awaiting trial. The District Attorney now had enough evidence to present to the judge that would put him away for a long time. When they had searched his vehicle, they found twine in the trunk that matched the twine he had hung the pigs’ feet from. 

     The black hoodie he had worn when placing the envelope in Kiley’s mailbox was the same one that was on the grainy video. The investigators were able to clean it up enough to identify a specific patch on the pocket. Then, of course there was the gun he was carrying. But perhaps the most damning was the black binder. It held a treasure trove of evidence, beginning with handwriting that matched the letters sent to Kiley. 

     Jeff had even devised a sort of ‘kill list’ that included the cooks, management and even some customers of Pluto’s, and of course, Kiley’s name was the latest to join it. There was bank and credit card information that belonged not only to Kiley but to several other people. And photographs. Dozens of photos of Kiley, Karen, Casey, the cook and even Mr. C.

     It seemed Jeff had a habit of photoshopping anyone who he felt wronged him. He would then place them in various unsavory positions and situations. He used them for blackmail, extortion and any other devious behavior he considered necessary to feel vindicated. Removing the black binder from him meant removing any ounce of self-worth he felt, no matter how delusional. 

     It was rather sad, really, thought Chad. Jeff was a man born into a life that gave him nothing but sorrow, and his only method of payback was to punish others.

     It was almost New Year’s and Chad and Kiley sat at dinner. The last year was now just an ugly, fading memory, and they were happy to see it behind them. They held hands by candlelight as they savored the end of their romantic meal.  “Here’s to a better year. Cheers,” said Chad, clinking his wine glass against Kiley’s. Kiley took a sip of her wine. “Ooh, man, that’s much too bitter,” she said, shaking her head. She raised her hand to get the server’s attention. 

 “Kiley,” Chad whispered, shaking his head “Let it go!” 

the end~

Reviews

[Brad Dehler]

I am into the 3rd part. I had to just put it to you- captivating story. I like the back and forth between the characters. There is a touch of foreshadowing with the "encounter" section. Very nice

[Mari' Emeraude]

Cool Sorry, man, I don't know how to break up the chapters in the book writing section so I just globbed everything together. ;p

[Brad Dehler]

No worries, no need to apologize. You explained it very well. It is an entertaining story!

[Daz]

Great book. What a thriller. I don't know if there's a lesson here to just let things go sometimes... Lol. Wow. That Jeff guy is a real piece of work. I enjoyed the dynamic between Kiley and Chad. They seem really good together. To be honest, I was expecting a twist to where Chad would end up being the stalker. I'm so glad that wasn't the case. This is great work here. Well done Mari'.

[Mari' Emeraude]

I appreciate you taking the time to read it. I was going to try and post it as a book with separate chapters but I don't know how to do that without it messing with my OCD ;p