“You’ll be sorry, Stacy. If I have to come looking for you halfway across the country, I will, and the consequences will be fierce,” he exclaimed in an even stranger and evil-sounding voice. She clicked off the phone and began to pace the living room. As Barry’s words kept resurfacing, the fear that he might come to Texas, hunt her down, and kill her filled her mind. Before long, she began to cry then try to figure out what to do. Her cell rang again, and when she glanced at the number, she saw that it was private. She answered it even though Barry’s number came up as private, too.
“I don’t want to talk to you!” she yelled then clicked off the phone and tossed it onto the sheet-covered couch. A few seconds later, it rang again. She hugged herself, and the tears began to fall. Despite her mental desire to remain calm and not let that asshole get to her, it seemed her physical body was deeply affected. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her heart pounded inside her chest. She had to calm down. She couldn’t allow him to beat her down. Stacy wiped her tears with the back of her hand and began to clean up the mess she made. She gathered up the plastic that now had half a gallon of beige paint on it and decided that she might as well head to the hardware store for more. She needed four cans to paint the area she wanted to paint and wouldn’t want to have to quit in the middle of it to run out then. As she began to carry the plastic out of the living room to throw into the outside garbage, her cell phone rang again.
Frustrated, she decided to let it ring. On her way into town she would get the number changed and then call Millie and Anna to let them know the new number. She threw out the garbage and headed back inside to grab her wallet, keys, and the phone. It was ringing over and over again. She looked down at the caller ID and saw that it said private. There were also three voice messages. Now she was getting angry. She flipped open the phone as she walked out the front door.
“Listen, asshole, you can call me over and over again and I still don’t want to hear all the disgusting things you have to say. Leave me alone!” she yelled then clicked off the phone again. She turned the volume down and got into her car.
* * * *
“Fuck!” Max yelled as he hurried out of the office and to his patrol truck
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Sheriff Wyatt, his cousin, asked.
Max quickly explained the phone call and Stacy’s reaction.
“It sounds like this asshole is bothering her. You talked to the investigator this morning, didn’t you?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah and I didn’t like what he had to say. It seems that Stacy’s friend Millie was being harassed for information. Stacy hadn’t called to tell me anything yet.”
“It sounds like he got her cell phone number and has been calling her. Make sure she gives you that phone. We can trace the calls or have the investigators do it. It could prove useful as evidence at a later date for a harassment suit.”
“Right now all I care about is seeing her and making sure that she’s safe, Wyatt. I feel like punching something.”
“Just calm down. It sounded like she was pretty upset.”
“She thinks that she can handle this herself. Eric and I feel otherwise. She can’t hide this information from us. If he’s bothering her or threatening her, we need to know about it.”
“I agree with you a hundred percent. Go check on her and let me know if you need my help with anything.”
“Thanks,” Max stated as he headed across the parking lot to his patrol truck.
Max just pulled out of the parking lot when he spotted Stacy’s car pulling into the hardware store. He pulled into the parking spot next to hers and got out of the car. As soon as they locked gazes, he saw the fear and the anger on her face. He hurried to her.
“What the hell is going on? Goddamn it, I’ve been trying to call you. Is that Weiner asshole bothering you and calling your cell?” he demanded to know, and apparently his anger was too intense for Stacy as she covered her face and began to cry.
Max immediately pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry I yelled. I was so scared when I heard your words when I called. Tell me what happened. Is he calling your phone?” he asked, holding her tighter than he meant to, but she was shaking in his arms.
He released his hold to cup her face between his hands. The sight of her red cheeks all wet from her tears and the fear in her eyes broke his heart and fed his anger at the same time. He softly kissed her lips then hugged her to him. Stacy clung to his chest, her face wedged against his stomach indicating the significant difference between their heights.
“Is everything okay over here?” Wyatt asked as he approached. Stacy wiped her tears away and began to push against Max’s chest.
“That asshole has been calling her cell phone, Wyatt,” Max replied, and Stacy pulled away and turned toward Max’s cousin. Max held her hand then gently wiped some of the tears off her cheeks.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t care that he’s calling. He can say anything he wants. I’m going to change the number,” she stated as Max grabbed her hand and held it tight.
Max eyed his cousin as Wyatt stepped closer.
“I know we haven’t officially met, Stacy, but I’m the Sheriff of Pearl and Max is my cousin. He informed me about the situation in New York. We’re here for you, Stacy. My cousins Max and Eric will protect you. But the only way we can help you is if you cooperate with us. We need to know when this guy contacts you or anything out of the ordinary occurs. Do you have the phone?” Wyatt asked.
Stacy nodded her head towards the car.
“It’s in the car, honey?” Max asked.
“I tossed it into the backseat after I heard some of his voice messages. He’s crazy, Max. He said some things…I couldn’t listen to it Max.”
Max saw the fear and upset in her eyes and had the feeling that he was going to get angrier.