Chapter Four
Michelle arrived at work half an hour early only to be greeted by chaos. Several deputies and a couple of suits were hovering around her workstation while Marsha scrolled through her CAD.
After clocking in, Michelle approached the group. “What’s going on?”
One of the suits stepped forward. “Are you Michelle Collins?”
“I am. Why are you going through my computer?”
The man moved even closer. “It’s protocol. Nothing more.”
“Ah. This is about the call I took last night that didn’t record in the CAD.”
“Tell me exactly what the man said, and don’t leave anything out. It could be important.”
Michelle recited the call word for word, ending with, “What did the guy do? I mean, he saved that little girl’s life, didn’t he?”
“It would appear so, yes.”
“Then why all this?” She threw her hand out, indicating the group surrounding her workstation. “The man’s a hero in my book.”
“No one has said otherwise, Miss Collins. We are merely trying to figure out why neither call appears in the CAD.”
“But—”
“Look. Terrorists develop new ways to infiltrate us on a daily basis. For all we know, they may have a device that’s undetectable to our systems. If that is the case, then we need to know.”
“Be that as it may,” Michelle responded, “it doesn’t explain why his voice wasn’t recorded. Seems to me it was a computer glitch.”
The man gave a short nod. “Could be, but it seems rather strange that there would be a computer glitch both times that he’s called. If, in fact, he is the one who called in the Shueller fire several months ago.”
“I think it was him,” Michelle confessed. “Although, I can’t be certain.”
Nodding, the guy continued. “We must cover all bases to be sure. I hope you understand that you are in no way implicated in anything as of yet.”
Michelle’s heart stuttered. “As of yet?”
An older gentleman with snow-white hair stepped forward. “What he meant to say was that you are not being investigated here, Miss Collins, only your computer. And we will be finished with it shortly so you can have it back.”
“Thank you, Mr…?”
Michelle slid her palm in his. “SA? They called the National Security Agency in on a computer glitch?”
“As Mason has already advised you, Miss Collins, it’s a matter of national security. When you take into account the unrecorded calls and someone slipping into a burning home without being seen, it’s definitely going to raise red flags.”
“Wow. Just wow.” She withdrew her hand from his hold. “So, I could have been conversing with a terrorist testing out our security measures by planting the little girl there and calling it in to see if our systems would record it?”
Kenyon didn’t blink. “It’s a possibility. We have to check all suspicious activities. And what happened here last night definitely falls into the suspicious category.”
“Your CAD is freed up. You can go to work now,” Marsha announced, getting to her feet.
Michelle waded through the throng of people and took a seat at her console. After logging on to the 911 system, she pulled up the notes of the calls in progress to catch up with the current emergencies.
Chest pains, a broken leg, and a motor vehicle accident on the interstate were all being dispatched by others, so she picked up the landline and called animal control about pending complaints.
The crowd eventually made their way to Marsha’s office, and Michelle took her first deep breath since arriving at work.
Finishing up her call, she rested her face in her hands, relaxed her shoulders, and let her mind drift back an hour.
It had been years since she’d felt an unknown presence near her, but there had definitely been one in her bedroom. She’d walked through its chilly essence.
The hair stood up on her arms as she remembered the feeling of coming in contact with its energy, smelling its scent.
“Are you all right?” someone was saying from close behind her. A hand touched her back. “Michelle?”
“I’m fine, Lisa, thank you,” Michelle assured her coworker before reaching for her headset and adjusting it to fit her head. “I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Okay then. As long as you’re okay.”
“I am. You are sweet for asking.” The red light suddenly lit up, saving Michelle from further explanation. “Walton County 911. Do you need police, fire, or ambulance?”
* * * *
The rest of the evening progressed without anyone dying, and for that, Michelle was grateful. She hated when they lost someone, although sometimes it couldn’t be helped.
Michelle waited for Lisa to clock out for the night before plucking her own timecard from its slot and following suit. “Are you working tomorrow?”
Lisa’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “No. I have court at nine in the morning.”
Michelle frowned. “Your divorce isn’t final yet?”
“It’s final. He just refuses to pay off the credit cards that he was ordered to take care of at the last hearing.”
Michelle shook her head and opened the door to leave. “I’m sorry, love. I hope all goes well for you tomorrow. Have a good night.”
“You too,” Lisa replied, preceding her through the door. “You’re off for the next couple of days, right?”
With a theatrical sigh, Michelle threw out her arms. “Yes, thank goodness.”
Lisa laughed. “See you when you return.”
With everything that had taken place tonight, Michelle couldn’t wait to get home and curl up in bed with Peanut. Her mind needed a break from all the desperate cries for help, the sirens, and the radio traffic.
Her cell phone rang as she unlocked her car and slid behind the wheel. She snagged it from her pocket. “This is Michelle.”
When no answer came, she tried again. “Hello? This is Michelle.”
Silence.
Michelle pulled the phone away from her ear to check the display. Blank. There was nothing there. A feeling of unease gripped her.
“I don’t know who you are or how you got my number, but please do not ever call me again.” She pressed the End key and laid the phone on the console before cranking the car and speeding toward home.
The cell rang again with nothing on the display window. She noticed her hand trembled as she snatched it up and hit the Speaker key. “Look, you son of a bitch, I’m calling the NSA and reporting you. If you think for one second that I—”
“Please don’t…”
Michelle stilled, sure she’d imagined the voice on the other end. “Who is this?”
“My name is Utah.”
“How did you get my number?”
“I was at the hospital when you gave it to the receptionist.”
“Are you following me?” Panic quickly set in.
“No, I…”
At his hesitation, Michelle piped in. “How are you calling me when nothing shows on the ID? No voice recorded on the 911 line, either.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
Another long pause. “I’m not alive.”
Michelle’s stomach dropped. “You’re insane is what you are. I’m calling the NSA right now. They will get to the bottom of this.”
“And tell them what?”
“Stop calling me,” she demanded, pressing the End key.
Holding the phone in a death grip, Michelle waited with bated breath for it to ring again, but it thankfully remained silent the rest of the trip home.
She pulled into the driveway, paying close attention to shadowy shrubs along the front of her house. They made perfect places for a person to hide as they laid in wait for an unsuspecting victim.
Unsure of how long she sat in her car, scanning the darkness, Michelle decided to bite the proverbial bullet and make a dash for the porch.
She took a deep breath, threw the door open, and forced herself to walk to the screened-in porch.
Once inside the house, she slid the deadbolt home and flipped on the lights.
Peanut picked that moment to scurry out from behind the couch, nearly scaring the life from her.
Michelle scooped up the tiny dog and hugged him close. “You little shit. You about gave me a heart attack.”
Scratching the back of his neck, she continued to talk to him in a playful voice as she made her way to her bedroom.
“How was your evening, boy?”
He wriggled in response, and she set him on her bed to remove her uniform.
“Nothing unusual? I wish I could say the same,” she answered herself before stripping out of her bra and panties and meandering to the bathroom.
Flipping on the light, she turned on the shower and stepped under the warm spray of the water.
Thoughts of her phantom caller played over and over through her mind as she lathered her hair and washed her body.
He’d said he wasn’t alive.
Of course he was alive, Michelle told herself, stepping beneath the spray once more to rinse the shampoo from her hair. Ghosts didn’t run around with cell phones, randomly calling people. Did they?
Switching off the water, she stepped from the shower, dried off, and returned to her room.
She desperately wanted a glass of wine to take the edge off, but sleep took precedence over the alcohol.
Instead, she dropped her towel, pulled back the covers on her bed, and settled comfortably onto her back.
It wasn’t long before she slipped off to dream land with a jaw-popping yawn.