9

"Katie." Mrs. Kingston said as she entered her area later that evening. "Chad called. He couldn't get you on the phone. He said he won't be able to pick you up this evening. I told him I could bring you home when I get off at eleven."

"Yes, ma'am." She said, letting out a calming sigh. She took a few deep breaths to wind down and then set to work. She began pulling her things out to work when an envelope fell out of her bag that she had never seen before. Frowning, she opened it and saw pictures of herself at school, at home, at church, and out with Chad on her errand days and then, there was the note.

MURDERER

YOU CAN'T RUN. YOU CAN'T HIDE. WHEREVER YOU GO YOU WILL BE FOUND.

YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID. IT'S A PROMISE.

Her heart raced with fear. The note had not been there when she had packed up for class that morning or when she went into her evening class a couple of hours ago. Who would do this? She thought as she looked around. It could be anyone. Pretty much everybody thought she should have been put to death.

She pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. She took pictures of everything and sent them to Chad not, that she thought it would help. A minute later her phone buzzed.

CHAD: Call the police

She went to the desk and handed Mrs. Kingston her phone and the pictures and note. The older woman gasped with alarm and dialed the local police and campus security. She spent the next hour recalling her day to the security officer's and the police. Chad had not shown up or said anything since the text.

After they were gone, she went back to her work she had a good two hours before Mrs. K would be ready to go. She had left her things unattended and hoped no one had bothered them while she was being interrogated because, that's what happened. She was the victim and she got interrogated.

What she found was another note:

The little princess is in more trouble, I see. Your kind can't seem to avoid it, I suppose. Remember what I said. Stay away from them.

~~~A. L.

When she got home, Chad was pulling up in the driveway. "Baby Girl, what happened? I had a problem with another parolee and couldn't get back to you."

"They were just awful to her!" Mrs. Kingston exclaimed. "She is the victim and she was the one treated like she had committed the crime. I don't think they even plan to do anything with those pictures and that note."

Katie didn't want to talk about it. Someone was stalking her and had taken pictures of her in the basement of her mother's house by hacking into her web cam while she worked. She felt violated. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs. K." She breathed out, drained from the events of the day, and smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She grabbed her stuff and headed towards her door. Her mom's car was gone. So she knew she would be there alone and whoever was stalking her probably knew too.

When she got to the door she noticed that it had been kicked in. From the doorway she could see that everything had been trashed, and spray painted on the walls in red and black were 'You're going to get what's coming to you, murderer!' and 'Nowhere to hide bitch!'

"What the hell!" Chad exclaimed when he finally walked up behind her. "Go get in the truck, Katie." He ordered as he dialed. She complied. She was too tired not to. Thirty minutes later the same two cops that had come to the school showed up. They filled out another report that she was sure wasn't going to make it into the office either. They took pictures and fingerprints and asked her to verify anything that's missing. Nothing was missing...just broken. Her desktop PC, printer and television and DVD player looked like someone had taken a bat to them. She would file it on her renter's insurance, so her mom wouldn't have to use her homeowner's. She took the pictures of the trashed space and objects and uploaded them to the claim site for her insurance company. They planned to send someone out the next day, which was fine given it was after her last morning class. Chad would have to pick her up from campus and bring her to meet them, and then take her back.

Chad called the hospital and informed her mother of what had happened. She had taken an earlier shift that day—three to eleven and then her regular shift of eleven to seven.

"Good thing, I only have a couple of weeks left here." She muttered and caught a wince from Chad.

"Uh, yeah, about that...Mason Heights reneged on our agreement." He said, "And we haven't been able to get anyone else to agree to rent to you. Kids..."

She sighed and nodded. "Momma still expects me out. She's not going to care...especially after this. She's going to want me gone tonight. I guess it's a Residence Inn until I find a place then."

It would be two hundred and eighty dollars a week but it was furnished and included all utilities phone, cable and Wi-Fi because it was a cheap hotel. The police pulled the door up and put crime scene tape over it. She wasn't allowed to remove anything from the place until after the insurance company had been there so, Chad had to take her to Wal-Mart to pick up what she would need for the night.

"You can crash at my place tonight and we'll get you set up at Residence Inn tomorrow after we meet with the insurance company." Chad told her as they left the store. She simply nodded. There was nothing for her to say or do. In the eyes of society, she was a criminal. Guilty or innocent, in their eyes, she always would be.