Till Dark

Morning came too soon for Jordan and she reluctantly opened one eye and peeked around a sunny room full of flowers. For a moment everything seemed fine till she remembered what had happened over the past twenty-four hours. Immediately her mind began to turn trying to figure out who would want to hurt her and why they had chosen this moment to come after her. Suddenly she missed her quiet life at home and Cody's excessive chatter. He had grown so much over the past year and would be starting school next year. A pang of guilt at leaving him soured her already poor mood. Cody would do really well in school because he was very smart for his age and picked up new things very quickly. Jordan was very proud of her only child. He had consumed her life from the moment he had come into the world. Life had taken a turn for the better with all her energy and love concentrated on his happiness. Her own happiness had been shattered when she found out her husband had been killed in a car accident. The police had knocked on her door at two o'clock one morning and told her that they had found his truck on the side of the highway. He had run off the road and hit a utility pole. She had fallen apart in front of the Officers and woke Cody up in the process. Remorse had consumed her for a long time afterward because they had an argument before he left. That alone had made her heart ache more than the fact that he was gone. The thought of telling Cody someday what had happened to his father made her stomach clench.

Dragging her sleepy eyes open again she shut out the painful memories of the past with the sunny present. More determined now than ever to find out who was after her she got her emotions in check. The thought of Cody losing her too, was more than she could fathom. Her breath caught in her throat when the telephone next to the bed began to ring insistently. A sleepy sigh of exasperation escaped her lips before she reached for the receiver. "Hello." There was a pause and background noise on the other end. 'Ms. Mackenzie? This is Officer Salinas. Are you the young lady who was hurt in Mr. Nichols home yesterday?" The voice on the other end of the phone line was kind and compassionate. Who? Oh... Yes, that was me. No. I'm fine now thank-you for calling. Has Officer Greer made it in this morning yet?" Jordan sat silently on the end of her bed while she waited for Officer Greer to come to the phone. "This is Officer Greer." He answered in a strong voice. "Yes. Officer Greer I just wanted to tell you thank-you again for everything that you did for me yesterday and also I wanted to know if you had found out any new information on my case." "I'm afraid not. We haven't heard anything from forensics on the items we found in Mr. Nichols closet last night. Have you heard anything from him this morning?' "No. I'm afraid I've only just awoke and I probably would not have heard the phone ring." She stifled a yawn and listened intently to him. "Just play it safe when he does call and don't get too carried away." "Thanks for the advice I will definitely be on my toes from now on. You will call me the moment you find out anything on my assailant and the items in Mr. Nichols closet won't you?" A long pause followed. "There are certain things that we are not usually allowed to disclose but, in your case I think that I can make an exception." "Thank you. I really can't say that enough." "No need Ms. Mackenzie. I'm just doing my job." "Call me Jordan. Please. I hope that the rest of your day is wonderful." "Thank you Ms... Uh Jordan, yours too. Good bye." Jordan hung up the phone feeling somewhat better and decided to take a walk along the rocky coast on the other side of the island so she slipped on a pair of blue jean shorts and a pale-blue T-shirt. Quickly she ran a brush threw her long hair and pulled it up in a ponytail. Walking over to the bed she slipped on her socks and tennis shoes. Grabbing a bottle of water from the food area she headed out the door on her mission for exploration, humming a quiet tune as she walked out the front of the hotel and flagged down a cab. She instructed him as to where she wanted to go and he was off.