Page 27 of Killer Summer
“It is. But I’ve lived through this nightmare before. I just have to be smart about my next steps.”
The server came, and they paid for their brunch bill and said their goodbyes. Dani knew in her heart as they embraced that it was probably going to be the last time she would see Missy, not because she didn’t like her, but for her own good. It made her sad to know that she was going to have to let go of one of the only friends she had made in her adult life. It was a price she had to pay for starting over. She already did it once before, only this time, she was glad to do it again.
Dani drove down Gulf Shore Boulevard with the windows closed, wishing her life wasn’t so fucked up. Tourists still flocked to her town that time of year, flooding the sidewalks that lined the beachfront restaurants as though it were Times Square. She should have been breathing in the salty sea air and enjoying the beautiful scenery, not mentally prepping for war. So long as there was a chance that He could show up, she would never be able to relax. Dani scanned the sea of bodies as she crawled through the congested traffic, her pulse quickening as she saw her attacker in the face of every man.
What would Matt Vickers look like now, nearly fifty years old and hardened by two and half decades behind bars? Part of her knew deep down that soon, she would likely find out. The only questions were where he would show his face and when.
The Gulf of Mexico sparkled on the horizon as she steered back toward town, but the promise of relaxing in paradise was long gone. She couldn’t escape the sand and water, whether she was in California or Florida, just like she couldn’t escape the memory of that summer so many years ago. Everything had changed, and nothing had changed at all. She was smarter, stronger, and faster. But deep inside, she was still afraid. And Dani knew if she didn’t put her fear to bed, then it would do her in for good.
Dani arrived home later that morning, grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and spied the mail she had left in her car the day before. The letters and envelope had been knocked to the floor, forgotten in the wake of her call from Detective Owens. At the time, she had dismissed the padded manilla envelope as something she forgot that she ordered. But upon closer inspection, Dani realized that this wasn’t some drunken late-night Amazon order.
The envelope was about 8” x 10” in size, with her name scrawled on the front in black permanent marker. There was no return address and no postage or postal markings. In the past, Dani had paid for a PO Box in fear of her location being discovered by some true crime junkie or serial killer fanatic. But thanks to the internet, her physical mail dried up to almost nothing and she was able to drop the PO Box a few years back. Now as she stared at the questionable package in her hand, Dani regretted that decision. She squeezed the package and gave it agentle shake, immediately knowing the contents of the yellow envelope.
A hard, clunky rectangle.
The unmistakable sound of film wound through plastic spools.
The exact weight of a VHS tape.
Dani tore open the package and peeked inside. Sure enough, the envelope contained only a single black VHS tape with no label, its presentation unremarkable and unsettling all at once. Her chest constricted as though she had been punched in the ribs. Her first instinct was to set the VHS tape and the envelope it came in on fire. Someone was sending her a message, and she dreaded seeing whatever was on that tape. It likely wasn’t good, but just in case, she had to know.
With the package and the tape at hand, Dani made her way inside, doing her usual rounds to ensure everything was clear. Once she was satisfied that her home was secure, Dani turned on the television in her living room and opened the door to her media center console. She had paid a pretty penny for the refurbished VHS cassette player on eBay a few years back for the explicit purpose of watching all of her favorite films that weren’t yet available on streaming or on DVD. She had felt frivolous buying the piece of ancient technology at the time, but now as the TV screen blipped blue and the VHS player fizzed to life, she was grateful she had made the splurge.
The scene opened with footage obviously produced on a home video recorder. The video was grainy, but Dani instantly recognized the star of the film just the same. Her own eighteen-year-old face shined back at her, unlined, unbothered and full of unbridled joy. The cameraman had shot the footage of her on the beach playing volleyball with friends, the angle framed by palm fronds as though whoever was filming her had been hiding in the shadows. The screen fizzled to static, and the next clip showed her at a different location. Her heart clenched as she watchedher younger self eating pizza with Tommy at their favorite place on the boardwalk.
The tape went on for nearly an hour this way. Footage of her getting dropped off at school. Scenes of her working behind the counter at Cool Flix. Surveillance of her walking into the front door of her childhood home. The bittersweet images of the past shook Dani to her very core. These were everyday moments that she should have cherished, and should have lovingly enjoyed looking back on. Vickers had ensured that all of her teenage memories would be overshadowed by grief. The fact that these vignettes were taken from her stalkers’ point of view chilled her to the bone. But it was the last series of video clips on the tape that melted her fear into a ball of pure molten vengeance.
A blip of static filled the gap between the past and the present as the exterior of Dani’s house came into view on the screen. She watched her middle-aged self in present day drive down the road, followed by a montage of her day at work on campus at the college. The next segment showed her stretching at the park before one of her runs. Her heart sank as she watched the final segment of the film; a clip of herself entering her Aunt Lisa’s house. The video ended and black and white static filled her screen. Dani sucked a sharp breath in through her nostrils as waves of anger rushed under her skin. Her face was hot, but her voice was calm and steady as she picked up her phone and dialed her Aunt Lisa’s number.
“Hey, it’s me,” she said. “Still have your go bags packed?”
Lisa paused on the other line. “Always. What’s wrong, Dani?”
“He’s back. He’s already watching me. And he knows where we live.”
“How can you be sure?” Lisa asked.
“I got a call from Detective Owens the other day. There was an accident while he was being transported to another prison.”
“Oh Dani. Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
“I didn’t want to worry you, but then,” she paused. “I got some fan mail sent right to my house. A VHS tape with surveillance footage of me from the last few days.”
“Dammit,” Lisa said. “Okay, girl. I’ll be out of here in two seconds. You’ll be right behind me, right?”
“No. If he’s really coming for me, then I need to stay here and end this.”
“Danielle,” Lisa scolded. “You can’t take him out on your own.”
“Yes, I can,” Dani said. “Don’t worry about me, just get out of here and I’ll meet up with you as soon as it’s safe.”
“Stubborn.”
Dani sniffed. “I learned from the best.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Lisa said. “I love you, girl.”
“Love you too, Auntie.”
