Disclaimer:  In first chapter.

Chapter 2

2 Weeks Later

Clearwater, Minnesota

Late July

The man watched from afar as Miss Parker and Matthew played on the beach near the lake.  The sight of those two having fun made him sick to his stomach.  Throwing his newspaper down in disgust, he walked over to the ice cream vendor that was stationed nearby.

About a week ago, he decided to drop a bomb on Miss Parker by telling her who Matthew’s biological mother was, but he didn’t reveal Matthew’s father because what would be the fun in that?  No sooner had he sent her the evidence did she leave the Centre, her home, and Blue Cove all behind for good with three year old Matthew in tow.  Now she was on the run, defenseless against what he had in store for her.  Smiling at the thought, he ordered two cups of ice cream, both chocolate, and headed off to a picnic table nearby.

Putting the cups down, he scanned the area making sure no one was watching him.  Satisfied that no one was, he took a small brown bottle out from his pocket.  Unscrewing the lid, he poured the white, powdery substance into one of the cups filled with ice cream.  Taking a plastic spoon, he mixed the powder into the ice cream, making sure that no traces were visible to the naked eye.  Once he was done, he waited for his distraction.

About a minute later, someone began to thrash about in the lake, saying they were drowning.  Without giving it a second thought, Miss Parker ran into the lake to save the hapless victim.  Seeing Matthew getting lost among the crowd, he grabbed his two cups of ice cream and headed over to the boy.

The disguise he had on this time was different.  He wore no glasses with the green contacts he had in his eyes.  The wig he had on was jet black and short.  With make up, he was able to give himself a long narrow nose and a strong pointed chin.  Extra padding helped to give the impression of a larger waistline with love handles to boot.  There was no way Miss Parker or the kid would be able to recognize him.

As two men ran into the lake to help Miss Parker, the man stood beside the little boy and knelt down beside him.  He couldn’t believe how much his son looked like him.  Concentrating on what he was here to do he said, “Hey kiddo, saw you standing here by yourself looking scared.  Don’t worry; everything is going to be okay.”

Matthew stared at him, not sure if he should talk to him or not.  Biting his lower lip he said, “My mommy says I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”

“That’s good advice,” the man replied back.  Staring out across the lake he asked, “Is that her out there helping?”

“Uh-huh,” Matthew answered back as he nodded his head up and down.  Seeing Miss Parker coming out of the lake with the victim, Matthew said, “I have to go now.”

“Wait!” the man yelled out, stopping the boy dead in his tracks.  “I was wondering if you could help me.”

The man watched impatiently as Matthew looked back and forth between him and Miss Parker.  Curiosity finally winning, the boy slowly walked back over, still wary of the stranger.  “What do you need help with?”

The man smiled down at him.  “Well see, I have these cups of ice cream and I know I can’t eat it all, how about you help me.  Here,” the man suggested as he offered the cup of melting ice cream to Matthew.

“I…I don’t know,” he answered nervously as he eyed the ice cream before him.

“Ah, come on,” the man coaxed gently, trying to persuade Matthew.  “I thought all kids liked ice cream.”  Looking back up, the man could see the crowd was starting to thin out slowly, he had to hurry this up.  “How about this, I’ll give you 5 bucks if you can eat this before me,” he offered.

There was a moment of silence as Matthew pondered his offer, after some thought, the boy nodded his head up and down.  Grinning from ear to ear, the man held out his hand of melting ice cream.  But, surprisingly the boy didn’t take it.  Now what?  “What’s the matter kid, I thought you were going to help me with this ice cream?”

“I want my money first,” he stated in a more confident tone.  “No money, no ice cream.”

“Smart kid,” he muttered out.  Setting the drugless ice cream down on the ground, he reached in his back pocket, pulling out a five dollar bill.  Placing the money in the kid’s outstretched hand he said, “Chow down, because no one eats ice cream as fast as I do.”  He smiled when the kid took the bait.

“Na-uh, I’m the fastest ice cream eater out there.”  No sooner had the kid said the words he quickly began to shovel down the ice cream.  “See, all done,” he added triumphantly, but by then, the man was gone, leaving a confused little boy behind.

From his vantage point, he watched as Miss Parker ran over to Matthew, hugging the little boy.  Poor woman, she had no idea of about what’s to come, he thought wickedly.  Of course, once she realizes what’s happening it will be too late.  Even Jarod won’t be able to help Matthew.  No, the only person that could help Matthew now was the man himself.

With an extra bounce in his step, he walked over to his car grabbing his gym bag from the trunk.  Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he walked into one of the public restrooms nearby.  Once inside the men’s room, he checked to make sure no one was there.  Satisfied that no on was, he locked the door to change out of his disguise.  Once he was done, he was back to his old self once again.  Throwing the leftover make up in the trashcan, he unlocked the door and let himself out.

Looking down at his watch, he realized he had only ten minutes to get to the restaurant for his big date.  Running to the car, he threw his bag in the backseat and drove off, reaching the restaurant in record time.

It was an old seafood shack, famous for their fried shrimp and catfish.  Tourists and locals agreed, one of the best in the state of Minnesota.  The atmosphere was laid back and causal as people drank their drinks and ate their food while talking about their boring, mundane lives. 

Stepping onto the wooden deck behind the restaurant, he found his date tucked away in the corner, reading a menu.  Shuffling past the other diners at their tables, he walked over to her.  When she looked up and caught his gaze she smiled at him.  It took all his strength to smile back at his enemy’s sister.  Waving a hand in the air he greeted cheerfully, “Hey Emily, sorry I’m late, but you know how traffic is with tourists running about.”

Sitting down beside her, he grabbed the extra menu sitting on the table.  Grinning at him, she patted his hand and said, “That’s okay, Alex.”  Letting go of his hand, she looked back at her menu and commented, “So, how was your day today?”

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To Be Continued….