The Webcam

By Olivia Marie

When the threatening emails started to come in Josie had nobody to turn to. Fearing for her life, she takes off to a cabin in the woods to hide from her new stalker.

But even that hadn't stopped him from contacting her.

Unsure of where he was, or how he had found her, she takes to her computer to document what's been happening.

Completely unaware of the danger that lurks on the other side of her screen, was she leading the killer right to her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Sep 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201665821

Book preview

CHAPTER TWO

Iwas in the middle of Juno when my phone started to go crazy. Hearing one bing after another, I knew my emails were blowing up. There was no way John was still going on about the presentation. It was over the last message I’d sent him. He knew me better than to keep at it when I told him to have a good weekend and do something fun with his wife for a change. That was my way of telling him to bug off without being mean about it.

Frustrated, I hit the screen to see who was bothering me still. I couldn’t help but feel pissed off and ready to rip John’s head off for not letting me have the time off I’d earned. If he had to do my job, he would be a total basket case and he knew it too.

When I saw there were another six messages from the email I hadn’t recognized, my blood turned to ice. Looking around the house, I tried to figure out how in the world the kid from across the street could even still see me. Or maybe he couldn’t and that was why he was so angry. Not sure if I should even open one of the emails or not, I decided to go with not. I turned my phone to silent and went back to my movie, but it was useless. The emails had me on edge and were all I could think about.

I gave up on the movie and went back into the kitchen. I needed a refill on my wine if I was going to get any sleep that night. I had started to regret not getting the security system installed when I moved into the house on the dead-end road. I made a note to call them when I got back and set up another appointment with them and actually listen this time. I went around to make sure that all the doors and windows were locked. It wasn’t that I was afraid of the boy, but there was a feeling I was having that I couldn’t shake. Never had I looked so forward to getting away as I was that night.

The next morning

AFTER TOSSING AND TURNING all night, I almost said screw it and went back to sleep when my alarm went off at six-thirty, but I knew going to the cabin would be the only way I was going to recharge enough to not tell John where to stick it when I went back to work on Tuesday.

The drive was long, and it was even harder to stay awake than I thought it would be, so I pulled into the little diner I saw just off the interstate. If nothing else, I knew I could get a cup of coffee strong enough that it would match what I was sure petrol would taste like. But at least it would keep me awake long enough to get out of the city and to the quiet of the woods.

There was nothing better than being surrounded by nothing but trees, animals, and no internet. Even if the emails kept coming in, I wouldn’t be able to get them for the next three days. That alone had me feeling better than I had the night before. The farther I got from my house, the more I began to relax. That right there was the reason I wanted the cabin so bad. It would be my escape anytime I needed it.

I was almost past the last of the stores that I would see for the long weekend and stopped into make sure I had everything I needed for all the projects I’d lined up for myself. When my mom was still alive, she used to get after me for never slowing down long enough to really smell the flowers. Life moves fast, kiddo, and if you don’t stop and enjoy it once in a while, you’ll be buried under them before you ever get a chance to smell them. What she never got though was doing projects was relaxing to me. It was the only way I knew how to clear my mind and let the stress of the world fade away. It was the same thing my dad had done.

Thinking about them used to make me feel sick and bring on a whole new level of hurt than any other I’d ever known. Losing them in that car accident when I was nineteen about killed me right along with them. They never even saw me graduate from college or see the job I got or the house I bought. I knew they would love the little cabin in the woods I’d found for a steal. My dad would’ve been right there with me fixing it up while my mom went around and made the place homey. I would give just about anything to have them there with me.

But life was cruel, and it taught me a long time ago that I was alone. It was because of that I never really dated. Going out a few times and even having sex with them was about as far as I went. I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of my lifestyle choices, but having someone I love taken from me again, that wasn’t worth it to me. So, the only person I ever had to rely on was myself, and I was fine with that.

After stopping and getting the framing hammer and carpet stripper the hardware store guy told me I would need, I was on my way down the last few miles to my cabin. With there being no traffic out there, it only took me about forty minutes to get there from the store. It was so different from the busy city driving I did all week and made me want to figure out a way to move out there permanently. If I could get the internet to work, I would be able to work remotely from there a lot. It was all I needed to think about, and I was pulling my phone out of my pocket while I still had service and looking up the number to the local internet companies. There were a few, and I would have to look into them to see who was the most reliable and who I could get out there the fastest. Feeling like I’d gotten one thing done had me hopeful on what else I would have ready by the time I left to go back to the busy world I wanted so desperately to escape.

Pulling into the driveway, I smiled when I saw the very large box sitting on the front step. The little island for the kitchen was there, and I had to get it inside. It would be one of the last things I put together because the flooring and that god awful wallpaper had to go first. I’d brought the paint I wanted to use with me, and I was down to my choice of two flooring colors. When the walls were done, I would see what looked best in there.

Eager to get started, I threw my bags on the new mattress I’d had delivered when I closed on the place, got on grubby clothes, and tied back my hair. Tearing things down would be just what I needed to get rid of the stress from the week, and the night before.

Thinking of that had me thinking about the random emails again. I wasn’t sure who they were from, even if I thought it was the kid across the street, but it had me more on edge than normal. It was like my body was telling me something my mind didn’t know yet.

CHAPTER THREE

Two days later

The floor was ripped up and had gone smoother than I expected. What didn’t go so smoothly was trying to get all the layers of wallpaper off the walls that hadn’t been cared for in a very long time. Underneath the many layers, I found cracks and even a small hole in the wall. That left me going back to the hardware store I swore I wouldn’t see again until I came back up in two weeks, but I couldn't leave holes in my walls with me not being