The Midnight Bandit by Melissa Willingham (best book club books of all time txt) 📖

drank from the water fountains in the hallways. Was he being careful on purpose, just in case someone might be on to him?

Janet was aggravated by the whole situation. Why wouldn't he just make it easy on her? Obviously this ploy wasn't going to bear fruition. So, it was time to move on to plan B. All she could do now was wait for him to come to her. When he did, perhaps she could swing the ball bat at him and get a blood sample, after he got knocked out cold by the blow. The she could call the cops to come arrest him.

The only other option she had available might be to come onto him. He wasn't exactly ugly and she used to want him badly. If he accepted, she could have sex with him and obtain DNA for the police. The problem was she didn't want to resort to such extremes. If he was guilty, she certainly didn't want a man who raped women touching her.

On Friday, Halloween arrived. The fifth graders Janet taught, were excited about dressing up in costumes. They chatted incessantly about what they would wear. She listened with interest to their plan of comparing candy on Monday morning.

Once she glanced up from her desk to see Dennis. He was standing out in the hall, sweeping up some trash. Only he wasn't paying attention to his work. He was instead peering in at Janet.

His intense gaze burned right through her. She detected an unmistakable look of desire in his eyes. If only things were different, she thought regretfully, I'd pursue this sexy matter further.

When he saw her looking back at him, he quickly dropped his eyes. He returned to his task and moved further along the corridor. Janet shook the weird feeling he gave her off and refocused her attention on her students.

One boy kept jumping around like a gorilla, making ape-like noises. He also hid behind the door a few times when someone walked in. He yelled 'Boo!' loudly. One female teacher shrieked and jumped about five feet in the air. When the school principal walked in, he just glared at the young boy. He shooed him back to his seat.

Janet couldn't help but chuckle at the silly antics of her class. She usually ran a fairly tight ship. However, on holidays she let them act up a little bit. They all promised to bring her some goodies from their treat bags. She reminded them to inspect their candy and apples for razors or other dangerous objects. They told her they'd be very careful.

***

After class, she waited until it started to get dark. She had no plans for Halloween, so she intended to head on home. Gathering up her things, she headed out into the shadowy hallway. The lights had been working fine lately. She hoped they wouldn't fail on tonight of all nights.

Somehow she didn't feel as scared as she did that first night. But, she was still wary and leery, knowing she was all alone. The janitor was probably the only other person around. Thinking of that fact made her want to hurry up and get out of there fast. She could still remember the way he'd stared at her earlier that day. It was almost like he was a lion and she was his chosen prey.

As soon as Janet stepped out into the hallway, she nearly collided with Dennis. He was standing just outside her doorway. She darted sideways to avoid making contact with him. "Oh! What are you doing here? I was just about to leave," she remarked.

He nodded and grinned sheepishly. "Janet, I thought I'd show you to your car again. Since it's Halloween night, you can't be too careful."

She sighed impatiently, relaxing a little. "Right, I appreciate the thought, Dennis. Thank you for thinking of me."

He gave her an appraising look before asking, "Did I scare you, ma'am?"

"Yes, I guess so. But, I'll be all right. Now, can we please get going? I must hurry home."

She didn't want to be there without a weapon to defend herself, should he launch an attack. If he did try to force himself on her, she'd much rather be home on her own turf. The school seemed too much like his stomping grounds; his territory. She felt he would show up at her house soon, maybe even tonight.

Wrapping her coat tightly around her, Janet allowed him to lead the way down the hall. They made small talk as they walked along. She couldn't wait until they reached the exit. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

"Nice decorations ya'll got put up around here," he noticed, glancing at the walls. An assortment of fake bats, ghouls, goblins, witches, vampires, ghosts and black cats greeted them.

"Thanks. Yes, they are nice and creepy," she agreed. Just like you, she thought silently.

"I sure do hope they catch that Midnight Bandit soon. I worry about you being at home all alone at night. I like you. I mean, after Alice Perkins was raped, it gave me cause for concern."

Janet eyed him curiously. What would make him say such a thing? He almost sounded sincere. Confusion made her start walking a bit faster. She kept her mouth closed and decided not to converse with him further.

"Are you afraid of me, Janet?" he inquired. "Please, don't be. I'd never hurt you, pretty lady." He reached out a hand to touch her on the shoulder, but she pulled away. Partly because he aroused strange feelings within her; part fear and part desire. She had a crush on him. She knew he felt the same way. Why did he have to be the assailant?

As they proceeded to the exit, she noticed how Dennis kept darting his eyes over towards her. "What is it?" she asked.

"Lovely clothes you've been wearing lately, ma'am," he commented. "I like how they look on you."

She shivered and replied simply. "Thank you."

Whenever they approached the exit, Janet saw that the double doors were chained again. She rolled her eyes and glared at Dennis.

"I'm sorry, I forgot all about you being here and I locked everything up. I was about to head out when I saw your light on."

He felt inside his pocket for the keys. Then frowning, he said, "Man, I must've left them in the janitor's closet. I'll be right back. Don't worry, sweetie. You'll be safe inside the school with me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

If only she could believe him. Why was he being so kind and assuring her of protection? A monster that enjoyed taking sex from a woman wouldn't be like that, would he? She felt so confused, torn between the facts and her feelings for this man.

Just as he turned to go fetch the keys, the lights suddenly went out. Janet screamed and felt terror strike her heart. No! Not now! She was almost outside. Why couldn't this have waited? Was it all a part of his plan?

Dennis stood there for a moment. "Would you like to come with me or wait here?"

He seemed so nice, yet he must be the one who was committing these assaults. If not him, then who? In a way he gave her the creeps, in another way he drew her toward him like a magnet. She didn't want to be left by herself in the hall, yet she didn't want to go with him through the dark corridors either.  She wasn't entirely sure whether or not he could be trusted. He was the bad guy, wasn't he?

"Uh, I think I'll stay right here until you return," she responded warily.

"Okay, I'll hurry back as quickly as I can." He trotted off, disappearing into the surrounding darkness.

She nervously watched his dark form retreating, until he was no longer in sight. She sighed heavily and stood there waiting. It seemed every nerve ending she possessed was on full alert. She had no idea what to expect now. Everything would've been simpler had she been home. But, if he chose to accost her here, what would she be able to do? Maybe she should search for some type of weapon to defend herself, if need be.

***

Alone she hovered, in the blackness which enveloped her. She couldn't see five feet in front of her and that made her all the more edgy. She considered making her way to the other exits to see if she could get out there. But, the idea of stumbling around didn't sound too appealing.

Soon, she began to hear faint noises, a scraping sound. It was further away at first and then it drew closer. What on earth could it be? Was Dennis attempting to find his way back to her? Being here with a potential rapist, trapped inside a building was very terrifying. Maybe she should break a window to escape. She could make amends to the school later.

Janet jumped, a bit startled when her cell phone rang suddenly. She grabbed it and flipped it open. "Hello?" she greeted.

"Hi, it's Alice. Where are you?" the woman asked.

"Uh, I'm still at the school. I'm standing by the exit doors, waiting on Dennis to fetch the keys. The lights went out again," she told her.

"Listen to me, okay? A couple of hours ago, someone broke into Millicent's hotel room and tried to attack her. She hit the guy over the head with a lamp and got away. He ran off before the cops came. She's okay now. She's here with me and my family."

"Dear Lord! How did he figure out where to find her? No one was supposed to know."

"Apparently he followed someone to her room unobserved. He must've wanted to finish what he started with her," Alice guessed. "Fortunately, his plans were foiled."

Millicent came on the line. "Janet, you need to get some place safe. Go to your parents' house, please."

"All right, I will. But, why do you say that? I'm locked in at the school."

Millicent's voice took on an urgent, panicky tone. "You've got to get out of there right now! The rapist told me he was visiting you next. I don't care what you have to do, just get to your car immediately." She broke the connection abruptly.        

Janet shoved her phone in her purse and glanced around frantically. A sliver of fear shot through her at the chilling words her friend had spoken. She sprang into action. She rushed toward the closest office, intending to break the window so she could get out.

Before she could reach the office door, a dark form lunged toward her. She dodged sideways and missed them, hurrying for the doorway. If she could just make it inside, she'd be able to lock the door behind her and shut them out in the hallway.

She felt the person grab her from behind firmly and drag her in the opposite direction. "No!" she yelled. "Let go of me!"

She flailed at the individual with her arms and kicked at him with her feet, hoping to wrestle free. But the assailant gripped her even tighter, refusing to let go. "Shhh, be quiet!" the man hissed.

"Turn me loose!" she screamed at him. "Help me someone, please!" she hollered, though she knew there was probably no one else there. Nobody could hear her cries.

"Hush up!" he ordered. "I'm not going to harm you." He continued tugging her backwards towards the general direction of the teacher's lounge.

Janet knew there was a big sofa in that room. Oh, Lord! she thought. He's planning to rape me on that couch. I must figure out how to escape from him first.

She swung her fists and feet around harder, connecting with his hard body. "Quit hitting and kicking me!" he commanded.

With little effort he pushed her inside the doorway of the teachers' lounge. Then he forced her onto the large sofa and slipped some rope out of his pocket. He produced what appeared to be a small knife along with it. "Stop fighting me or I'll use this," he threatened. "You know