A Christmas Stalking

Police Dispatcher Shannon Malloy stared at the illuminated button on her console. The 911 caller's words bounced around in her head like a ping-pong ball in an empty room. Just when you think you've heard it all...

She grimaced and wished for the hundredth time she hadn't volunteered to swap shifts with Trisha. The evening had gone from bad to worse, first learning Kyle had taken his latest flame to Jamaica--where he'd promised to take her--and now this.

Sound of a bullet. Jeez. Full moon, Friday night, and all the crazies were out. What could be better?

Shannon adjusted the microphone boom of her headset and squared her shoulders, drawing her professionalism around her like a thick sweater. "Sir, you've reached the Police Emergency Center. Would you please state your name and emergency?"

The man's voice rasped into her earpiece. "Name don't matter. Nobody'll remember me."

"What's the nature of your emergency?"

Silence. A heavy, thick silence that made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. Maybe this wasn't just a prankster.