Chasing Claire

By Sarah Reilley

He'd seemed like the perfect man...

Claire Murphy had always thought she'd find a good man and settle down one day. When she meets Alex, charming and kind, she thinks she's found that man. By the time she realizes that he's not what he seems, her life is in danger. When Alex pushes things too far, Claire takes what she can and leaves. But Alex is clever, and Claire was easy to find.

Will Claire be able to break free from her husband's grasp before its too late, or will Alex have the final word?

Enjoy this debut novel that's been called "utterly gutwrenching," and "a twisted tale of love and deceit."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sarah Reilley
• Release date: Sep 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393524342

Sarah Reilley

Sarah Reilley has a BSEd in English Education from Black Hills State University She taught middle and high school English/Language Arts. She has published one previous novel and many articles online. She lives in Wyoming with her husband, two kids, and dogs.  Author Image by Mindy Clancy Photography

Book preview

Chapter One

Her hands trembled as she placed the cool glass of Moscato on the marble countertop. Claire inhaled sharply, as she saw the time on the microwave. 5:00. He would be home in almost an hour. Sweat formed on the nape of her neck as she swallowed down the last of the sweet wine from the glass. The etched, gold rimmed glass they’d used on their wedding day loudly tapped the counter as it slipped from her jittery fingers. She would have laughed at the irony of using their wedding glass right now, but she was too frightened to find anything funny. She’d carefully taken the glass down from the top of the China cabinet, where he’d carefully crafted a display that showed a happy and vivacious marriage. She hadn’t been allowed to use these glasses. Today, she didn’t care.

That morning, she’d woken from a disturbed sleep in the guest room. She often needed to give him space after a particularly virulent fight, but this morning, she woke to find Alex digging through the shelf of the closet. She knew he kept his gun in a small safe on that shelf, but he didn’t know that she had found it while cleaning a few weeks prior. Reaching on the shelf to find a set of sheets to re-decorate the room, her hand had hit the safe. As she pulled it from the closet, she realized that there was only one thing that would fit in the safe, only one thing that made sense for him to hide. Once she found this, she knew that she could no longer pretend she might be safe. It took a few weeks to fully prepare herself for the reality that it was time to leave, but after he left for work this morning, she gingerly removed the safe from the closet. It was lighter than it had been before. Was it empty?

She glanced over at the luggage packed by the door. It was brand new, Louis Vuitton. He had bought it for her as a gift so they could celebrate their anniversary in the Bahamas next month. Ten years. She wouldn’t have used it today, except he had thrown away her old luggage, the old Coach bags she’d been gifted for their honeymoon a decade earlier. She had argued with him about the waste of throwing away good luggage, but he had insisted that his wife could not travel the world with worn-out bags. It would make him look bad, like he didn’t take care of his wife. When she’d opened her mouth to reply, he’d swung his arm across her face, leaving a bruise from the band of his watch. She’d held her hand to her face, looked at the floor and meekly responded, Thank you for the luggage, dear, and walked the old suitcases to the dumpster. He smiled smugly at her as she threw the old, yet still in good shape, Coach luggage in the garbage. She thought it was such a waste to throw away expensive things, and despite feeling unloved, it was a symbol of their marriage - the luggage she carried with her on their honeymoon. It was a wedding gift, yet tossed aside without a second thought from him, just like he had now done with her. As she thought about it, it made sense to throw away the old set of luggage. She’d thrown away many years of her life, it was no longer a reminder of something happy, but of being trapped. She had suffered his abuse for so many years, she was almost jealous now that the luggage escaped this marriage unharmed. There was not even a tear in the fabric when the luggage found its freedom. She couldn’t say the same about herself.

But today, this new luggage held something different for her, a glimpse of hope she hadn’t had in 10 years. She couldn’t escape the pit in the bottom of her stomach, the feeling that if she didn’t leave right this second, she’d never get free. For many years now, she had felt afraid she would die in this house. He’d already threatened before, and several times he’d come close. She couldn’t take the fear any longer. When he told her last night that he was going to be just fine without her, she remembered the gun and knew: it was time to go.

Slowly, she stood from her chair, wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans, took the envelope of cash she’d been quietly, secretly, saving for the past 8 years, as well as their vacation cash and what she’d taken from their meager joint savings account that morning, and headed out the door with her new luggage. On the counter sat the empty wine glass from their wedding and a note which simply said no more.

CLAIRE STOOD IN THE ticket line at Miami International Airport, waiting to purchase her ticket. Her hands shook and she glanced all around her, hoping that she wouldn’t see any familiar faces. Alex had traveled for work frequently, to all areas of the country, and had many colleagues who came through this airport on a daily basis. She kept her sunglasses on to cover bruising around her left eye, and a blue paisley scarf covering her head, hoping to blend in. The bright, vibrant red of her hair was covered with the scarf, and the casual t-shirt and jeans, uncharacteristic of her usual dress, simply caused her to blend in with the other travelers. She’d heavily applied makeup to cover the small scars on her face. Alex hadn’t ever used a weapon against her, but sometimes when he’d hit her especially hard, her skin would split, and they never seemed to heal without a small scar. As she approached the ticket counter, she realized that she was closer than ever before to getting out. She’d never tried to leave before today, though for years she wished she could. She didn’t know why she had the courage now as opposed to any other time in her life, but as she finally had her escape in sight, she couldn’t afford to make a mistake. If someone she knows walked past her, though, they’d have barely noticed her, despite her beauty. She walked slowly with her head down, her posture timid and uncertain, beaten down by many years of abuse. She carefully avoided getting too close to anyone she walked past, hoping at least to make it to the airplane without getting noticed.

Tripping over the low heels on her shoes, she thought about Alex, how upset he’d be when she wasn’t home and dinner wasn’t ready. His usual Thursday night dinner, grilled salmon with chiles and rice, would not be waiting for him with a glass of pinot. There would be no dessert, no fake seduction tonight. He would be more than upset. He would be angry, violently angry. Livid. She was glad she wouldn’t be there to see it. As she felt the panic rise in her chest, the salesman at the ticket counter spoke to her.

Ma’am. I can help you here if you’re ready, his voice shook her back to reality. Where are you heading today?

What is the next flight that leaves? Her voice trembled uncontrollably, and she struggled to remain calm, to not draw attention to herself. This clerk was one of only a few men she’d spoken to outside of her marriage for years, and the experience was strangely invigorating, even though he was much younger than her, and not at all attractive.

Sensing her discomfort, the salesman took a quick look at his computer screen, typed in a few things, and then replied, The next flight available is to Denver, Colorado. It leaves in an hour. You barely have time to board. 

He paused.

Denver. Colorado. She’d never been there but had always wanted to go. Miami had been her home since her family moved over from Ireland when she was two, but it hadn’t felt safe or comforting for many years. The thought of palm trees made her queasy, and the serenity of the mountains gave her hope of some obscurity. 

Would you like a ticket?

Maybe she could blend right in. Sure.

She counted out the cash to pay for the ticket and made her way through security. Just as she put her shoes back on her feet, her cell phone rang. Her stomach dropped to the floor, like she’d been punched hard. It was him. Of course, it was him. Out of habit, she nearly answered the phone, but knew that if she did, he’d convince her to come home. She was certain he didn’t know she was gone yet, maybe he was calling to say that he had a late meeting, or possibly to tell her she needed to make extra food for several of his friends. He tended to do that, to bring company over and force civility, when he was trying to make up for a fight. That’s what he’d always called them. A fight. Even, and especially, when it was his fault, he made it her fault. If she’d been more kind, more compliant, less whatever, then he wouldn’t have had to be so upset with her. When he manipulated her for reconciliation, he knew exactly what to say to make her feel like maybe it would be okay to stay, like maybe he did what he did out of love for her. She knew that staying or going were both dangerous. It was a matter of which one might be worse. As she silenced the ringer on the phone, she took a deep breath, pushed the power off button, and dropped it into the garbage can. She’d made her choice. She stopped at the airport bar for a shot of vodka and then boarded the plane for Colorado.

Claire slept for most of the airplane ride, the bottle of wine she’d had prior to leaving the house and the shot of vodka made her sleepy, and she’d topped it off with a bit of Benadryl to make it through the nearly 5 hour flight. She woke up groggy, but in awe as she looked out over the Rocky Mountains. The moonlight reflecting off the snow-capped mountains was something new, captivating. She’d never seen anything like them before. Growing up in southern Florida didn’t give her much in the way of unique experiences after she got used to Cuban cuisine and Salsa dancing. Her head hurt from the mix of alcohol, but she was glad to be nearing her destination. As the captain’s voice came on the intercom, telling them their descent had begun, a passenger walked past to his seat. The smell of his cologne sent shivers down her spine, and Claire remembered the first time she and Alex had been on an airplane.

Chapter Two

It was 2002, and Claire Murphy had just begun dating Alex Ramos. She’d been captivated by his creamy, dark skin and the espresso eyes which seemed to see into her soul. His hair was slightly coarse because of the curls, and she was smitten. A month after they’d begun dating, Alex had invited her to go with him for business to New Orleans. She wasn’t sure, at first, because she hadn’t been on an airplane since she was a small child, and it was rather early in their relationship. She was surprised that he wanted to take her along for a business trip, but the thought was exciting anyway. It didn’t take much to convince her to go along.

Her family hadn’t been well-off the way Alex’s was. Immigrating wasn’t easy, and neither of her parents had a formal education. His family was old money. They’d not known poverty in many generations. Once her family settled in, she had never even left the state of Florida. Twenty years old, and Claire had barely been beyond the Everglades, let alone a place as exotic as New Orleans. Even though she was born in Dublin, she hadn’t traveled since they emigrated. Her father left when she was small, a few years after moving them to the United States. Her mother had worked hard to feed Claire and keep a roof over their heads, but never had anything extra. As Claire got older, she had waited tables to pay for college. Even in-state tuition was high for her, and she had no scholarships. She’d finished her third year of college when she met Alex, and was barely scraping by. Though worried about losing wages, Claire was excited to get outside of her small corner of Miami and see a bit more of the world. Spring break was coming up soon, and she wished she could take a short vacation.

Claire was nervous when they boarded the plane.