A Babysitting Job

“I can see your child through the window,” the voice on the phone said. “He’ll be dead before you’re home.”

The phone cut out and Ben immediately dialed 911.

“It’s probably just a prank but we’ll send someone by.” the dispatcher said.

“Thank you, officer.”

Ben hung up and several minutes later the phone rang again.

“Mr. Sunders… I just wanted to let you know that we checked it out. Everything is fine. We spoke with the babysitter and all is well.”

“Thank you so much. I hate that I wasted your time, officer.”

“No problem at all. It was on my way home and the sitter seemed like a nice fella.”

“Did you speak with Jordan?”

“Yes sir. We talked to him. Good guy.”

“Officer Can you please go back to my house right now. I’m on my way there.”

“Mr. Sunders like I said we checked every...”

“Jordan is a female, officer. Whoever you spoke to wasn’t her.”

Ben rushed towards his house dialing Jordan’s cell repeatedly, each time getting voicemail. He slammed on the brakes in front of his house just missing the approaching patrol car and slamming into his trash cans sitting on the edge of the road. He threw open the front door to find Jordan lying on the floor bleeding from her stomach. The officer ran in behind him and knelt down to help her. Ben searched the house, but his child was nowhere to be found.

“What happened here Jordan?” the officer asked, checking her wounds.

“A man came in and took Tyler.”

“What did he look like? Long black hair and a beard?”

“Yes,” she mumbled.

“How long ago?” he asked, radioing for an ambulance.

“I... I don’t know.” Jordan said as she passed out.

The home became a hotbed for police within minutes. K9 units were called to the scene circling the area for miles. As the search continued into the night a patrol car passed an inconspicuous sedan leaving town. No one noticed Jordan ducked down inside it. Just past the patrol, she straightened up pulling another bandage out and covering her self-inflicted stomach wound. She slid a black wig and beard off the front seat of the car and onto a pile of men’s clothes on the floorboard. Then she calmly reached for her cell phone and dialed Ben’s number.

“Did they find him yet Mr. Sunders?” she asked.

Ben was silent. Grief-stricken.

“I know how you feel. I lost my brother when he was young. In fact, you probably remember him. His name was Josh Caldwell. When he was six he was hit by a car.”

Ben was in shock, tears streaming down his face.

“Unfortunately for him, your wife had just run off, and let’s just say sobriety wasn’t your top concern. You were drunk and didn’t see him. He just bled and bled until he closed his eyes and was gone. Do you remember that Mr. Sunders?”

Ben fell to his knees sobbing.

“That’s OK. You won’t forget him again after tonight. By the way, you can tell the police they can stop looking for Tyler. It’s too late. I buried him alive hours ago.”

Ben screamed as the phone went dead.

Several hours later, a black sedan pulled to a stop at the state line. Jordan looked in her rear-view mirror at Tyler sitting in the backseat. “I think from now on I’m going to call you Josh. What do you think?” she said smiling and they drove off into the night.

🛈 - Posted on r/shortscarystories cut to 500 words. Thx for reading!

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