She’s beyond reason. Beyond its reach.
Searching her home while she rests, I find her name on a piece of mail: Greer Allen.
Even her name is intriguing.
I Google her and find that she works in the local library as the head librarian. I try, and fail, not to find that fascinating.
It only adds to my toe-curling preoccupation with her, which helps neither of us.
One day, she’ll be splayed in the forest, a masterpiece I unveil to the world.
They’ll call her a tragedy, a beautiful life cut too short at the hands of a psychopath who couldn’t help himself.
I find a bit of paper in the kitchen drawer and a marker on her desk, and leave her a little note.
Did you know your gray eyes sparkle in the sunlight?
It’s enough to let her know I’m watching.
After using benzodiazepine to dose her stash of tea on the counter beside her teapot, I ensure that I’ll find her laid out for me to have fun with each night when I come to visit her.
Until her eventual end.
On my way out, I leave the note inside the mailbox, taping it to the top of a bill so she finds it.
And now my favorite game will become not only thinking about her but also following and toying with her.
She’s the pretty pussycat at the end of my laser beam, and I’ll have her spinning in circles in no time.
7
Greer
“Poison?” Allison reads aloud for the fifth time.
“Yeah, I don’t know.”
“Has he ever referred to you with a pet name before?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“I don’t like this.”
“And you think I do? He’s escalating.”
“Clearly,” she breathes, handing me back my phone.
“You have to tell the police. It’s your only option. You need to tell them you’re worried you’re being targeted. They have the handprint, the fingerprints, and you can take them the notes and texts. Maybe they can trace the number.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Going to the cops feels wrong. Sure, whoever this is has some obsession with me, but they haven’t hurt me, and who am I to go to the cops now, when I didn’t all those years ago, when it truly mattered?
“They’re going to dismiss me.”
“Not with me there they’re not. Let’s go. Melody, watch the place until close, will ya?” Allison says, to which Melody only gives a salute.
“You know, they’re my staff. Not yours.”
“Hey, you boss Chip around when you’re at my office.”
