The trip to North Carolina was very interesting. She made everything so easy, walking off on her own, completely oblivious. He could have grabbed her there, but it wasn’t part of the plan. There were too many people around anyway. No sense taking such chances when patience would make everything play out his way. He’d gotten mad and made a mistake already. Not a big mistake, but he caused more problems for himself with the break-in. He was mad that they thought they could get away from him, even for a little while. Now he had to rework his plan slightly, move a few things around, change his time table. She’d moved in with Mr. Perfect, an unforeseen result of his impetuousness. His access to her was a little more limited, but she was still his best plan. Mr. Perfect was in full panic mode before he found her in Raleigh. The memory brought a smile to his face even now.
He looked through the binoculars again. She was not living at her studio anymore, but she still worked there. She was loading her car with camera equipment. He watched her move in her slacks and silky white blouse. He could definitely see what Mr. Perfect saw in this one. She had very nice curves. It was too bad they no longer stayed upstairs. He wouldn’t mind an encore of that night by the window. She slid behind the wheel of her little blue Mustang and the engine roared. He dropped the binoculars onto the seat next to him and pulled his own sedan out into the street and fell in behind her. She drove through the center of town and he almost lost her, but he chose the run the red light, at the risk of her noticing. She continued on to a wooded city park. He didn’t think she noticed. At the park, she unloaded her equipment and set up under a large tree that shaded a cement bench. Shortly after her arrival, a family of three joined her under the tree. He watched her kneel down and greet the toddler, who hid behind his mother’s pant leg. She finally coaxed him out with a small toy and she settled him on the bench. She spent over an hour snapping pictures and playing with the child. She seemed to enjoy herself as much as he did. He heard the child squeal and found that this whole scene irked him more than he thought.
Eventually the family said their good-byes and took their smiling toddler away. She sat under the tree alone and watched a few other people in the park. If he was a photographer, he would want to take that picture. He would call it, “The Calm before the Storm”. He sneered to himself at his little joke. She collected her camera equipment and loaded the car again. He followed her back to the studio.
Payton unlocked the door and an energetic Brooks greeted her.
“Hey buddy!” she called and leaned down to pet her blue-eyed companion. She dropped her camera and bag on the side table and went back outside to unload the rest of the car.
“No, stay here, Brooks,” she said as the pup tried to come outside with her. She quickly closed the door on him. The last thing she needed was to chase him all over the neighborhood while he explored. She wrested the rest of her equipment out of the trunk and stumbled back inside, nearly dropping the tripod on the floor. Brooks cocked his head to the side as he heard the swear word slip from her mouth. Then she saw his whole body stiffen, the hair down his back bristled and she heard a low growl coming from deep inside him. He launched himself toward the door before she could even turn around and she heard the hiss of electricity and a yelp from her protector. She saw him on the floor his body writhing from the taser and then going limp.
“Hello, Payton.”
Payton didn’t take time to think. She didn’t take the time to even qualify her shock as she recognized the man in front of her. She just turned and ran. He chased her down the hall and caught up to her in the hall knocking her to the floor.
“Don’t do that,” he said.
She rolled over and scooted away from him a few feet. He stood over her.
“Where are you going to go? You can’t possibly hope to get away from me.”
“Why? I don’t understand. Why… why did you do this?”
“Don’t worry, my dear. It’s not about you at all. You’re just the right thing at the right time. You are how I’m going to make him pay.”
Payton scrambled up and took off toward the kitchen, but he blocked her access. She turned and headed up the stairs. There was a lock on that door, if she could just get there, she could get to the phone. He tripped her up on the stairs, grabbing her from behind and pulling her to him. He put a white cloth over her face. It smelled sweet. She couldn’t breathe. Now it smelled rotten. She felt herself getting lightheaded. As much as she fought it, she was not going to be able to keep from passing out. Panic took her over as the room began to spin and fade to black.
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