“Yeah, I remember.” Which is now the only reason I’m still staying here. “Just go already.” I tilt my head toward the door.
He nods, keeping his hands up. He walks past me with hurried steps and out the door. I keep pointing the pepper spray at him until he’s out of my sight. The sounds of his footsteps retreating and the front door slamming fill the cabin.
When I’m sure he’s gone, I suck in a deep breath and sigh in relief. Knowing what kind of person he is now, I do a quick sweep for hidden cameras. I’m probably overreacting, but Ryan creeped me out. I’m seriously considering not staying here anymore ... but that would mean saying goodbye to Travis too.
After going downstairs, I lock and dead bolt the front door before making my way back into the kitchen, where I left my backpack.
Unzipping it, I pull out my laptop. Luckily, Ryan already sent me the internet password through the app. Logging in, I pull up Google, searching forTravis Blacksburg.
And just like that, I’ve become a stalker.
Chapter Three
Travis
Watching Kevin through the city cams is almost as fun as the killing itself. His patterns are immaculate. Six a.m., he wakes up, sorts through the copious amounts of booze bottles he’s collected the night before.
A good morning is when he finds one that still contains alcohol. In which case he’ll down the rest of the liquid and sleep for a few more hours. If not, he climbs out of bed angrily, setting off for the day’s booze money.
In order for me to know and see his precise habits, I have to constantly watch and track his every move through the cameras. However, I already know his preferred location for another beer: the corner store.
Luckily for Kevin, today is one of those days when he finds the source of his happiness right away. He downs what I assume is whiskey until it’s gone. Then, for some reason, he throws the bottle against the wall.
Filthy.
One of the many things that bothers me about him. I finish wrapping up the kit I take to every kill, mostly necessities. A change of clothes, toothbrush, and the specific tool I’ve selected for this. Just as planned, everything is perfect and in order.
The genius in me makes me smile sometimes.
I like to consider myself an equal opportunity killer, but I have to admit, Lake Lure has always been my favorite hunting ground. I think I’m doing my best kills here. Who am I kidding? All my kills are pretty spectacular.
The alarm on my computer interrupts my self-adulation. Leaning over to look at the screen, I see a mess of pink hair as it darts across. The breath rushes from my nose, and I squint.What the ... Is she ... crab-walking?
Watching her trying to sneak around the perimeter of my house is like watching a child who’s invested a lot of time in watching bad ninja movies. I exhale sharply and walk over to my desk.
Sitting down, I open my laptop.Juniper Sage Featherstone. How could I forget?She idiotically gave me her government-issue name yesterday.Didn’t her parents teach her not to offer personal information to strangers?
Typing out her name in the search bar, I shake my head.What a stupid fucking name. What parent names their child that? The same parents who didn’t teach their kid about basic safety.
I press enter, and her Instagram pops up, confirming the story she told me yesterday. She does reviews on Airbnbs. Which basically equates to her being homeless.
It’s fairly easy to get lost in these mountains. Given her proclivities to hitchhike and walk, I’d say she is a fairly good target.
My gaze returns to my screen. Her futile attempts to peep through my windows annoy me. I don’t make it a habit to kill this close together, but this woman needs to go away.
I watch as she seemingly gives in and starts walking back up the driveway. Not even trying to disguise that she was just snooping around my house.
I’m killing Kevin on Thursday,I remind myself.Then I could kill her next. Yes!It’s decided. I will start planning her demise today, during my scheduled free time.
I get back to running through Kevin’s murder before I eat my lunch as scheduled. Pleased that the rest of my afternoon has gone as planned,I decide to take a little nap when it gets dark outside, setting my alarm for midnight.
When my phone goes off at twelve a.m., I’m more than ready to go on my little recon mission. I jump up and dress in a pair of black pants, a dark-gray long-sleeved shirt, and boots before grabbing my leather gloves and lock-picking kit.
Making my way to my attached garage, I think of how satisfying it will be to find out more about Miss Featherstone. I love the process of collecting data when needing intel on my kills.
Deciding a walk will probably do me good, I forgo taking the car. Plus, I’ll be less noticeable on foot. As I make my way to Ryan’s cabin, I can’t help but think,How in the world did she make this hike in those ridiculous flip-flops?
When I finally walk up to the cabin, I’m pleased to see that all the lights are off.Good. She’s asleep.
