Sleep Stalker by Dave Sypher

Author:Dave Sypher [Sypher, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter seventeen

Part IV

Darkness calls my name

Tugs at my clothing

Groans in the corner

I look in its direction

The killer lit up her cigarette, taking a deep drag from it, holding the smoke in her lungs for a moment, and then letting it out in a rush. Checking the time her on her phone, she shoved it back into a pocket, and tugged on the leash. “Come on, Lucky.” She threw her cigarette down on the sidewalk, absently crushing it with her foot as she left.

Her dog, an older rescued greyhound, happily got up and began walking with her. It was still early, so it wasn't too miserably hot, if you could call 86 degrees cool. For summer in Phoenix, though, it was downright pleasant.

Lucky wasn't as spry as he'd been in his heyday, but he wasn't lazy, either. He remained alert, exploring this relatively new territory with the interest of a dog, regularly stopping to squirt a bit of urine to mark where he'd been.

Lucky is the perfect cover, the killer thought. People see you out walking a dog, and they automatically think you belong there. She'd been walking Lucky on this block for two weeks and was now receiving cheery waves from many of its residents as they went off to work, which she returned with a wave of her own and a big fake smile. If she was a thief, she would never come up in conversations with the police after breaking into their houses and stealing these people blind. To them, she was just another local who had recently begun taking a dog for walks that happened to take them down their street at about the same time every day.

She had patiently learned their routines while walking Lucky. Mr. Jaguar should be leaving as she approached the curve, unless he had the day off. Ms. Hyundai would be leaving at about the same time. Mr. and Mrs. Day-school should be shuttling their brood as they drove together in their Yukon within the next three minutes as well. She didn't know if Mrs. Day-school was a stay-at-home mom who needed what could be their single car, or not; she wasn't around when these people came home. Luckily for Mrs. Day-school, she wasn't the target.

Ms. Hyundai drove by first today, smiling and waving. She received a big smile and wave in return.

Mr. Jaguar was the next to leave. As usual, he was talking into his Bluetooth device and paying only partial attention to the road. However, this time he did nod at her as he drove by. She smiled and waved at him as well.

Mr. Day-school left without the kids, making the killer idly wonder what was going on in their lives. Perhaps Mrs. Day-school and the children were off visiting family? It was no matter. Wondering about their lives was just something to pass the time as she made her way towards her goal.

There. The Prius was parked out front; Gwendolyn was still home. She had come prepared for this moment.

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