Darling (h.s)

Five

I had to cut a couple of errands for today and move them tomorrow since Harry moved the date to five instead of seven.

I just finished the laundry when I see a piece of paper by the door. Someone must've dropped through the mail slot. My body shudders when I see it's from my stalker again. Opening it, I grind my teeth.

Pretty cozy with the detective. Let's hope you won't need a new partner.

I drop the note due to shaking my hands so much. I didn't expect to get another message so soon, and fear fills me. Not for myself but for Harry. Will they really target him just because I'm close to him? Was the man I saw last night in the shadows real or my imagination? Is he the one messing with my head?

I almost want to call off the date, but then I think. Maybe he's testing me, or better yet, if I go on this date with Harry, he'll be watching. If I keep my eyes open, I might catch him.

I have my suspicions on who it might be, but I am hoping it's wrong. They're the last person I want to see, and I hoped moving back to California would be safe for me. He didn't know I grew up here and could hide away with my sister for a while. After a couple of months, nothing happened to me, so I figured I was in the clear.

I pull myself together and go to get ready for my date with Harry. I pull out my turquoise blouse and bell-bottom jeans. Curling her hair, I smile in the mirror, singing along to The Supremes album Where Did Our Love Go on my turntable. After putting on some makeup and finding comfortable shoes, I am ready for my date.

I wait for Harry, watching some television to pass the time. The news only reports about the carver murders, so I stick to sitcoms because I don't want to cause more worrying thoughts before my date. I already know there's nothing new on the case.

I giggle while watching Good Times when a knock on the door catches my attention.

Harry smiles brightly, handing me a sunflower. Yesterday, I mentioned they were my favorite. I grin, kissing his cheek before putting the flower in a vase.

"Thank you for the flower," I tell him when I return.

"It was nothing," he holds his arm out for me, and I take it.

We walk out of my apartment building, and the fleeting daylight warms my skin. The sun will begin to set soon, so we get a move on.

Harry opens his car door for me, and I slide into the leather seats. Harry had a nice car. It was a black car with leather seats and a slight scent of nicotine. After getting in on his side, he flicks the key in the ignition, and the car purrs as it powers on. The radio station is talking about the murders, and I start to feel nauseous thinking about the note I got earlier. I fear somehow my stalker and killer are connected, but I don't have enough information to prove it yet. Harry must've noticed how tense I got, so he changed the station.

"Sorry, I was listening to it to see if they say anything new about it for the case." He explains himself.

"Oh no, it's fine. So what do you think about this carver? He's a murder going after criminals. What are we supposed to make of that?"

I never asked him personally what he thought we were so busy trying to find leads all week. I'm quite curious what he thinks of it all because I am perplexed by this killer. He seems only to kill others that committed crimes, but he's a murder. I can't help but think about how Anthony said the killer is like Batman. I don't know much about the hero, except he's a vigilante taking crime into his own hands. However, Batman has a reason and doesn't kill people, while The Carver is a psychopathic murderer. I want to get inside the murder's mind and know why they feel the need to kill the criminals instead of taking them in.