“Who are you?” the angry-looking man asked as he lowered his arm.
“I’m a friend of Amanda. And you are?”
“Her downstairs neighbor.” The big man eyed the other up and down for a few seconds before speaking again. “How come I’ve never seen you here before?”
“We’re friends from church. I just came by to see how she was doing. You know… Considering that her best friend recently died.”
“Hmm,” the big man said, frowning. “And what was that noise I heard? Why was she screaming?” He pushed his way into the apartment. “What the fuck?” He ran to her body lying on the floor, a tiny pile of vomit had somehow come out of her since he’d left her a mere minute ago. The broken glass and spilled water still littered the kitchen floor.
“What happened here?” the big man asked as he rotated around.
“She was already buzzed when I got here. She offered me a glass of wine, then next thing I knew, she started to freak out, and she fell.”
The man looked at the two wine glasses on the table, one full, one empty.
“And you were going to leave her like this?”
He did what he excelled at and came up with an excuse on the fly. “No! I was going to knock on the neighbor’s door. Ask for help. Possibly get her to the hospital. I don’t have a car.”
“Why should I believe you? What tells me you didn’t come in here to get her drunk, then take advantage of her?”
“Because I’m still here, talking to you.”
The big man proceeded to move her body to the side, placing her legs in such a way as to prevent her from rolling over. “I’m a paramedic. I’ll take care of her. Get out. And I don’t want to see you here ever again.”
He nodded then left the apartment, part relieved his lies had worked, but also perplexed as to what to do now.
Amanda wouldn’t be saved. Not today. Not ever.
He had a goal, but he wasn’t stupid. The risk of running into that big man again far outweighed the satisfaction of saving her soul. Plus he had plenty more souls to choose from.
He used the staircase, out of habit to avoid the elevator cameras, but then realized halfway down that he could have used it this time since he’d left a much, much more condemning piece of evidence on her phone.
Incriminating or exonerating.
Only time would tell.
As he continued walking away from the building, one detail wouldn’t leave his head: Where exactly had his plan derailed?
Why did she puke?
Was there something wrong with his latest batch of cleansing solution?
He needed to figure this out and soon. His inner itch to save another soul roared within him, making his eye twitch as he sped up his pace.
His mind began homing in on the next person worth saving.