The grass behind Candace’s house was long enough to hide in. He wanted to be sick at the way she was curled up with the cripple. He watched as the rat like dog got closer and closer. Instead of backing down at the cutting remarks, she sassed him back. She never would’ve done that months ago. She would’ve just nodded and walked away. Or better, would have said she was sorry, before bowing and scraping to make up for any offense she caused him. It was getting worse, now other people can see her too. Not just the cripple. He had to make her understand, she had to stay invisible. That was the only way they could be together. And if she wouldn’t be with him, she wouldn’t be with anyone.

The dog could sense him in the grass. It pushed its little nose through the chain-link and was about to start barking. He couldn’t have that. The little rat couldn’t let them know he was there. When he came for her, the dog was staying behind. He smacked the dog on the nose. Hard enough that it didn’t think about barking, but yelped and backed away before running back to her. How much better was it that she thought the other guy did something to her dog?

A few little things like that, and she would push everyone out of the picture. But he hadn’t been able to stop her glow. That was the cripple’s fault. He had to get the stupid meathead out of the way. He’d thought he was done with the jerk. But here he was, back again. And he’d given her the dog, that was going to make things more difficult. The little yapping rat bothered him, that was attention she should be giving him. Did the cripple think this puny little animal would keep him away?

He watched last week as some men had pulled up the cat he’d staked for Candy to see. She needed to know what he was capable of, know that she shouldn’t make him angry. But she’d gone crying to the cripple and her friends. They wouldn’t be around when he came for her either. He’d heard the guy’s disappointment with the knife. Thousands of those kinds of hunting knives sold every week at the discount stores. They had gotten excited to get partial prints off the handle. He wasn’t worried about that. His parents had always kept the police out of things so he knew these guys wouldn’t find anything.