CHAPTER 12

 

Nearly one year ago, the killer sat in his car, peering intently through a pair of high-powered binoculars at the scene in the schoolyard. There was Chloe, chatting it up with a couple of girls. He had been watching her closely for the last few days, taking note of the kids she hung out with during recess. The little blonde girl seemed the one she spent the most time with—no doubt her best friend. It was the other girl that he was the most interested in. Her name was Katie.

He already knew what time Katie showed up for school in the morning. Unlike most of the other kids, she walked to school since she only lived a couple of blocks away. She was in the third grade and didn’t seem to have any close friends. It was obvious that she would like to be better friends with Chloe by the way she approached her every day, spoke to her briefly and then left. It was as though Chloe accepted Katie just to be polite before turning around and rebuffing her plea for friendship, prompting the poor girl to leave dejectedly and move on to the other kids.

Katie was a loner and a loser, the killer thought. And absolutely perfect for the part she was about to play.