Lovesick45

Janet, a young, lonely women whose life revolves around work and an empty apartment. Everything seems to change when she recieves an e-mail from a mysterious stranger.

   “So, who is he?”

     “I don’t know, but I think he’s someone here at the office?”

     “Janet has a secret admirer.”

     “Oh, Laura, please.”

     “Well, he obviously is an admirer, and he is secret. How do you know it’s a man, hmmm?”

     “Ok Laura, I have some work to do here.”    

     “It’s kind of creepy though, that’s all I have to say Janet, talk to you later.”

     Janet Luna read the e-mail one more time.

     "Lovesick45:

     “So near and yet so far away, you are the subject of all of my dreams. I have been dreaming about you for some time now and these feelings I have for you are only getting stronger. Someday, maybe I can gather the nerve to show myself, until then I can only imagine you in my arms.”

     At thirty six years of age Janet had not been with a man in five years. Her last boyfriend, which was only the third real suitor she’d had in her entire life, had left her at the altar, or the courthouse as it were.

     They had been dating for three months when he asked her to marry him, but on the day they were to wed, he failed to show up, she had even taken off work that day.

     Janet had always been shy; she had only left her Mother’s home a year earlier and she still felt guilty about the move. She maintained the belief that she had abandoned her mother and her mother took advantage of every opportunity to increase Janet’s feelings of contrition.

     She felt elated that someone may be longing for her from afar, that someone out there somewhere had feelings for her and was reticent to reveal themselves. It was romantic and she felt a flush whenever a new e-mail

arrived in her in-box. 

     Janet closed her e-mail and resumed her work. She left the office at four p.m.as usual and drove home. She pulled into the parking garage and walked to the entrance of her building. She pushed the button and rode the elevator to the sixteenth floor.

     When the doors slid open she could see that something was lying on the floor in front of her apartment at the far end of the hall. As she got closer she realized it was a bouquet of roses. She nudged the bouquet carefully with the tip of her shoe and then cautiously reached down and removed the card from the arrangement.

     From: lovesick45.

     “I hope you do not think that I am being too forward. And I hope that these roses bring happiness to you.”

     The card had no signature. Janet eyed the flowers warily. The roses were pink, her favorite color, they were wrapped in pink cellophane and had not yet bloomed fully.

     She looked around the hallway and then carefully picked up the bouquet. She read the card one more time before opening her apartment door.

     Once inside she filled her Mother’s vase with water, clipped the ends from the stems and arranged the flowers in

the vessel. She counted them, it was a baker‘s dozen. Janet placed the roses in the middle of her dining table and then she sat down to admire them.

     She leaned the card up against the vase and re-read it, this time aloud.

     “Who are you? She whispered. “How did you know pink roses were my favorite?”

     #

     Janet awoke at seven in the morning and turned her laptop on to check her e-mail. She had new mail from Lovesick45.

     “I hope that you liked the flowers.”

      She placed her elbow on the table and placed her chin in her hands. “Why don’t you show yourself?” She whispered. She looked over the top of the monitor at the roses sitting behind.

     The parking garage was bustling with activity that morning; it seemed as though the entire population of her complex was leaving for work at the same time. She opened the car door and slid behind the wheel, it was then she noticed a piece of paper under the windshield wiper.

     She snatched it from the windshield and opened it. There was nothing on the paper except her admirer’s e-mail login, lovesick45 handwritten in red ink. Janet looked up from the paper and glanced around the parking garage, could one of these people be her follower? A nice looking young man in a suit looked over at her and smiled, could that be him? She followed him with her eyes until he got in his car. She stuffed the paper in her coat pocket and headed to work.

#

     “Flowers, someone definitely has the hots for you.” Laura said as she patted Janet lightly on the back.

     “Ok, but how did this person know where I live? How did they know my favorite color is pink?

      “I don’t know, maybe it’s someone you’ve known for a long time, or maybe someone from your past.”

     “Look, I found this under my wiper this morning.”

     She reached into her coat pocket and pulled the piece of paper out and handed it to Laura.

     “That’s all it says?”

     Laura handed the scrap of paper back to Janet.

     “Maybe it’s a stalker, maybe you should go to the police.”

     “A stalker, do you really think so?”

     “I don’t know, but I would keep my eyes open if I were you.”

     With that Laura returned to her desk. Janet did not

Give any weight to Laura’s newly presented stalker theory, she clung instead to her preferred conviction that it was an unrevealed paramour.

     She left work later in the day. The elevator doors slid open and Janet stepped out on floor sixteen. This time there was a note pinned to her door, it was from lovesick45.

     She removed the tack from the wooden door and unfolded the paper.

     “Soon we will be together my love. I must not forever allow my fear of rejection to stand in the way of my longing for you. We will be forever one, soon.”

     She blushed as the words bloomed in her mind, the possibility that her loneliness would in time end and she would be swept from her feet made her feel lightheaded.

    She opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside. She threw her coat on the couch and opened her e-mail with the hope that her mystery lover might reveal himself to her, but she was disappointed.

     Later that night she bathed, ate a light supper and turned on the television set. She pulled a rose from the vase and breathed deeply its fragrance and then returned it to the vase. She fell asleep on the sofa clutching her pillow.   

When she awakened the next morning she was in her bed.

     “How did I get here?” she wondered aloud.

     She got out of bed and dressed for work. She was putting on her mascara when her eye caught something odd in the mirror. She turned and approached the bed. The side of the mattress opposite hers appeared as if as if someone had been lying there.

    She put her hand on the bed and ran it across the sheet, it seemed warm to her touch. She drew her hand away swiftly. She was unnerved and quickly gathered her things and got ready to leave for work.

     As she passed the dining table she noticed one lone rose lying on the table top, had she forgotten to replace it last night? No, she was certain she had put it back. She quickly placed it with the others in the vase and walked out the door.

#

     Janet had just taken her seat at her desk when she saw Laura coming towards her with a newspaper in her hand.

     “Janet, we have to talk,” Laura was whispering.

     “Alright Laura, what is it? Is something wrong?”

     Laura unfolded the paper and laid it on Janet’s desk.

     “Read this.” Janet said, her finger placed firmly next to the heading.      

                           “Third Victim Found

          A third victim of suspected homicide in as                       

          many months was found in Clarkesville last night   

          A police spokesman said. The body appears to be

          that of a man in his mid to early thirties. His

          throat appears to have been slashed which

          would be consistent with the other two bodies, 

          both of which were male and found in Oakdale and

          Parker. Police found e-mails on the first two 

          victims computers from someone going by the name

          lovesick45. A scrap of paper with lovesick45   

          written in red ink was found on the body in

          Clarkesville.           

      Janet felt her blood turn to ice and she felt sick to her stomach. She could not take her eyes off the newspaper. The room began to swirl and spin and the elation she had felt turned to abject panic.

     “Janet, are you ok?”

     “I have to call the police and I have to call them now.”

     Janet dialed 911. When the police arrived she showed them the paper in her coat and the e-mails. The police immediately placed Janet under twenty four hour surveillance.

     “Miss Luna, as we speak several officers are being assigned to this case, we will catch this guy. Now, we don’t want you to alter your schedule in any way; we don’t want to tip this guy off.”

     “I’m scared, how can you be sure he won’t get to me?” Janet asked, her voice trembling.

     Miss, just relax, our boys have experience with this sort of thing, when we leave here they will be in the shadows, you won’t even know they are there. One officer however will be in the apartment across the hall from you.     His name is Detective Bartolini and he has instructions to check your apartment when you arrive home”

     Janet left work at her usual time. She tried her best not to look suspicious but could not resist furtive glances at her surroundings. The killer might be in the bushes over there, he could be waiting for her in the parking garage, he might kill her before the policemen who were assigned to her could stop him, she thought.

     When she finally arrived at her apartment the door across the hall opened.

     “Hello Miss Luna, I’m Detective Bartolini,” the man said showing her his badge. “Do you mind if I check your apartment out?”

     She was apprehensive at first and withdrew from the Detective slightly. She eyed the elevator door and assessed that if she had to escape at this point there was not much chance her attempt would be successful.

     His voice had an authoritative tone to it. He was tall

and had a head full of thick black hair. Janet thought how handsome he was and soon she began to relax.

     No, of course not officer,” Janet said handing him the key.

     Detective Bartolini checked the windows next to the fire escape and verified they were locked. He checked the whole apartment out while Janet waited in the front room.

     “The fire escape is the only way in other than the front entrance and we have officers watching both.”

     “You will be right across the hall all night Detective.” Janet asked shakily.

     Yes ma’am, and there are two officers in the building across the street, rest assured if this guy comes here we’ll get him.”

     Detective Bartolini finished his investigation of Janet’s apartment and made his way to the door. “If there is nothing else I’ll take up my post across the hall.”

    Janet was silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on the detective. “No, nothing else Detective Bartolini, I’ll be fine,” she said finally.

     He could see her anxiety. It flowed from her eyes even though her lips expressed confidence and maybe even a hint of casual indifference; but her eyes did not lie.

     “Oh, Detective, thank you,” Janet said.

     “You’ll be ok,” He said measuredly.

     After the detective left she tried to act as if all were normal, but she paced between the windows and the peephole in the door for several hours. She checked and then re-checked the locks on the doors and windows several times

     Around one-thirty she lay down to try and get some rest although she knew this would be impossible. The moon shone through her window, it was full and for a few minutes it drew her thoughts away from the situation she found herself in.

#

     She was up, checking the front door, the chain was off. She fumbled with it but was having difficulty controlling her fingers. Finally, after struggling for a moment she was able to put the chain back into its track.

    She turned her back to the door and slowly started towards her bedroom. She heard a sound and stopped, she turned her head slightly, silence. She continued toward the room, again she heard a sound and again she stopped; now she was certain she had heard something emanating from behind her.

     Slowly she turned and faced the door, a glint of light caught her eye, the doorknob was turning ever so slightly, first one way and then the other and she could hear a faint clicking as it did so.

     Startled, she spun around and sprinted for the kitchen. She had only run a few feet when she heard a deep and terrifying laugh which stopped her dead in her tracks. She stood frozen, unable to move for what seemed to her an eternity.

     Finally she summoned the strength and turned and faced the front door, it was open and she could see out into the hallway. It was then she realized he was already in the room with her!

     Janet sat straight up in bed; she was breathing heavily and sweating, the sheets around her were soaked. After minute she got hold of herself and realized she had been dreaming. She flicked on the lamp beside her bed.

     She got up and checked the windows and the front door; everything was as it should be. She got herself a drink of water and then sat on the sofa and watched television until she felt better.

     Before returning to bed she went into the bathroom, when she flipped on the light a feeling of utter horror gripped her body. A scream stuck in her throat and she felt as if she might pass out. Written there in pink lipstick on the mirror above the lavatory were the words,

 “The thirteenth rose.

lovesick45".

     She ran screaming for the front door. She wrestled with the locks in her panic finally throwing open the door she ran across the hall to Detective Bartolini’s door.

     “Help, Detective Bartolini, help me!” She pounded on the wooden door.

     Her hands found the knob, she turned it, it was not locked and the door fell open. She ran inside.

     “Detective Bartolini, he’s been here, he’s been in my room!”

     The apartment was dark except for a dim light coming from under the bedroom door down the hall. She ran to the door, threw it open and stood in the doorway.

     “Detective Bartolini, I’m sorry but I need help, he’s been in my room!” She shouted.

     There was no response from the Detective. A small shaft of light escaped from the partially open bathroom door and pieced the darkness.

     “Detective Bartolini, its Janet, are you here?”

     The soft hum of the air conditioner was the only sound in the room. She stood trembling in the darkness.

     “Detective Bartolini, Hello.”

     Slowly she entered the room. Her eyes were fixed upon the light and the bathroom door. She put her hand out and felt the smooth surface of the dresser. Her reflection in the mirror gave her a start.

     She reached out for the bathroom door and gave it a slight shove.    

     “Detective Bartolini, hello, are you in here?”

     She entered the bathroom. The shower curtain was pulled shut and she heard a steady drip, drip, drip, coming from behind.

     Janet slowly slid the shower curtain aside. She let out a gasp, there, lying in the tub full of blood and water was Detective Bartolini, his throat slit, his ashen face and faded eyes fixed in their sockets.

     She screamed until she felt her throat would be ripped apart. She slipped and fell on the wet tile floor, grasping the lavatory she pulled herself back up, it was then she saw the mirror above the lavatory. Written in pink lipstick was the word, “lovesick45.”

     She fled and ran back to her apartment. By this time residents of the sixteenth floor, awakened by Janet’s shrieks had left their apartments and were milling around in the hallway.

     Janet dialed 911, the dispatcher said officers were on their way.

#

     Janet sat by herself on a bench in the hallway of the sixteenth floor. She watched as the officers whispered amongst themselves. Her neighbors huddled together in small groups near the doors of their apartments.

     She slid her hand slowly and casually into the pocket of her sleeping pants. She closed it around the small, round cylinder and slipped her hand back out of the pocket.

     She placed her closed fist on her lap and looked around the hallway; everyone’s attention was focused on the policemen beyond the yellow tape. Casually she straightened her fingers. A sly grin crossed her face as she eyed the tube of pink lipstick in her hand.

     “Look at them, look at those small minded idiots standing out here. I wonder how they like my handy work? Fools, all of them. I’ll just sit here and play my part in this little drama, the part of the part of the pitiful, lonely and scared woman. I’ll just sit here and observe them as they construct their silly theories.”  

     With that, she pushed the lipstick tube into a small tear in the bench cushion making certain it disappeared deep into the stuffing.

End

     

       

            

    

      

      

    

      

    

    

Author's Note

"Swing away Merrill. Merrill... swing away." Hit me with your best shot, I can take it.

Reviews

[Tyler Collins]

I already read it lol. The idea is original which is hard to come by these days. I really like the Hitchcockian ending. "I wouldn't even hurt that fly!"