The Night Stalker

Ninety-Eight

‘Shit!’

She checked her car’s clock and cursed under her breath as she turned into her street in Toluca Lake, southeastern San Fernando Valley. She had no doubt she’d be late, and she hated being late.

The gala charity fundraising event was scheduled to start in seventy-five minutes’ time. The drive from her house alone would take her at least half an hour. That gave her around forty-five minutes to have a shower, do her hair and make-up and get dressed. For a woman who took as much pride in her appearance as she did, that was almost impossible.

Her secretary had reminded her in plenty of time, as she’d asked her to, but an accident on Hollywood Freeway cost her an extra thirty-five minutes, and in an event where the Mayor of Los Angeles, the Governor of California and quite a few A-list celebrities were supposed to be attending, being late wasn’t the best plan of action.

To save time, she decided that she’d have her hair up and tied back. She also had a pretty good idea of which dress and shoes she’d be wearing.

Her home was a large, two-story, cul-de-sac house by Toluca Lake itself. She knew the house was way too big for her alone, but she had fallen in love with it when she was first property searching.

She parked her Dodge Challenger on her paved driveway and her eyes involuntarily checked the dashboard clock again.

‘Shit, shit.’

She’d been so concerned with the time and being late that she didn’t even notice the white van parked on the street, almost directly in front of her house.

She stepped out of her car and fumbled inside her handbag for the key while walking to her front door. As she got to the porch, she heard a ruffling noise coming from the trimmed shrubs of her small front yard. She paused and frowned. A few seconds later the noise returned. It sounded like some sort of scratching.

‘Oh, please don’t tell me I’ve got rats,’ she whispered to herself.

Suddenly she heard a sniffing cry and a tiny white puppy stuck its head through the bushes. It looked frightened and hungry.

‘Oh my God.’ She crouched down, put her handbag on the floor and extended a hand. ‘Come here, little one. Don’t be scared.’ The puppy stepped further out of the bushes, sniffing at her hand.

‘Oh, you poor thing. I bet you’re hungry.’ She patted its head, running a hand up and down its white fur. It was shivering. ‘Would you like some milk?’

She did not hear him walk up behind her. In her crouched position it was easy for him to dominate her. His strong hands pushed her forward into the bushes where the white puppy had come from, while at the same time pressing a wet cloth over her mouth. She tried to react, dropping the puppy and desperately trying to reach behind her to grab hold of her assailant. But it was too late; he knew it, and so did she.

Within seconds, her world faded to black.