Saturday

4:30 pm

Lucy Dotson walked into the bullpen and looked around for her roommate and best friend. The work day was almost over and Lucy desperately needed Sue's help. She spotted Sue sitting on the floor next to Jack Hudson, a special agent.

Lucy waved to get her attention. "Hey Sue, I really need your help."

"Sure Luce, what do you need?"

"I was invited to go to the Spring Gala tonight but I haven't been able to find a dress yet. I need your help," Lucy said with desperation.

"That's a big event, Luce. You're going to need more than just a dress. Like you told me when I went to the Ice Gala with David, the shoes make the outfit." Sue looked up at Jack and said, "I think that we are done for the day. I'm going to duck out a little early to help Lucy."

"Go. I'll call you if anything big happens." Sue stood and the two women started walking towards the door with Levi following. "Oh, and Lucy, good luck with your date," Jack called after the dark-skinned beauty.

The two friends spent the next hour and a half shopping for the perfect dress and shoes. They were standing in one dress shop with Levi sitting by Sue's feet. There was a pile of dresses ranging in color from black to a gentle cream color that Lucy was currently wearing.

"I think I like the cream one best. It highlights your eyes and is very elegant and sophisticated," Sue commented.

"Are you sure I shouldn't take the pink one? It is a Spring Gala after all."

"We could call and ask Jack what he thinks. I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving his opinion."

"Oh, haha, you little joker. Jack only has opinions on what you are wearing. With anyone else, he is more like Bobby: no girl talk whatsoever," Lucy laughed. Sue blushed slightly at her roommate's comments. Jack Hudson had been her longtime friend and confidante, as well as the object of her affections, as Lucy was well aware of.

"Go with the cream dress. Red accents and pearls will make you the belle of the ball," Sue said, choosing to ignore Lucy's subtle hints.

"You know what, I think you're right." Lucy went back into the dressing room to change back into her other clothes and then came out with the ball gown. She handed the dress to the store employee. "I'll take this one."

8:15 pm

Lucy had just been picked up for her date to the gala and Sue decided that some ice cream and a chick flick was a good way to spend the evening. She had just decided on Princess Bride and was digging into her bowl of rocky road when her computer screen flashed. She had a new email.

Sue opened the email and read the text. "I think that Lucy should have gone with purple highlights rather than red. Enjoy your night. You never know when you'll have another evening to relax. You know the rules." Sue's blood ran cold as she read the email. There was an attached picture, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to open it or not. Sue hesitantly clicked on the picture and an image of Lucy outside of their apartment in her cream ball gown with her date appeared.

Setting aside the bowl of ice cream, Sue closed the email. Her stomach churned with the thought that the creep had been outside of her apartment only twenty minutes ago and had been close enough to hurt her roommate. Unpleasant thoughts drifted through her head of what this man was capable of if he were to kidnap Sue or Lucy. These emails had started almost three weeks ago, each one with another picture of one of the two women.

Sue looked over at her phone and debated calling Jack and telling him about the emails she had been receiving. If I tell him, maybe Lucy and I will be able to go someplace safe and Jack will be able to find the stalker. But, the rules of the stalker say that if I tell anyone, Lucy will die. If he kills Lucy because I told somebody, I don't think I could live with myself. He has shown that he can get close to us without realizing it. He might be able to kill Lucy before we could go into hiding. He may be able to find us while we are in hiding.

Sue was conflicted. She looked down at her hearing dog, Levi. "What do you think, buddy? Should we go tell Jack?" Levi barked once. "Okay. We'll go tell Jack."

She stood up and put her bowl in the sink and turned off the movie. Levi picked up his leash and stood by the door, waiting for Sue to put her coat on. Autumn in DC could get very cold at night. She left a note on the table for Lucy, telling her that she was going to Jack's apartment.

Sue turned and shut off the lights and walked out of her apartment.

9:00 pm

Sue climbed the steps to Jack's apartment and thought about how to tell him. Hey Jack. I've been receiving these emails that I think we should look into at the office. No that won't work. How about, I was wondering if you wanted to go get coffee or a late night snack. There's something I need to tell you. Yeah, that could work. She reached his door and paused, taking a deep breath before she knocked.

She waited a minute before he finally opened the door. "Sue. This is a pleasant surprise. Come on in," Jack said.

Upon entering his apartment, Sue noticed the smell of lasagna and realized that Jack might not want to go out for pizza or coffee. She took a deep breath and said, "Sorry, I should've called before I came over." Before Sue could continue, she caught sight of the beautiful brunnette coming out of Jack's kitchen.

"Oh Sue, you remember Allie. She and I grew up together in Wisconsin." Sue nodded and stretched out her hand to shake Allie's.

"It's good to see you again. Sorry for just showing up. I didn't realize you were in town." Sue turned to Jack. "Levi was bored and decided to go for a walk. We were in the area. I didn't mean to interrupt." She turned to go outside and back to her apartment.

"You're welcome to stay. Allie made a lot of lasagna and we could use the help of Levi to finish it all," Jack offered.

"No thanks, I've got ice cream at home that I can eat. It was nice to see you again, Allie. I'll see you on Monday, Jack."

"At least let me take you home."

"No, it's okay. Levi needs the exercise." Sue went outside and pulled the door shut behind her. A stray tear travelled down her cheek. She had slowly fallen in love with Jack over the years that she had known him. But, for the second time, she found Allie with the man she loved. Sue's heart broke a little.

Levi looked up at his mistress with his brown eyes. "It's okay, Levi. We can talk to him on Monday. We've waited this long. A couple more days won't hurt."

The pair began the walk back to their apartment, sharing in the silence between them. This was one of those nights when Sue wished that she could hear. She wanted to hear the sound of the fountain and the music that surely was coming out of the doors of restaurants. She wanted to hear the crackle of dried leaves under her foot as she walked, the sound of Levi beside her. To hear laughter coming from happy couples.

Sue sighed. If she kept up this thought process, it was going to be a long night of misery. She forced herself to just look and enjoy the sights, rather than wish for things she couldn't have.

Suddenly, a man grabbed her and pulled her into an alleyway. He slammed her up against the wall and covered her mouth with his gloved hand. Sue looked into his eyes and saw evil lurking in their depths. She tried to scream. But the man shook her roughly.

"If you scream, I will kill you right here, right now. If you come quietly with me, there is a chance that you will survive. And tell your stupid dog to stop barking." The man grabbed her arm and started to pull her further down the alley to a car that was waiting.

"Levi, come on. Stop barking," Sue said, barely keeping herself from panicking.

"No, he doesn't come with us." The man pulled out a gun and shot her beloved dog in the side before pulling out a dark strip of cloth and covering Sue's eyes.

"Please, no. Don't do this. I'm deaf, I need my eyes." Sue sobbed. She felt herself be pulled along and shoved roughly into the backseat of a car. The man grabbed her hands and started tying them together so that she wouldn't be able to remove the blindfold.

Levi can't be dead. No I don't believe it. The gun was a fake. He missed his shot, something. Levi just can't be dead. Sue was sobbing these words in her mind, over and over. If she stopped to really think about what had happened, then Sue would collapse and not be able to function. Remaining calm was the only thing that might get her through this ordeal.

She felt the car start beneath her and felt herself jolt backwards as the car began to move. Sue tried to keep track of the turns that the car made, but there were too many of them and soon, she felt herself fall asleep. The hypnotic buzz of the engine and the rocking of the car as it turned, lulled her into a dreamless sleep.