I waited until all of the houses were dark. Her light was the last to go out, but that didn't surprise me. I knew she was a workaholic and I wouldn't be surprised if she had cold case files sitting on her bedside table as light reading before sleeping. As much as I longed to go to her, I knew that it would not be a wise chose. I wanted to play the long game with her; I wanted to make her want me to come. Tonight was the first step of many to infiltrate her life, to make her know the want that I felt when I looked at her.

I didn't just look in her window tonight. I didn't just spy on her. I saw her neighbor too. The poor woman. She'd had a fight with her boyfriend. I'd seen the whole thing from across the street. There was barely controlled rage and the shouting…I could just imagine what it would have been like. No, I don't enjoy seeing a couple fight, but the outcome, the man leaving with a packed bag and the woman crumpling onto the floor, that was something I could appreciate. I watched as she poured a glass of wine, her hands shaking, barely making it to the glass without spilling the deep red liquid. And then I watched as more and more of the wine was poured. The whole bottle was gone quicker than I thought it would happen.

I knew when I saw her that she would be my first gift for the lovely Teresa Lisbon. I didn't know the young woman's name, but I knew that Teresa would appreciate it none the less. Once Teresa's light was off I made my way to her neighbor's house. I hesitated just briefly on the sidewalk before their houses, I wanted so to visit Teresa, but I resisted, now was not the time. Right now I had a goal, to show her how much I had grown to appreciate her. I didn't know when Teresa would discover my present for her, but I knew, when she did that she would appreciate it.

I jimmied the lock on the back door. The woman hadn't bothered to lock the deadbolt, that made it that much easier. The house was dark, but the light from the street outside gave enough to see where I was going. I wasn't an amateur; I knew that using a flashlight would be a dead giveaway. And turning on any lights was likely to attract the attention of the family across the street that had been handling a colicky baby all night.

I crept up the stairs, slowly, careful not to put too much weight on them. This home wasn't old by any means, but a person can never be too careful when they are sneaking around. One stray floor board can you could be discovered prematurely. The anticipation, the terror in the eyes of the woman in bed when you wake them and they see you for the first time, it's the stuff dreams are made of.

I guessed as to the bedroom she was sleeping in. There weren't that many doors at the top of the stairs. I wondered if this house was set up the same way that Teresa's house. They were neighbors, and from the outside they looked the same. I smiled. When it came time I would be able to more easily find Teresa.

But now I needed to focus on the task at hand. The woman in this house. She'd probably cried herself to sleep, wallowing in self-pity at a relationship turned sour. Maybe she'd assumed that in the morning her lover would come back and everything would be all better.

I turned the knob on the door and slowly pushed it open. There was the bed; the light filtering in the window fell on the lump covered in a soft looking quilt. She made a noise in her sleep, half way between a snore and a snort. It was almost cute. I pulled out my knife and stepped up to her bed. A placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her awake.

She didn't get a chance to scream.