Who Can It Be Now Chapter 13, a 7th heaven fanfic

Mary paced around the attic, covering just about every inch of its confines. Ruthie was out, doing something, and for that Mary was grateful. She wanted the place all to herself. She needed to think. Obviously she had two choices. Mary could either call up Detective Shapiro and show him the note, or she could not show him and go by herself. Neither option seemed too appealing.

The first thing that popped into Mary's head when she read the note was Detective Shapiro's warning to her- to tell him if she was contacted or suspicious. But, with him focusing on closing the case, she was angry. She didn't think he would give her the kind of help that she needed, the kind of help that would get this guy arrested and keep her safe. Mary thought that if she went to the police, they would just wire her and sit in a van in the parking lot of the grocery store until they heard him say something, or whatever it was that they did to catch guys that were keen on these clandestine meetings.

She figured dealing with the police would be more trouble than it was worth and she would not get her desired results. Mary really didn't want to go it alone, but she felt like she had to. Maybe if she really did come alone, then she could see the man and escape. Then she could go back to the police with something concrete rather than a note to meet in the woods.

Mary went back and forth in her mind for hours before drifting off into sleep.

The next morning she called in sick to work. The machine picked up where she was supposed to leave a message and she started talking. "This is Mary Camden. I've got such a migraine and I can't come in today. I'm so sorry. See you tomorrow, bye." Mary hung up the phone and then reached underneath her pillow where she stashed the note. 9:00. It was 7:56 now.

Mary dressed herself in a plain t-shirt and a baggier pair of jeans. She didn't want to dress in anything too revealing or loud. She just wanted to meet this guy and get it over with. She put a fifty dollar bill in her pocket in case something were to happen to her and she would only have the clothes on her back, and placed her cell phone back into her purse. Mary put a blazer and a pair of heels on so that she would be able to look like she was going to work. She would change into sneakers and take the jacket off once she got in the car.

"Good morning Dad."

"Good morning Mary. Will you be joining me for breakfast?"

"Oh, no, sorry. I have this splitting headache; it's killing my appetite. I'm just going to get going."

"OK." Eric came over patted Mary's arm. No doubt he was still worried about her.

"Bye Dad."

Mary pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket and completed the final part of her plan. She stuck the note in her glove compartment and then locked her car. If something were to happen to her, the note would be there. They would know that something had happened, that this wasn't just a random act. They would have something solid to go on. Justice could be achieved.

Mary walked around to the back of the grocery store and looked around for the red door. Once she located it, she went and stood with it behind her back. After feeling the cold metal on her arm and taking a deep breath, she started walking in the wooden lot behind the door, counting her steps the whole way. The farther she went, the more anxious she was getting. Mary just wanted to be back in her bed. Why in the world was she doing this? Was she crazy? No, she thought. She was in love…still.

The woods started out sparingly, but quickly thickened the farther back she went. When she got in so far that it would be hard for her to tell what direction she had come from, Mary started to get scared. About fifty steps in front of her in a bit of a clearing, Mary saw a ladder and some rope hanging from a tree. She continued counting out her steps and saw that that was where she was headed.

She stopped next to the ladder and looked around. No one in sight. Maybe this guy didn't show. Maybe he was late. Mary heard the rustling of some leaves behind her but was afraid to turn around. The noise grew closer and she tensed.

"Hello Mary."

Her whole body shaking, Mary turned around. There she was, face to face with the man who had killed Wilson. The man was short, with black hair that was gray at the temples. He made no attempt to mask his identity. "Wh-wh-?" She couldn't even form a complete word. "Who exactly are you?"

"Well, let's see." He stepped closer to Mary. "I used to be the construction manager for all of Rolling Knolls. That Wilson fellow, I built his house. Or helped to build it anyway." Mary started to whimper. "He came by a bunch of times while we were building it, just to check on things. I knew what I wanted to do, and I had two choices for who I was going to kill- either Wilson or that middle-aged guy and his dog on the other side of the street. Wilson and his kid seemed so much more interesting. So I took the key. I planted the cameras. I sat around and watched him."

"And?"

"And then once I saw you I knew I had made the right decision." He approached Mary. Her instinct was to back away, but she was frozen. He reached out and ran his pointer along Mary's cheek bone and she moved her head. "You are gorgeous, aren't you?"

"You killed Wilson because of me?"

He laughed loudly in Mary's face. "Don't get so haughty Mary. I was going to kill him anyway. You were just an added bonus."

"So then why did you kill them?"

"I was bored. I got tired of killing animals. He made me angry. Your choice sweetheart." His eyes iced over when he said the word 'sweetheart'. Mary felt a chill go up her spine and a tear fall onto her cheek. "So I poisoned the kid in his sleep, had it out with that beau of yours, poisoned him, and then chopped them up and put them into the bags. Their bones are buried out here somewhere. I'm not really sure where. I always preferred an unmarked grave." He reached out and touched Mary's hair. "You have such nice hair."

Suddenly, Mary had a new burst of aggression. "Please don't touch me."

"Not in the mood this morning, are we? You were always so friendly with Wilson." He began to cackle.

"No, I'm not," she said hoping to shut him up.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a gun. Mary jumped. He placed the barrel of the gun on her temple and Mary quivered. The cold metal reminded her of the door back in safety. "Change your mind?"

"No." If she was going to die, she was going to die with dignity.

"Fine." He pulled back the pistol and slammed the handle into the side of Mary's face. She recoiled, grabbing the cheek he had stroked moments before, and felt the blood dripping down her face. "Now go climb up that ladder." Mary didn't move. "Go!"

Mary went and stood near the base of the ladder but didn't get on it. She saw him out of the corner of her eye; he still had the gun pointed at her. Grudgingly, Mary climbed up to the top of the ladder.

"Now put that rope around your neck." She wasn't following. "Put the rope around your neck!" Mary was so scared that she did as she was told. "Now jump precious."

Mary cocked her head. Jump? He was going to make her commit suicide, or look like she had committed suicide. He wouldn't be linked to this at all. He would get away with this just like he had gotten away with Wilson and Billy's murder. There was no way she was going to let this happen. She was going to use her death to get this guy. It might not be right away, but he would be captured. Her death would serve a purpose.

"No."

"You know, if I knew you would be this ornery I wouldn't have arranged this little meeting. But I'm a softie at heart. Consider this your dying wish."

"I'm not going to jump."

"Fine then. I'll just shoot you."

"Go ahead."

"What?"

"Shoot me." Mary had to quickly come up for a lie as to why she was being so submissive. "I found out your identity. That was all I wanted. I can rest peacefully now."

"This was easy," he commented. "Bye Mary." He shot the gun, which was aimed at her heart, and Mary jumped. The bullet struck her and she fell off the ladder. A red stain tickled down the front of her shirt as the rope spun her body around and around, lifeless.

A/N: Ah, this was the good chapter. I'm kind of sad about that though, actually. It all goes downhill from here. But it really doesn't matter I guess. I just want to get these chapters out and be done with it. Now all I need is something bigger and better to write and I'll be all set. I want to try and write something 75,000 words next. If I did 50,000 in one month I could safely assume that I can do 75,000 between now and July, correct? Hopefully. Maybe tomorrow I'll play around with plotlines. Anyway, where was I going with this? I don't ever remember.

I just wanted to say, though. That last sentence. It was supposed to be that when she was shot she fell off the ladder and hanged herself, but it didn't matter because she was already dead because the guy shot her. Her body was supposed to be spinning around on the rope.

Now I have officially killed Wilson twice and Mary twice in things I have written…and Billy once. Care to kill me? Review.