A/N: A huge thank you for the great feedback.

Thanks to starfishyeti for her beta-skills!

Warning for violence!

The stalker

by elessar73

*** 19. chapter : The killing game ***

Mary checked her watch; it was time. She picked up her phone and dialed Paul's number reading it from a sheet of crushed paper.

A few weeks ago Paul had handed her his telephone number with the offer to call him whenever she felt the need to. Mary had accepted it gratefully but had stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans as soon as Paul was out of sight. 'Why would I feel the need to call you? Idiot!' But today it had really come in handy. She had had to search a while till she found the paper. It had stuck in the pocket of the last jeans she'd checked, of course. She had flattened the paper and thanked god the number was still legible though the jeans had been washed.

Paper in one hand, phone in the other she paced her apartment waiting for Paul to answer the call. When he finally answered Mary spoke in a soft tone.
" Hey Paul, it's me, Mary. I hope I´m not disturbing you?" She cooed temptingly. 'Son of a bitch,' she added in her mind.

"No-no-no you don't." Came the shaky reply from a nervous and despairing sounding Paul. The man ran a hand through his hair. 'Damn! Why was Mary calling him now? Just after he´d dropped off the revealing letter that had sealed her fate ?'

Mary could tell that Paul was nervous but she was wrong in thinking she knew the reasons. She grinned evilly while she stroked across a photo of Charlie with her fingertips. Her mouth formed the soundless word, 'Soon!'

"So," She tried to be avowed. "I was wondering if you´d like to take a walk with me. Maybe we can work some things out." Mary awaited Paul's answer anxiously. She clenched her cell tightly and fought back her rage. She was supposed to be near Charlie but instead she had to take care of this stupid bastard.

Mary heard the intake of a few deep breaths before an overwhelmed Paul almost yelled in her ear, "Yeah, that's a great idea. Shall I pick you up?"

"No," Mary answered shortly. The last thing she needed was for someone to see Paul in her company. "Let's meet on campus. I know a nice place where we can talk undisturbed."

Paul immediately agreed. He hadn't noticed Mary's change in tone. His mind was consumed by the imagination of meeting Mary and spending precious time with her.

The letter was forgotten.

...

The sun had already set when Mary arrived on campus. She wore black jeans combined with a black pullover. Her hair was covered with a black base cap. The woman was nearly invisible in the falling darkness.

Mary hid behind a tree when she saw Paul turning around a corner. His face showed an idiotic grin and his brown eyes glanced round with agitation. Mary shook her head. She could hardly believe that this idiot was capable of finding out her secret. This shouldn't have had happened. With clenched fists Mary stepped out of her hiding place.
"Hi, Paul," she greeted him.

The cook startled. To cover up his fright he tried to make a joke. "Wow Mary! Don't do that to me, I'm an old man. I have to watch out for my heart." He underlined his words by grabbing at his chest.

Though it wasn't funny at all Mary did Paul a favour and grinned. "I'm sorry old man," she hissed, her tone of voice displayed all the rage she felt inside, but Paul didn't notice. The cook was surfing on cloud number nine. And when Mary took his hand and dragged him in the direction she had chosen his heart jumped in joy. 'It's really going to happen.'

Hand in hand they strolled across campus. Paul was in a rush. He couldn't believe his luck and was caught up in the heterodoxy that the woman beside him felt the same. But he was wrong.

Mary sighed in relief when they at last reached her chosen place. Actually she couldn't hold it in any longer. Paul's hand was wet from sweat. Mary had to fight back her nausea when she imagined the moisture of that bastard covering her hand. She had to swallow hard. 'Just a little bit longer.'

"Here we are." Mary broke the silence when the two of them stepped out of the trees into a meadow. Trees surrounded the grassy spot completely and guaranteed the needed privacy.

Mary led Paul across the meadow. And though the sun had disappeared it wasn't completely dark yet. A dim light covered the sky and on the horizon the first stars were visible. A slight breeze rushed through the branches and set the leaves rustling. It could have been so romantic. A look in Paul's eyes confirmed his wishful thinking of the man to Mary. The young woman turned her face away to hide her smirk. 'Paul the unsuspecting.' She nearly laughed aloud. She had to take a deep breath to control her temper.

In a provocative gesture Mary leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree. Her hands slid along the cortex until she nearly embraced the trunk. Through half closed eyes she peered up at Paul waiting for him to make the next move.

And the man didn't disappoint her. Paul stepped close and touched her slightly on the cheeks. His fingers rubbed in small circles across her face taking in her softness. His brown eyes looked at her closely searching for a sign of restraint but found none. Encouraged he bent his head down to kiss her. First Paul kissed her on the forehead and cheeks, still not sure if he could risk kissing her as he truly desired. He felt Mary tremble under his kisses and interpreted it, falsely, as pleasure. He continued to cover her face with wet kisses. Mary took in a sharp breath when his mouth reached her upper lip. Teasingly he nibbled on her lips before he pressed his mouth tight on them. With the power of this tongue he forced the woman to open up for him. Mary's body tensed at the assault. This was much more then she could take but Paul was too far gone to recognize anything.

Mary felt bile rising in her throat when Paul's body pushed hard against her. She knew she had to act quickly. The situation was getting out of hand. She pressed her eyes tightly shut banishing the feeling of Paul clinging to her.

Slowly, she set her right arm in motion. Very carefully she let it slide to the back pocket of her slacks. Her fingertips touched the hilt of the knife she had stuck there. She seized the hilt tight. In a quick motion she raised her arm above her head and rammed the blade into Paul's back.

Pain ridden, the man took a step back. Surprised he stared at Mary. The toneless question 'Why?' dropped from his mouth while he tried to make sense out of what he was seeing. The woman he loved stood there, rage and hate in her eyes, holding a bloody knife in her hands. ' My blood,' the thought occurred to him as pain gripped his body. He trembled and swayed on his feet till he finally crashed to the ground. The agonized man tried to crawl away, but failed miserably when strong hands grabbed his feet. Paul struggled to get free, but his strength faded in the same way Mary's rage grew.

In a rush of insanity, Mary stabbed her defenceless victim again and again. Paul bled from multiple wounds. Every beat of his heart produced a fountain of blood out of his body. Soon he lay in a red pool. Paul's breath became rattled and dark blood dropped out of the side of his mouth. Heavy coughs accompanied his death-agony. In a final attempt to stop the assault he reached up his arm, but it was in vain. Unmercifully, Mary gave him the deathblow.

Mary watched the corpse on the ground. An evil smile spread across her face. 'It's done.'

When she again came to her senses her eyes grew wide with horror, realizing she still held the bloody knife in her hands. She dropped it and it crashed to the ground blade first and stuck in the earth. It quivered a moment then was still.

'What have you done? Murderer. No-one loves a murderer.' The voice of her mother threatened to destroy her victory. But that was not an option, her mother would never again put her down. She shook her head vigorously to banish the unwanted memories and with it every sane thought. Mary gathered her strength; the maniac in her was back in charge. She had to get rid of the body. Slowly she bent down and grabbed Paul's feet again. This time he didn't fight her, he couldn't. And that knowledge brought back her self-confidence completely. Finally she was free, free for Charlie.

She pulled the corpse around the tree and hid it in the thicket. She gathered leaves and branches to cover it up a little better. When she was satisfied she stepped back into the meadow. She looked at the puddle of blood in the grass and wondered what to do about it. Finally she decided to leave it that way, nothing to worry about. Who would see it any way? Mary picked up her knife and rubbed it against her slacks to clean it up. The steel of the blade glistened in the moonlight reflecting Mary's insane grin. She had done good today.

It was time for Charlie's final lecture. 'Let's see if the genius will do good too!'

...

The Eppes brothers reached CalSci early the next morning. Don had insisted on the importance of finding the love letter. Determined to get a hold of it as fast as possible, Don had stormed into Charlie's bedroom before 7.00 and had dragged him out of his sleep. Every protest Charlie had thrown out went unheard.

Charlie yawned and rubbed his weary eyes. The professor opened the door of the car to get out when the sound of flesh hitting flesh made him hold still. Carefully he turned around to take a look. Charlie frowned in concern when he saw his brother sitting bent over the steering wheel a hand pressed tight against his forehead, his eyes closed.

"Don, you okay?" The fear in Charlie's voice was evident.

Don lowered his hand and faced his brother. "Yeah, Buddy I'm okay." Don shook his head in disbelief. "I guess I'm getting old."

A grin appeared on Charlie's face. "How've you come to this conclusion?"

Don rubbed his forehead absentmindedly. "I forgot my folder at home. Damn it. " His hand crashed down on the steering wheel. The impact made Don wince.

Charlie's eyes lit up in amusement and the smile in his voice was clearly recognizable when he answered, "Don't worry. It happens to everybody - sooner or later." By now Charlie´s smile was genuine.

Don stared astounded at his brother.

"You know what Donnie?" Charlie let his head tilt slightly to the side. Some of his dark curls fell into his eyes. He pushed them away and smirked. "You drive home and get your folder and in the meantime I'll go search the letter."

"That's why they call you a genius Bro." Don managed a grin on his own. Don didn't want to leave his brother alone. His fear was omnipresent. The agent sighed and made some calculations of his own. He decided that Charlie would be safe here in CalSci, at least for the little while he was away. "Okay then, I'll hurry up!"

Charlie nodded and climbed out of the car. Standing on the sidewalk he watched Don drive away. When the SUV was out of sight Charlie started his walk to his office.

The professor had covered half of the distance when he felt the hairs in his neck rising. A shudder ran down his spine. He felt like he was being watched. Turning around he took in his surroundings, but saw nothing. He shook his head in dismay. 'It's nothing.' But the odd feeling stayed. Charlie forced himself to move on and not look back again. He sighed in relief when he finally reached the door and stepped into the safety of the math department.

Mary stood in the entrance of her apartment building, clutching a bottle of medicine in her hand while she observed the CalSci parking lot closely.

TBC