Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Doctor Tabitha Clark was struggling to hold it all in.
As she sat at her desk and watched her newest doll obey her instructions, the young woman fought the urge to punish the doll out of spite.
Jonathan's death and his failed abduction of Mona Vanderwaal was something that she never thought could happen. Everything had gone according to plan so far; from the abductions to placing the bodies. Even though the police were onto her, the young woman had accounted for that and made sure that they could never find her. Her facial features had been changed and there was no paper trail to connect her to where she currently was. Now there was a real risk because her main source of help was a loose end that could unravel everything; something that she never accounted for.
It was her own fault now that she really thought about it. Though it had taken some time to track Mona down, it never occurred to Tabitha to look in what her intended victim had been doing these last ten years. From what she was seeing on the news, it appeared that not only was Mona Vanderwaal working for the Federal Government but was an agent in the National Security Agency as well. This made things even more complicated since it meant that Mona had more resources than that State Police and FBI did; thus she was now at risk. Tabitha knew Mona enough to know that she wasn't going to let this go and would come after her over the attempted abduction. Now was a time for damage control and to make sure her lair was still secure from a possible invasion by the authorities.
A part of her wondered if it was a good idea to simply just cut and run; abandon her latest doll by gassing her. It was tempting to do and the young woman could accomplish it easy; having planned it after the last doll was displayed. The lair was presently wired with a series of explosives that would destroy everything and allow her to leave the State; with nothing left behind to cause any future problems. However, Tabitha wasn't a quitter and would continue playing the game till the end; which she would win as well. She knew she was smarter than the lot of them and nothing would stand in her way to prove that. This little setback was nothing more than a lesson that she needed to learn in order to get better at playing.
Tabitha knew it was a possible mistake to send the flowers to Mona; after finding out which hospital she was staying in. Truthfully, it was slightly more out of genuine sympathy that she sent them instead of mocking; though she knew that Mona might see it as the latter. It added to the high she was now experiencing since this was kind of fun to her. Maybe there was a part of her that wanted to be close to being caught since setbacks were part of what happens in real life. She had been getting bored lately and needed some excitement and this setback could be for the best. Even she had often told her patients that obstacles allowed people to improve themselves and push forward.
With Jonathan dead, it was obvious to her that his place was probably being searched at this current moment. This meant that the police would likely find the list of names she had given him that were her future victims; though they were only initials with addresses at a later date. She had always been hesitant to give him the location of the next abductee until she was ready; careful to make sure that he wouldn't jump the gun. Even though the police had only initials, there was a chance that they could run them and find out who she was going after; especially since the two were pretty close to the intended representations. They had yet to release the details of her little game to the press but they might if they think it might do some good. Of course they just might not in fear that it would cause her to killer her current doll.
Lucky for her, Tabitha had a backup list of people to grab just in case something went wrong; which now came in handy. While the women on this list weren't as close to the ideal appearance as the primary list, it was close enough for her to make it work. It would take a little more time to adjust the skin tone and hair color for her intended dolls as well as the eye color; requiring special contacts. She would have to grab them herself since her main helper was now gone for good; which never really bothered her. Contrary to what her enemies might think, Tabitha liked getting her hands dirty since it was required for her to effectively play the game. She did kill Charles herself without any help; though it had been a little sloppier than what she had intended at the time.
Thinking about it, she was ready for a potential doll; a substitute for Mona to be exact. While she would have preferred the real one, a copy was fine though it wouldn't be much of a challenge to break her. Since she needed to let off some steam, she supposed that now would be a perfect time to grab her intended victim. The police would be distracted with their crime scenes for the moment and there still was a lack of a general call of alarm; which allowed her to continue to operate without issues. After sending a message to her doll that she had some free time for a few hours, Tabitha stood up to go and change. She didn't know how long she would be so the young woman made sure that there plenty of food and water.
Walking into the next room, the psychiatrist went to a large wooden wardrobe that lay against the far wall. Before she met Jonathan Myers, Tabitha had arranged a whole slew of possible disguises to grab her intended victims. Each one was so radically different from one another that it allowed her multiple means to do what she wanted. If one disguise was blown, the young woman could put on another without anyone the wiser. It also helped that each disguise was modeled for an intended victim; or someone close if something happened. There were also credentials to go along with each disguise with fake social security numbers to boot. She doubted that things would ever go that far but she liked to be prepared.
Stripping out of her clothes, the young woman wrapped her hair in a bun and grabbed a long blonde wig. After making sure it was secure on her head, Tabitha put on a light blue stewardess uniform that was used by one of the major airlines at the Philadelphia Airport. Once she was in the uniform, she took the pre-prepared purse that went along with it; which had all the identifications she needed to pass her off with the airport officials. For cases like these, she always made sure everything was up to date; which she did by hacking into the airline's employee database. As far as they knew, she was a veteran of the company for a number of years even though she never logged any hours or collected a paycheck. Once she was done, Tabitha headed out of the room and to her vehicle.
Though she often used a cab to get around town, freelance ones mostly since they never kept track of where they went, Tabitha had several vehicles in an old underground garage. The one she planned to use was a six year old blue sedan; a common car used in the city. She had used it twice already to run errands related to her A game and had repainted it after every time in use; changing the license plates as well. Next to the sedan was a large black travel case that movie stars used for their much larger luggage as well as an oxygen tank and some sedatives. After packing all of that into her trunk, Tabitha got into her car and checked herself out in the mirror; satisfied on how she looked.
Activating the controls on the garage door, she drove up onto the alley behind the building and onto the street towards her destination.
She put on some music to pass the time; techno which she had always been into. Music had always been her saving grace back in the various foster homes; though not all of them had been that bad. The final one she had been in before she applied for emancipation had treated her rather well and even helped her with her schooling; even considering them the family that she never had as a child. A month after she had started living on her own in the dorms at school, the family had been killed by a drunk driver. It one moment, her foster father, mother, and twin sisters were gone forever. The drunk driver was only slightly injured and went to jail; though he didn't survive long since Tabitha had made quite a few friends by then. While she didn't do the deed herself, she watched in fascination while he was shanked in front of her.
After about ten minutes of driving, traffic being light this time of night, Tabitha pulled up to the security gate for employees at the Philadelphia airport. She smiled at the guard, a large Hispanic man, and showed him her id as well as clearance. Ever since the bombing at LAX a few years ago, every employee that worked at an airport had to undergo a background check as well as be issued special security clearance in order to work. Tabitha was simply able to hack the Government database in order to get hers and even made it a special clearance which allowed her greater access; as well as no questions. After she was cleared, the young woman was waved through and she headed to the lower levels where the regular stewardesses' parked. Looking for the car she wanted to be near, Tabitha smiled when she saw a free space right next to it.
The parking garage was underground and Tabitha had been here before once; catching a flight to Tampa once when she was still working at the psychiatric prison up north. Instead of taking a chance with her vehicle, the young woman decided to use the employee parking garage since it had better security. She had hacked another airline at the time and made it look that she was an airline executive, which didn't cause any problems. The place was huge and though it was all cement, it was well aired with multiple vents to keep it either warm or cool. It was also well lit so there were no dark spaces to hide in and had a large number of security cameras placed in the ceiling; backed up by patrolling guards; though there wouldn't be one for another hour.
After parking, the young woman sat back and waited for her target to appear.
The intended victim was a young woman by the name of Sarah Maxwell; a twenty-two year old who worked as a stewardess while she went to school. She was just over five feet, half Chinese and Caucasian, and had long black hair; similar to Mona Vanderwaal in appearance. Unlike Mona though, Sarah was an average student at best and wanted to be a kindergarten teacher; also a nice woman as well. However, the woman had an embarrassing secret that she kept to herself; she was a pill popper when she became too stressed. Tabitha had used that against her through harassing texts quite a few times. To escape them, the young woman made sure she was either at school or work in order to escape the prying eyes of A. Unfortunately for Sarah, Tabitha was always watching her and knew her schedule well; thus why she was now here.
It was about twenty minutes before Sarah appeared, coming out of an elevator not too far from where the cars were parked. While she had been waiting for her, Tabitha disabled the lone security camera overhead; sending a false signal to whatever monitor it was on. Preparing herself, she got out of the car just as Sarah approached; causing the young woman to be started and back away slightly. She appeared to be more relaxed though when she spotted Tabitha's uniform since it was the same as hers. The way Sarah was looking at her, it seemed that she was trying to place Tabitha in her mind; thinking that they might have worked together at one time on a flight. Truthfully, the two never met in person before now.
"Hi Sarah; how was the flight?" Tabitha casually asked as she pretended to be taking her bag out of the trunk.
"It was fine; though long, thanks," Sarah answered, still not sure who she was talking to but figured that she was just another flight attendant she worked with at some point. She unlocked her car and popped the trunk to put her travel case in.
"I bet; could you help me with this? I have a triple shift from here to London and had to carry a few extra things," stated the young woman. Sarah nodded and went to help Tabitha, leaving her still open truck behind.
That is when it happened; with Sarah caught completely off guard. When the young woman leaned in to help grab the travel case, exposing the back of her neck, Tabitha took one of the syringes and injected the sedative. Even before the young woman knew what was happening, Sarah was out like a light and Tabitha had to catch her before she hit the ground. As quickly as she could, the psychiatrist unzipped the travel case and then placed the woman inside. Making sure the oxygen tank was properly placed as well as Sarah's hands and feet bound, she zipped it back up and closed the trunk. She then got back into the car and drove to another exit so that she didn't have to deal with the same guard; thus not arousing suspicion.
Once she was clear of the airport, Tabitha headed straight home. She hoped to be there by the time the police were alerted to the scene of the crime; given that she had things the way she had with the victim's car that way. While driving, she occasionally checked the monitor that was connected to a small camera in the travel case; which showed her newest doll still unconscious and not in danger. From her in-depth surveillance of Sarah, there wasn't any health issues that she needed to worry about; which could have complicated things down the road. That was another thing she made sure would not be an issue with her dolls since the last thing she wanted was one of them croaking before she was ready to do it herself.
She entered her secret parking garage by going in how she went out; through the alley and down the ramp. A security gate sealed the place off so no one could break into her lair; though she had paid off the local gang to make sure that didn't happen. When Tabitha moved in and began creating her own dollhouse, she made sure to make nice with all the major players on the block; doing them a few favors. That is how she met Jonathan Myers and found out his qualifications to do what she needed. It was an arrangement that made sure that no one would come snooping and even if they did, they would be warned off. It would also tip her off to jump ship in case of the unlikely event that the cops found out about her lair.
Once she was had parked the car, she got out and tossed the wig onto the seat. Popping the trunk, she braced herself and pulled the case gently out of the back. Normally, she would have used some help to get her new doll out but she knew Sarah's weight and had the upper body strength to do it herself. Once the case was out of the car, she wheeled it to one of the rooms near where her current doll was located. It had taken some work and research, but Tabitha managed to find out how Mona had her room back during highschool. She then paid a visit to the Vanderwaal house to copy some photos for her own setup; putting them in the frames that were located on the vanity. It was a little more personal than the rest of the rooms but Dr. Clark considered her Mona doll a special case.
Inside the room, Tabitha unzipped the travel case and pulled the victim up onto the bed. She then went over to one of the dressers and pulled out an outfit to dress Sarah in. While she had been in Rosewood, the psychiatrist had grabbed a few yearbooks with pictures of Mona on how she dressed back then; before Alison had first disappeared. As a result, the clothing was all sweater vests and long skirts; nothing really fashionable. Grabbing a long cotton pink skirt, she chose a darker pink colored sweater vest to along with it. She then proceeded to dress Sarah up like Mona from back then; long white socks and simple shoes as well. Once she was done, Tabitha laid her newest doll on the bed and left some instructions as well. Hopefully, Sarah will obey them when she wakes up; after dealing with the drama of her new surroundings.
While Tabitha may not have Mona like she wanted, this would have to do for the time being; until she got bored.
Please Read and Review; also a shout out to my friend Paraddicted for the pre-read!