=== On the freeway to Fresno ===

„This thing sounds as if it would croak any second," Tessa commented the various noises produced by the old Ford. „And I'm starving. Couldn't we rest for a minute and get a pizza or something?"

„Okay. Why not. There's a gas station coming in 5 miles."

When he had parked the car, Stephan held out some bucks in Tessa's direction. She stared at him. „I can't go, man! The police have a hot search going on for me! There are perhaps pictures of me in a newspaper, or on TV!"

„You go!" He was too afraid to find himself face to face with another temptation and more lurking devils. As long as he was here in the car, he was safe. From the haunting demons of the past and the present.

Tessa sighed, embarrassed the same, because of the possibility to get caught. „This is nuts! I can't go! If I'm recognized-"

„Please." Stephan grabbed her hand and somehow looked as if he would fall to his knees, if possible, at the moment. „Please, Tessa! There are so many people…. Please! Or let's drive along!"

„Crap!" She snatched the money, but began to understand. „You're afraid of seeing someone with bracelets again, right? Man, you scared the hell out of me, when we bought the car! What's your problem?" She was not sure if she wanted to hear it; she just wanted to vent her own fear and anger.

„Bracelets… make me do… bad things…" he answered hollow, looking down with a tortured expression.

Tessa finally decided to get food on her own. She was close to simply let this bracelet-psycho sit and rot in the car and venture out alone. But a car was so much faster! She had to get out of the country or some asshole would drag her back to a children's home!

Bad things… Stephan covered his face with his hands.

"Now we are going to make some bad things, sweetheart." He could only hear the velvet-like voice, not see the red devil's lips. And he could hear the 'click' of the handcuffs when fastened to the bed and holding his arms stretched.

Some nasty, naughty things… you're gonna like it…"

Please let me go!"

C'mon, you wanted to be a man, and I show you a real man's pleasure!" Now not only the red lips of the whore were hovering over him, but her whole body. „You'll like it … and you'll never again want it in another way, my little angel…"

Let ME GO!" He was not only frightened, but panicking now. „I give you a 100 Dollar!" And if he had to steal it from his stepfather and got beaten again!

Don't be stupid… sweetheart… just… relax…"

His cry was stifled. Suddenly her tongue was in his mouth and her hands down between his legs. He felt sick and tears ran over his face. He wanted to break free, but could not, or at least not let her take control over him, but failed, too. One moment her fingers spread ecstatic, evil pleasure, the next one it was only pain.

Please…" was everything he finally could manage.

You like it, I knew… you would … like it… my little… innocent angel…"

He was sobbing and begging; felt reduced to a worthless, powerless puppet of pleasure. His mind was simply breaking apart…

"Hey? Stephan?" The car's door slammed with a cracking sound. „Brought you a Jacket Potato!" Tessa sat down, chewing herself on a Hot-Dog.

„I'm not hungry. Just… just store it… for later."

„Hey, it's not bad, surely! Try it! You have eaten the last yesterday before we left the cabin!"

He took the food and forced something down, merely because his rationality told him, Tessa was right. They wouldn't make it to Fresno if he crashed the car.

This cursed day more than 30 years ago was still that vivid in his memory – he thought he could smell the perfume of this woman with the red devil's lips. He walked away from her that day grown up, indeed. More than grown-up: a part of him had died and rested rotting and intoxicating deep inside. The rest walked away calm and collected and strong, ready to give the world still a boyish smile of innocence….until it was time to show he was not that innocent and powerless anymore!

„You know," Tessa said, throwing the paper from her Hot-Dog out of the window. „'Til we reach Fresno, the institution is closed for visitors. I mean, it's already past 6. We should just search for a spot and sleep in the car! And the spotlights are gone. Haven't seen it yet?"

Her sorrows, Stephan might try anything nasty, were obscured by the horror to get snatched by the police because of a stupid traffic incident and brought back. She was only 13, which meant at least three awful years MORE in public care! Compared to this, her fear of Stephan had changed into something resembling rather pity during the past day. He reminded her of one of her friends in the shelter, who had Borderline syndrome and some other shit. She took drugs. One day, she had jumped in front of a train...

„So, what? Stephan?" Fuck it – she would be lucky if they made it in one piece to the city at all, with him only partly attendant!

„You're right," he said to her surprise. „We drive the next little road parting from here inside the forest again and wait till sunrise."

Tessa could not sleep, even if she was accustomed to uncomfortable resting places out in the open, and she was exhausted. But it was cold – for sure it would snow very soon in the mountains – and Stephan sitting on the driver's seat awake made her nervous, too.

Why the fuck couldn't he try to sleep? The girl turned and stared at her companion again. Discovering he was staring, too.

„How did you and my Mom met?" Tessa asked finally, now trying to stay awake.

„At a Hot-Dog stand," he answered, and it seemed as if he smiled a little. „We ran into each other…

Uh, the classical thing! Expected something gory from you!

„…I immediately knew, she was… special. She was different from the others. She was the one who could… could…" His voice trailed off and rested a faint whisper.

Tessa snorted. She had judged things like 'love' as belonging to stupid movies and even more stupid books, read by people in houses behind white fences. Something unreal, something to make jokes about. And now this psycho sat here and talked about 'love at first sight'…

„And you clashed with Nelson? You tried to kill him?" The question came just naturally; she had seen and heard too much to be shocked, whatever he might answer.

„No. He tried to kill me."

„Yeah. Always knew he's an asshole!"

„It is… not as you think… I… wanted him to kill me… wanted him to know what it feels like…" Stephan searched for the right words, but then pondered if he should tell her the real story at all. I wanted to die because I had failed my angel... The devil had come back and I failed... His right hand fumbled after Nelson Keece's old book he had taken along – not with a specific reason; he had just grabbed it while leaving the cabin.

Stephan browsed through the book, but was too tired. He reclined into the seat and looked outside into the dark forest. His memory was back in that one week of paradise Juliet and he had stolen from destiny.

...They lay awake, listening to the soft sound of the rain on the window ledge.

"Nelson will come back tomorrow," she whispered, her head resting on his chest. "What should we do?"

"Come with me! I have money, we can leave the country."

"But... I'm afraid. I'm that afraid, Stephan."

Now he stopped playing with her hair and looked at her. "Because of what I told you? Because of... what I did? What I am?"

Her tears ran over his skin and she remained silent.

...

Stephan realized Tessa had dozed off after all. What if she is my child? The thought made him feel strangely warm inside, a sensation he had never known so far; protective and very desperate the next moment. If you knew what I did... would you hate me? He reached out, caressed her face, and this time she did not even wake up.

=== At the police department in Fresno ===

Despite the late hour, the big office was still bristling with agitation. The search for the missing girl was going on, and some hours ago, the first hot lead had shown up. Thank God, no report of a lifeless body being found by a backpacker! No, someone had declared to have seen the missing girl in a village nearby.

Obviously, she had taken the opportunity to run away. Or she had planned this from the start. Smart little brat, Detective Caulder thought. The girl had quite a history already, from what he knew from her supervisor of the children's home. He sighed. His wife was waiting at home with the birthday dinner…

But an hour ago, the local police of the village had been informed about another interesting twist: the girl was not alone. A man accompanied her - and they were waiting for the email with the description and the identikit picture of the guy. The detective yawned and made a sign to a junior officer to bring coffee. Maybe the girl had been running away with her lover. Those were exactly the cases, where the girls ended up in prostitution and abuse! And if he could do anything about it…! Ah, there the email came in! He shot a glance at the attached images and opened the database of the police records. With any luck, that guy was on file already. He looked considerably older.

Half an hour and a cup of coffee later, a loud „SHIT!" sounded through the office and made everybody turn to Caulder. „Shit," he repeated, throwing the results he just got on his desktop. „Jake, get me the boss!"

„It's almost midnight…. He will want a damned good reason…"

„THIS is a good reason, isn't it?" He turned the screen around and pointed at the lines with the inserted photo. „The guy with our little runaway is a psychopathic killer, convicted for murder in at least 10 cases! He escaped five years ago from the criminal mental institution at Porterville! And was thought to be dead… FUCK IT!"