Nocturnal Obsession

Over the next few days, Sabrina was not present at work. Teresa missed her terribly, though she expected her to be absent for a few days. Sabrina would no doubt be devastated for a while, but once she saw how happy Teresa could make her, she’d put her sorrows behind her, and Carly would become just an old memory for her. Teresa had paid close attention to the news. So far, they had no leads, or so they said, for she had no idea that Sabrina herself had leads indeed—leads she was following through with at that very moment. Teresa informed Sasha and Kate about the death of Carly. Naturally, she told them she’d learned of it through the news. “That’s not like Teresa,” Kate told Sasha after they’d left her studio one day. “What’s not like Teresa?” asked Sasha. “Well, look at her. She’s supposed to be so in love with Sabrina, yet she appears to have not one stitch of sympathy for the poor girl. It’s almost as if she were elated to learn of Carly’s death.” “I wouldn’t go that far,” said Sasha, “though you’re right. She does seem rather void of compassion for Sabrina, and she does seem rather glad about what’s happened.” Teresa heard the sobbing well before she reached her door. Cautiously, she crept closer. The door to Mark’s apartment was open. Teresa peered in and saw a young woman sitting in the very spot in which Mark had taken his last breath, sobbing with her head in her hands. Teresa was just about to pull away from the doorway when the woman suddenly glanced up and turned toward her. “Oh,” stammered Teresa, “I’m sorry. I just heard crying and…” “It’s ok,” said the woman, rising to her feet and walking over to where Teresa stood. To Teresa, the woman was the feminine version of Mark. It was obvious to her that they were related. “I’m Mark’s sister, Adrian. Do you live around here?” she asked Teresa. Teresa nodded. “Right next door.” A thoughtful expression replaced Adrian’s sad one. “You know, my brother may’ve been a lot of things, but one thing he wasn’t was the type to kill himself. He was just too arrogant a bastard for that.” Then, as if suddenly realizing Teresa’s presence for the first time, she asked, “How well did you know him?” “Not very.” “Did he seem upset about anything in particular?” “I wouldn’t know, I’m afraid. I rarely saw him, and when I did, we merely nodded at one another.” Adrian suddenly stilled, then her eyes scanned the length of Teresa. “You’re kidding.” “Nope,” said Teresa, hoping she sounded believable. “As cute as you are, it’d seem Mark would’ve been all over you. My brother, God rest his beloved soul, was a slut in every sense of the word.” Thinking quickly, Teresa explained that the times they’d crossed paths were when she was in the company of her boyfriend, so perhaps that explained it. “Perhaps,” said Adrian with a nod, still appearing rather suspicious. Hoping the woman wouldn’t sense her growing discomfort, Teresa excused herself and entered her own apartment. “You stupid fool,” she chided herself. “You really do have lousy timing! You just had to return when she was here.” Her phone rang. She nearly jumped out of her skin. “Calm down,” she told herself. “Nothing can ever be proven. Not with Mark, not with Carly.” She reached for the phone and said hello. It was her mother. Teresa told her about her wonderful romance with Sabrina and then asked about the family. Her mom assured her everyone was fine. “Anything else exciting going on there?” her mom asked. “My neighbor killed himself.” “What!” exclaimed her mother. “How horrible.” “Not exactly, Mom. He was a subhuman piece of scum, trust me.” “How could you say such a thing?” her mom asked, shocked by Teresa’s unusual indifference. “Because it’s true. He was a pervert, Mom. I couldn’t even get in or out of my door without him coming onto me.” “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” “Because I didn’t want to worry you.” Sabrina wiped the tears from her eyes. They were so bloodshot, and it felt like the inner lids were lined with sandpaper. She glanced over at her father, who sat in his favorite chair in his den. Growing up, she had been just as close to her father, a police officer of twenty-five years, as she had been to her mother. She was glad that if her parents were destined to get a divorce, it didn’t happen until after she’d left home, so that she could live with both of them until then. What she loved most about her parents was their open-minded attitudes. People were people, as far as they were concerned, and they had a right to be themselves as long as they weren’t harming others. “How sure are you about this Teresa girl being the one?” Adam asked his daughter. “Dad, I’m not entirely sure. It’s just that every ounce of my gut instinct tells me she’s involved, and you know how you always advised me to trust my gut instinct.” “Describe her behavior to me.” “She’s quite persistent. She seems to pop up everywhere. At the guardhouse, in the pool area, when I go to walk by. Even out on her porch, which is right on my main walking route when I do my scheduled rounds. She always dresses provocatively and has even made it clear that she holds out the hope of winning me over, even though I told her that’d never happen.” Her father nodded. “I swear there have been times I could feel her eyes on me late at night from inside her darkened apartment. It’s like I can sense them. Nonetheless, as much as it sickens me to think about it,” Sabrina continued, “I really think I can get her to fess up in time.” “How?” “By using her desperation, her obsession with me. Unfortunately, though, this will mean getting close to her—a lot closer than I’d care to—and wearing a wire at some point. She’s a cute girl, Dad, but the more I get to know her, the more she makes me uncomfortable despite how small she is.” “But don’t you think this could get dangerous? If you think she’s that obsessed with you that she killed Carly, then there’s no saying what she may do to you if she ever feels you’ve crossed her in any way.” “No, there isn’t, but I owe it to Carly to try to do something. I’ll never be able to fully heal from her loss and move on if I don’t try to find out whether or not she really is connected. I’ll wonder about it till the day I die and never be able to live in peace again.” Her father gazed at her, a thoughtful expression on his face. Then slowly, he nodded. “I’ll talk to some people.” Later that evening, it would be time for Sabrina to report for duty, for she was now on a mission. So was Teresa, who studied her reflection in her bathroom mirror. She could use a little more blush and a little more eyeliner, she decided. Once her makeup was applied to her satisfaction, she stepped back to view more of herself in the large mirror. Smoothing down her short, hot pink spandex tank top dress, she headed out. It was coming up on 9:00. She wanted to give time to let Sabrina settle in if she was back at work, but didn’t want to wait too long to offer her phony condolences either, for that may make her appear rather insensitive. She headed out into the night and made her way to the guardhouse. She passed a couple heading from the north pool along the way. “Hello,” the lady said pleasantly. Teresa nodded a greeting and refocused on the task at hand. Once the station came into view, she was overjoyed to see Sabrina’s form behind the glass of the station’s back window. She quickened her pace, though reminded herself not to come off as overly eager to see her back at work. Sympathy, she told herself. You gotta try to show her some. She was just a few yards away now. Sabrina was shuffling through papers as usual. She looked very down. “Hi, Sabrina.” Sabrina looked up. At first, Teresa was startled by her expression. It was almost as if she knew she’d killed Carly and was considering killing her as well, judging by the cold look of fury that had flashed upon her face. For a moment, Teresa felt like she might faint. Willing herself to remain calm and appear sympathetic, she began to speak. “I saw it on the news, and I just wanted to quickly say that I am so, so sorry for your loss.” Sabrina looked away for a moment, then back at Teresa. “Are you?” “Of course I am.” “Well, then, I thank you very much for your concern, Teresa,” Sabrina said, straining to resist the urge to grab Teresa and shake the truth right out of her, for she knew in her heart for sure that Teresa had been the one who had murdered her sweet love. “I’ll let you get back to work, but not without first letting you know that if there’s anything—anything at all—I can do, please don’t hesitate to stop by. Even if you just want to chat, I’ll be there.” “Ok, I’ll keep that in mind. After all,” Sabrina said, putting on her best act, “I just may need a friend to lean on throughout this tough time I’m going through, so don’t be too surprised if I take you up on your offer.” Teresa flashed a grin. “Ok,” she said with too much eagerness for Sabrina to stomach. She was obviously more glad to get her attention than she was sad about her loss. “Here’s my number,” Teresa said as she produced a small piece of paper. That was fast, Sabrina wanted to say. Instead, she said, “For now, though, I do need to catch up on my work.” Teresa said goodbye and headed back to her place. Sabrina was never happier to see her go.