The Watcher by Jo Robertson Read Free Book Online Page A

noticed the pale lines etched around her mouth and the tremor in her hand as she brushed strands of dark gold hair off her forehead.
    Bauer was waiting beside the truck. The color had returned to his face. The three of them rode back to the precinct in silence, Myers staring fixedly out the wind-shield, Bauer leaning his head against the side window.
    After what they’d seen and heard, Slater guessed it was foolish to remind them to buckle their seat belts.

Chapter Six
     
    The man watching from his car slunk lower behind the wheel as the girl exited through the double doors of the school. He slipped shades onto his thin nose, his eyes following her as she bounced down the cement steps, a girlfriend on either side.
    Her blond hair flew around her shoulders, a golden halo glinting sunlight off the strands that wrapped around her mouth. Dressed in dark jeans that rode low on her hips, a long-sleeved white shirt, and backless shoes, she gripped one thin schoolbook under her arm. A small useless wisp of a purse slung over one shoulder.
    She was beautiful in a fresh, clean way that reminded him of the time with the purple-eyed farm girl. He shuddered. That very first one, the other bitch didn’t count.
    This girl’s features were perfect, her skin as smooth and unblemished as a Madonna. He wondered if she was a virgin. Nowadays you couldn’t tell about girls. Even young teenagers were no longer innocent and untouched. Most high school kids today were experienced.
    He felt wistful and aroused at the same time.
    The girl looked like a carbon copy of all the other girls who spilled out of the school, but the watcher knew she was different from the rest. Not because she herself was so extraordinary. Even with those eyes and that hair, there were other girls who looked as pretty as her. What made her really special was that he had chosen her, had picked her out of all the others, had ordained her to be the One.
    He saw her giggle with her mouth wide and her cheeks flushed. He imagined she was thinking of some hidden pleasure or secret delight. Where did she get such careless confidence? Did she know that guys stared at her, salivating over what she promised?
    The watcher wanted to crawl inside her head, move around in her skin, and learn what she was thinking, what made her tick. He’d like to take her apart and find the mystery of her.
    His groin tightened with anticipation.
    She walked away from her friends, wiggling her fingers in farewell as she strode off, confidence settling on her like the mantle of a queen. She walked alone in the opposite direction, heading for the downtown district and the antique stores.
    He’d been watching her several days now, and he knew exactly what she’d do next. When she walked home alone, she dawdled at the string of antique stores along Vernon Street, entering each one, trailing among the dusty rows of other people’s discarded items. Junk passed off as treasure. Afterward, she always stopped at the mom and pop candy store at the end of the quarter-mile long street.
    Most days she hitched a ride with one of her friends, but once a week, she indulged in her treats: antiquing and long twisted pieces of red licorice. Her preference for that candy made her seem younger to him, and a perfect choice, because he had a sweet tooth too.
    After he’d first seen her purchase the licorice and sit outside the store on a wooden bench, he’d bought some for himself. He imagined her licking the cherry flavor with her tiny pink tongue, the stain coloring the inside of her mouth a rich scarlet.
    The stores were located in the older part of Placer Hills, a place frequented by street denizens. It wasn’t safe for a young, pretty girl alone, but he could tell her arrogance won out over warnings from parents. The watcher saw her weekly excursions as defiance against authority and a show of confidence in her ability to ward off danger. He admired that. She’d be a golden triumph, a challenge worthy of his