Page 73 of Watch Me
Ethan smiled. “Yeah, Buttercup. That sounds like a plan.”
Despite how busy I was expecting Judy’s to be, I was happy. I finally had the two most important people under the sameroof.
My heart was beating fast in my chest. Not from fear, but from excitement.
I parked my car down the street from Fiona’s, walked through the vacant alley behind her house, and slipped into the backyard. It was quiet, people probably resting before having to cook all day on Thanksgiving. She didn’t have plans that I knew of, and the more hours that passed before her body would be discovered, thebetter.
The key I had made the same way as Amy’s and Daisy’s slipped right into the lock on Fiona’s back door. I eased it open, hoping to make no noise. When it cracked open, I heard the sound of the TV coming from the other room. I stepped through the door into the dark kitchen, and closed the door behindme.
Fiona was different from Amy and Daisy in the sense that she didn’t have a nightcap, so I changed it up and got my hands on ether. Everything is available on the internet these days, and I’d purchased the can of diethyl ether when I knew Fiona’s death would need to occurdifferently.
After setting the bag that had my clean clothes in it down quietly on the floor, I grabbed a white rag from my back pocket with my gloved hand. I doused the rag with the ether and placed the can on the counter next to the wood plaque I’d made with Fiona’s name engraved on it, so I could grab it on the way out.
I walked slowly to where the TV was on in the living room. Coming up behind the black-haired beauty, I placed the cloth against her face. She struggled, trying to get out of my grasp, but I held her against the back of the couch while she kicked. Her hair caught the light and a blue tint shined in the strands. From the view on my computer monitor, I hadn’t realized that her hair was blue. It was pretty and would be the last hair color sweet Fiona wouldhave.
Once she was unconscious, I laid her back on the couch and walked around to stand on the other side of the couch. I brushed her dark blue hair away from her closed eyes and smiled. I wasn’t sure how ether would work. Usually, the girls passed out from the pill I slipped into their drinks, but I had to admit that using ether was exciting. It was me who held onto Fiona while she struggled to breathe, restraining her while the ether did its thing, not some drug making her passout.
It. Was. Me.
My blood started to heat at the thought that, in mere seconds, Fiona would no longer be breathing and that I had caused her to take her last breath. The excitement grew stronger and stronger with each moment thatpassed.
Then, I heard anoise.
I stopped and listened. Fiona didn’t have a roommate—at least I’d never seen one while I watched her through her webcam.
I listened closer.
It was a scratching noise. Not a scratching from a tree limb or an animal on a window or door, or maybe …
“Meow.”
I blew out a breath as I saw a calico cat come into the room. It must have been the cat using the litterbox.
“Meow,” it saidagain.
“Hey, buddy,” I calledback.
The black and yellow cat rubbed on my leg, clearly not realizing I was about to kill its owner and make it so it might starve for a few days—or longer. Maybe it would have to eat sweetFiona.
“Meow,” it continued to speak tome.
“What is it?”
“Meow.”
“Are you hungry?”
It made a noise just as I smelled the scent of shit in the air. My gaze moved to Fiona, but she was stillbreathing.
“Did you make room?” I asked the cat. “Are you hungry now that you went potty?”
“Meow.” It wiggled its butt and tailweirdly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
I left Fiona passed out on the couch as I went in search for food for the little guy—or girl—I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want it to starve for too long and figured I’d feed it so its belly was full and it could get a good night’ssleep.
Opening cabinet after cabinet, I finally found the cat’s canned food. I bent down, running my gloved hand against its fur. “Do you like seafood stew?”
