Mercy Abbott - The Kiss of Death

The Threat

I am being watched since the last few days. I don't how but I constantly have this creepy feeling that someone's always watching me everyday. It started as soon as I met that charming guy at the after party. He was smart, kind and offered to walk me back to my room. I felt a strange connection with him after that and we began to see each other for a few days. But after a week everything changed, he failed to show up at our last date and he stopped replying my calls or the countless messages I sent him.

I was frustrated and worried sick and that's when this creepy feeling started to arise- there's someone watching me all the time- I haven't seen his face but I know he's there. I have seen his silhouette once or twice- he seemed to be a tall, slender guy.

He's there when I brush my hair in the morning- I can sense his presence as I look out of my window- or when I'm in the library all alone- I can feel him standing behind the rows of endless books. Call it a woman's intuition but I know he doesn't mean well- he's here to hurt me.

Could it be the same guy I met earlier? My date? But he seemed so nice. He said that he was a chef from France and was invited here as a guest. He said his name was Miguel. He spoke with a bit of an accent so I think he's genuine. No, I don't think that's my stalker.

But today I'm gonna find out - I'm gonna go after him and face him. He likes to hide in the shadows? I shall wait for him in the shadows...I can't bear it anymore...even if it's dangerous i have to do this.

This letter is meant for you Mercy. I know I haven't been kind to you but you seemed like a sensible person to share my story. Nobody else will ever believe my story and they'll think I made it up to gain more attention. After all who'd not want a secret,charming and rich French boyfriend?

**P.S** I will find a way to sneak this letter in your bag.I have to do it in a manner that my stalker doesn't notice .I may or may not return but I wanted someone to know about my misery...

With love,

Amy.

Mercy couldn't believe her eyes that such a vital piece of information was hidden in her bag all this time? But when did she put the letter in her bag? Then she remembered their last encounter when she met with Amy and sat with her on the park bench, she must have sneaked the letter then.

But what is she supposed to do now? The stalker? The secret boyfriend? Are they same person? But why would the boyfriend disappear only to reappear and haunt her? Was she murdered because she faced her stalker?

All these questions made her adrenaline rush. She jumped out of her bed and began to walk up and down her room trying to put the pieces of the mystery together. She looked at her table clock- it was almost 3 in the morning - "the devil's hour"- as they say. Mercy felt like she was possessed by the devil itself- she couldn't sleep anymore. Amy had trusted her as her only reliable friend and here she was thinking that she never thought of as her friend. She felt sorry for her and at th same time - she knew that she had to do something for her- but what could she do?

"Yes! The party! Amy said that she met the guy at some after party- I need to start looking for some names of the people who came to the party….yes… but which party? Probably the one that the boys from the university celebrated after they won the amateur Chess competition…but that would mean that loads of people were invited, it would be like looking for a needle in a bucket of needles! No… I just need to find about a french guy- who's a professional Chef. But what was a french chef doing at a party in our university? He said he was invited? I need to know more about this party….and I think I know exactly whom to ask.",

Mercy thought as she sat on her bed.

It was almost morning and Mercy still didn't feel like sleeping. She went to her kitchen and prepared some tea. She then took out her diary and copied down the key words and phrases from Amy's letter and circled those words. Words like - Chef,Party,French,Stalker,guy disappears,stalker appears…etc made her list. Then she thought about contacting the police and handing the evidence over to them but then they would arouse more suspicions if they started investigating in the boys hostel. She thought it would be best that she'd better find all the evidences on her own and then invite the police to help her.

She looked at her clock again- almost 6 a.m. She thought it would be better for her to take a cold shower. She had her classes at 9 but she thought of skipping class and investigating the case on her own.

An hour later, she got ready to go out and do some investigating. She opened the door of her room and stepped out. As soon as she did , she stepped on something. She looked down and saw a flower- a single hydrangea flower sitting right on her doorstep. Mercy gasped. It was the same type of flower that she saw on Amy's bed. She immediately looked around to see if there was anyone else. But all she saw was an empty hall way and all she heard was the relentless gossiping and laughing coming from the rooms of the other girls in the hostel.

Mercy kneeled down and picked up the flower. What was a flower doing at her doorstep? Does this means that the killer had spotted her? But how?

She stood up and looked at the flower- there was nothing special about it - they were very common and easy to find, nevertheless she put it in her bag and began to walk down the stairs. As she descended downstairs - she began to wonder whether it was a co-incidence that she found a flower on her door step or was it the killer's way of letting her know that he has found her and he knows that she has the letter. Mercy knew that this would mean that the letter holds the key to the killer's identity.

She walked out into the morning sun- she felt warm and cozy. The grad students were rushing towards their classes and a few of the professors were slowly walking behind them. Mercy walked towards the cafeteria- she knew it was the best place to start her investigation and also she was starving.

The cafeteria was in a rush that morning - some of the grad students had their semester exams in a few hours and they gathered there to grab a cuppa joe and to discuss about their exam strategies. Mercy never liked coffee- she prefered tea. She stepped upto the counter and ordered a simple breakfast of an omelette and bread. She took her meal and sat at the corner table. She looked around- she was surrounded by noisy, nervous kids- some going over their notes in silence- others arguing over football.

She started having her breakfast in silence but her eyes were fixated on the door- she was waiting for her junior- Rudy. She knew Rudy came here every morning at the exact same time and sat there in silence while she had her morning coffee. Everyone kept their distance from Rudy- she was known to be weird and it was also rumoured that she practiced Black Magic! She stayed with her aunt in a remote neighbourhood who dabbled in the black arts and voodoo. Mercy never believed in all these rumours and actually thought that Rudy was a shy but brilliant kid but lacked social skills. She never talked much and kept to herself but she had a keen sense of observation - she somehow knew things that no one else knew- she kept her eyes and ears opened and always had information on anything going on in the university. She was like a spy in disguise except everyone knew about it and people would approach her and ask for some information for a small fee.

On Christmas eve Chloe sat watching the stars outside through the window . Her father had been smoking and drinking again and her mom was preparing dinner as the guests would soon arrive. Chloe felt like going outside for a while, to get some fresh air - the cigar smoke was becoming unbearable inside - life was too lonely for a 16 yr old. She opened the door and stepped out, "Its not that cold!", she thought and closed the door behind. The stars twinkled in the hazy skies and the moon peeped out lazily out of the clouds. She sat down on the stairs and thought of the days when she was a little girl and her father would gift her something on every Christmas eve- this year he sat silently staring at the fire and said nothing- the war had taken everything away from them and these days he spoke very less . Chloe sighed and drew a long breath...

Someone was coming... Maybe Uncle John from Dakota... Chloe stood up to greet the man but was surprised to see a shabby old fellow in a rugged coat slowly limping towards her. She was scared and turned towards the door but the man called out to her, "Say missy, sorry to bother you but it seems like I am lost..." She turned around and said, "Where are you headed Sir?". "Well I've been looking for one J. Stinson around these parts." said the man."I've never heard of him." replied Chloe and turned towards the door. "Wait!"said the old man, "I've something for you" and handed her a silver strung necklace with a blue pendant. "Why thank you, but it doesn't belong to me", said Chloe staring at the beautiful necklace. She looked up to find that the man had suddenly disappeared, as if the darkness had simply swallowed him. She was simply awestruck and looked at the pendant again, tiny words shone from it in the dark, "The stars will guide your way"... Suddenly there was a loud noise of something crashing into the woods... Chloe hurried back inside and closed the door.

The sun was setting and a 10 yr old Billy was walking home from his friend's place.He was supposed to be back home an hour ago and was half scared that he would be grounded when he reached home.His father was a strict disciplined man who hardly ever smiled and Billy knew he had to face his wrath today.

"If only James hadn't taken me to chase those rabbits on the hill...Now Pops will be so angry! ",thought Billy as he walked fast towards his house.

It was getting dark and the sun was almost settling down beneath the mountains.Billy started to run now as the growing darkness was beginning to scare him.

Suddenly there came a low humming sound from across the corn fields to his left.The tall grass around the field began to sway from a strong draft of wind which came out of nowhere.Billy's heart started pumping ,he ran faster.A shining bright light caught the side of his eye.Billy paused for a while and looked to his left.There was something in the middle of the corn field a few yards from him.The crops swayed from left to right as if a hurricane was forming in the middle of the field.He saw lights , that slowly started to illuminate the entire field.He could feel the hair on his arm rising ,a cold drop of sweat ran down his back,dry leaves on the ground were slowly rising up in the air...the earth began to shake...

Billy simply turned around and ran and didn't look back.He ran as fast as he could until he could see his house in the distance.As he began to approach his house,the sounds died down but he could still see those strange lights. He opened the gate, ran towards the door and began to knock furiously. His mom opened the door and saw Billy breathing hard,exhausted, and shaken."Good lord Billy!", cried his mother"What happened to you?Where have you been?"

Billy was in tears now,"Mom I will never be late again!.." said Billy as he hugged his mother.