Chapter 31 – Monster

Two and a half months later

“There was another one.”

Lance turned from the box he was unpacking next to the bookshelf to look at Addy sitting on the couch.

“Another what?” he asked.

“They found another girl dead,” she said, the newspaper open in front of her. “This makes the third in two months.”

“Another prostitute?” he asked.

“Gutted – just like the last two.”

“Why are you reading that?” he asked. “It's only going to stress you out.”

“Life stresses me out, Lance,” she said, giving him a sideways glance. “Don't forget who you're talking to. What am I going to do, hide in a bubble to avoid stress?”

He nodded slightly in agreement.

“She was found in the alley again,” she said, reading from the paper. “It sounds like he ripped her apart. What kind of sick person does this?”

“New York serial killers, that's who.”

“If I were a prostitute, I'd be seriously considering a career change right about now,” she said.

“Well then, aren't you glad you aren't a hooker?” he asked with a slight smile.

She closed the newspaper and sat it next to her. She placed one hand against the arm of the plush leather couch and the other against the middle-most cushion, attempting to give herself leverage to sit up – but it still didn't work. Gravity was her enemy these days.

“Lance?”

He turned around from the box he was unpacking to look at her.

“Help me?” she asked with moan and a pout, sounding pathetic, her arm stretched out towards him.

He laughed and put down the books he was unpacking, walking over to her. He grabbed her outstretched hand, gently leading her up off the couch.

“Can it be next month already?” she asked as she came to rest on her feet, finding her balance.

“You don't want to rush it,” he said, his hand lingering in hers in case. “Won't you miss it when it's over?”

“I'll miss everything but feeling like an overstuffed enchilada,” she replied, resting her hand on her sore back.

It had been two and a half months of pure bliss. All had been quiet for them – strangely quiet, in fact.

She was a week away from being 32 weeks. On one hand, there were times she was so miserable that she felt like it might stretch on forever. On the other, she was grateful to be this miserable, and this pregnant – she never thought she would reach this point. Only a few months ago, when they had both felt the baby kick for the first time, they had both been nervous wrecks. They both agreed that they would be nervous wrecks until they were holding their baby in their arms – but these days, they were slightly more relaxed.

Lance had even relaxed enough to convince her that it was okay to move forward a bit – starting with buying a house. At that point she had been far too tired to go out house-hunting with him, but she handed over all house-hunting duties to him, albeit a bit reluctantly, because she trusted his judgment. She was surprised when, less than two months later, she found out that he had closed on a beautiful four-bedroom, two-bath house outside the hustle and bustle of the Brooklyn streets. He had them packed within a couple weeks, ready to move in.

It hadn't been long after that until he was able to convince her that it was okay to actually prepare for the baby. She was reluctant to buy any furniture at first, but after her last appointment had gone well with good news – that their son looked great and was even larger than expected – she had broken down. They had started small with a crib and changing table, but she wasn't so hesitant to expand now.

And she had to admit – it was adorable watching him and Chris pull out tools and attempt to put the furniture together. Cursing, a couple of minor injuries, and plenty of goofing around had ensued, of course...along with a couple of raised eyebrows and stifled giggles on her and Mel's end as they sat back and watched.

Somehow, in some way that had escaped even her, they had managed – and both pieces now rested in their own places in the nursery...the one that he had painted a week ago, much to her surprise. They had briefly discussed it a while back, and vaguely agreed that they wanted to go against the norm and avoid a completely blue room. Green and yellow had been thrown around – but it was still a shock to walk into the room to see the walls painted a light green with bright, sunny yellow trim.

For once, she was starting to have hope.

It had helped that the notes had stopped. Out of nowhere, they had up and disappeared. She hadn't opened her door or her mail to find one in months. Not only had the notes stopped, but all the other harassment as well – they hadn't received a phone call or voicemail, either at home or at the station, in at least two months.

She still looked over her shoulder twice and double-locked her doors – but she was starting to feel that maybe it was close to being over.

“I'm thinking of converting the basement to a studio,” he said, turning away from the box to look at her. “What do you think?”

“Like a studio for your show?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I've even come up with a cool name for it – the Bass-ment.”

“The Bass-ment,” she said, a grin turning up the corners of her mouth. “That's...clever, honey.”

“Hey, do you have anything better?” he said, lifting an eyebrow. “I'm dying to hear.”

“The Bass-ment it is,” she said, covering her smile.

“Mmm-hmm, I thought so,” he said. “Anyway, that way I can do the show here from home. Sirius said it would be fine and they would help with the conversion. The crew would come here to do the show. It would be like at the station, but I could always be here with you and Liam.”

“You don't have to do that,” she said. “I'm sure we can manage fine for a couple of hours a day while you're at work.”

“I'd still be working,” he said, “but at least I'd be here. I want to be here with you two. Anyway, they're going to start the conversion next week, because I want it done before Liam gets here.”

She smiled. Despite her hesitance, they had even settled on a name – Liam Aiden.

“Do we have time to do it all?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well...look,” she said, letting her eyes travel over the nearly empty house. Standing in the living room, she could see into the kitchen on her left and to her right, the open bar area. “The walls need a fresh coat of paint, the place needs cleaned, new drapes, floors polished, Liam's room isn't done...there's no way I can get all this done in time.”

“There's no way you're lifting a finger,” he responded, and she rolled her eyes. “I'll have a cleaning crew come in a couple of days. Then I can take care of a painting crew too, or I can bribe Chris and Joey with pizza and beer and we can get it done in a couple of days.”

“Yeah, that's a good idea,” she said sarcastically. “The objective is to paint the walls, not each other.”

“We're not eight,” he responded. “Chris is at least fifteen mentally. Joey...maybe twenty. Besides, bribe them with pizza and beer and they're actually pretty good at getting the work done. I'll finish Liam's room over the next month and the rest we can take on as it becomes a priority.”

She ran her finger over the bar, cringing as she saw the dust that had collected on her finger.

“I don't know about you, but I'm done unpacking for the day,” he said, breaking down the now-empty box he had finished going through. “I've got the show to do in a couple of hours. Want to go grab some lunch before I take you back to the apartment?”

“Yeah, I'm starving,” she responded.

She grabbed her purse and waited by the door as he went through the house, making sure all the lights and appliances were off. She walked out onto the porch as he hung by the door, mentally checking everything again and preparing to lock up the house again for another day. She leaned her head against one of the posts on the railing – and that was when she saw it out of the corner of her eye.

The blonde walking down the street made her stop in her tracks.

“So what do you want for l--” He stopped next to her as he turned to her, seeing her surprised expression. “Ad, what's wrong?”

She couldn't answer him, she could only stare as the figure walked closer to them, leading the dog in front of her. It was enough to lead his eyes to the sidewalk.

“No way,” he said when he saw her. “Mackenzie?”

At the mention of her name, loud enough that she could hear, her head popped up from her brisk walk.

“Lance!” she said, a smile immediately coming to her face.

As the two of them approached each other up the walkway to the house, Adeline could only watch and look on – a strange fear finding its way to her heart.

Despite it, she carefully walked down the porch steps, coming up to step next to him.

“Small world,” he said. “Of all the places to run into you.”

“I know, right?” Mackenzie responded. “I'm actually renting a place down the street for a few months while I'm still in the city. Hey, Addy, it's so good to see you.”

“Yeah,” Addy responded hesitantly. “You too.”

“Wow,” Mackenzie said, looking her up and down. “You got...pregnant.” She chuckled. “I mean, I heard, but I haven't seen you guys for so long. I didn't know whether it was a rumor or the truth.”

“Truth, obviously,” Lance responded. “You look good, Kenz.”

“So do you, Lance,” she said. “Marriage agrees with you. Keep him on a tight leash, Ad. This one can be a bit of a troublemaker.”

Addy tried to force an amused smile.

“Hey now,” Lance said, smiling. He looked down at the dog. “The only one that needs to be kept on a leash is this guy. I didn't know you got a dog.”

He knelt down to the dog's height, the cocker spaniel coming immediately to him for scratches.

“Girl, actually,” she said. “I'm dog-sitting Lady here, for a friend of mine.”

“Lady? From Lady and the Tramp?” he asked as he scratched behind the dog's furry ears.

“Yep, just like her.”

“Hi, Lady, hey girl...”

As Lance showered the dog with affection and attention, Addy stood uncomfortably next to him. Mackenzie looked up at her.

“I was so happy to hear about your pregnancy,” she said. “I was hoping it was true – for you guys.”

“Thanks,” Addy said, trying to be polite.

“Is it a boy or girl?”

“We're having a boy,” Addy responded.

“Well, congratulations.”

Addy nodded silently as the dog pulled away from Lance, slightly pulling on the leash.

“I'd better get her back home,” Mackenzie said. “She always walks me more than I walk her. I guess I'll see you guys around the neighborhood, then, since it looks like you're moving in?”

“Yeah, we're working on it,” Lance responded, leaning up to a standing position.

“Well, it was good to see you guys,” she said. “We'll have to get together sometime – for a drink or something.”

“We'd like that,” Lance said. “Right, Ad?”

She turned her head slightly to look at him, slightly nodding.

“We'll let you know when we get settled in more,” Lance said, turning back toward Mackenzie.

“Sounds good,” she said. “Bye guys.”

The two of them watched her walk back down the walkway and turn to walk back the opposite way down the sidewalk, the dog leading her quickly.

“What a coincidence,” Lance said once she was across the street and out of earshot.

“Yeah,” Addy said, hanging back as he started walking toward the car in the driveway. “Maybe a bit too much of a coincidence.”

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He watched them climb into the car from his position a couple of blocks away, the binoculars held closely to his eyes. He didn't even notice Mackenzie approaching the car until he heard the door open.

“This damn dog,” she said, helping the cocker spaniel climb into the back seat. “Did we have to bring it?”

“You said yourself, he can't resist dogs,” he said.

“Yeah, I didn't mean 'he can't resist dogs, so let's go out and borrow one',” she said.

He watched Lance buckle his seat belt and start to pull out of the driveway as Mackenzie climbed in next to him in the passenger seat, closing the door behind her.

“Did they buy it?” he asked as he turned the key to start the ignition.

“That I happen to be renting a house in the same neighborhood that they're moving into?” she asked. “He did, but I'm not sure about her. I don't think she trusts me.”

“Would you trust you?” he asked as he pulled out, briefly stopping at the stop sign to turn and follow them.

“Knowing what I know, of course not,” she said.

The ride was a quiet one. She slunk down into her seat as she was used to, in case Addy got curious and tried to look back in her mirror as Marc feared. Occasionally, she would glance back at the dog, to see it laying down in the back seat, its head resting on its front paws. She only hoped Marc didn't intend to do what she thought he could do, what he was capable of – her friend would kill her if she came back from Cabo and Lady wasn't in one piece.

He parallel-parked the car only a few feet away as they stopped at a diner across the street. When he threw the hood over his head, she placed the sunglasses over her eyes. It was routine now. The last thing she wanted to do was piss him off.

“It's you, isn't it?” she asked as she watched him look through the binoculars at the two of them as they went into the diner.

“What's me?” he asked.

“The East Village Killer,” she said. “The one who's killing all those girls?”

“And what makes you think that?” he asked.

“Because I saw you,” she whispered.

It was only then that he took the binoculars away from his eyes, to turn and look at her.

“You've been following me now?” he asked.

“I'm worried about you, Marc,” she said. “I know about the drinking...the drugs...the hallucinations. I...I care about you.”

She could barely keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks as he looked her in the eyes. The truth was, she didn't just care for him – over the past two and a half years, she had fallen in love with him.

She flinched at the touch when he brought his hand up to her cheek, brushing his thumb against the apple of her cheek.

“Oh Kenzie,” he said softly.

In an instant, his expression turned from soft to wicked, and she grimaced in pain when he grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled down.

“Don't go getting soft on me,” he whispered as he leaned over to her.

He was a monster – but he didn't start out that way. He was a monster created from his own personal demons. But she realized now that it was like being friends with the monster under your bed – you would never really be safe.