Page 72 of Mia Amata

He double-checked that everything he needed was in there before closing the trunk. He backed the car out of the unit and then drove the other car in. He grabbed the briefcase off the front seat. Once he was back outside the unit, he closed the door, replacing the padlock to lock it back up.

He glanced around again, there was still no one around. He climbed into the car and placed the briefcase on the seat, and started to leave the property. He knew the guy that owned this set of storage units had fake security cameras set up, so there should be no one that saw one car drive in and another drive out.

He pulled up the map he had saved and then started heading down the road. The trip would take him around 27 hours. He knew Megan/Mattie and her so-called husband wouldn’t be back until next week, so while he wasn’t in a hurry he did want to get there before they got back, so he could case the town, their house, come up with a solid plan. He was going to take his time and watch their routine for a while. He wanted to make her suffer. He had all the time in the world.

He drove for several hours, finally stopping for the night at a small roadside motel. It wasn’t much, but the room was clean, and I had a shower. He slept soundly, getting up the next morning at dawn. After a shower, I went to a small diner next door, eating a huge breakfast. Soon afterward, he was back on the highway.

He made a phone call. “Hello?” a man said.

“I need some information,” Allen said.

There was a pause at the other end. “What kind?”

“I need to know what you can tell me about Moose Lake, Minnesota.”

“Taking a vacation?” the man asked.

“Maybe. Just get me the information and send it to my email. I also need information on a Jacob Vance.”

“I’ll send it later today.” Allen hung up.

The email the man would send it to was not traceable to him, the same as the laptop he brought with him.

He would review the information on Moose Lake when he stopped for the night. He figured he would drive a good nine hours today and another nine tomorrow. He drove seven yesterday so that should put him about an hour away from Moose Lake.

He drove all day, stopping only to eat and fuel up the car. He finally stopped for the night at another roadside hotel. Once in his room, he took his laptop out. The email was there, so he reviewed the information for Moose Lake. He took his time, memorizing all the ways into and out of the town, checked out the local businesses, looked for local police and emergency services and anything that he felt would be useful to know.

He then pulled up Google Maps and put in the address of where Megan lived. He wrote notes, there was only one way to her house by road. He would have to rule out that it would be too obvious and easy for him to be caught. He checked out behind her house. It appeared that her house had access to a lake. That may be his way in.

He explored the shores of the lake. There were only a couple of houses on the same side of the lake as Megan’s. There was an access road at the south end of the lake that led to a boat ramp, then traveled a little further to a small camping area. From there, it looked like forest land the rest of the way around until it came to the first house. This could be just what he was looking for.

He studied the area more. If he could figure out where to hide his car, he could hike around the lake directly across from Megan’s house. With the right scope or binoculars, he could probably see her house, the lake was not that big. He had both in the trunk. There were a couple of things he would need that he did not have. He grabbed the paper and pen, making a small shopping list. He figured he could stop in the Twin Cities to pick up what he needed from a sports shop there.

Once he thought that he had the basics of a plan started, he pulled up the file on Jacob Vance. He learned all about Jacob’s family and their ties to the community. The best plan was for him to not let himself be seen in the community at all. He couldn’t risk being seen by Jacob or his family, let alone Megan, or Mattie as she called herself these days. Bitch.

I’ll teach her a lesson. She and her young new husband. The more he read, the more incensed he grew. This guy is holding MY wife, he thought. He was doing things with MY wife that he had no right to do. Who the hell did he think he was? Seeing my wife with no clothes on, touching her body. I own her. She was mine; he had no right to her.

He finished making notes on Jacob Vance and his family. He threw the pad and paper aside and picked up the picture of his wife, the way she looks now. He studied the picture in detail. She looked like a tramp with a short, dark hairstyle and tattoo. She was wearing earrings and makeup.

I would have to teach her more than one lesson, he thought. If she refused to learn, well he would deal with that too. He went from the thought of killing her outright to dragging her home where she belonged. He would make that final decision when he did some reconnaissance.

He grabbed his cell phone and made another call. “Yeah?” a voice on the other end said.

“I need the blueprints to a house in Moose Lake, Minnesota.”

“By when?”

“Yesterday,” Allen said. He gave him the address of Megan’s house and hung up.

He put his stuff away, shutting everything off, to get some sleep. This time sleep didn’t come as easily as it did the night before. Every time he closed his eyes, he had images of Megan in bed with Jacob. He got up, pacing the room. He thought about what he would do to Megan when he got her alone, away from her so-called husband.

He would take possession of her again, show her just who she belongs to. He started imagining the things that he would do to her, to the body that belonged to him. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door to the local bar.

He sat in a booth toward the back, where he could observe everyone in the bar. The waitress came over to him, taking his drink order. As she walked back to the bar to give his order to the bartender, he watched her. She brought his drink back. As she sat it down on the table, he said, “How about you join me, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“I’m off in an hour, how about then,” She smiled at him.

“Sure,” he said. He watched her wait on others, bringing him a couple more drinks while he waited. Finally, she got off work, sitting down with him. “I’ve never seen you here before,” she said.

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