Page 30 of I'm Watching You

Lindsay also was puzzled. ‘I’ve no idea.’

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. ‘I hate it when men play games. There a name?’

‘No.’

‘There’s no man in your life?’

‘No.’

‘What about your husband?’

‘He knows I don’t like flowers. Besides, romantic gestures aren’t his thing.’

Curious, Lindsay untied the crisp bow. She laid it carefully aside before opening the lid to reveal purple irises. They’d been one of her mother’s favorite flowers and, consequently, she loved them as well. ‘They’re beautiful.’

Ruby leaned over her shoulder, admiring the bouquet. ‘Maybe it’s from that doctor.’

‘I bet you’re right. I saw Sam this morning. He knows I was having a rough day and he’s one of the few who knows where the shelter is located.’

Sadness coiled inside her chest. It was foolish to want or expect anything from Zack. But for a brief moment she had. ‘I think we have a vase or a large jar in the kitchen.’

‘I think it’s under the sink. I’ll be right back with it.’ Ruby disappeared down the hallway.

Lindsay lifted the flowers out of the box. As she raised the blooms to her nose she saw a bundle wrapped in green tissue paper. She laid the flowers aside on her desk and opened the second package.

Bile rose in her throat. For a moment she thought she’d throw up as she dropped it and backed away from her desk.

Cradled in the tissue and wrapped in a zip-top bag was a severed hand.

No one noticed delivery people. Some might glance at the nameJoeembroidered over a breast pocket, but few would gaze under the bill of a hat or look beyond a nondescript magnetic florist sign stuck on a van.

That was the problem with people, the Guardian thought. They were selfish and far too wrapped up in their own lives to notice what didn’t directly concern them.

That’s why it was easy to feel safe moving past the unmarked police car and the cop now distracted by a well-timed cell phone call from his kid’s day care.

And the Guardian smiled at the ambitious reporter as she tamed a strand of hair and practiced smiling as her cameraman began taping her intro for the six o’clock news report.

Like everyone else, the cop and reporter were blind. Blind to the delivery. Blind to the pain and suffering around them. Blind to everything but their needs.

The only one who could truly see was Lindsay.

She reached out to others in need. She put the lives of others in front of her own.

The Guardian closed the door to the van and started the engine and pulled out. She would get the flowers soon. Soon she would know she wasn’t alone. ‘Happy birthday, Lindsay.’

Tightening fingers on the steering wheel, the Guardian slowed at an intersection when the light turned yellow. The car in the left lane darted through a red light and he frowned.

‘No respect.’

Today had been a good day.

The rains had purified the killing ground and signaled the beginning of a long overdue holy cause.

Together, Lindsay and her Guardian would destroy The Evil Ones.

Chapter Eight

Monday, July 7, 2:59P.M.

---