Page 51 of The Perfect Obsession
Despite what she had told Jessie Hunt, she remembered Alex Krantz vividly.How could she not?She recalled that night at the Thornfield Academy/Griffin School Fall Dance, when she’d slipped into the music room briefly and accidentally walked in on Alex and Jennifer Nash going at it in the back corner behind the drum set.They were too focused on their activities to notice her as she quietly snuck back out.But as she left, she caught a glimpse of Alex’s naked, thrusting backside.
After that, she couldn’t get him out of her head.And she didn’t want to.She found herself dreaming about him.She thought she saw him everywhere.She lost her appetite.Something had to be done.That’s why she insinuated herself into the friend group in the first place—because Caroline had started dating Alex, and getting in with those girls allowed her to be close to him.
After they broke up, Riley worried that she wouldn’t see him anymore.But he soon started dating Diana.That meant she could still be in his orbit.Admittedly, he never really took more than a passing notice of her.
She kept waiting for the moment when he’d look at her and realize that she was the one for him.But it never happened.He graduated from Griffin.All the senior girls left Thornfield for college, where she was stuck for another year.
Once she graduated and moved across the country, her feelings for Alex eventually faded to the point that she barely remembered that they’d existed at all.She led her life—maybe not happily, but at least comfortably—right up until it fell apart on the day before she saw Caroline at the Mart with her fancy clothes and pricey purse.
Once she saw the photos of Amanda, with Alex’s arms constantly wrapped around her and adoration in his eyes, she knew she couldn’t let any of it stand.So over the course of several weeks, she came up with a plan that would accomplish twin goals: teach these women a much-needed lesson and win Alex’s love.
First, she’d kill the women he dated back at Thornfield.Some might consider that excessive, but it was the only way to get Alex.Besides, they seemed like bitches anyway, at least in their photos.After eliminating them, she’d kill his wife, leaving evidence that tied him to her murder.Once she made the decision, everything fell into place.It all went so smoothly.
When she arrived at their homes, she made sure to hide her identity, avoid cameras, and wear gloves.To her amazement, each woman welcomed her into their place, happy for the unexpected but welcome reunion with a high school friend they hadn’t seen in forever.
They’d chat for a while, and in the first three instances, she even got them to show her their wardrobe.She’d invariably admiringly grab a scarf, which would end up being the murder weapon.It was a good thing that even during her depression, she didn’t stop with the workouts, especially the weight training.If not for that, strangling them would have been much harder.
Finally, she took care of Amanda.For that one, she used one of Alex’s ties and then scrupulously placed it on the loveseat beside her body.She knew that any good investigator would eventually uncover the romantic connection between him and each woman who died.
Of course, she made one misjudgment.She had assumed that other people knew about the one-night stand between him and Jennifer.But apparently neither of them had ever revealed it, which meant her death didn’t fit the pattern.Luckily, Riley was able to fix that discrepancy when she told Jessie Hunt about the “rumors” regarding a hookup.The pattern was re-established.
Now Alex would go on trial.That’s when the most important part of the plan would kick in.At first, she would just show up in the gallery and offer him moral support.She might even do a TV interview or two, which he would surely see, insisting that she believed in his innocence.Others would be horrified by the allegations, but she’d be stalwart in her belief in him.
Of course, her support wouldn’t be enough to keep Alex from getting convicted.When he was in prison, she would visit him, first as a friend, then as something more.She would be the one person who stood by him in his darkest hour.And that would ultimately win him over.
Eventually, inevitably, they would marry.They’d have conjugal visits, and maybe even a child.In that way, she would have him all to herself, on her terms.She could see him when she wanted.Every visit would be like manna from heaven to him.Stuck in a violent, frightful place, he’d long for the affection and the touch of a woman.He would never have the opportunity or the desire to cheat on her.She would be his queen.
And if, for whatever reason, he rejected her support, either at trial or any other point, she could simply walk away.She would return to her life, however imperfect, while he rotted away.
Her work was done now.All she had to do was let it play out.The circumstantial evidence against Alex was enough to put him away.The die was cast for him.The only decision remaining for him was whether his time behind bars would be a nightmare or a love story.
She glanced at the clock.It was time to call security to escort her to her car.She needed to keep up appearances.She was just locking her office door when she was startled by someone behind her.
“Hello?”a familiar voice said.
She turned around to find that someone had ignored the “closed” sign and stepped through the doors to the department.
It was Jessie Hunt.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
Jessie felt bad.
She realized that she should have knocked on the door to the Children’s Literature Department rather than just coming in.Riley was probably jumpy as it was, and she’d likely exacerbated it.
“Sorry about that,” she said quickly.“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You did,” Riley said, her hand clutching at her chest.“I almost screamed.”
“No need for that,” Jessie said.“I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
“I was just about to call for security to escort me to my car like you said.”
“Actually, there’s no need for that either,” Jessie told her.“Officer Devery is coming back.He’ll walk you to your car.”
“Why?”Sinclair looked understandably worried.“Did something happen?”
“It’s just a precaution,” Jessie assured her.“The truth is that we’re not completely convinced that Alexander Krantz is the killer.If we’re right, that means that the rest of you who were in that Thornfield circle of friends—even tangentially—might be at risk.We don’t know the motive for certain, which means that you could be in danger, even though you graduated a year after most of them and even though you mostly lost touch.”
