Page 55 of The Perfect Obsession
Ash had done lots of research on Linda.The woman was a real estate agent who was here for a conference.But that ended tomorrow morning.Once the conference was over, she was sticking around through the weekend to hang out with friends.She had all kind of fun stuff planned, including a sailing cruise on the lake, some kayaking, and a mountain biking expedition.Then she would drive back home on Sunday.
Ash liked Linda.She liked how active the woman was.She was in good shape for someone her age, which happened to be the same as Ash, 37.There were other things she liked about Linda.She had black hair, like Ash did.Both women had petite frames and pale skin.
Ash also liked that as a real estate agent, Linda mostly set her own schedule.She didn’t have an office job, where people were constantly keeping tabs on her.And Ash liked that Linda lived in Los Angeles.In fact, she lived in a cute cottage house in the same neighborhood as Jessie Hunt.Specifically, she lived across the street and three houses down from Jessie’s.
Ash liked all of these things because it would make everything so much easier once she killed Linda.She would do it on Sunday, after the woman had said goodbye to her friends.Once they parted ways, she’d eliminate her target, get rid of the body, and collect her things, including her phone and driver’s license.
Then she’d drive back to L.A.in Linda’s car and pull into the woman’s garage.There was all kinds of security in the neighborhood, specifically intended to identify Ash and prevent her from getting close to Jessie.But no one would take notice of Linda Crewes’s lookalike returning home in her car.
Because of her job, no would expect to see her anytime soon.Ash would check her calendar and cancel any appointments or home showings in the next week.She would claim—via text—to be horribly ill.
That would allow her time to set everything up.She would observe the comings and goings of squad cars in the neighborhood.She would take note of the location of the extra surveillance cameras that had been posted on telephone poles and street lights.She would look for any gaps in security when Jessie Hunt or her husband left or returned to the house.
If she got lucky, maybe Kat Gentry or Hannah Dorsey would stop by for a visit.They had both been scrupulous about avoiding that lately, surely because they suspected that Ash was keeping tabs on that sort of thing.They were smart to do so.If Ash knew where they were, she’d go after them directly, rather than through Jessie.
The whole procedure was elaborate, with lots of room for error.But she was ready for it.She’d been keeping a low profile for too long now.All this hiding and dodging the authorities had really bummed her out.
Like Linda, she was an active person and didn’t like being cooped up.Luckily, that was all about to change.She was finally going to get the chance to finish what she started.
Kat and Hannah should have been tortured and killed in the desert a year ago.And Jessie Hunt was supposed to grieve their loss, before eventually facing the same fate.
All of that had been delayed for far too long.But it was finally coming for them.
Ash was coming for them.
