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they d go to dinner together. It was so typical of her, the way she d re-
fused to give him her address or phone number. Not that he needed
them; they were all ready committed to his memory. Instead of com-
plaining over her reticence, he d commended her on being so cautious.
In fact, he d even given her his references so that she could check up on
him, if she wished. He wasn t worried. After all this time, he was an ex-
pert at creating an identity. There were no gaps in his background.
Everything would check out and she would accept him as Jacob Sinclair,
a financial advisor who had invested wisely and was now considering
starting a business in Weston.
Weston was a nice place if you liked a quiet life. The population was
around 30,000. Not too small, yet not quite a city. It boasted several up-
scale restaurants and stores as well as a plethora of fast food chains and
mom and pop diners. There were two shopping malls, a theatre, and a
six screen cinema. People were friendly, but not too nosey. Yes, all in
all, it fit the bill. A good place to settle for awhile until circumstances
forced a change. Once Stephanie was gone& He pushed the thought
from his mind. The inevitable would happen all too soon just as it al-
ways did and then he d have to move on, start over again&
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But, until then, he would enjoy himself while rediscovering her. She
thought she was shy and preferred a quiet predictable life, but he knew
differently. He d enjoyed pushing her buttons today and watching the
irritation grow inside her while she tried to remain calm and polite.
There was a spitfire inside her just waiting to be set free. Circumstances
in her earlier life had temporarily corralled it, but under his tutelage the
spark would come to life. He hoped it wouldn t take too long to gain her
trust and get her to open up. Once she believed that his intentions were
honourable, things should proceed along nicely, just as he had planned.
He paced across the apartment, unsure of what to do. After weeks of
research and tailing her day and night, he d finally moved beyond that
stage and first contact had been made. All he needed to do was wait un-
til six thirty tomorrow night. It was only twenty two hours. Surely he
could find something to fill his time. The blandly furnished apartment
offered little to distract him. A few books lined the shelves behind the
couch, but none were to his taste.
Dropping down into the beige recliner he turned on the television and
flipped through the channels. Movies, a sitcom, a baseball game& He
finally settled on the news. A report was just coming on about the un-
usual number of robberies that had occurred over the past few months.
As the newscaster read the specifics of the various break-ins, his mind
drifted to the conversation Stephanie had had with the waitress at the
donut shop.
Last night there had been a robbery just doors away from Stephanie.
It had been the brown house, with the sliding French doors in the back.
After all of his time watching her, he was an expert on the area, it occu-
pants and their habits. He knew who lived where, when they were out,
even the type of life style they had. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were an
elderly couple who were both hard of hearing and wouldn t notice a
bomb going off while they slept. They d been perfect targets for theft.
Next to the Thompsons, was Mr. Hardy, a fifty-something bachelor
with a large dog that barked. Not a good candidate for break and enter
at all. The Coulters who lived beside Stephanie really needed to install
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better doors and windows. They appeared to be originals and no doubt
only a little bit of effort would have them sliding open with ease.
Stephanie s house had good locks and her windows were secure ex-
cept for the fact that she slept with her bedroom window open. In a way
it was understandable. Her air conditioner had broken three weeks ago
and she was trying to cool the room down for sleeping. But open win-
dows at night were just inviting trouble.
Turning off the TV, Jake walked out onto the balcony and gripped the
railing firmly while staring in the direction of Stephanie s house. He
wouldn t go to her neighbourhood tonight. With the break-in, police
would be patrolling the area more frequently. It would be too danger-
ous to watch her tonight. Someone would see him and question why he
was sitting in his car, staring at the house.
He rolled his head and shrugged his shoulders, trying to ease the ten-
sion that filled his body. Staring up at the darkening night sky, he
watched the stars slowly appear, little pin pricks of light against the vel-
vet dome. It was hard to imagine that they were in fact great seething
balls of fire, each supporting their own solar system thousands of light
years away.
The heavens were vast, endless, and they called out to him. A feeling
of separation slowly came over him, as if he was floating outside himself,
not really part of this world any more, but part of the energy that made
up the universe. He was no longer attached to the weaknesses of a hu-
man body. Endless possibilities awaited him, if he d just leave this exist-
ence behind. There s still time, the voices in his head whispered to
him. If you d only let go, there is still time to really live, to be what you
were meant to be. You re better than these frail humans that surround
you. Just think of how easily you fool their gullible minds. Why stay
bound to their ridiculous rules? You are like a god compared to them&
As if in a dream he hovered over the apartment, watching himself
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