Him
He sat in the tree with his back against the broad trunk. From this vantage point he had an unobstructed view of the small farm below. Of course the telescope was one of the high dollar ones that could pinpoint and bring in a gnat if he needed it to. He had not bought it for this particular reason, but rather to study the heavens, but he liked to use resources he had on hand. If there was ever a question as to why he had such a high powered instrument he would just show them the notes in his “The moon as I see it.” notebook complete with dates and drawings.
What a beehive of activity it was this morning around the house. It was very clear that Meg was having the house secured for some reason or another. He thought back to his last visit and tried to recall if he had left anything behind. Nothing. He had seen the screen hanging loose last week and wondered about that. It seemed that the screen had been loose for several days. It seemed to go unnoticed until the idiot handyman had called her attention to it last week. He would have been content to set here in his little nest up in the tree and watch her farm down below 24/7, but he did have to put in an appearance at the office occasionally. Jennifer was an excellent secretary and office manager, but way too nosey for her own good.
He watched as the welders began installing the decorative iron over the windows. He sure hoped it was to improve the look of the place and not to keep him out. That was a waste of time. Nothing would keep him out of her world. He had watched her and Tom for years and he had loved her then as much as he loved her now. How convenient for him that Tom had loved hiking in the back country. How convenient that the avalanche had swept down the mountain on that particular day burying Tom under many feet of snow. Convenient? He laughed to himself. Memories are precious things and the best part of the memories is that they are all in the mind of the one remembering. He alone knew how the avalanche started. How patient he had been that morning shadowing Tom along on his back country trek that day. He was way up the mountain and Tom down low. And then he saw what he had been looking for. The snow was piled and seemed to be trembling and just waiting for the signal. He gave a shiver of delight as he pulled the starting pistol from his jacket and at just the right moment, pulled the trigger releasing the loud bang. Tom’s head jerked upward at the sound, but all he saw was the wall of snow thundering down the slope directly headed for him. He did not have time to even move. He disappeared under a wall of white. He was gone.
The man gave a sigh of relief.
Poor Meg. All alone with that little queer son in Boston. She would need a man to take
occupy his time. The job took very little time and was quite lucrative. It all depended on the stock market. Jennifer handled the paper work and all he had to do was invest money and make money for other people. The more he made for other people the more he made for himself. It paid well enough that he had been able to buy this little cabin in the mountains on 40 acres. Solitude. It was just a short commute into Denver and far enough away from civilization that he was not bothered by anyone. And that is how he had found Meg and Tommy. He had met them on a walk in the woods. They had nodded to each other. But Meg had looked directly into his eyes and smiled. Not many women did that. Well, actually, none. The scars he had brought home from Viet Nam usually stopped people from coming any closer. He did not need anyone close. Even his own mother had shuddered when she saw him. Her mistake.
He sat in the tree with his back against the broad trunk. From this vantage point he had an unobstructed view of the small farm below. Of course the telescope was one of the high dollar ones that could pinpoint and bring in a gnat if he needed it to. He had not bought it for this particular reason, but rather to study the heavens, but he liked to use resources he had on hand. If there was ever a question as to why he had such a high powered instrument he would just show them the notes in his “The moon as I see it.” notebook complete with dates and drawings.
What a beehive of activity it was this morning around the house. It was very clear that Meg was having the house secured for some reason or another. He thought back to his last visit and tried to recall if he had left anything behind. Nothing. He had seen the screen hanging loose last week and wondered about that. It seemed that the screen had been loose for several days. It seemed to go unnoticed until the idiot handyman had called her attention to it last week. He would have been content to set here in his little nest up in the tree and watch her farm down below 24/7, but he did have to put in an appearance at the office occasionally. Jennifer was an excellent secretary and office manager, but way too nosey for her own good.
He watched as the welders began installing the decorative iron over the windows. He sure hoped it was to improve the look of the place and not to keep him out. That was a waste of time. Nothing would keep him out of her world. He had watched her and Tom for years and he had loved her then as much as he loved her now. How convenient for him that Tom had loved hiking in the back country. How convenient that the avalanche had swept down the mountain on that particular day burying Tom under many feet of snow. Convenient? He laughed to himself. Memories are precious things and the best part of the memories is that they are all in the mind of the one remembering. He alone knew how the avalanche started. How patient he had been that morning shadowing Tom along on his back country trek that day. He was way up the mountain and Tom down low. And then he saw what he had been looking for. The snow was piled and seemed to be trembling and just waiting for the signal. He gave a shiver of delight as he pulled the starting pistol from his jacket and at just the right moment, pulled the trigger releasing the loud bang. Tom’s head jerked upward at the sound, but all he saw was the wall of snow thundering down the slope directly headed for him. He did not have time to even move. He disappeared under a wall of white. He was gone.
The man gave a sigh of relief.
Poor Meg. All alone with that little queer son in Boston. She would need a man to take
occupy his time. The job took very little time and was quite lucrative. It all depended on the stock market. Jennifer handled the paper work and all he had to do was invest money and make money for other people. The more he made for other people the more he made for himself. It paid well enough that he had been able to buy this little cabin in the mountains on 40 acres. Solitude. It was just a short commute into Denver and far enough away from civilization that he was not bothered by anyone. And that is how he had found Meg and Tommy. He had met them on a walk in the woods. They had nodded to each other. But Meg had looked directly into his eyes and smiled. Not many women did that. Well, actually, none. The scars he had brought home from Viet Nam usually stopped people from coming any closer. He did not need anyone close. Even his own mother had shuddered when she saw him. Her mistake.
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