“And we’re coming to you live from Jefferson Park, where another body has been found. Carl, what information do you have for us?”

“Thanks, Jill. I haven’t got a lot right now, but it’s rumored that this is the same killer from the string of murders that have gone down recently. And it’s said the police have connected the murders to several other incidents from years ago.”

I looked up from my laptop to glance at the television, worry lines creasing my forehead. I rarely paid any attention to the news, but not even I could miss hearing about the supposedly random killings.

For months now dead bodies had been popping up all over Chicago, and the police were no closer to solving the cases than they had been months ago. I wasn’t super worried about it, but then again, you really never are, right?

I shook myself mentally, then turned down the volume of the television slightly, and looked back to my computer, where I was working. I had recently gotten a job as an editor, which meant I worked from home ninety percent of the time. It had been a bit of a hassle trying to explain to the management that I didn’t own a cell phone, just a laptop and a house phone, but it all worked out in the end.

I set my computer next to me on the couch and stood up to stretch. I cast a look at my kitchen window to see it had gone dark, and I looked to the time to see how long I’d be engorged in someone else’s writing.

Jeez, how is it eight already?

I walked over to the window and grabbed the curtains, ready to pull them swiftly closed, when I paused. There was someone standing out on the sidewalk in front of my apartment building. I squinted, trying to see what I was pretty sure was a man in closer detail. He was standing just outside of the circle of light from a nearby streetlamp, but there was just enough washed-out light for me to see he was staring right at me.

I jumped away from the window, violently yanking the curtains together. Immediately all I could think of was the reporter’s voice on the television from earlier.

“...where another body has been found.”

I cast a nervous glance at my door, then walked swiftly away from the window, straight to my door, where I turned the lock shut without pause. Even if I was overreacting, I reasoned, there’s nothing wrong with locking the door. That’s a normal thing. Everyone locks the door. 

Still, I stared at my yellow curtains which suddenly seemed far too cheerful. But I was being ridiculous, surely. I’d just watched one too many movies, or read one too many books. It could be a guy waiting on someone who lived in the building, or it could be a guy stepping outside for a smoke break.

There were a thousand reasonable explanations, and I knew I was only being paranoid because of what I’d watched earlier.

There was nothing to be afraid of.

Right?