Monday late afternoon: Seattle, Washington

Henson spied the young woman shopping for seafood at Pike Place Market. He checked the picture on his phone to verify it was the right person. It was. She was in her early thirties and attractive with short, styled black hair adorned with a yellow, butterfly hair clip. His mark was fashionably dressed in white and yellow.  He had waited outside her workplace, a big, modern high-rise office building, then followed her to Pike Place.

He disagreed with Barnabas that what he was doing was even necessary, but Barnabas always took out multiple layers of insurance policies as a contingency against something going wrong.

The young woman was shopping by herself—perfect.

He kept at a safe distance. She seemed oblivious to any of her surroundings, which was what he expected. She had never been in danger in her life.  She spent more than forty minutes in a purse store, making a purchase at the end. After an additional forty-minutes of shopping the market, she walked up the hill to her condo building. Henson followed, slipping into the electronically secured lobby door before it could shut behind her.

He followed her into the elevator. So oblivious was she to any potential danger, she held the elevator door for him and smiled as he entered behind her. She punched the button for floor eleven.

“What floor?” she asked him.

“Eleven. That’s my floor, too,” he said.

“Oh, I haven’t seen you before,” she replied. “Did you move in recently?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“How do you like it so far?” she asked.

“I love the location,” he replied. “It’s such a short walk to Pike Place and the waterfront.”

“Right,” she agreed. “And the restaurants are fabulous.”

“Oh, I agree,” he said.  “I see you made a purchase.”

She blushed a little and pulled the new purse from her shopping bag.

“That’s a nice Gucci purse, but you are already carrying a Gucci,” he said.

“I know,” she replied. “Some women like shoes. I like purses.”

“Well you have good taste.”

She smiled, “Oh are you a fan of Gucci purses?”

He smiled at her, “I am now.”

She laughed and flashed him a flirtatious grin. The elevator door dinged, “Well, welcome to the neighborhood.”

“Thank you,” he said, allowing her to step out first. He waited for two seconds before emerging and following her. When she got to her door he waited until he heard the familiar sound of the lock turning. When he saw her open the door, he slipped a bag over her head, placed his left hand over her mouth and pushed her inside.

The woman screamed, but Henson’s powerful left hand muffled the sound. He wrapped his right arm around her chest, feeling the swell of her breasts. She struggled as he wrestled her to the floor and wrapped his legs around her body, freeing his right hand just long enough to retrieve a knife from a sheath attached to his belt. Henson held the tip of it to her neck hard enough for her to feel the icy cold of the sharp steel. She tried screaming again, but he silenced her with a breathy, “Shhhh.”

“I need you to be quiet and I won’t hurt you,” Henson said. “Do you understand?”

She struggled again for a few seconds. He used his legs to squeeze her body harder.

“Relax,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

He felt her body go limp.

“That’s good,” he said. “Now, I will secure your wrists and ankles together with plastic wire straps.  Then we’ll have a little talk.  I’ll do my best not to hurt you, but if you resist or yell out, all bets are off. If you understand, give me a nod.”

She nodded.

“Good.”

Henson pulled her to her feet and slipped four wire straps onto her wrists and ankles and used two additional straps to interlock her wrists and ankles together, forming makeshift handcuffs. He guided her to the couch and allowed her to sit.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“No one you know,” he responded.

“Why are you doing this?  What do you want? Money?”

“No questions,” he responded. “Is your driver’s license in your purse?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Ok, sit there quietly. You’re doing well. You stay calm like this and you won’t get hurt.”

Henson fished through her Gucci purse and retrieved her matching wallet. He opened the wallet and pulled her license and reviewed it. He smiled.