Cynthia: Quiesco

Joshua and Mary have just departed after practically smashing down my front door and waking me from the first sound slumber I have enjoyed since the crash. I gave Jeffrey explicit orders that when I am sleeping he is to turn the ringer off on the telephone. I am perfectly all right, old injuries notwithstanding. At Jeffrey's suggestion he has double-checked the locks on all the doors and windows, set the security alarm and even contacted the alarm company and alerted them that we are concerned for our safety.

Now that I am fully informed as to the staggeringly horrific news of the day I am certain I appear just as stunned as Joshua and Miss Stroud. Yet it is at times such as this when our focus must be sharpest and our reserve most stout.

The monster that ruined my life and inflicted such utterly vile acts upon poor Mrs. Walentowicz has committed an enormous error. Before today, I possessed merely a powerful suspicion that the crime perpetrated against me was premeditated in nature. I was determined to find the culprit, though if the truth be told I was motivated more as an incentive to continue this banal and unpleasant existence to which I've been condemned; the desire to see justice done was frankly secondary.

Now, with the menace we truly face coming into sharp relief, my sense of purpose is absolute. Before, we were chasing shadows, with the possibility that once we apprehended my attacker and dragged him out into the light of day he might merely be revealed to be a drunken, terrified trucker who made a mistake and panicked. Now, we know without question that we are pursuing a foe worthy of our attention. We know that our quarry is cunning, ruthless and utterly evil. We go forward from this point with the understanding that our time spent is not wasted, and the sooner we apprehend this madman the world will be a far safer and better place.

To the task at hand: Joshua, I will take it upon your word that Officer Randazzo is incompetent and speak to his commanding officer about having him replaced. The detective in charge of my case needs to be someone we may rely on, as the stakes have grown exponentially.

Miss Stroud, is it possible that my case and the case of Mrs. Walentowicz's murder will be rolled into a single investigation? Will they see them as being perpetrated by the same person, and act accordingly?

Also, Miss Stroud, on the chance that our Enemy may have followed you here and witnessed you enter the security code, I am having it changed. I will have the security company call you with the new number.

Next, I want you to touch base daily (or with even more frequency, if he is receptive) with this Detective Ward. The bulk of any new information should come through him, and he has appeared supportive thus far.

I have asked Jeffrey if he would allow me to purchase a firearm and register him to carry it for his own protection, but unsurprisingly he respectfully refused. He is studying to be a nurse, after all, and-like me-abhors violence, so I knew my request was a touch out-of-bounds. I am considering hiring a security guard to stay at the house full-time, and will inquire as to the practicality of it later today.

On the same note, Joshua, I want you to enroll in a firearm safety course and apply for a handgun permit. I realize that I never allowed a gun in the house when you were growing up, but I do not doubt that your life may be in danger and I wish to take every precaution. I will not be argued with on this point.

We all must assume that the Enemy knows who we are and where we live. I do not know whether or not the attack on my husband and I was random to begin with, but I do know that there is nothing random about his actions now. By placing the photograph of the truck at the murder scene in the manner he did, he has shown us that he wants us to know who he is. Either he somehow desires to be caught, or he wishes to toy with us as a cat with a mouse. If it is the former, we shall oblige him. If it is the latter, we shall make him pay for his hubris.