Elizabeth Knight quickly pulled her keys from her jacket pocket and unlocked her car. The airport noise irritated her, as if rushing the already irritated woman. She didn't want to upset her daughter by arriving at the end of her birthday party. She quickly got in the car and started the engine. But then she remembered the empty paper cup she was supposed to throw away on the way to the car. She scrambled out of the seat and rushed to the trash can.
Too absorbed in her thoughts, she accidentally collided with an approaching man. The impact stained her beige jacket with coffee residue, and the cup fell from her hands onto the floor. Her blood pressure spiked. She covered her face with her hands and tried to regain control.
She jumped back suddenly, feeling a hand on her shoulder.
"Excuse me," the stranger said. "Is that you?"
Elizabeth quickly looked the man over. Dressed in an elegant black suit, he held a small suitcase in one hand, resembling a laptop case. His hair was as dark as his clothes, and his eyes radiated kindness and an intriguing quality Elizabeth couldn't quite place.
"Yes," she replied. "It's practically ready for the trash, but thank you."
She picked up the mug, then, calmed down, walked to the trash can and threw it away. Intrigued by the handsome man, she almost forgot about her daughter's birthday. Recovering, she walked confidently toward the car, but halfway there, she noticed the man with the suitcase clearly waiting for a chance, standing on the road leading out of the airport. She ran up to him and asked politely where he was going.
"To Boston," he replied with a smile.
"Oh, the same as me! I see you're jumping at a chance; you could come with me.
" "Thank you, but I don't want to cause you any trouble..."
"Don't worry, it's no trouble. Get in." Although it will be more pleasant for me to travel such a long distance.
Getting into the car together, the man threw his suitcase in the back and settled in next to Elizabeth, who pulled out the keys again and started the car.
"Excuse me," the man said. "I just remembered something I haven't done yet. Could you wait two minutes? I'll be right there. Unless you're in a hurry.
" "No, nowhere," Elizabeth lied politely. "Of course I'll wait."
"It'll only take two minutes at most," the man replied pleasantly and disappeared into the crowd.
Elizabeth waited.
Five minutes passed and the man didn't return.
After another five, Elizabeth began to get seriously impatient and decided to wait another five minutes and then go. She'd already be late for her daughter's birthday, but she didn't want to arrive at the very end of the party.
Minutes passed. Elizabeth, alarmed, realized she'd been waiting twenty minutes for the stranger.
She got out of the car and looked around to see if anyone was still talking to her. A little nervous, she decided not to wait any longer and drove.
She started the engine and reversed. She turned the car around and, with a gas pedal, left the airport. Soon, the last lights of the building disappeared into the darkness. Dark tree branches loomed through the windows against an equally dark sky. She rarely passed cars as she drove along the road.
The drive dragged, but she finally spotted the lights of Boston in the distance. After a while, she finally reached the city and her property.
A party was already underway at home. Guests came out to greet each other, and after long hugs, Elizabeth promised to return shortly, just to lock the car in the garage.
She opened the gate and drove the car into the stuffy room. The artificial glow of the fluorescent lights gave it an unsettling atmosphere. The thumping of music drifted from behind the walls.
Elizabeth turned off the car and, as she stepped out, spotted the stranger's black suitcase, a suitcase she'd almost forgotten about.
Confused, she reached for it, wondering how she was going to return it. She closed the car door and, carrying the suitcase, headed for the door.
However, just before it, she stopped, driven by a strange curiosity about what was inside. She glanced around the garage as if someone were watching her. Various contraptions, amusingly contrasting, like a children's bicycle and a chainsaw, emerged from the shadows.
She sat down on a folding chair and gently opened the lid of the suitcase.
What she saw made her never again have a negative opinion of her life. Her mind pounded with thoughts, and the uncanny visions of what could have happened nearly gave her a heart attack.
Inside were carefully placed choking line, a dagger, and bloody tweezers.
Elizabeth looked up, alarmed. Shadows filled the entire garage. Suddenly, she heard the sharp ring of her phone. She stood up carefully and pulled her phone out of her pocket.
"Hello?" she said hesitantly into the receiver.
"Excuse me, could you please give me your suitcase? Don't worry, I'm waiting in the living room... of your apartment, of course..." "Politely," a familiar voice relayed the message.
Only now did Elizabeth realize she couldn't hear the thumping music and the din of conversations coming from behind the wall.
Startled, she glanced at the door leading into the house.
There was no one behind it except the unknown man. No one alive...
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