Blind Date

It was a brisk fall evening in New York City. Mave wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her shoulders to stay warm. She hadn’t brought a jacket, wanting to show off her figure in the emerald dress she was wearing. It was a blind date after all, the first since her divorce. Her friend Dianne had set it up, and she figured it couldn’t hurt to get back out there. But she was so cold, and the restaurant was still about four blocks away. She was considering calling an Über when a voice startled her, “Mave?” She spun around to see a luxurious sports car pulling up behind her.

“Are you Mave?” he asked again. Who was this stranger, and how did he know her? The man leaned closer to the open window, revealing his face. Mave had never seen such a brilliant smile or more piercing blue eyes. “Sorry, this must be weird, but I’m supposed to be meeting a woman named Mave. It’s embarrassing, but I’m going on a blind date,” explained the stranger. “Wow, uh, yea! I’m Mave! You’re James I’m assuming,” she replied awkwardly. The man chuckled and leaned back, relieved, “Oh, thank goodness! That could’ve been awkward.” Mave couldn’t help but think how handsome he was. “Why don’t you hop in. It’s cold out and there’s no sense in me getting to the restaurant before you, now that we’ve met.” Freezing, Mave agreed immediately.

They arrived at the restaurant in minutes, with little time for awkward chit chat. Mave reached to open the door, but James quickly stopped her, “Ah! Allow me,” he insisted. James walked around the car and offered his hand. Mave had never had any guy do that for her before. “What a gentleman,” she said as she stepped out. “You look absolutely stunning. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away,” said James offering his arm. Mave graciously took hold and began walking toward the restaurant.

James tossed his keys to the valet, and escorted Mave inside. The doorman pulled open the heavy, mahogany doors. The restaurant was gorgeous, with crystal chandeliers, white tablecloths, and waiters dressed in suits. The hostess greeted them, “Hello. We are very excited to have you dine with us this evening. We have the table you requested ready for you. Please follow me.” Mave and James followed her through the dining room where men and women dressed to the T were enjoying their fine food. The hostess stopped at a booth in the back corner with curtains that separated to reveal their table. A candle flickered in the center, and a bottle of merlot sat next to it. “Enjoy your meal,” said the hostess, leaving them to their table. Mave smiled, “This is incredible James. Thank you for setting all of this up.” James waved it off as if it were no big deal, “You don’t need to thank me. A beautiful woman like yourself deserves the best.”

“James, I don’t mean to sound uncultured, but I don’t know what most of this stuff is. What would you recommend?” asked Mave, reading the menu. James leaned closer to her, “Well, anything you get will be great. This here is my favorite. The lobster over a bed of pasta in cream sauce. It’s amazing,” he said pointing to his selection. “Well then, I’ll have that if it’s as good as you say,” replied Mave.

“I hope merlot is OK,” said James pouring the wine into their glasses. Mave was shocked, “It’s my favorite. How did you know?” James shrugged, “I just had a feeling you were a merlot kind of girl. The best ones always are,” he replied. Mave held the glass up to her nose and took a sniff, “It smells like dark cherry.” She then took a slow sip and let the flavors unveil themselves in her mouth. Mave’s eyes widened, “This is incredible! It’s the best wine I’ve ever had.” James smiled, “I’m glad you like it. It’s all I drink when it comes to wine.”

Mave let James order for them so she didn’t embarrass herself by pronouncing the dish wrong. After the waiter finished taking the order, Mave decided to try and get to know James on a deeper level. “So, James, why is a guy like you single?” James took a sip of his wine, as if to build up some sort of courage, “Well, if I’m being honest, this is my first time out with a girl since my girlfriend, Avery, and I broke up a few months ago.” Mave could see the pain well up in his light blue eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said taking a hold of his hand from across the table, “I know how hard it is to get back out there.” She decided not to mention her divorce, as not to take away from his breakup story. “Everything happens for a reason. I broke it off. She got too…possessive,” James explained sadly. Mave didn’t know whether to ask more or to let that be the end of the subject, so she let the conversation die right there.

The rest of the evening went exceedingly well. The meal was exquisite, the conversation was fluid, and the wine was to die for. As James paid the bill, he looked up and sheepishly asked, “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but would you like to finish the evening with a drink at my place?” Mave blushed, “As long as it’s just a drink, and that’s all…I would love that.”

James’s place was an upscale apartment on the upper east side. Mave stared in awe at the decor, “This is beautiful, James. You have such a lovely home.” James chuckled humbly, “It’s OK. It does get lonely. Let me get you a drink. Feel free to explore.” As James walked off to another room, Mave found herself venturing further into the apartment. She was intent on heading back to where she had left James, when something caught her eye. A room with three computers on a large, mahogany desk. One of the computer screens had an image glowing in the dark of the dimly lit office. As Mave drew closer, she recognized the image that was on the screen. It was her.

She stood there, stunned, until her phone vibrating broke her out of her trance. It was Dianne, the friend who had set up the date. “Hello? Dianne?” asked Mave nervously. “Hey, girl! Soooo, what do you think? How is James?” Mave could hardly speak, “Uh, he’s uh, he’s great! You know I’m a sucker for blue eyes.” There was a long pause that followed. “Blue eyes? Honey, James has brown eyes. I’ve known him since the fourth grade,” Dianne said perplexed. Mave’s heart began to race, “Dianne, James is tall right? About six foot three, black hair?” Dianne didn’t respond for a long time, “Mave, that’s not the man I set you up with.” Mave began to panic, “I…I got in a car with a stranger. He-he said he was supposed to meet a woman named Mave for a blind date. I thought it was him!” Mave rushed over to the computer with her picture on the screen and began to scroll. On the desktop were dozens of her phone and text records. There were posted notes scattered across the desk of places and times where she had been. Mave held the phone back up to her ear, shaking, “I’m so scared.”

“Mave, I just got a text from James. He said you never showed up to the date,” said Dianne frantically. Mave’s chest felt like a drum was beating violently, “Dianne, call the police! Please, call the police! I’m at his apartment!” She could hear Dianne dialing on her landline. “Where are you, Mave? What’s the address?” Mave didn’t know. All she knew was that she was in the upper east side. All the sudden, the sound of footsteps came from down the hall. Mave immediately hung up the phone.

“Mave?” James’s voice called from down the hall. Mave rushed out of the office, “Hey! I was just looking for your bathroom and got lost!” she called, hiding her fear. James yelled from the other room, “Fifth door on the right!” He must not have known she’d seen his office. “Ok, I’ll be out in a second!” Mave called. She located the bathroom and was about to run in and lock the door when the light from the farthest room caught her eye. Every ounce of her being told her not to go in, but somehow, Mave couldn’t resist. She slowly walked toward the door, her insides twisting with nerves. With hands shaking, she turned the knob, letting the yellow light from inside the room seep out. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she was able to see a figure lying in front of her. Tied to the bed with rope, was the still, lifeless body of a young woman. Mave knew exactly who it was, “Avery.”

One week later…

Dianna stood over the cold, dead body lying in front of her. The coroner lifted the sheet to reveal Mave’s face, still and lifeless. Dianne gasped and turned away, “It’s her…it’s her.”

Less than an hour later, Dianne was sitting in the office of the lead investigator at the NYPD headquarters. She had finally gotten her emotions under control enough to speak. The investigator, a tall man with a slender face and pale complexion sat in front of her. “Dianne,” he began, “I can’t imagine how difficult this must be. I know you and the victim were very close.” Dianne choked back a sob, “She was one of my closest friends. I just don’t know how this could’ve happened.” The investigator handed her a tissue, and she wiped the tears from her sunken eyes. “Can you repeat your story, again?” he asked her. Dianne took a deep breath, “I set her up on a blind date with a friend of mine, James. She had just gotten divorced and I wanted to help her. Anyway, he went to the restaurant they were supposed to meet at, and she never showed up. Later that night, I called Mave and she said she was with James. We realized it wasn’t the man I set her up with. He must’ve taken her somewhere else. I was on the phone with her and the phone went dead. That’s it.” The investigator nodded, “Well, Dianne, we think we know that happened that night.” Dianne inhaled a deep breath, “I need to hear it.”

“There’s a serial killer in New York City, the Cyber Stalker. Somehow, he hacks into his victim’s phones, emails, and social media. He had been stalking Mave for months. When he discovered she was going on a date, he learned what she liked and planned the perfect evening. All he had to do was pretend to be James. He was charming, good looking, and wealthy. It would’ve been easy for him to get her to return with him to his apartment. Like the other victims, once he got her alone, he assaulted her and strangled her to death. We know it was him because with all of his victims, he leaves a small “CS” carved in their skin. It stands for Cyber Stalker. Luckily, we were able to trace the call you made to Mave, and apprehended him in his home,” Explained the investigator. Dianne sat there in shock, unable to move. “I…I don’t know what to say. It’s insane,” she said, sinking her head into her hands. The investigator became uneasy, and shifted in his chair, “Dianne, there’s one other thing you need to know.” Dianne looked up at him, “What?” The investigator took in a deep breath, “We took his computers and investigated his hard drive…” he began. “Yes, and?” Dianne asked. The investigator leaned in and looked her dead in the eyes, “You were his next victim.”