Route 12976

Ellen didn’t know whether to be angry or scared. She had just discovered that her Ex was now delivering papers on her street. This was the latest tactic that he had concocted in his endless stalking schemes.

“Why won`t he just leave me alone?” She yelled, throwing a nearby book across the room.

At 66, Ron was 30 years older than her. She had become intrigued by him during the messy divorce of her first husband, who was incredibly self centred and emotionally unavailable. Ron seemed different despite his unconventional appearance, and advanced age.

Ron, however was mentally unstable. It was easier for him to hide it in the beginning, because Ellen was willing to over-look the red flags. For the first time in years she was experiencing what it was like to have a partner who was emotionally available. Until he wasn’t.

The only thing that had attracted Ellen to Ron, had been his ability to listen, and show emotional support. He certainly wasn’t a looker, and he wasn’t exactly rolling in the dough, either.

So, when Ron stopped being emotionally supportive, Ellen stopped being interested in him. In fact, he became critical, short fused, and downright cruel. Ellen began to fear that Ron would become physically violent. Despite his age, he was still capable of overpowering her.

Ellen thought that the nightmare of “Ron” was over when she kicked him out. She was wrong. He called her daily and left disturbing voicemails. Often, he would “happen” to be at the same store as her, and she would promptly leave. The police were no help in the matter. He hadn't been threatening her, so they dismissed her concerns.

To add to that, early every morning Ron would be idling his car in front of her house for at least ten minutes, making notes in his small black notebook. The police had said to her, that as long as he didn’t get out of the car, there was nothing they could do. After all, it was his job to deliver papers on her street.

It was clear to Ellen that the only way her problem was going to go away, was if she “took care of it” herself. The easiest solution, of course, would be to move, if she could have afforded it.

No, she would have to kill him. It was the only way. Ellen planned carefully. She spent the next several weeks planning his demise. It would have to be executed perfectly. There was no room for error. She would sneak over to his place. (She knew where he kept his spare key) and poison his food while he was out doing his newspaper route.

Having made sure she had an alibi, she was ready. Ellen parked a few streets away, so her car could not be tied to anything. She found the spare key, and entered his house. Deftly, she put the poison in his cereal box, shaking it to make sure it was undetectable and evenly distributed. She placed it back where she got it.

Suddenly, Ellen felt some gurgling in her digestive tract. She knew she would not make it home in time, so she looked for a bathroom. Finding it just in time she heaved a sigh of relief. She looked around for toilet paper, realizing too late that the roll was empty. There was none to be seen in the bathroom. She waddled with her pants down at her ankles to Ron's bedroom hoping to find something she could use. She spied a box of Kleenex next to several peanut butter jars with no labels. She grabbed several pieces of Kleenex, and waddled back to the bathroom.

Ellen cleaned everything up and restored the bathroom to how it was before her “emergency” She was curious now, about what was in those jars, so she decided to take a peek, before she left.

The jars were filled with money! There were fives, tens, and twenties rolled up neatly inside! Impulsively, she emptied the content of the jars into her pant and coat pockets. It's not like he was gonna need it anymore. There was barely enough room in her pockets for all the bills. She put the jars all back, exactly how she found them, and left for her house.

When she pulled up to her street, her heart stopped, then it began beating violently. Ron was still in front of her house, his van was still idling. Terrified of blowing her cover she turned around and went for a drive. She made sure she was gone for twenty minutes.

“That should be enough time,” she said to herself in a shaky voice. Slowly she made her way back to her home. Ron was still there. The van was no longer idling, and all the lights were dark. Ellen grabbed her phone, and called the police. She told them she had gone out for a drive as she was unable to sleep, and when she returned her Ex was in front of her house. His vehicle was not running, and she was worried he was in the house waiting to harm her.

Ellen quickly hid all the cash in her pockets in the glove box. She locked her doors and waited. She nervously chewed her nails until they bled, until at last, the police arrived.

When they showed up to investigate, they took her information, and searched the house, finding nothing. Using their flashlights, they checked Ron's van.

There was Ron, slumped over in the drivers seat. Dead.

Once the coroners report came in, revealing the cause of death to be a heart attack, the investigation was closed. Ellen could not begin to describe how relieved she felt!

Ellen now turned her attention to the wads of cash in her glove box. She discreetly carried the large pile of cash into the house and proceeded to tally her ill gotten gains. The total amounted to 33, 345.00!

Overjoyed, she realized she could now afford a good therapist. All the events of the past year had taken a terrible toll on her, and all she really wanted was to be able to sleep at night. Happily, she was able to get the help she needed, and went on to live a much happier life.