F I F T Y - O N E

The car idled beside the curb, its driver watching assiduously through a sophisticated pair of binoculars. He had purchased them years ago when he had begun bird-watching and he applauded himself for using his acquired skills from night-birding to stake out Kate. She was staying with her friend, he’d established, after a spat with her oaf of a boyfriend, making her a much easier target. The slender brunette she was bunking with would be much easier to overpower than the brute.

Vibrant blue eyes narrowed as Kate exited the front door, waving goodbye to her friend and the small child lifted precariously on her hip. Even with the refined technology of his binoculars, he could only assume it was Kate. Her brown hair was hidden beneath a dark beanie, her slender frame wrapped in an oversized coat. He had been watching for a while though, assured that it was only Kate and her friend in the home. He knew how terrible Kate was with children. There was absolutely no way she’d be left a