Katherine and Eric had been in Arizona for a few days. I had no idea, and they had no idea what city I had settled in. They first searched Yuma, and Katherine, being the genius she was, figured I would be in either Phoenix or Tucson. Phoenix was first on their list. Katherine planned to spend about two or three days in each major city in Arizona until she found me.
She spent the first five days between Yuma and Phoenix, but to no avail, she couldn't find us. I was living my next secretive life in Tuscon.
While they were searching, Anna started to get the itch to venture out again. I shot that down as quickly as she brought it up, not wanting to go through another near capture. Plus, I was sick of running. I planned to focus on our unborn child and put down roots in Tuscon the best we could.
I did have to secure a new identity for Anna, though, which I accomplished over the first few weeks of us being there. She was then Rose Benson. After receiving her name, I felt a tad more comfortable with going out. We planned never to venture far, but we knew we had to get our baby checked out. Anna found a doctor who lived about a mile from our place. That distance was OK, but nothing further. I didn't want to puncture the little bubble that we had begun to live in, and driving a further distance could do just that.
We had our first doctor's appointment for the baby a week after Katherine arrived in Arizona. She had spent seven days in the first two cities before she proceeded to Tuscon. She had no clue where to begin to look when she arrived.
The morning of the appointment had finally come. Anna curled her silky auburn hair since she wanted a different look than the old Anna's poker-straight mane. I dressed in laid-back attire, different from my dapper suits. A baseball cap sat on my head with reading glasses on my face. I needed to conceal my identity the best I could.
Soon we were off to see our baby for the first time. We made it with no issues, walked in, checked in, took a seat, and waited. We remained in our chairs for close to thirty minutes before being called back.
"Rose Benson," the nurse called out. Anna and I continued to chat as she hollered the name again, "Rose Benson, Is there a Rose Benson here?"
Anna jumped to her feet. She had never heard her new name called out before, so she ignored the nurse's first few attempts. She'd have to remind herself to only respond to Rose and never to Anna, unless it was me speaking. Anna and I followed the nurse back to a private room to have her vitals and weight taken. She then led us to a room where they would take her belly measurements and perform an ultrasound.
Before the doctor would come back, the nurse had to get some family and personal history on 'Rose' Benson. Anna used any of her family histories for Rose's. She did that to be cared for properly if there were ever an issue with herself or the baby. We once again entertained the waiting game, and it took another twenty minutes for Anna's doctor to grace us with her presence.
The doctor finally came back to the room right as we were beginning to get restless. A middle-aged, plain jane looking woman walked in to greet us. Dr. Salager was her name. She seemed like a great doctor, and Anna took to liking her. They spoke as girlfriends would while she went over Anna's due date and the next steps with her pregnancy. We conceived in March and were told that the due date for the baby would be December 25th. Seriously, what were the odds? A Christmas baby.
"Are you going to want to know the sex of the baby too?" Dr. Salager asked.
Anna and I looked at each other, and both shrugged our shoulders at her question. "I honestly think I want to be surprised," Anna replied. I looked at Anna and nodded in agreeance.
After the appointment ended, Anna bounced out of the office while we headed to the parking lot. We both got into our new ride and headed back home. Anna decided she needed to stop first to satisfy her pregnancy cravings, and I reluctantly agreed.
"Pull in there!" Anna said with excitement as she pointed to the first fast-food joint we saw.
I glanced over at her, rolled my eyes, and happily obliged. She ordered two burgers, a large fry, and a sweet tea. "Jesus, are you hungry?" I asked in a joking manner.
Anna rolled her eyes back at me while I laughed at her expense. "It's not me. The baby wants it," she chuckled.
"You know that's a myth, right?" I looked over at Anna as she raised one eyebrow.
"It's not a myth, trust me, I never eat like this!" Anna insisted.
We approached a stoplight after exiting the parking lot. Anna sat in the passenger seat, shoveling fries into her mouth. As we waited for the light to change, she took in the scenery. Anna immediately noticed the person in the car next to us.
She nudged my arm with her fistful of fries, "Nathan, look at that girl, quick, is that Katherine?" Anna seemed concerned as she pointed to the driver, who was staring straight ahead.
I glanced over and did a double-take. "No, that can't be Katherine. She's in Pennsylvania. What would she be doing here in Arizona?" I'm not going to lie, that girl resembled her, and I would know, she was mine for a long time.
"Follow her," Anna stated with a sense of urgency.
"What? Follow her? No, Anna, that's crazy. It's not her." I was worried for a brief moment, but I started to second guess if it was her.
"Do it, Nathan," Anna demanded.
"Fine," I reluctantly replied while I granted her wish to follow the familiar-looking woman.
The Katherine-looking woman began to drive off as the light turned green. I pulled behind her, trying to remain unnoticed. I lowered my ball cap to shield my face from her view as we continued to follow her.
She drove a few miles down the road and entered a little motel on the corner of East Benson Hwy. I drove in behind her and backed my car into a spot not too far from hers.
We decided to stake out the motel to see if we could get a closer look. As the woman exited her vehicle, she turned in our direction. She had not seen us, but it seemed as if she was slowly inhaling the beautiful day. As she approached her room, an all too familiar gentleman greeted her at the door. It was Officer Eric Stanley.
Anna looked over at me since she recognized his face as well. Her eyes were wide with fright when she suddenly realized they must have been down in Tucson to look for us.
"What the hell!" Anna shouted as she crouched down to shield herself from their view.
"We need to go, and now," I expressed to her.
Anna reached over and grabbed my arm to stop me from driving away. She appeared excited as she told me her plan. "Wait. We need to get rid of her, Nathan."
"Anna, she's with Officer Stanley. How is that going to work?" I wanted to make Katherine pay for attempting to kill me, but not with Eric alongside her.
"Nathan, look, it will be easy. Clearly, she leaves Eric alone from time to time. We can grab her then. Let's sit and watch her for a bit, and the first opportunity we get, we take her."
"Who was this girl sitting next to me? This beautiful creature, the woman that I love has the twisted mind of a killer. " I thought to myself.
I knew she was my Anna, but it felt like I was sitting next to the female version of myself. All I could do was lean back and smile, knowing Anna remained on my side.
We sat and stalked Katherine for the remainder of the day, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Finally, it seemed as if she were about to leave out on her own. She wore a tracksuit, so I assumed she was heading out for a quick jog.
Instead of setting off to jog from the motel, Katherine hopped in her car, oblivious that we would be following close behind. She made the ten-minute drive to a remote area leading to the Rock Wren Trails.
Anna glanced toward me with a devious smile when she realized Katherine would be secluded. She reached down for her purse and set it on her lap as she pulled out the gun she had previously purchased. She gently placed her weapon on her lap and once again smiled back at me.
The drive did not take long, and Anna and I decided to lie in wait for our perfect opportunity to strike. We saw Katherine get out of her vehicle, and we concluded then was as good of a time as any. Katherine began her trek with Anna and me, silently pacing behind. She had earbuds in, playing music, so she never heard us approach. There was no one around at that moment, so Anna decided it was time to make our move. We quietly sprinted to Katherine as Anna placed the gun in her back.
Stunned, Katherine whipped around to see who stood behind her. A look of shock fell over her face as she focused on the evil-grinning Anna. She then shot me the same look as her surprise turned to absolute fear. I devilishly grinned at Katherine while Anna left her held at bay.
"Hello, Katherine," I softly said to her.
She never knew what hit her.