James sat in the small coffee shop off of Main Street sipping on his latte and thinking. Had he gone too far in telling Jennifer about the unknown darkness? Only time would tell if he had led her to conclude that he was crazy. After all, who is too afraid to commit to someone because of something unidentifiable? Maybe he really was crazy. Could this inexplicable fear really be worth putting a great girl like Jennifer off? She was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he was in danger of losing her.
He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he barely noticed a man come in and sit down at the same table. He looked up and was struck by the remarkable resemblance to the face that he saw every day in the mirror. He felt a chill as the pale blue eyes pierced his own. He could have sworn that he had seen him recently, and not as a reflection. He mentally beheld the darkness moving in from the outskirts of his awareness.
"James, it seems that we have a problem." Wraith said, never wavering in his stare.
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" James asked his visitor.
"I am you." Wraith said. "Or at least I am who you claim to be."
"Excuse me?" He asked. "I have no idea what the hell you are talking about."
"That is good." Wraith said. "You are very good. I happen to be an expert liar myself, and I am, therefore, usually able to tell if somebody is lying. But you are very convincing. I almost believe that you do not know who I am. You are probably just trying to figure out what your next move is. Don't worry, I am not here for a physical confrontation, I just want to know why you think you can just waltz in a steal my identity and my money."
"I am not stealing anything." James said. "I am James Harper and have never felt the need to be anybody else. Now please leave."
"Are you stalking me or something?" Wraith asked, not even acknowledging that James had just spoken. "Is that why you have tried so hard to look like me? Are those contacts or are your eyes really that pale?"
"I don't wear contacts." James said. "Now are you going to tell me what this is all about, or am I going to have to make you leave?"
"James, this is ridiculous. There is no point in trying to deny what you have been up to. You must have realized how closely we resemble each other and decided to take advantage of it. However, when you looked into copying me, you must have figured out how I come to have the money that you felt no compunctions out taking for yourself. I just don't understand why you would try to steal from someone who kills people and destroys things for a living." Wraith said with amazing calmness. James felt a chill run through him as Wraith spoke. Now he knew where he had seen this man before. His hair was black now, instead of blonde, and it hung low over his eyes, but this was definitely the same man that had killed those men at the park.
"You killed those men at the golf course." James said. "You are sick."
"Yes, I did, and no, I am not." Wraith said. "The rest of the world is sick and I am trying to rectify that through one horrific act after another. But that is really neither here nor there as it pertains to our specific situation. You are stealing from me, and I cannot let that stand."
"I told you already, I am not stealing anything, and I have no idea who you are." James insisted. "I am a business consultant and that is how I get my money."
"And I told you already that, in spite of your excellent performance, I know that you are taking my money." Wraith said with the tone of talking down to an obstinate child. "Tell me, James, if you are a business consultant, who are your most recent clients?"
James opened his mouth confidently to answer with a list of big name companies, but for some reason no answer came forth. He did not understand why, but for the life of him, he could not even come up with a single company that he had provided services for. This strange man that had come out of the blue with bizarre accusations smiled at him. It was an infuriating smile that silently declared his victory. James knew that he was not a thief and it frustrated him to an incredible degree that he had no response to the killer's question. Why could he not answer?
"You see, this is where you fail at faking innocence." Wraith said. "If I had been in your place, I would have made sure that I had a list of businesses that would be able to verify my services to them. You may be a convincing liar, James, but you are not an exceptional one. Under different circumstances, I might have offered to teach you how to fake it with the best of them. Since you came to me as a thief rather than a pupil however, I am afraid that I am going to have to kill you."
James immediately had his eyes go to the door in search of a possible escape route. He was in pretty good shape and nobody would have called him weak, but he was not a fighter. He definitely did not think that he would be a match for somebody that made a living out of killing other people.
"I see that you are thinking about escape." Wraith said, watching James' eyes. "There is no need of that in the present. This is only a meet and greet that I felt was necessary. I do not intend to kill you in a coffee shop. In the long run, there is no hope of escape for you. I will make you suffer to the point that you will offer to kill yourself in order to end your torment."
"Why are you doing this?" James asked, fighting the feeling of panic that was seeping in.
"Because you took my money." Wraith said. "First I am going to take away everything that is precious to you, and then I am going to come after you personally. Trust me, James; you will not be disappointed with the amount of torture headed your way. I am a man of my word."
Wraith looked down at his watch. It was ten thirty-seven. Perfect. He had learned what he wanted to about his adversary and had managed to do so without ending at a conventional time interval.
"Now if you will excuse me, I have discovered what I was looking for, and it is time for me to leave. Thank you for the stimulating conversation." With that, Wraith stood up, nodded at James, and walked toward the door.
James watched him leave in a state of shock. He was immobilized in place. Only a few minutes ago he had thought his biggest problem was trying to figure out how to get past his own feelings of hesitancy when it came to giving Jennifer the kind of commitment she deserved. Now he not only had to fear for his own life, but Jennifer's as well. He knew that she would be top on this strange man's list when it came to taking away everything that was precious to him. He wished that he knew what to do, but was unable to do anything other than sit in stunned silence. He could not remember a time that he had felt more inept than he did at this point in time.
"Are you okay?" Ben Waters asked, bringing James out of his trance. Ben was the owner of the small coffee shop and he was almost always there, either working behind the counter or just hanging out and talking with his customers.
"I'm sorry?" James stuttered.
"You look as if you've seen a ghost." Ben said. "I mean you have been sitting over here with a look of concentration ever since you got here, so I have left you alone, but now you look horrified. I can't help but butt in now. At the risk of repeating myself, I have to ask. Are you okay?"
"I…I don't know." James said, trying to think about what had just happened. "Ben, did you see the man that was just here?"
"No, I just came out of the back room." Ben said. "You were the only customer, so I thought I could go check out our inventory. Did he cause a problem for you?"
James thought about answering his question honestly. Did he cause a problem? Hell yes he caused a problem. He came in and threw around wild accusations and told him that he was a dead man walking.
"I guess you could say that." He said. "Ben, I hope you don't mind, but I need to use your phone. I accidently left mine at home this morning and I need to call the police."
"No problem." Ben said, heading for his cordless phone. "Is everything all right?"
"No, it's not." James replied as he started to stand up. He felt his knees shake and he sat back down. "I just hope they can help."