Today, I planned to talk to the owner of the company, Henry, about Frank Oz. I thought a lunch hour meeting would make our discussion a bit less formal. What I didn’t plan on, however, was getting into another argument with Frank.

I’d originally decided to ignore him until I talked with his step-dad. Because Frank had been unknowingly caught on tape, I had a bit of leverage to force Henry’s actions if he didn’t want me pressing charges against his step-son.

When Frank came up to me early that morning at work and asked, in a cocky voice, how I liked driving around on four flats – well, I forgot all about not arguing with him. The guy just doesn’t know when to quit. Once again we began screaming at each other. I forced myself to walk away before I jumped on his chest, sank my fangs in his neck and sucked the life juice right out of… Suddenly, I realized my thoughts were getting weird. I don’t have fangs, Delilah does. Would I really have tried to jump on Frank’s chest if I hadn’t walked away? I’m glad I didn’t stick around to find out. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like the answer to that particular question.

In my office, I tried cooling down. I wanted to be in control of myself before talking with Henry. My office is one among many on a second floor balcony that overlooks the manufacturing assembly lines. A window in my office allows me to glance down at my line from time to time.

Although I hate the implied mistrust associated with watching my line run through the sound proof glass, I found myself doing it now. I noticed that several of the employees were dressed in festive Halloween costumes. I smiled. They were really just kids at heart.

I saw Frank talking to one of the girls on the line then walk away a few minutes later. He headed toward the nurse’s station. The woman he talked to, dressed as a black cat, looked up at me then walked over to a post-mounted telephone. Behind me, the desk phone rang and I answered. It was the cat-girl on the floor. I looked down at her standing by the post as she began revealing things she thought might interest me. She told me that Frank went to the nurse’s office with faked stomach cramps. He intended to get a pass and leave. He was planning to make a trip to my house and vandalize the place.

She told me several other things he’d bragged about. She confessed her knowledge of Frank’s tire flattening plan yesterday. She was shocked when I told her he’d punctured all four instead of one like he’d told her. She felt guilty and agreed that Frank had crossed the line. She encouraged me to go home and stop him from trashing my house.

She advised me to call the police. I thanked her for telling me everything and told her not to worry about it. I hung up the phone and thought about what she’d said. Suddenly, my vigor and vitality felt drained. Feeling depressed, I took another dose of my new medication.

Frank had to be stopped; there was simply no question about that. But I’d had my fill of the police, so I wasn’t going to call them. With everyone else milling around the office, the best place for me to stay was right here.

Without warning, an alien, spider-like mind possessed my thoughts. My mind began spinning a web of ideas. My co-workers would make a perfect alibi. I decided it was time for a nap.

I looked at my watch. My first break was in 15 minutes. Since I didn’t live far from the plant, it wouldn’t take Frank long to get to my house. The timing would be just about right. When he walked into my house, he’d get one nasty little surprise.

While I waited for break time, the phone on my desk rang once again. It was Joanie. I’d completely forgotten about her being home. She informed me that the police left our neighbor’s house a few minutes ago. It seemed our neighbor had been killed around two or three o’clock in the morning. She was quite upset about the whole ordeal and said she didn’t feel safe. She was going out shopping until her lunch date. Considering Frank was en route to our house in a few minutes, I not only agreed with her, but also encouraged her to leave as soon as possible.