Besides this one sweet, and in his mind, shared moment, his observations had more practical results. They produced the constants he needed to execute the plan. She was punctual to a fault and didn't vary her arrival and departure times. She never carried any kind of electronic devices such as a cell phone or a tablet or a laptop with her. She did not seem to carry any weapons or any keys or wallet. He also noticed she was extremely at ease in her sunbathing spot. In all the time he'd watched her no one else had ever come around the area and she seemed very aware of and, in fact, counted on that. Instead of making her wary this last fact seemed to lull her into feeling secure. Besides her, and himself hidden from her view, no one else came to this place in weeks. Which lead to the most important point.
She was always alone in a secluded and out of the way place.
And that made the next step obvious and, frankly, easy.
He had thought of various strategies such as luring her to his car or trying to engage her in a conversation. He even considered spending a few days getting to know her and then asking her out on a date so that she might come with him willingly. However, in the end he had decided that the simplest and most direct approach would be the best approach. He wasn't interested in a date in the conventional sense of the word anyway, so why waste time on pretense, risk rejection or give her a chance to escape in some other way? Best to simply get on with it.
So, after checking and rechecking the route from the house to the lake and back again, he had practiced how he would approach her by way of a quick route around the rock and up the bank. He bought the few supplies he would need, a role of duct tape and a Rambo knife, and marked a day on the calendar when phase one would be completed. The night before he visualized the plan's execution several times and felt secure in his ability to carry it out.
He had also made the other necessary arrangements. He installed the metal door at the bottom of the basement stairs and removed all the items from the little concrete room. Then he obtained the little thin mattress and a basic twin sized army cot and placed it in the center of the room under the dim, bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Soon all was in place.
All that was required was her.
The day circled on the calendar finally came and he waited until 4:15 PM to pull his car into the parking lot. After insuring he was alone with a loop around the parking lot, he backed his car into the faded parking spot nearest to the rock and opened the trunk. He pulled on a black track suit and covered his face with a ski mask style hat. He paused and looked at himself in the mirror. Was he really about to do this? He didn't remember stepping away from the car and heading for the boulder, but as he went his limbs moved as if on their own. It was as if he carried out the plan on automatic pilot.
The plan at this point was ridiculously simple, unlike in all the movies. He simply looped around the boulder and peeked around the corner and up the bank at her. He heard her before he saw her. She hummed with the radio as he rounded the corner. She was on all fours on her blanket with her butt facing him and her white sundress coverup had ridden up on her hips exposing the powder blue bikini bottoms underneath. Here the Beast surged in his chest and he yielded to its desire.
He crouched low and started towards her with quick heel to toe steps as he had been taught in tactical training. At the last second, she must have heard him because as he lunged towards her, she squealed and ducked her head. The result of her flinch was that instead of looping neatly around her neck, his left arm looped over her face covering her mouth. His weight crashed down on top of her and he crushed her flat on her belly underneath him. He was nearly twice her size and weight and with the extra leverage he had due to his placement on her back, she was unable to resist very effectively. The wind went out of her in a rush as he bore down on her and he tried to snake his left arm under her chin to apply the choke that would render her unconscious.