The family that preys together…- 37

Gerard rarely left the house except on business. But when it was for pleasure, such as tonight when he was joining a very old friend for dinner, he expected things to go well and be as pleasant as was humanly possible.

So when the restaurant door swung open again and a woman walked in, only good manners kept Gerard from growling angrily. It wasn’t that he knew her because he didn’t. It was the almost visible cloud of perfume that surrounded her, wafting none to subtly through the room, that enraged him. And when, as he watched, a man at a table close to her began to wheeze and then gasp for breath Gerard wanted nothing more than to get up and forcefully escort the woman from the restaurant.

He noticed several other patrons were also being affected by the woman’s overpowering scent, though none as badly as the one man who was now using an asthma inhaler. The manager of the restaurant was not unaware of what was happening. He quickly crossed the room and, with obviously forced politeness asked the woman to leave. When she protested somewhat vehemently, he pointed to man with the inhaler and said something Gerard couldn’t hear. The woman shrugged, apparently unconcerned, but did turn and leave.

Moments later Gerard excused himself, telling his friend he needed to use the restroom. Moving rapidly in that direction and then down the hall leading to the restaurant’s back door, he stepped out into the fresh air of the parking lot. It took only a moment for him to locate the whereabouts of the woman by her perfume.

He approached her and very graciously introduced himself, then commiserated with her about her being forced to leave, lying through his teeth when he told her he thought her perfume was quite wonderful. She ate up his words and they talked for a few moments during which he learned her name and that she also lived in St. Cloud. Then they parted ways, he to return to his dinner companion, she, she told him, to find another more congenial restaurant where she could dine in leisure without being hassled.

Three hours later, after a very pleasant meal with his friend, Gerard returned home. He changed clothes and then opened a locked cabinet behind a panel in his bedroom closet. After a moment’s consideration he took out what he needed and then went hunting.