Scott Wittenburg - The May Day Murders

But he realized that luck may not be on his side and instead of her getting all excited about seeing the CD, Sara may simply ignore it and ask what he wanted for breakfast.

That’s when the clipboard with the mock screenplay would come into play. If Sara didn’t happen to notice it the first time around while taking his order, he’d make damn sure that she did when she returned with his coffee. And once she saw what was written on the cover page, Sara Hunt would unlikely be able to remain passive any longer:

The Rolling Stones: The Myth Behind the Legend

A Three Star Pictures Production

Screenplay by Hugh Quincy

Directed by Hugh Quincy

The questions Sara Hunt would suddenly be dying to ask him would overwhelm her and why shouldn’t they? Here she was, a struggling actress waiting tables at a coffee shop, and there he was, a director/writer sitting there at her table with a screenplay for an upcoming movie documentary about her most favorite rock and roll band in the whole fucking world! Could any aspiring actress as desperate and downtrodden as Sara Hunt be able to contain herself after this sudden quirk of fate? Especially after taking into account the fact that this writer/director was not only in possession of a rare CD that she would die for, but was also sporting quite a decent looking beard that looked a lot like the one her ex-boyfriend used to wear.

All of this would no doubt be making her heart do flip-flops. He could almost hear her now: “Excuse me sir, but I couldn’t help but notice the movie script that you’re reading there and I just wanted to let you know that I’m an actress-just in case by some chance you’re looking for a cast for your movie. I’m even willing to be an extra if you need…”

At this point Stanley would smile, introduce himself, then offhandedly tell her that as a matter of fact he was in need of a few more players for his movie and that one of those roles actually had a speaking part. He would go on to explain that he’d flown in from L.A. the day before to do some background research for a scene he would be filming and hadn’t yet found a competent actress who could effectively play the role of an over-enthusiastic groupie who ends up going to bed with Mick Jagger after a concert during their first American tour.

Sara Hunt would then go absolutely bonkers. “Oh please, Mr. Quincy, please give me an audition for that part!”

At this point, Sara Hunt would be putty in his hands.

Stanley would be sure not to act overly zealous about auditioning Sara (in true Hollywood big shot style) and mention to her that he unfortunately didn’t have a great deal of time to spend in New York-he had to return to L.A. the following morning. Then he would rather hesitantly offer to fit her in later that evening if she was going to be free, after which Sara would of course assure him that she would indeed be available. At that juncture, Stanley would appear to warm up to her suddenly.

“You know, Sara,” he would announce with a winning smile, “The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that you just might be perfect for that part. I don’t suppose by any chance you can dance as well?”

Sara Hunt’s eyes would bug out of their sockets. “Are you kidding? I dance to the Rolling Stones all the time!”

Stanley would reply, “That’s wonderful, because there’s a scene where the character in the movie gyrates all over the place while she’s in the audience at a Stones concert. Mick notices her and struts over to the edge of the stage and whispers in her ear, (Here, he would suddenly evoke his finest English accent with just the right Mick Jagger inflection) ‘Meet me backstage after the show, luv?’ Mick then hands her a backstage pass. And of course that’s how Mick ends up taking her to bed.”

Sara would nearly faint after hearing all of this. “I don’t believe it! Oh Mr. Quincy, you have simply got to give me that part!”

“Please Sara-call me Hugh,” he would demand warmly. “I’ll tell you what. If you can prove to me that you can dance-and I mean really dance-then I’d say you’re as good as in.”

“Oh Hugh, that’s terrific!” Sara would gush.

Then his expression would become somewhat grave. “There’s only one problem, though. In this particular scene, the character dances to Honky Tonk Woman while engaged in dialogue with Mick. I would prefer everything to be as realistic as possible but I’m afraid I don’t have enough time to set up a soundstage on such short notice-”

“I’ve got it, Hugh! Why don’t you just come to my apartment and audition me there? If it wouldn’t be too much bother, that is.”

His eyes would suddenly light up just enough. “That’s a wonderful idea, Sara…”

Then they would set up a time for this impromptu audition-no doubt early evening after Sara got off work and had time to clean up for the big moment. Stanley would copy down her address and phone number, finish his breakfast, leave her a fat tip, and give her a reassuring wink just before he left the coffee shop.

Stanley smiled sardonically as he visualized the whole scenario. There was no doubt in his mind that the plan would work, especially when taking into account Sara Hunt’s more than apparent weaknesses and overall naivete. The only shaky part would be the risk of his being seen by nosey neighbors either while entering or exiting her apartment building. The building had a total of 48 units and the odds of this happening were of course considerably high. But the odds of any of the neighbors seeing him actually enter her flat were much less likely and the reason for this was simple: the building’s front door lock was broken and had been ever since he’d first gotten into town. This would give him the opportunity to enter the building at his leisure without having to be buzzed in by Sara.

The other potential risk would be Sara’s roommate, Tonya Spellman. Stanley already knew that Tonya was scheduled to work tomorrow evening and shouldn’t pose any real threat but there was always a slim possibility that she may skip work for some reason or another. If this were the case, the mission would have to be nixed and another one implemented. Stanley however had his doubts that Tonya would stay at the apartment even if she decided to skip work. It was fairly evident that Sara Hunt and her roommate lived pretty much independently of one another and it was his hunch that if Sara anticipated that Tonya might be planning on being at the apartment tomorrow evening she would most likely tell her roommate that she was expecting some company and would prefer that she not be around. Tonya would most likely oblige her wishes.

Stanley felt his pulse quicken as he turned and began making his way though the darkness toward the door. The anticipation of tomorrow’s mission nearly overwhelmed him as he pictured Sara Hunt dancing nude to Honky Tonk Woman as he snapped off a few quick shots of her with his camera. She would give him the best show she’d ever given anyone, all full of enthusiasm and trying her damnedest to please him so she could have the part that would launch her into movie stardom. He would wait until the song was over, applaud her animated performance and beautiful body, and then let her know that she had made Stanley Jenkins one happy camper.

Then, before Sara had the chance to get over the shock of what a complete naive fool she’d been, Stanley would proceed to fuck the living daylights out of her and make her regret the day that she had shit all over Stanley Jenkins all those years ago.

Then he would make her suffer for a while.

And then he would finally murder her.

Sam eased up on the accelerator when he glanced at the speedometer and saw that he was doing almost seventy-five mph. All he needed now was to get pulled over for speeding by one of southern Ohio’s notoriously efficient highway patrolmen to add to the mounting anxiety he was now experiencing. He watched the needle and waited until the Jeep had coasted down to an even sixty as he continued his journey west on Route 52.