It was dark and cold, at 9: 30. The full moon lit my path. I was on my way to get a pizza at Domino's. Since my 1979 green Mazda wagon had broken down the week before, I had to walk over a mile in the December cold of Boston.

I decided to cut through a parking lot to shorten my long journey. That was where I made my mistake.

Everything was fine until I came to a red Toyota Hatchback. As I walked by it, I heard a muffled scream. I stopped cold in my tracks. I stood there listening hard. I heard constant banging and muffled screaming coming from the Toyota. Turning around slowly, I started to walk back towards the car.

I peered into the window and saw a man and a woman struggling in the back seat. The woman caught my eye. She seemed to know me. Then I realized it was my neighbor, Anita Carson. My eye caught a flint of steel through the window. The man had long black hair and a mean face. He had a scar on his right cheek and a thick moustache.

I stood by the car, my mouth dropping open. The man turned around. He snickered and pressed his face and hands up against the car's window, making obscene faces. I tried hard to scream, but nothing came out. I turned and ran home as fast as I could. I locked the doors, climbed into bed, and sat there petrified. I saw shadows and heard noises. I tried hard not to think of that awful screaming, her frightened eyes, and the face that he made against the car window.

The next morning, I was still shaky. I sat down at the kitchen table to pick at my eggs when suddenly I heard a crash. Could it be the man with the scar on his face? Did he know where I lived? Then I realized that it was that paper boy hitting the window again. I stormed outside and grabbed The Globe. As I tore off the rubber band, an article caught my eye. Sitting back down at the table, I began to read:

"Man's Head Found In Red Toyota

Last night, around 11: 00, a man's head was found in a red Toyota. The car was abandoned in the parking lot near Domino's Pizza. There was a distinguishing scar on the right cheek of the victim. No body was found. The car was registered in the name of a Mr. James Arlington. Whoever killed Mr. Arlington is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous. See page 12. "