Well, Anna, quite a story. I was hooked very early in and did not expect the ending. You set it up well, having them briefly attending the same college. It was a stretch that they met by chance, but ultimately believable. A rapist becoming a lothario (is that the word?) is also a stretch. That your character would turn him in — although unlikely in real life — was effective in your story. You show Jenny stronger in the end, able to start a new life and, presumably, she has learned a lesson. “The Man with the Owl Tattoo” would have worked better for me as a title. I’m not sure Exit 12 tells me anything, but I tend to overdo titles (and stories, probably). Exit 13 might hold more murmurs of meaning. She does exit and 13 is and unlucky number. I feel I should not be commenting on such a good story, but I seem to be having an obsessive-compulsive moment! (For, example, you leave David hanging. He must have taken off as soon as he realized the woman was not coming back. If he didn’t, he is not only a failed adulterer (this time) but an idiot. So his wife and cop brother in law would not find him there. As an adept liar, he might get himself out of this one — unless the cop checks the room registry and he used his real name — that might be harder to explain.) I rarely get so involved in a story that I do all this what ifs and whys, so my final word is to congratulate you on creating a story that intrigued me so. The characterization of Jenny, her doubts, nervousness, the eating scene are pitch perfet. You have a great talent — but I already knew that!
