The Mistress: Book Four in The Doll Collector Series

Chapter 22: Kristopher

The time had come, I was meeting with Stacy, or Alexandra, really. It was becoming difficult for me to keep up with her various identities. However, what kept her at the forefront of my mind was that reports of missing people had plagued the news for the last few days. A man and a woman were missing, and both were from MadameDaphne.com. In fact, they had last been seen with each other before their disappearance.

While many speculated that they had run off together, we all knew that their bodies would be surfacing soon with a note on parchment paper signed, The Mistress.

She had been active, or perhaps those were not only her hunting grounds and someone else was picking up her slack. Nevertheless, my main concern was cornering her tonight. I wanted a confession that, one, she had killed her babysitter like I suspected, and two, that she was The Mistress.

It was a moment that would bond us, and I wanted to share it with her.

I finished dabbing cologne onto my neck then took one last look in the mirror in the bathroom of the police station.

Maria believed I was working late looking into Layla Delgado's death. It wasn't altogether a lie. I was technically following up on a lead, wasn't I?

Perfect, I simply looked perfect. Standing there preparing myself to speak to a witness, or in this case the perpetrator, reminded me of when Adrian and I would tag team female witnesses. There was nothing we couldn't get out of a woman, whether it be details or a confession.

Adrian... sometimes I wondered about him. He'd been my best friend for so long. I knew everything about him, and now, I knew nothing.

Was he still with Cheryl? How was Adriana doing? Was his marriage well? Was Adriana doing well in school?

I hadn't really noticed until now, but his absence had left a deeper a hollow in my chest than when I was in the hospital. There was a part of him missing and now as I stared at myself in the mirror reminiscing our routine, it was so palpable.

Perhaps in the future, I can see you again.

I grabbed my jacket, gloves, and beanie and locked my office before making it out to my car. Alexandra was meeting me at the Lantern Cafe, just outside of Tulsa. The Broken Arrow Motel was about a mile down, and would be where the night would end up.

Many scenarios ran through my mind, and all of them ended with me dragging her lifeless body into the bathtub to drain her of her blood.

Imagine that, a doll of her caliber. A real killer.

I recognized Alexandra's car in the parking lot from the first time we had met. Her blonde head was all I could see as I walked through the front entrance of the cafe. She looked up, somehow sensing my presence and smiled warmly.

The strange part was that the light of her smile reached her eyes. She was either one hell of an actress, or she was truly happy to see me.

I walked right past the hostess to the table Alexandra had snagged for us. She stood, greeting me with a hug. Her perfume seemed to envelop me in a cloud. I inhaled deeply, locking the memory away for later. This was after all, the last time I would smell it.

Poor Agent Valentine, a widower at such a young age.

Alexandra thanked me for coming and motioned for the waiter to come over. He took our drink order, a Moscow Mule for her and a gin and tonic for me. There would be no chance of spiking her drink now, so the thiopental syringe sitting in my breast pocket would have to suffice.

Alexandra took over the conversation keeping it light until the waiter brought our drinks. As she carried on, it reminded me of a date. This is what it was, a date. She seemed different than before, somewhat less confident and seemingly much more interested in me.