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.
She was almost like a high school girl. It was off putting.
Where was the woman I'd met before? It almost seemed... fake.
Suddenly, she caught herself and quieted down, taking a large gulp of her Moscow Mule. Hmm, perhaps a mind reader.
"As much as I'm enjoying your company, I would like to talk about Layla Delgado." I said, seizing the opportunity of her pause in speech.
"Right... I'm sorry. I was hoping you'd forget about that. I certainly am trying my best to forget it." she replied, lowering her gaze to the table top.
Yes, one hell of an actress. I would believe her pain over losing her babysitter if I wasn't so convinced that she killed her herself. But what I wanted to know was, why? A 16-year-old was not her usual target. Unless... Alec was taking an interest in her, in which case he was a pedophile and I should kill him too.
"I know this is hard, but any bit of information helps." I assured, placing my hand over hers.
The touch was electric. Literally electric, our contact shocked both of our hands. Alexandra flinched but didn't remove her hand from under mine.
"I would feel better if it were out of earshot of well, everyone here." She said.
I smiled, nodding, but kept my hand over hers.
"Please forgive me if this is too forward, but... well... the Broken Arrow Motel is just down the street, if you'd prefer the privacy of a room."
Alexandra grinned, bringing her other hand to sandwich my hand with hers.
"I thought you'd never ask."
A tingling sensation ran up through my arm. There it was, the confidence.
I picked up the tab and escorted her out to her car. She would be following me down to the motel.
The radio accompanied me on the short drive over. The station was almost always on the news, to keep up with current events and any local news. It was mainly to hear about her, The Mistress, and public radio loved nothing more than covering a serial killer.
The top story tonight was surprisingly not of her. The missing man and woman who fit her target profile was not the top story. No, the radio was going on about another missing woman named Marissa Fischer.
I glanced at the radio, that was my Marissa. I turned up the dial as the radio host gave a full story. Marissa had been reported missing by her husband. She had been last seen 4 days earlier by the babysitter. She had left for the evening and promised to be back sometime after midnight, but never returned. When her husband returned from a business trip the following morning, the babysitter explained the situation. Her husband tried to report her earlier, but the police refused to take the report until at least 24 hours had passed.
Now, that it had been 4 days, her family was pleading with anyone that may have information regarding her whereabouts to come forward.
Oh, no one knew where she was, that was for sure, but I did. My three-day process was coming to an end, and soon her skin would be stitched over a mold and her doll would be ready for display. Her buckets of blood remained on the floor with no chances of being disposed of anytime soon.
I wanted so desperately to pour them over a mannequin with a flower crown and leave it for the world to find. The terror it inspired would come back 10 times harder, given that the entire country knew I'd escaped the mental hospital and had fallen off the face of the earth.
This would be my return and everyone would know it, unfortunately, so would the FBI and they would not hesitate to send me to the electric chair this time.
I brushed off the fantasy of reliving my prime and pulled into the parking lot of the Broken Arrow. Alexandra pulled in a few seconds later, then accompanied me to the front office. As had been the case during my previous visit, the clerk made no eye contact and asked no questions while handing me the room key.
Alexandra seemed slightly put off by his lack of attention, however I figured that this would soon become her kill spot, that is, if she lived past this night. It was so easy to get away with it here.
We walked to our designated room, number 5, and shut the door behind us. Alexandra shrugged off her coat, dropping it on the bed. My eyes could not help but run over her figure in the tight black dress she wore. It's open back was only slightly covered up by her long blonde hair that was curled ever so lightly.
She glanced over her shoulder as if she felt me staring and gave into a smirk. You're married Kristopher, don't do it.
She kills men like you. They're her bread and butter.
I focused on taking off my jacket and cleared my head of any impure thoughts. Now was not the time.
Alexandra kicked off her shoes and sunk onto the end of the bed. She leaned back on her wrists and looked over in my direction. The skirt of her dress had ridden up some as she sat down.
I tried not to look at her smooth thighs, but the temptation was too strong. Alexandra made no attempt to cover them, so they were there for the staring.
"You don't have to be so far away." she said in a teasing tone.
"Oh, but I do." I admitted.
She smiled, crossing one leg over the other. I really did need to stay away from her with as much distance as possible. The pants were suddenly getting a little too tight for me.
When she didn't see me budge, she took to her feet and crossed the room. So much for distance. She walked up to me, placing her hand on my belt to draw me closer to her. As it had at the restaurant, her perfume took hold of me.
"I know who killed Layla Delgado." she said, reaching up with her hand to place it at the back of my head.
Her gaze was penetrating, so alluring and enticing.
My hands landed on her waist as I pulled her closer into my chest.
"Who killed her?" I asked, running my eyes over every detail of her face.
She smirked, trailing her other hand through my hair. Goosebumps peppered my skin at her touch, as heat bloomed through every part of my body.
"Me."
While I wanted her confession, it struck me off guard anyways.
"What?" I breathed.
Had she really said it?
"Yes, it was me. And now, I'm going to kill you."
A sharp piercing pain burned through my side. I looked down to see her hand wrapped around the handle of a knife. The blade was deep inside of me as blood began to soak through my shirt.
Hellooooooo! How was this chapter??