James Conway - In Cold Blonde

Alice grabbed it, found an empty plastic DVD case and stuck it inside. Then she noticed the video camera in the corner of the room. The one Blake used to record her reactions as she watched the rape.

The red light was still on. It was still recording.

She walked to the camera, looked at the small LCD monitor on the back. The camera was aimed at the middle of the room where the Lady in Red had been sitting, but it also saw through the door into the living room and Blake’s dead body was on the right hand side of the frame.

The camera had recorded their fight, her attacking him in the office, his shooting her in the living room and their final battle.

Alice laughed. It would have been incredible footage for his documentary. Not the ending Blake had in mind, though. Thank God.

She hit the button to stop recording. Found the button to open the camera and reached for the tape — then hesitated.

The tape showed her bound hand and foot, held captive by Blake Hunter. It showed her fighting to free herself, getting shot by Blake before finally overpowering him.

She was clearly the victim here simply defending herself. The police should see that. Realize she wasn’t just a cold-blooded killer. She cued it to the beginning of her tripping Blake in the office and struggling to get out of the handcuffs.

Then she remembered it also showed her shooting Blake in the face after he’d begged for mercy. Maybe she better take it after all. Alice grabbed the tape.

She was moving quickly now. She grabbed her purse and dropped in the DVD and tape. She did a final look around the room to see if she’d forgotten anything. Her eyes alighted on Blake’s still camera.

He’d taken those shots of her in the sunset.

She considered taking the camera then decided the cops already had those crappy surveillance photos of her; might as well let them have a couple of glamour shots.

She stepped over Blake’s body and then stopped. If there was going to be a fifth victim, she needed to finish this crime scene. After all, she had her legacy to think about.

Let’s see, he was victim number four, so… Alice spotted a deck of cards on the kitchen pass through. She picked them up, fished out the four of hearts and dropped it on Blake’s chest.

She definitely wasn’t looking forward to the next part. The thought of touching Blake again repulsed her. Alice crouched down next to Blake, unzipped his fly. He wore boxers. She reached in and pulled out his flaccid penis.

Not much now, are you, hot shot?

She grabbed the tip and pulled, stretching it out so she could lop off as much as she could — because as every woman knows, size does matter.

Slash, slice, cut, cut. And that was that. Then she opened Blake’s mouth, and jammed in the penis.

One final detail left; Alice picked up Blake’s wallet, checked inside and yes, there it was, a Platinum American Express. She took it and dropped the wallet.

Okay, time to go. Alice crossed the room, threw open the front door and let out a startled scream.

Syd stood in the doorway, her Glock pointed at the Lady in Red’s heart. “Hello, Alice,” Syd said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Syd’s going to totally freak out.

That’s what Ryan was thinking as he showered in Anne’s hotel room. Syd had been worried about Ryan spending so much time with his ex-wife and Ryan had assured Syd and re-assured her she had nothing to worry about.

Yeah, right.

Ryan knew firsthand the emotional devastation of being dumped and wanted to find a way to spare Syd. He cared deeply about her, loved her even, he did. But not in the same way as he loved Anne. Would she understand that if he tried to explain it?

No, of course not. How could she?

And Syd was a fabulous partner. Would there be any way she would want to remain his partner?

No, of course not. How could she?

The big question then became when and how to tell Syd about Anne? Ryan thought of something his father told him. When Joseph Magee got tired of one of his wives, he’d start doing things he knew she hated. He’d drive her crazy so that she’d be the one who wanted to end the relationship. Now that took a lot of time and patience. And it certainly wasn’t a very honest way to solve a problem. But it did put the women in the control position, saved them the humiliation of being dumped and the subsequent heartache. Ryan’s dad was also convinced it saved him a little alimony since the women filed first and felt guilty about it.

Syd certainly deserved better than that. And they were in the middle of a crucial murder case and he didn’t want personal business to jeopardize the Lady in Red investigation.

So it would be prudent to wait. At least a few days.

Ryan dried himself off and stepped into the bedroom. Anne had put on a black nightgown. She’d also retouched her make-up. Ryan’s heart did a little flip when he saw her. She just looked so… beautiful.

“I better go,” he said slipping into his boxer shorts. “I need to touch base with Syd before the presentation tomorrow.”

“Speaking of Syd,” Anne said. “What’re you going to tell her?”

Ryan stepped into his pants. “That I care deeply about her, but I’ve realized I’m still in love with you and that you and I have reconciled.”

“Reconciled,” she said, pronouncing the word slowly as if tasting it. “Not a very pretty word for such a wonderful thing. It sounds so legal.”

“I thought you loved legalese.”

She got up, moved to him. “I speak legalese, I love you.” She put her arms around him and gave him a quick kiss. “Stay with me tonight. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up tomorrow.”

Ryan was tempted, but shook his head. “I just can’t, I’m sorry.” He picked up his shirt, put it on.

Anne reached out, started buttoning his buttons. “Are you going to tell Syd about tonight?”

“No, I thought I’d wait a few days, at least until we’ve wrapped up the Lady in Red

investigation.”

“A couple of days? What’re we supposed to do until then, pretend there’s nothing going on between us?”

She’d finished with the buttons. Ryan tucked in his shirt. “If you don’t mind. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be pretty ugly and I don’t want anything jeopardizing the case right now.” He picked up his jacket. The cell phone tumbled out and hit the floor.

Anne’s eyes locked on it. Would he notice she turned it off?

Ryan picked up the phone and stuck it in his pocket without even looking at it. “Syd’s a good kid and this is going to kill her. I just want to make sure I handle it the best way possible.”

“You’re sweet. Have I told you that?”

“Not in seven years.”

“You’re my sweet boy.” She kissed him again, deeper this time.

“You taste so good,” Ryan said. “I love you, Beautiful.”

“Me too, you, Handsome.”

Ryan crossed to the door, opened it.

“You know, it’s kind of funny,” Anne said. “You’ve now got two women in your life you have to pretend with. You’re hiding your relationship with Syd from the police department and you’re hiding your relationship with me from Syd.”

“Soon everyone will know about us. I promise.” He blew her a kiss and closed the door.

Ryan walked down the hall as happy as he could remember. There was a bounce to his step and he felt absolutely wonderful.

He pressed the button for the elevator thinking about tomorrow. So much was happening tomorrow; the lottery presentation and the Lady in Red investigation on the brink of an arrest. He was filled with confidence about both. About everything.

Ain’t love grand?

The elevator arrived and Ryan got in, pressed the button for the Lobby. It suddenly occurred to him that Syd hadn’t called. The last time he talked to her she was knee-deep collating Colin Wood and Adam Devlin’s phone books and she should have checked in by now. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone and flipped it open checking for messages.