Dennis Larsen - With Cruel Intent

Beverly could not believe her good fortune. This guy was for real. The development firm he was representing was a limited corporation that had a listing on the Internet, she’d never heard of them before, but she didn’t pretend to know everybody working the market. She had phoned a couple of numbers that afternoon, before they met, to confirm that she wasn’t being conned, and was pleased to finally reach the CEO. He confirmed that Mr. Unger, was indeed, hired by them on a temporary basis to look into this specific property. She enjoyed the drive and was taken by the easy charm of her client. He seemed interested in her as well, been a long time since she’d felt a man alongside her in her bed, maybe she’d get lucky.

“Mr. Unger, do you like what you see?” she said, pointing to the flat stretch of land that lay before them.

“Indeed I do,” he said, ignoring the land and eyeing Bev up and down.

“Felix, you’re making me blush like a schoolgirl,” she said, in an exaggerated Southern accent.

“I’ll tell you what Bev, I think I can talk my guys into having a good HARD look at you…’re property here. I need some time to do a proper analysis, and could you get those statistics to me that we talked about on the drive out here. Once I get all that in hand, I’ll put together a package for the corp., and then I know we’ll have to get together for some more questions. How’s that sound?” he said, making sure to invade her personal space every chance he got.

“I think that sounds great. When do you think I’ll hear from you?” she asked.

“About the property or ….what?” he coyly asked, testing the waters.

“You are a naughty one, aren't you,” she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

“That’s why I’m in the business I’m in Bev, I have an eye for a good thing, and I go after it till I’ve got it. That’s why they pay me the big money.”

“I have no doubts about that, Mr. Unger,” she replied, wishing that he’d just take her right then and there on the hood of her car.

“Okay, well let’s see where tomorrow finds us and I’ll be in touch.”

The drive back was just as much fun as the drive there. The two talked and served sexually suggestive lines back and forth like a couple of tennis pros for the twenty-minute drive back to her office.

“Bev, let me ask you a rather direct question,” he said, leaning in close to her over the console of the BMW.

“Shoot.”

Her phrasing could not have been more appropriate. “Do you ever do business out of your home, or just here at the office?”

Boy, he was a fast mover. “Well, I’ll tell you Felix, it’s been awhile since I’ve conducted any ‘business’ at home but would certainly entertain your offer at my place if and when, you have all the hard data together.” She flicked her fingers in the air like quotation marks when she said the word business.

Even a boy scout would have gotten her message. Felix knew he was good to go whenever Iggy could make it happen.

“That sounds more than promising Bev, I’m sure I’ll be speaking with you real soon. You’ve got my number if you need to reach me and I’ve already got yours programmed into my cell. Pleasure was all mine this afternoon, good day.” He exited the car and tipped his head down for one last wave and goodbye.

Damn, it was just too easy.

Lester rolled out of bed early, fixed himself some pancakes and eggs, while thinking about the day ahead of him. Monday mornings were no different for him than any other day of the week, but for most, it meant the beginning of a long workweek and the grind of day-to-day living. He suspected it might prove to be a bad day for some, a very bad day indeed. He sat before his television set and watched the morning news while he ate his breakfast. His thoughts wandered back to yesterday and his encounter with the officer and her mutt. After this morning he hoped to no longer be a blip on their radar. The newscaster talked of a few national items before she turned her attention to the unfortunate shooting at The Dixie Diner. The police had not released any information, other than a brief statement, indicating the shooting was most likely drug related, and the department had assigned a couple of senior detectives to the case.

“Maybe I’ll be able to give them a hand,” he mused to himself.

He looked outside to see what the weather had in store, overcast and a thick layer of misty fog hung low to the ground. The weather would certainly create problems for him if it didn’t clear up before he started shooting pictures. The camera, with large lens, still went into the backpack, as well as two old, textbooks and lastly, the stolen.38 caliber pistol that he’d used to shoot Jasper, the spent shell casing still held within the cylinder of the gun.

The perpetrator tried to remember what students were wearing on campus these days. He settled on a logo emblazoned t-shirt, blue jeans, with an appropriate number of holes in them, sandals, and a windbreaker, in case some rain blew in off the ocean. Lester stood in front of the mirror, assuring himself that he looked the part, pulled a ball cap from his bedpost to complete the ensemble, and left his home for Valdosta University.

“First things first,” he thought, after arriving at the campus.

The university was already quite busy with students hurriedly moving from one building to the next. By the time he’d arrived, the fog had all but lifted, burning off with the arrival of the sun. He removed his light jacket and stuffed it into the backpack, trying to blend in as much as possible. Over the years, he had spent some time on the old campus, great place to look at girls, but times had certainly changed, most young women wore sheer blouses or tight T’s, and in some cases a swimsuit top instead of a shirt.

“I think I’m going to enjoy today,” he said to himself, as he studied the layout of the central grassy area outside the library.

Some students, near the library, were congregating on blankets spread out on the dew-covered grass, eating donuts and drinking coffee. Lester located a pay phone just outside the library doors, looked at his watch and the number he had written across the palm of his left hand. He dialed.

A familiar voice answered the phone at the other end. “Good morning, Valdosta Public Library, how can I help you?” Blanche said.

“Hi, yeah, I was in there last week and a really nice guy helped me find a couple of books, and he said to call if I thought of anything else I needed. Anyway, I was wondering if I could speak to him.”

“Do you remember his name? We have a number of students that help us out.”

“No I don’t, but it was in the evening and he’s about six feet tall, kind of thin, brown hair,” he described him, trying not to be too specific.

“Okay, that would be Seymour.”

“Right, right, ah Seymour ah……,” he waited for her to fill in the blank.

“Wood, Seymour Wood. He’s not working this morning, only works a couple of nights a week. Can I take a message for him?” she said, trying to be helpful.

“No, I’ll just drop by the library later and talk to him. When does he work next?”

“I don’t think he works again until tomorrow night, but I’d be happy to help you if you wanted to come in today, I’ll be here until 6:00 p.m. and my name is Miss Delaney.”

“Thanks for the offer, you wouldn’t happen to have a phone number for Seymour would you?” he pressed for that last bit of information he needed.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have his permission to provide those specifics over the phone, but like I said he’ll be here tomorrow night.”

“Okay, well thanks anyway. Have a good day, bye.”