by Dan O'Brien
Alex stepped back into the light, fright filling her eyes. “Please, don’t hurt me. I’m sorry. We don’t like being called Fragminis. We are not ruined….”
Lauren nodded and then holstered her weapon again. “What would you prefer to be called?”
She smiled. “Alex.”
“Alright, Alex, I need some answers. Why were you at that bar? Did you have anything to do with the recent murder in the Tenderloin?”
Alex sat hunched on the window sill. She was smaller than Lauren had thought initially. Without her heels and perfect posture, she looked fragile. “He was nice. I didn’t want to do it….”
“Are you saying you killed Ken Marlowe?”
She shook her head. “I just lured him into the alleyway.”
“Why?”
Alex stood up and walked forward, staying in the light.
“We were told to. We had orders.”
“Orders?”
Alex sighed. “There is this man. He told my father he would protect us if we did what he told us to do.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“What can you tell me?”
“Not much. My father takes care of us as best he can. We don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“What about Benny?”
“Who?”
Lauren stepped forward again. “A homeless man who was killed beneath an overpass. Was killing him an order as well?” she asked, antagonism thick in her voice.
Alex looked around in a panic. “No.”
“I need more than this, Alex. You have admitted to luring Marlowe to his death. I could haul you in on that alone.”
With a sudden movement, the young woman slipped back into the darkness. Lauren watched as she transformed into a frightening shadow that no longer resembled something human. It scrambled up the walls and flattened against the ceiling.
A bloated voice carried across the room. “I’m sorry.”
Lauren could hear the shadow escaping, its tread rattling the wooden rafters. She charged after it, the sound of her own heavy breathing and footfalls echoing along the dark, narrow halls.
She turned a corner and ran into something hard.
She fell back and drew her weapon irritably.
“Federal agent,” she barked.
A figure stepped forward and smiled.
“Calm down, sis. It’s only me.”
