Love, Lies, & Crime: Anthology

by Kimberly Blalock

  Elizabeth laughed and shook her head in awe at her calorie-careless friend. Noticing eyes trained on her, Bianca turned. “Mhat ya wokin’ at?” She garbled out the words with a mouth full of greasy food.

  “Nothing, B. You’re funny.”

  “So, chica, what time did Clark Kent come home?” It took Elizabeth a minute to realize that she hadn’t told her what’d happened after she left her house last night. Sucking in a deep breath, she dove into the short version of what happened.

  “That creep from the alley was waiting outside my house. I saw him standing across the street when your cab left.”

  “Whaaat?” Half the chewed up contents from her mouth flew out at her surprise.

  “Yes. I called the police, but they were on an emergency call and said they’d come as soon as they were able to get an available unit. He somehow got my number and called my phone, harassing me. He pounded on my door and slipped threatening notes under my door.”

  Bianca gripped her shoulders roughly and shook her. “Why the hell didn’t you call me, estupida?”

  “Everything happened so fast, I didn’t even have time to breathe. I was really scared, B.” She wasn’t sure why, but Elizabeth skipped the part where he’d broken into her house. Just saying the words would make it real. That nightmarish reality would stay between her and Carter.

  “When Carter got home, the police came, and we filled out reports and gave them his description. I haven’t seen him here all morning. Maybe the police found him.”

  “Excelente! I’ll let Nickolai know. If he shows up here, we’ll call the police.”

  “Carter walked me to work. He’s been so amazing. I love him so much, B.”

  “Sí ya veo. I could see your public display of affection from inside the diner this morning.” Bianca nudged her friend’s shoulder and wiggled her eyebrows in approval. “So, Dime, how is Clark Kent in the sack?”

  “Bianca!” Elizabeth shoved her but couldn’t hide the blush that shone crimson up her neck and cheeks. Her wide smile and flushed embarrassment gave her away.

  “Ah, that good, huh. Spill it, chica. I want all the deets.”

  Elizabeth guffawed, shaking her head. “No way.”

  Bianca placed her hands over her hips, readying herself to win the argument. “Desembucha, spit it out. I tell you all my juicy stories.” Elizabeth’s face had turned crimson under Bianca’s weighty stare. She felt as if she was in the middle of an interrogation. “Well, let’s just say he knows his way around the bedroom.”

  Bianca lifted an accusatory brow. “By bedroom, you mean tu cuerpo?”

  Elizabeth shot her a confused look, not understanding that Spanish phrase. Bianca cast her a naughty look and shook her hips. “Your body.” Elizabeth threw her head back, laughing at her outrageous friend.

  “Yeah, that too.”

  “Estas feliz? Are you happy?

  Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, B. I’m crazy about him, and I’m pretty sure he feels the same.”

  “Good. If he break tu corazon, I’ll break sus cajones.”

  “Um, thanks, B. I think.”

  Nikolai popped his head through the door and shouted, “Break’s over!”

  Both girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Elizabeth jumped to her feet, eager to get the rest of her shift over with. She forced herself to push all the fear and unease of being in that house all alone deep down, willing herself to forget. She wanted to go home as quickly as possible to clean the place, prepare a delicious meal for Carter, and of course, shower and shave. Tonight had to be perfect. Wine, music, a to-die-for outfit that’d make him drool… the whole nine. She could hardly wait.

  The rest of the afternoon passed by in a smooth, steady pace, and Elizabeth stopped looking over her shoulder for the strange man. The police must’ve gotten to him because he’d been in there every day without fail. Good riddance. Instead, she let her mind wander about what Carter’s surprise was. She’d grown anxious, impatient, and excited all rolled up into one strong emotion. She wanted tonight to be a game changer. Elizabeth was going to knock his socks off.

  Clearing her last table, the telltale countdown song sounded through the speakers. Elizabeth listened to the lyrics closely, and chills ran up her spine.

  “Que pasa?” Bianca had finished her tables and was taken aback by the look of disgust on her friend’s face, stopping her short. Wrapping her arm around her shoulders, she brought Elizabeth out of her clouded thoughts.

  “Nothing… I just, I hate this song.” Now that she’d really listened to all the words, the lyrics held an ominous meaning that hit too close to home.

  Bianca took notice for the first time, quirking her ear up to listen. After a few lines, she cringed. “Dios mio, let’s get out of here.”

  Linking their arms, the girls headed out the door. Bianca shouted over at Nickolai, who stood behind the counter. “Por dios, change the music selection already. I’ve heard the same songs on a loop for years!”

  Elizabeth smiled as her friend dragged her out the door. The crisp chilly night’s breeze cooled her bare arms. Rubbing them, she bounced up and down in an attempt to stay warm. The sun was setting early this fall, and the sidewalks were barely populated at this hour. Their shoes slapped against the concrete walkway, and their chatter echoed off the closed shops that lined the street. Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, Elizabeth pulled it out to check the message.

  Carter: I’ve been thinking

  about you all day.

  Elizabeth smiled at the short message.

  Liz: I’m on my way home now.

  B’s walking me.

  Carter: I look forward to

  seeing you.

  “By the look on your face, I’d guess that is the famous Clark Kent. You have something special planned tonight or is he just sending you nudie pics?” Bianca peered over her friend’s shoulder, attempting to sneak a peek.

  “Yes, we have something going on tonight. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.” Elizabeth brought her phone in closer to her chest, hiding the private conversation and pursing her lips at her nosy friend.

  “Claro, chica. You better.” An exhaust pipe roared noisily from an idling cab a few houses down from Elizabeth’s. Bianca’s eyes widened. “Oh, mami, I should catch that one. I’ve got plans tonight as well, and I’d like to dress up for this one.”

  “Of course, B, I’m right here. Go. I’ll be fine. Talk to ya tomorrow.”

  Bianca kissed her friend on both cheeks and climbed into the cab. “115 Lonsdale, please.”

  Elizabeth turned, skipping up her stoop steps, and collected the mail from the box. A headline plastered across the front page of the evening newspaper captured her attention.

  Body Found

  A body was found yesterday afternoon, dumped in an alley on

  Rodman Street. Detectives are searching for any leads on this gruesome case.

  If you have any information, please call the Fall River Police Department.

  Elizabeth stopped mid-step as she read the headline. Thoughts filtered through her mind of the creepy stranger.

  Did he do this? No.

  Just because I haven’t seen him all day, doesn’t mean he’d… Elizabeth couldn’t even finish that terrifying thought. It was just a terrible coincidence that the stranger stopped showing up and this poor soul was murdered. She lived in a dangerous city, after all. Things like this happen… right?

  What if it was him? That body could’ve been me. Elizabeth thought as she pushed her key into the lock.

  Elizabeth opened the door to her dark house and kicked it closed, locking the door behind her. Flicking the light switch on, a hidden figure appeared as the lights revealed his presence. Startled, she yelped and clutched her chest as she realized she wasn’t alone.

  CHAPTER NINE

  People don’t want to hear

  the truth because they don’t

  want their illusions destroyed.

  ~Friedrich Nietzsche


  It’s time. She is on her way.

  The predator gripped the cool blade in his hand tighter. The anticipation grew with each passing second… waiting to greet his Chosen one face-to-face. After months of watching, the time had finally come to take her, just like all the others before her. But, unlike all the others, she was special. The game had never been drawn out this long for anyone. This one would be his most prized masterpiece.

  He shifted in his seat, waiting in the dark… waiting for her. The excitement that had built all morning long now left him in an extreme state of arousal for the perfect moment when he’d strike. Light footsteps padded up the stairs outside. His heart thundered away inside his chest, and his pulse quickened as keys jingled against the locked door. It took every ounce of strength he had to hold back, to wait.

  The door opened, casting a dim light down the hall, fading away as it met his hidden form. Elizabeth walked into the house, reading intently at the paper he’d placed on top of her mail. She kicked the door closed behind her and flipped on the lights, his presence now coming in full view. Seeing a figure from the corner of her eye, Elizabeth jumped at the sight of the man sitting in her hallway.

  “Oh my God! Carter? What are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me.”

  Carter sat in her kitchen chair in the middle of the hallway, wearing clothes completely out of character for him. A Steelers hat sat low, shadowing his face, and a dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans completed his unusual outfit.

  A sinister smile greeted her, sending alarm bells sounding off inside her head. “I thought you had to work late. What’re you doing here so early?”

  Rising to his feet, he straightened his spine and stalked over to her. “I’m here for you.”

  Cold chills doused her with a new sense of awareness. Only then did she notice the black leather gloves he wore inside the house, and the shiny medal dagger clenched tightly in his fisted grasp.

  “You’re not funny, Carter. What’s going on?”

  “My apologies, Elizabeth, for I have disillusioned you into thinking that these past four months have been a dream come true for you, when in fact, your life has been my most triumphant game. And you, oh so blindly, walked into my trap.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes darted from Carter’s manic glare, his gloved hands, and the blade. Her mind tried to wrap itself around what he was saying, in complete denial.

  “I will miss you, babe… Miss your smell…. Miss your taste…. Most of all, I will miss the way your body felt against mine. You will always hold a special place in my heart.”

  Rage passed over his features as he darted toward her. Elizabeth dodged his lunging body and escaped the arms that tried to grab her. She sprinted down the hall to her bedroom. There, on the floor by her bed, stood the black case containing his gun. Elizabeth dropped down hard on her knees and dragged the case out. She opened it with trembling fingers, half expecting the gun to be missing. It wasn’t.

  Hope blossomed inside of her. Gun trumps knives, fucker!

  The man she knew as Carter strolled down the hall after her, chanting in a deep gravelly voice, “Little pig, little pig, let me in…”

  Elizabeth screamed through the door, “You’ll never get away with this, you sick bastard. Everyone has seen your face. Your prints will be everywhere.”

  The monster ‘tsked her on the other side. “My prints belong here, babe. I’m fucking you. Everyone knows it.”

  Kicking open the door, Carter stood in the threshold. Elizabeth raised the revolver in her wavering grasp and aimed it directly at the intruder… her boyfriend… her stalker. She sobbed uncontrollably. How could she be so blind? She’d been intimately involved with a psychotic monster for months.

  “So it was you this whole time? But what about the man from the diner? I saw him outside the house. Is he working with you?”

  “That poor bum you told the cops about will be the one they peg it on. He is known by police as the local Peeping Tom, after all. That asshole threw a wrench in my plan, but I reconfigured my timeline around him. He made the perfect alibi.”

  Carter cocked his head to the side. “He really did have his eye on you, but there was no way in hell I was going to let anyone else near you. You are mine.”

  Elizabeth flicked the safety off and cocked the hammer back on the revolver, just like he had showed her.

  A sinister grin spread over his lips. “You going to shoot me, babe? I thought you loved me.”

  Tears rolled down her bewildered face. She did still love him; her heart couldn’t understand what or why this was going on. “Why are you doing this to me? I gave you everything. I loved you. I wanted to have your children.” After each word, her voice rose higher and higher until she was shrieking at him.

  “Ah, yes, my love. There is no greater reward than the gift of a woman’s virtue. By the night’s end, I will have taken your mind, your heart, your body, and of course, your soul.” The monster took two steps toward Elizabeth, raising the blade, readying himself for the plunge.

  The petrified girl pulled the trigger and didn’t stop. She was met with all the noise, but none of the impact after each fire.

  “No!” she screamed as the popping eventually stopped, giving way to the empty sounds of the chamber clicking.

  An evil grin widened as the predator inched his way forward. “Blanks.”

  Fear and confusion had Elizabeth staring down at the false sense of security. She risked looking back up at him as he loomed over her.

  “It’s all part of the game. It’s no fun without the illusion of hope.”

  Elizabeth shrank back against the side of the bed and the nightstand as he crouched down next to her. “Thank you for making this the most memorable moment in my life.”

  “Please, you don’t have to do this. I love you, Carter.”

  Tracing the blade along her jaw bone, Carter’s eyes softened. “I love you, too, Elizabeth. More than anyone could ever understand. Now, I’ll carry you with me. Forever.”

  With one violent thrust, the evil man plunged the blade deep into her chest and watched as her eyes widened with the force of the blow. Her weak attempts to push him off were futile. The monster leaned his forehead against hers, gazing deep into her eyes.

  “Thank you for choosing me.”

  Elizabeth choked and garbled on her own blood. The will to fight drifted away with each painful thud of her dying heart.

  “That’s my good girl. Shh, don’t fight it,” he cooed.

  With his free hand, he stroked the soft, paling skin of her cheek as her dulling eyes glazed over.

  This is it.

  Her labored breathing slowed to a stop. He waited, anticipating his much sought after last breath. Elizabeth’s eyes rolled back as her body released the last remnants of her once vibrant life. The monster sucked her soul deep into his lungs. He could feel her life force filling him and coursing through his veins. Carter moaned at the weightlessness of the heady high that lingered inside him. He could feel her coursing through every dark void and empty space that festered within him. They were now joined.

  “You will always be mine now, Lizzie. Every last breath belongs to me.”

  Leaning over her still body, he placed a tender kiss on her lifeless lips. Yanking the blade from deep within her chest cavity, the monster wiped the blood on the back of his jeans. He picked up her limp body and carefully laid her in the comfort of her soft bed.

  Needing a few more moments with the only woman he came close to loving, Carter sat down beside her. Using the sheets around her, he gently wiped the blood and sweat off of her beautiful face. Carter then straightened her clothes before placing both her delicate hands on her chest, covering the wound. Not satisfied until she looked as perfect as she was when he first met her, the deranged man took the time to brush out her hair, arranging it so that it framed her flawless face. Finally, he pressed his warm lips to her cold ones for one last kiss. “I’ll carry you with me, always.”

  Stepping out t
he back slider doors, the monster slipped into the protection of night.

  How long would this feeling last? He wasn’t sure. But thanks to Elizabeth Montgomery, the game had risen to a whole other level. It wasn’t enough anymore to simply stalk and kill his prey.

  No.

  He needed to inject himself into their lives.

  Live them, breathe them, love them.

  The game was dependent on the blind disillusion of his precious Chosen.

  Pulling his hood up over his head and shoving his hands inside his pockets, the predator walked unnoticed down the city streets. Remaining hidden, he mingled amongst a crowd of people making their way to the clubs and bars that were opening their doors.

  Scanning the crowd, he couldn’t help but wonder…

  Who’s next?

  The End

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  ONE STAR

  Penned by Debbie Cooper

  Lying in a trench trying to get sleep

  Awaiting a cool breeze from the sands heat

  When you look up into the dark the blue sky

  Your mind is filled with memories gone by

  You fill our thoughts every day, Dear Soldier

  Bringing in freedom, you are the holder

  United we stand, the Red, White and Blue

  Never forgotten we stand beside you

  Some fallen, a sacrifice they’re giving

  Liberty, Justice for all left living

  Not knowing when you’ll be near or far

  We ALL share the same bright shining star

  CHAPTER ONE

  Three years ago

  The humid air in Ramadi hits me in the face as soon as I walk out of the Camp Blue Diamond barracks. This is my final deployment before I decide if I want to reenlist for active duty for four more years. I’ve dedicated the last eight years of my life to serve my country. Freedom…a concept so many Americans treasure yet they’re oblivious to the bloodshed freedom requires to protect it. I was chosen for this covert operation at the behest of my commanding officer, Captain Matthew Lizardi, of the 75th Ranger Regiment of the US Army. He needed someone from our Fort Bragg chalk on the ground, someone of his trust. An inside man—or lady in this case—in hostile territory for a recovery mission…Cap chose me.