by Laurèn Lee
“Can we please start planning out this triple homicide so I can get on with my life,” Charlotte sighed.
“You’re in a mood,” Adriel noticed.
“Yeah, I wonder why?” Charlotte countered.
“How many times do I have to tell you ‘I’m sorry’ for you to accept my apology?”
Charlotte paused, “At least ten more times.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. And an extra for good luck,” he smirked.
Charlotte smiled. It was difficult to stay mad at Adriel for too long. There was something about him. Something caused Charlotte’s chest to swell every time he looked at her. Then, an image of Liam standing over the poor girl popped back into her head and her smile vanished.
“Cheer up, buttercup. Everything will work out.”
“Says the demon currently holding my soul hostage.”
“All right, well let’s start brainstorming, shall we?”
“Sure. Let’s figure out how to murder three men all by ourselves.”
“By yourself,” Adriel corrected her.
“Excuse me?”
“I can only help to a certain extent. The majority is yours to handle and yours alone.”
Charlotte’s eyes began to bulge and her chest swelled.
“That’s why we are brainstorming now, dear,” he said.
“Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse. Why can’t you zap them with your fire hands or whatever?” Charlotte pleaded.
“Charlotte,” Adriel addressed her seriously, “It has to be you. You and you alone have to kill these men, otherwise, I cannot give your soul back and wake Liam up.”
Charlotte sat in silence for a few moments, trying her best to accept the inevitable.
“Do you have a gun?”
“Gunshots may attract unwanted attention, Charlotte.”
“Okay, how about I make them dinner and put antifreeze in their portions?”
“That might take too long, Gone Girl,” Adriel said.
Charlotte sighed, “Can I get a little help over here? I’ve never killed anyone and you keep shooting down all of my ideas!”
“Come up with some better ideas and I won’t need to shoot them down,” Adriel yawned.
“You’re the demon, you come up with something!” Charlotte muttered.
“Come on, Charlotte. Use that pretty little head of yours.”
Charlotte tapped her feet upon the floor and desperately tried to search her mind for the perfect plan. Adriel continued to sip his drink nonchalantly which frustrated Charlotte even more. You’d think if anyone would know how to scrounge up a little evil to carry out this master plan, it would be the demon in her kitchen.
Finally, Charlotte spoke up, “Okay, I have an idea.”
24
Present
“What if this doesn’t work?”
“It will work, Charlotte. I believe in you,” Adriel said.
“And you’re positive I have to do this all on my own, right?”
“One hundred and ten percent,” he replied.
“All right, here goes nothing,” Charlotte said picking up her phone and making a call.
Adriel could hear the dial tone while Charlotte desperately waited for an answer. Adriel looked at Charlotte and waved his arms attempting to signal she needed to calm down and take a breath; she gave him the middle finger.
“Greg! I’m so glad you answered. Uh, it’s Charlotte, Liam’s fiancée?” Charlotte’s hands were shaking. “Yes, yes, Liam is okay. He actually wanted me to give you a call. Uh huh, yes. Well, he asked for you, Charlie and John to stop over to our condo to pick up some of his client files. Why does he need all three of you to come over?” Charlotte began to panic and looked over to Adriel for guidance.
Adriel nodded at her approvingly. “Calm down,” he mouthed.
“Well, he said there were a lot of files which needed to be taken care of while he was recovering. I know you’re all very busy, but he insisted on all three of you coming over. Yes, he definitely insisted. He said one of you wouldn’t be able to carry all the files by yourself. Okay great! You’ll come by tonight then? Around 8? Perfect, see you then!”
“You did great, kiddo,” Adriel said, giving her a thumbs up as Charlotte ended the call.
“Yeah, I’m doing a great job preparing to become a serial killer,” she jested.
“Here,” Adriel offered her a glass of wine.
“Trying to turn me into an alcoholic, too?”
“It’ll calm your nerves, now let’s start prepping.”
…
For the next few hours, Charlotte and Adriel made sure everything in the condo had been prepared to perfection. Charlotte gathered stacks of paper she and Liam were planning on recycling and placed them in his office. Liam almost never brought his work home with him, so there wouldn’t be any legitimate work files to use. She arranged them into neat towers, some in manilla envelopes. She desperately hoped the scene looked realistic, at least to buy her enough time to distract the men while she carried out her plan.
To appear as a good hostess, she baked a sheet of chocolate chip cookies. The sweet aroma filled the condo with the calming scents of vanilla and sugar. Charlotte tried to recruit Adriel to help her with the baking tasks, but he just stood in the corner of the kitchen, sipped his drink and laughed every time Charlotte spilled an ingredient.
“Hey, maybe since you have so much free time on your hands, you could double check Liam’s office to make sure everything looks okay?”
“No, that’s all right. I’d rather just sit back, relax and watch you struggle.”
Charlotte threw an egg at Adriel and nearly hit him, but his reflexes were too fast and he dodged it at the last second. The egg splattered against the wall, creating even more of a mess in the kitchen.
“Nice arm,” he said amused.
“If you think that was impressive, you should see my curveball.”
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Adriel said.
“Is it fun for you to always be such a smart ass? Does it bring you pleasure knowing you’re a huge pain in my side?”
“Well, I was only doing it out of boredom before, but now that I know it irritates you, I guess I’ll keep it up.”
“You’ve gotta be the most annoying demon in Hell, you know that, right?”
Adriel burst out in dark laughter, “If you think I’m bad, you wouldn’t survive one minute down there.”
“What’s it like?” Charlotte asked carefully.
“Hell?”
Charlotte nodded.
“I don’t think I’m capable of doing the place justice with just words, but I guess if I had to give it a go, I’d say it’s rather warm, dark and full of the evilest sons of bitches you could ever imagine.”
“Sounds like high school,” Charlotte commented.
Adriel chuckled, “I’m sure high school wasn’t that bad, however, I wouldn’t know. I never went.”
“I’d rather kill thirty more men than go back to somewhere I never felt I belonged.”
“Well, I guess it’s something we have in common,” Adriel said quietly.
Charlotte opened her mouth to continue the conversation, but the timer rang for the cookies and distracted her.
Charlotte hurriedly took out the cookies and put a sheet of tin foil on top to ensure the moisture remained intact. Once the cookies were taken care of, Charlotte began pacing, once again.
“Calm down, everything will be fine. We’ve rehearsed the plan and you’ll do great,” Adriel promised.
Ignoring Adriel’s vote of confidence, Charlotte continued pacing around the kitchen and the apartment. Her palms moistened and she couldn’t stop cracking her knuckles, a nervous habit dating back to childhood.
She desperately wished for time to slow down, but instead, it seemed to be speeding up. It was now 8:03. Greg, Charlie, and John were due t
o arrive at any moment now.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
“It’s show time!” Adriel said and promptly vanished into thin air.
25
Present
“Hi, guys,” Charlotte said, cheerfully greeting her guests.
However, as Charlotte inspected the men, something seemed off. Then she realized it; only two of the three men had shown up.
Greg and Charlie walked into the condo awkwardly, still dressed in their business suits.
“So, Liam has a lot of client files, huh?” Charlie asked as he ruffled his hands through thick auburn curls. Charlie was thinner than Greg, but still seemed rather large for his height.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Charlotte confirmed, “He’s a hard worker, as I’m sure you both know! Hey, where’s John?” Charlotte asked nervously, while also trying to keep her composure.
“Oh, he’s stuck at the office. He said he’s sorry he couldn’t make it,” Charlie responded nonchalantly.
“No problem,” Charlotte said, lying through her teeth.
Charlotte began leading the men on a tour of the condo much to their impatient body language. First, she presented the living room, making sure to point out each of the paintings on the walls. She was trying her best to keep the plan moving as scheduled, even with the recent hiccup.
“We bought this one at Allentown last year. The artist is amazing. Her booth was right by the Stone Tavern,” Charlotte mentioned apprehensively. “Do you ever go to the art festival?”
“Yeah, Sydney drags me every damn summer,” Greg admitted.
“I mostly go for the booze,” Charlie laughed.
“Yes, it’s always a great time,” Charlotte said encouragingly. “It’s my favorite festival of the year!”
Charlotte continued to point out the backstories of the other paintings, making sure to mention the exact artist and where on Allen Street they purchased each of the pieces.
The men “ooohhe’d and awww’d” at all the right times, but Charlotte sensed they were becoming increasingly impatient.
“So where are these files Liam wanted us to take back to the office,” Greg asked finally.
Charlotte attempted to remain as calm as possible while addressing him, as she couldn’t get the images of him and the girl in the alleyway out of her head. She remembered how he had kicked the poor girl in the ribs when she was already down. She was thrilled he would be the first to go.
“Oh yes, they are in Liam’s office. Charlie, would you mind grabbing them?”
He nodded and Greg turned to her waiting for further instructions.
“Greg, I just need to show you another painting we bought a few years ago. It’s upstairs, and I know you’ll love it,” she winked and headed toward the stairs.
Greg blindly followed her and Charlotte noticed a sparkle in his eye. She could only imagine what kind of ideas were running through this sick bastard’s mind.
She knew she only had minutes before Charlie would find the stacks of papers and realize they were not client files at all, but old drafts of articles and utility billing statements.
Charlotte pulled Greg into their spare bedroom and locked the door behind them.
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve got,” he said with glee.
“Oh, you’ll definitely like what I’m about to show you,” she teased.
Glancing around the spare bedroom, Greg noticed the walls were completely bare. He looked back at the locked door and he rubbed his hands together joyously.
“You’re a tricky little minx, aren’t you?”
“You have absolutely no idea.”
As swift as a ninja, Charlotte pulled a steak knife out of her back pocket and pointed it directly at Greg’s chest.
“A little roleplaying?” he asked as he backed into the corner, nearly licking his lips.
“Yes, roleplaying. You’re the rapist pig, and I’m the girl who’s going to bring you to justice.”
“Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve ever played this one before.”
“It will be the first and last time we act this out,” Charlotte promised menacingly.
“Okay, Charlotte. You had your fun, put the knife away,” Greg urged, less excited now that Charlotte hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to become sexual.
“Keep quiet or I will make sure to take my time,” she hissed.
“Charlotte, if this is your idea of a joke, you’ve got some sick kind of humor.”
Beads of sweat collected above Greg’s brow and his breathing rapidly increased as each second passed.
“I think I hear Charlie downstairs, we should go see if he’s doing okay with the paperwork.”
“He’s fine.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we can talk about it. Put the knife down and we can talk.”
“Talk about it? Yes, let’s. Let’s talk about how you raped and murdered an innocent girl, simply for sport!”
Greg’s eyes grew to the size of chestnuts and he began stuttering and stumbling over his words.
“How, what? Who told you? Liam?”
“It doesn’t matter how I know, all that matters is you’re going to pay for what you did.”
Without another word, Charlotte closed in on Greg and slid the knife easily into his chest like she was gutting a pig. She shoved it in as deeply as she could, and felt the warm rush of blood begin to seep out of the entry wound. He was pinned against the corner of the room and despite his rotund size, Charlotte remained in control.
“You think just because you have money and power, you can do as you please. Well, that ends today. It ends right now. You will never bring harm to another human being again.”
She looked straight into his eyes and smiled. He struggled to breathe, but after a few moments, it seemed as though he had accepted his fate. He knew it was over, too. After his final exhale, Charlotte let go of the knife and watched with satisfaction as Greg slid down the wall. He’d never hurt another girl and soon enough, he’d be sent to Hell to pay for his sins.
Charlotte looked into the dresser’s mirror beside her, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was drenched in blood and had a strange look on her face. Her reflection appeared as though a totally different person was in the mirror. She looked dangerous, maddened and evil. She felt absolutely no remorse for what she had just done, in fact, she felt elated.
She had to focus, though, it was time to start phase two of her plan. Charlotte sprinted out of the room and down the stairs to find Charlie nibbling the cookies she had placed on the kitchen’s island.
He hadn’t looked up just yet but continued to stuff his face.
“These are really good, Charlotte. But is there another stack of papers somewhere? I went into Liam’s office and all I found were old bills.”
When Charlotte didn’t respond, he looked up at her and his smile vanished.
“Charlotte, is everything okay?” Charlie asked, suddenly becoming frenzied. He noticed all of the blood on her clothes and he leaped off the kitchen stool.
“Quick, hurry! Greg fell and cut open his leg, it’s really bad. Please help me!”
“I’ll call 9-1-1,” Charlie said reaching for his phone.
Charlotte, prepared for this reaction, quickly answered, “No, I will call. Please, go upstairs and help him!”
Nodding, Charlie ran upstairs to help Greg. Little did he know, he would be calling for help soon enough.
26
Present
Charlotte dashed upstairs after Charlie. She entered the spare bedroom only a few seconds after he had toppled inside.
Luckily, she was able to close the door behind them without Charlie noticing. Charlotte successfully locked her prey inside the room once again.
It didn’t take long for Charlie to see Greg, lying there bloodied and motionless. He slowly turned around and gaped at Charlotte, his eyes grew almost the same size as Greg’s had. Charlotte reveled in the fear revealed in his face. She hoped she had just instilled the
same fear in Charlie as he had created within the waitress.
“Charlotte, why is there a knife in Greg’s heart?”
“Karma,” she answered, smiling.
Charlie may have been a murderer, but he wasn’t a moron. He now realized he had been led here under false pretenses.
“You know?” Charlie accused.
“I know about everything,” she said, “Did you even care you were ending someone’s life? Did you care you were taking away someone’s daughter, someone’s friend?”
“It was an accident,” Charlie said, slowing backing away from Charlotte into the other corner of the bedroom.
“Oh yeah, so you accidentally fell on top of her with your pants down, is that right?”
“Liam made us do it!” he shouted, panicked. He threw his hands up in the air as a sign of surrender.
Charlotte erupted in a fit of laughter.
“I don’t care if God himself told you to hurt that girl. You killed a woman, and she deserves justice.”
Charlotte, drunk on the power, felt invincible. However, she’d let her guard down. She never considered one of the men would fight back once she had the upper hand.
Charlie rushed toward her, tackling her to the bed.
No! This is not how it’s supposed to happen!
Charlie straddled her, nearly crushing her under his massive weight.
“Adriel! Help me!”
“Who’s Adriel? Charlie sneered, suddenly not so frightened of her. His hands grasped around her throat. “Is he your lover? I bet he is, you little whore. I always knew Liam made a mistake being with you.”
Charlotte couldn’t breathe, her vision became blurred and she felt as though she was going to lose consciousness at any moment. She had failed and now she was going to suffer the consequences. It wouldn’t matter she’d never be given her soul back because she’d be dead.
She concentrated and focused as much as she could on trying to contact Adriel through brain waves. But, as much as she called to him in her mind, he hadn’t come. He deserted her when she needed him the most.
