Illusion of Luck 23

“Why did you have to kill her?”

Larry puffed on his pipe and smiled.

Cynthia wished she could jump out of the car. But if she didn’t die from hitting the road at 75 mph, she’d surely die when Larry came back to hunt her down.

She had figured Larry for a whacko when he stole her away from her honeymoon. But she hadn’t been sure how dan­gerous he was. Now she knew he was a cold-blooded killer. He really would push that red button and blow her hand off. She had thought that if she tried to run away, losing her hand would be her worst fate. Now that seemed like the best case scenario.

“What about your luck, Larry? If you’re so lucky then why were you worried about her telling somebody I was hand­cuffed? Didn’t you trust your luck to keep you out of trouble?

“Oh, my luck worked just fine. I was able to kill her right there in the parking lot without any witnesses. There were four or five customers in the store. Any one of them could have walked out while I was cracking her head open. Yet nobody did. That’s some powerful luck.”

“Then why do you need me? Why don’t you just go buy yourself a lottery ticket and win a fortune. And then I’m sure any number of women would love to be with you.”

“It’s not that I need you. It’s that I want you. And I always get what I want.”

He puffed on his pipe. “But I did buy a lottery ticket for last night’s drawing.”

“Did you win?”

“Of course—$45 million.” He grinned broadly.

Cynthia was amazed. Why is all the good luck wasted on this creep?

“Unless somebody else picked the same numbers—which is possible, but unlikely.”

“So, you don’t know how much you won?”

“Not yet. I haven’t even checked the news.”

“Then how do you know you won?”

“Are you kidding? I’m Lucky Larry. I always win. I haven’t played in a long time because I didn’t need the money. But I knew I could win again whenever I needed to.”

Larry exited Highway 59 and pulled in at a seedy looking motel and parked in front of the office.

He handcuffed Cynthia to the steering wheel.

“Don’t let anybody see the cuffs—unless you want them to die.”

“What are we doing here?”

“I met a very interesting woman online. She’s meeting us here. She’s very hot—you’ll like her. And she’s gonna love your body.” He got out of the car and walked into the office.

Cynthia felt ill. What kind of a sleazy tramp would come to this roach motel to have sex with two strangers? She wondered how much Larry was paying her. And what horrible things would Cynthia be forced to do tonight just to stay alive? Would she ever be the same? And if she survived it, would Greg still want her?

**********

Chaucey opened the dusty package of fishnet thigh highs she had ordered online two years earlier. She couldn’t remem­ber what had possessed her to buy them. Perhaps it was just to see how they made her feel.

She had always been beautiful. In high school she could have had any boy she wanted. But they were all so immature. Art school was not much better.

She had been working full-time for three years when she ran into a good-looking guy in a Blockbuster. Normally she would have walked right past him. But when she saw that he was renting Sense and Sensibility she introduced herself.

“Great movie,” she said.

“Yes, it is.”

“Got anybody to watch it with?”

“Uh…”

“My name is Chaucey.” She shook his hand.

“Hi. I’m Timothy.”

They went to his place to watch the movie. He was entranced by her beauty. She loved his quiet intellect.

Both families approved of their coupledom. Everybody thought the doctor and the graphic designer were made for each other.

Sexually, Chaucey gave Timothy everything he could have ever hoped for. But emotionally, she always held back a part of herself. He thought she would finally open up to him. But she never did. And it wasn’t that she didn’t want to. She just couldn’t.

Her parents had been so disappointed when they learned of the breakup. She tried to save the relationship. She even posed for a sexy photo and mailed it to him with a plea to give it one more try. He had never responded.

After that, she had gone back into her shell. It was only a year ago that she had allowed a friend into her life. Crow had been a great buddy to hang out with. But now he wanted more. He wanted love.

Her feelings for him were strong, but they were not roman­tic. How could she ever love a man of his…low intelligence? She hated herself for even thinking those thoughts. But it was the one thing Crow lacked. And it was the thing she desired most.

Barry Undermine was an intellectual—a talented novelist. She imagined being held in his arms, melting in the warmth of his eloquent prose.

When she had walked out on Crow after his declaration of love, and returned to her apartment, she had found a message waiting from Mr. Undermine. He had located her website and sent her an email. She had been shocked and excited.

You are cordially invited to join me for an evening of poetry reading, wine, and lovemaking.

Sincerely, Barry Undermine

She had responded immediately. Yes, it would be her honor to join him.

She would dazzle him with her sexuality, just in case he was not sufficiently impressed with her mind. Chaucey had never dated a man who was smarter than her. This might be a first, she thought.

**********

Crow heard Chaucey come out of her apartment. He jumped up from the couch and ran to the door. Then he quietly opened it and peeked out just in time to see her walking into the elevator.

He wondered why she was dressed like that. He’d never seen her wear fishnet stockings, high heels, and a mini skirt. She did look very sexy. But she didn’t look like his Chaucey.

**********

“Where could they be?” said Greg.

“Who knows?” said Sandy.

“How long have we been sitting here?”

“You just asked me that. About twenty minutes.”

“I wonder if Rebecca found anything on his web page.”

“She’ll call as soon as she does. Come on, Buddy—it’s only 8:45. And it’s gonna be a long night if you don’t settle down a little bit. Try to think about something else for a while.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good.”

Greg had parked the Bonneville in a poorly-lit back corner of the lot where it wouldn’t be noticed.

“So, what’s the deal with you and Rebecca?” said Greg.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you two seem pretty close.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, yeah, I like her. And I guess she likes me. But we’re like oil and water, Man. And you can’t mix oil and water.”

“Sure, you can.”

“Huh?”

“You take water…add oil…throw in some vinegar and spices and—“

“—you’re turning us into a salad dressing?”

“I saw you hugging her on the bed, Sandy.”

“…You did?”

“Yeah. And I didn’t see her pushing you away.”

“She was asleep.”

“Oh.”

“I mean—I think she was.”

“What if you’re wrong? What if she was awake and she wanted you to snuggle with her…

Sandy looked straight ahead.

“…and play with her breast?” said Greg.

“You saw that?”

Greg laughed. “No. I couldn’t see anything. It was too dark in the room, you knucklehead. But knowing you, I just fig­ured.”

“Okay, yeah, you caught me. That’s exactly what I was doing. I’m crazy about her.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for you.”

“No—I don’t know if it’s great. I can’t tell how she feels about me.”

“Well, I didn’t hear her yelling at you or slapping you.”

“Yeah. That surprised me. I still had my arm around her right before she got up.”

“See? She does like you.”

Sandy’s cell phone rang. He put it on speakerphone.

“You got something?”

“I found out where Chaucey lives,” said Rebecca.

“Where?”

“In Sugar Land. I think that might be where Larry went.”

“Why? Did he post another comment?” said Greg.

“No. But in his last comment it sure sounded like he wanted to meet her. And since he’s not at his place, maybe he went to hers.”

“Do you have her address?” said Sandy.

“Yeah. I looked up the domain name owner info for her website and got it that way. I think we should go down there right now. It’s about an hour drive.”

“But we might miss him,” said Greg. “What if he comes back here while we’re gone?”

“If he’s not down there we can come right back,” said Sandy.

“Yeah, okay,” said Greg. “We’ll come pick you up, Rebecca.”