Twisted Knot

This particular woman

~Paul~

            I sped through seven traffic lights and burst in through the door, unsure of what was happening. Stefan had told me Beth was in danger, and that was all I heard. Even more overwhelming than my fear of watching another woman I loved slip away from me in a hospital bed was the fear that I could lose Elizabeth. I had quickly come to need her, and even though I said I’d live without her if she chose that, I knew I wouldn’t survive a day. I left the car in park, keys still in the ignition as I burst trough the door, which was creaked open ominously.

“Elizabeth!” I screamed. A woman was standing in my doorway, watching me. She was wearing a uniform, Seattle Police Department.

            “Sir,” she said. “I need you to take a deep breath and calm down. What is your name?” Her hands rested on her firearm, and I tried to do as she said.

“I am Paul Davis,” I said. “I live here, I am Elizabeth’s… Is she alright?”

“She is safe,” the woman said. “An intruder broke in and attacked her; luckily Detective Perry was coming to see her. I need you to be relaxed and quiet when you go into the living room. Mrs. Templeton has suffered a trauma and she has had some anxiety attacks trying to explain what happened. Do you understand?” I tried to signal I did, but all I could think was that she was hurt, and I was here.

“I think I can help,” I said. “She trusts me, I can calm her down.” The woman smiled and allowed me to pass through.

            “Paul!” Elizabeth yelled, taking her mouth away from a paper bag.

“Liz,” I said, walking up to her. The detective was sitting there, looking pensive and concerned. I wasn’t prepared for red marks all over Elizabeth’s neck, as though she’d been strangled.

“Oh my God,” I said. “What happened?”

“Elizabeth was attacked from inside the house. She was struck over the head and the attacker attempted to strangle her with a noose.”

            I didn’t say anything, I just felt my fists ball up. I leaned over and kissed Elizabeth’s forehead, trying to be calm. She had been so close, inches from death. What was happening?

“Thank you,” I said hollowly to Detective Perry. “You saved her; I can’t ever repay you.”

“Clearly, we believe this is related to the other murders,” the detective said. “We had already ruled Mrs. Templeton out as a suspect, but now I am worried. We need to relocate her and her family to a safe house. Her son is being escorted here by an officer as we speak.” Elizabeth grabbed my hand and I squeezed it, sitting beside her. I wanted to inhale her scent and lavish her with kisses, but I just sat there and held her.

“Do you know who is doing this?” I asked. Where can I find him?

            “I have a very strong lead,” Detective Perry said. “But I need Elizabeth to confirm my information. So far, we’ve just been able to get through the attack. My office is analyzing the letter left for Mrs. Templeton. But I still have more questions.”

“I can’t talk about what you want to know,” Liz said. “I’m sorry, I just can’t…”

“It’s ok,” I said to her. “I am here and you’re safe now.”

“Just talk to Stefan,” Elizabeth said. “He knows everything. He will fix this, I know it.”

“Mr. Templeton has left the rehab facility,” the detective said. “He is out of cell phone range, but we believe he is coming here.”

            “Good,” I said. Deep down I was a little hurt by the fact that Elizabeth needed him so much, but it didn’t matter.

“I believe that the killer is not actually tied to Stefan.” The detective said as he glanced at Elizabeth. “I think that the killer is tied to Elizabeth, one of her former lovers form a very long time ago.” Elizabeth let a stray tear fall down, and I watched it fall slowly down her cheek. Something was wrong.

“Why would one of her exes kill Stefan’s mistresses?” I asked, confused.

“Well, I am not sure,” Detective Perry said. “But the person I am looking into is a very controlling man. If Elizabeth had been involved with him, even for a short time, he would feel that he owned her and had claim over her. If someone were to steal her away, lets say marry her, this man would want revenge. It sounds far fetched that a man would go to such lengths over a woman, but it makes sense to me in this particular case with this particular woman.” Elizabeth straightened up and stared into Perry’s eyes.

“Excuse me,” she said. “This particular woman, what the hell does that mean?”

“I have eyes Mrs. Templeton,” Perry said. “You are married, but you are living with and probably sleeping with your husband’s friend. Both of these men are alright with this twisted arrangement, and seem to accept whatever you are offering them. I am not here to judge, but Mrs. Templeton, even you must admit that men have done some crazy things to win your love.”

            “This is not my fault!” She shouted. “He is a monster; you can’t possibly blame me for this. Do you know how many times I’ve worried he would find me, come for me. But he was dead and gone; it was on the news… It was over. It was supposed to be over…” Beth bent down, grabbing the paper bag and breathing into it. I rubbed her back until se calmed down, and I looked at her.

“Beth,” I said gingerly. “Who is he talking about? Do you know who the killer is?”

“He is dead,” she said. “But the truth is that before I met Stefan, I lived in Paris. I had an affair with an older man, and it was very…intense. It ended poorly and I fled the country. I was so scared, and I didn’t know what to do…”

            “Who was it?” I asked, feeling nervous the longer she spoke. “There are no deal breakers, remember. This won’t change anything.”

“I had an affair with…” She paused, as if saying the swords psychically pained her. “Javier Bordeaux. I had an affair with Javier Bordeaux when I was in Paris, over ten years ago. And he told me he would never let me go, that if I tried to run, he’d find me.” My stomach dropped as memories of old news stories flashed into my mind. It couldn’t be… Javier Bordeaux was an international criminal, a murderer and a drug lord. He had been famous because the French courts let him go because someone had tampered with evidence. Then he had mysteriously died in a car explosion.

“But he is dead,” I said. “It is a well known fact, he got blown up!”

            “There was never a body recovered,” Perry said. “And recently, the CIA has spotted a man who resembles the appearance of Bordeaux.”

“Don’t tell me,” I said. “He’s in the pacific Northwest.” Perry nodded. I pulled Elizabeth closer.

“How soon can we get to her to a safe house?” I asked. Perry looked at me pointedly.

“You’re going too,” the detective ordered. “As one of Elizabeth’s…whatever you are, you’re in danger. You’re all probably on his list.” I tried to respond, but all I could do was hold Elizabeth as she shook violently in my arms. For the first time, I was actually relieved Stefan was coming back. The last thing Beth needed right now was for another dead body to turn up, let alone her husband’s.