Eloise - the secret behind the mask

Chapter 3

The car I found in front of me was a dream. I did not understandmuch about cars, but this one was a beauty.

It was a matt black Audi TT convertible.

It would be amazing to drive such a car.

I quickly approached the car, happy to be able to get away fromthe tangle of branches and leaves behind me.

The man inside the car did not wind down his window, but a quietclick told me that he had already released the safety catch to allowme to get in.

Without too many questions, and with much attention I opened the door and got in the passenger seat.

The seats were leather, and the smell of a brand new vehiclecould be smelt even from outside the car.

I hated leather seats, they irritated me, especially in summerwhen naked legs stuck to them, making them decidedly uncomfortable.

That smell too was so strong, it was almost overpowering, but Idid not care.

A car like that one could be forgiven many faults.

I turned to the man, ready to discuss money, condoms, what hecould expect me to do and what he could not, but something attractedmy attention.

Despite the darkness of the vehicle I immediately noticed thatthe man's face was covered.

It was a kind of balaclava, or something similar.

Without think I stretched out my hand towards the man's face,ready to pull off the tasteless mask: it was already horrible tothink of going to bed with a complete stranger, if he then had his face covered up that was even worse.

He had to show his face to me.

The man suddenly took his hand off the gears and grabbed mywrist violently, pushing me up against the car door where I hadentered.

I remained immobile for a moment. Did he want to hit me?

Did he want to hurt me?

Is that why he wore the balaclava, so I would not be able todenounce him or recognise him?

Or did he have the perverted wish to kill me?

Mind you, if that were the case, why would he need a mask?

If I were dead I would certainly not be able to recognise him. Maybe it was a precaution in case someone saw him while he was parkednear a prostitute. If the story about the discovery of a prostitute'sbody got on the news, and if someone were to see and recognise him,he would be amongst the suspects.

After all, with that car it would not be easy to pass byunobserved.

I decided to get out of the car, but as soon as I turned to openthe door, I heard the same click I had heard moments before, but thistime its goal was different: This time it was not so that I couldget into the vehicle, this time it was to stop me getting out of thecar.

Panic got the better of me, and I began to sob while themysterious man, my presumed assassin, had already begun to drive thecar at an insane speed through the streets.

The sobs became more frequent, until they transformed intohysteric weeping, interspersed with phrases like, "I don't want todie!"

After a while the man parked the Audi again in a lonely andisolated spot. He turned to me, even though I was still crying andgetting into a state. He put a hand on my hair and kindly, almostpaternally he whispered to me to keep calm.