The Prestigious

Bang! Bang!

A week had passed since Kim had last seen her deadbeat husband. Word had it that he was holed up in the hospital infirmary playing the victim. Not that she cared. One she returned back to her room she'd thrown his things into the hallway and never looked back. It was nice to have the king sized bed all to herself. She read, and plotted her escape from that bed, only leaving it for womanly duties and dinner. Today was no different as she flipped through Moby Dick, having a strange pity for the captain who was chasing that evil whale. Tossing the book aside, she realized that she hadn't seen Stacey since last night. She summoned the girl, who arrived five minutes later looking exhausted.

Kim patted a spot on the bed next to her and Stacey, with all the strength she could, sat down.

“Are you tired?” Kim asked, concerned with how pale the girl looked.

Stacey nodded. “I have been cleaning the house all night.”

"Cleaning? Surely everyone knows that you aren't to be cleaning anything. You're my personal assistant not a maid." Kim bit her lip, knowing exactly who was behind this.

"Royal told me that something big was happening tonight and it was in your best interest that I clean."

The ocean breeze wafted into the room with a putrid stench seeping in behind it. Kim took a sniff. “Do you smell that?”

Stacey began to look at the floor. “I know where it's coming from.”

“Where?”

“The lair.”

Kim asked the shy young girl to show her where that was. Reluctantly, Stacey pointed down the dark hallway that reeked of a foul odor.

“Hold your nose,” Kim said choking on the stale stank air.

As they walked farther and farther, the smell grew close causing Kim to retch.

“The door,” Stacey said pointing to a large wooden oak door that a small amount of sunlight seeped through.

Kim ran and pushed the door open with her knuckles.

The room was enormous. Walls upon walls were lined with shelves and magnificent pictures hung behind the large oak desk where the wide winged chair of a king sat faced the other way. Although the grand balcony doors were wide open, the stench of death filled the room.

“What do you think it is?” Kim asked trying to wait until her senses went dead.

Stacey went to the chair and turned it around. “Kim,” she whispered

Kim dropped the book she was holding. There on the winged chair sat Eduardo Rodriguez, shot execution style, half of his face missing, his eye bulging and his body slowly deteriorating.

* * *

“Edmund, may you please fetch me a glass of water!” Kim yelled sitting on the patio, trying not to look the least bit suspicious as she fanned herself.

A few minutes later Edmund came with a large tray filled with mineral water and a large glass. He could tell that something was up by the way the pregnant woman's eyes darted every which way. Acting as if nothing was amiss, he set the tray on the table and poured Kim a small glass. As he bent down to hand her the glass, Kim whispered, “Eduardo is dead in his office.”

He stopped and looked at her. “How do you know?”

Kim's lip tightened. “I found the body.”

“Kim,” he whispered. “How could you do something so stupid?”

 “Somebody was bound to go find out what that smell was.” Kim rubbed her stomach slowly as she finished off half of the glass. “You should go pretend to bring Eduardo something and find his body.”