Revenge is Sweet

Chapter Four Vanessa

My phone chimed as I sat dozing in the chair. I glanced at it, one new text. Huh, alright. I unlocked the screen and tapped on the notification.

Tamera: Hey, meet me at the Café we need to talk.

Me: Um I'm a little bit busy? It's midnight after all... any chance we can reschedule? Tomorrow possibly?

Tamera: No, it's urgent. As soon as possible. Now.

I stared at my phone, at the message asking me to rendezvous with the lead detective on the murder case in which I was the murder. I wonder if she'd figured it out... If so, how? It didn't matter, I couldn't go, not now. Toralee was home, I was broke and her death had a huge price tag.

I slipped into the kitchen, having watched Toralee's drinking habits the past several days I knew she'd have a nightcap before bed, and her liquor was in the cabinet in the corner. I sank down onto my haunches to wait for her to come in. My hand slipped into the bag at my feet and removed a fully prepared syringe with gentle care.

One shot through her neck and I could tuck her in so she'd seem frightfully sick for a day and slip into her death in the night. It wasn't what I'd usually have done, but I thought I needed to be quicker tonight. Meet Tamera in a few minutes instead of a few hours.

The silhouette slipped into the kitchen clumsily, but she didn't head the way I'd been expecting, shit she'd seen me! No time for a slow sad "accidental" death now, it'd have to be the easy way. I shoved my hand into my bag, switching syringes quickly enough that she hadn't registered that I was a threat yet.

I had my hand against her mouth and the syringe pressing into her neck before the scream escaped. I gently laid her down as the above average amount of thallium entered her system, her eyes widened and her breathing quickened as fear took over.

"Shhh it's okay. It's okay. You'll be gone soon, it only hurts for a minute. You know, you should really have been more generous with how you handled your husbands death. You made some very powerful people mad Mrs. Hill."

I stood as I finished my little lecture, and grabbed the handle of the fridge, I was wearing gloves of course, and fished out a bottle of ketchup. In beautiful cursive letters I wrote a different message then my previous ones. Before I had simply wrote CRW and left, but this was a paying client and he had a different idea. So the floor next to Toralee's body read:

Greed is a killer

CRW

I left out the back after Toralee Hill breathed her last shaky breath. I sent Tamera a reply, after all it had only been about ten minutes.

Me: Fine, Five minutes.

Tamera: Good see you there.

I hurried to my car, which was parked down the block and got in. I didn't have time for this, but I needed my truck. I never left the Volvo at my apartment, where would I say I got it from? But I could park it two blocks away and walk home. So I did, and about six minutes later I pulled up in front of the café.

Sure enough there was the detective. I parked the truck and walked towards where she leaned against her blue van. I still wasn't exactly sure why we were here, but I had always thought Tamera was cute, so I'd give her a moment of my night. I did need to get back to my party though, so hopefully this was quick.

"What's up? Its a little late..." I asked cautiously.

"I have a few questions, a couple of curiosities I can't seem to shake." Her tone made it clear we weren't here for a midnight make out.

I sighed, "Okay, shoot," I replied now wary.

"Where were you just now?" She asked it like a cop.

"At my apartment? It's midnight for god's sake, I was trying to sleep. It's been a really long day." I added a bit of sadness to my tone, trying to play the sympathy card to my favor.

"Oh? So you weren't hosting a party in the mansion out of town? On Rose street? The one where everyone working gives the name Vanessa Driscoll?" Her tone was icy, and her words knocked me on my ass.