It was
Wednesday, the evening of the day after Sandy had left the police
safe house.
She had
been fortunate to escape the armed assassin that had intruded into
her bedroom. There would probably be more coming. It was good that
she had her friend Selina to keep her safe.
At that
moment, Sandy was seated with Selina in a red convertible parked in
the open air parking bay of a budget hotel. Selina had exchanged her
previous car for that new vehicle during the early hours of the
morning.
The
convertible's top was up to protect them from the raindrops. It had
been raining since the late afternoon, with thunder and lightning.
The sky was dark and the street lamps were on.
Selina
applied the handbrake and turned off the engine. She got out of the
car with an umbrella. She went over to Sandy's side to shield her
from the weather as the teenager emerged from the vehicle.
At the
sound of the thunder, Sandy winced. She took a deep breath. Selina
patiently waited for her to regain her composure. Then they went to
the trunk for their bags.
Selina
looked different that day. She had a few wrinkles on her face and she
had graying hair. She had sagging breasts beneath her sweater and a
wide bottom under her full skirt.
Sandy
knew it was all fake. Earlier, she had seen Selina enter a restroom a
tall young girl, only to emerge later an older woman of
average height. Sandy would not have recognized her friend if she had
not been called by name.
On the
other hand, Sandy was dressed in a jacket, shirt and cargo pants and
she carried two heavy travel bags - one green and one brown leather.
Selina had replaced the duffel bag so that their luggage would match
their outfits.
They
looked like an aunt and her niece. Or a middle-aged woman and her
baggage-carrier.
At the
hotel counter, Selina registered and received her room keys from the
desk clerk. "Come along, dear," she called Sandy in a
dignified voice as she led the way.
Once
they were in their room, Sandy dropped the bags in the corner and sat
on one of the beds. Her wet hands and clothes dampened the cover of
the bed. "What are we going to do now?" she asked.
Selina
started rummaging through one of the bags. "We'll rest here for
the night," she said, "let the detectives find the people
after you. We'll just concentrate on keeping you alive."
"Did
you find out anything about what happened last night?" Sandy
asked. She knew that Selina had contacted one of the detectives
earlier that day.
Selina
glanced at Sandy. "Officer Murphy is critical in the hospital,"
she reported, "They arrested one of the men but couldn't get any
information out of him."
Sandy
lowered her eyes when she had heard about the policewoman. Of all the
plainclothes cops who had watched her, Officer Murphy had been the
closest. She should buy the cop a good gift once she had her
inheritance.
Selina
pulled a small blue bag out of her luggage.
"Do
the cops know where I am?" Sandy asked. She took off her wet
jacket and dropped it beside the bed.
"They
know you're with me," Selina replied vaguely. She took a few
articles of clothing and the blue bag and went into the bathroom.
Sandy
got up and stood over their luggage. The green bag was still closed
while the brown travel bag was where Selina had left it. As the
teenager leaned closer for a peek into the brown bag, thunder boomed
outside. Sandy jerked back in surprise. She glanced at the sliver of
darkness through the slit between the curtains. She failed to make
anything out beyond the falling rain.
Then
Sandy turned her attention back to the bag.
The girl
had seen bits and pieces of Selina's possessions. She had seen wigs,
hair extensions, clothes of different quality, makeup. However, she
had yet to see anything resembling a weapon. She had not seen any
firearms or even knives.
There
was the sound of the flush in the bathroom.
Sandy
noticed a small aerosol can near the opening of the brown leather
bag. Curious, she picked it up and saw from the label that it was
deodorant. She held the nozzle close to her nose for a sniff but
could not smell anything.
Feeling
adventurous, Sandy decided to give it a try. She slipped the can
under her shirt and directed the nozzle at her armpit. Then she gave
the can's actuator a good press.
Sandy
screamed. Her armpit was suddenly very painful, like it was on fire.
She pulled her hand out and dropped the can.
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