Death by Design
“Thanks for listening to Siren's Song. This is Lola Samuels, signing off.” Lola motioned to Wally, who flipped a switch in the sound room, turning the blinking sign from ON AIR to OFF AIR. The lights dimmed.
Leather creaked as she leaned back in the chair. The door swung open, and Lola looked up as Wally entered, a cigar perched on the edge of his mouth and a clipboard in his hands.
“Great job tonight, sugar. I keep telling the boss to pay you more. Most of the listeners call to hear you, not the music. There's just something about your voice that makes a man wanna do whatever you want.”
You don't know the half of it. “It comes in handy.”
Wally shifted his bulk in front of the door, a sly grin on his face. “Go out with me tonight. We could have some laughs...”
“Sorry. I have other plans.” She didn't miss the disappointment in his eyes as she brushed past him and took the staircase to the back parking lot. Lola liked Wally, liked him too much to involve him in her plans tonight, which had nothing to do with laughs and everything to do with committing a murder.
Lola slid behind the wheel of a gray Volkswagen and glanced at the dashboard. Ten after midnight. Plenty of time to pick up her mark, do the deed and get home. Keying the ignition, she started to go in reverse. Then the unthinkable happened.
A siren chirped. One glance in the rearview mirror showed a police car, one of the Chrysler Airflow models. Lights flashed as it pulled to a stop, blocking Lola in. Great. More complications. Just what she needed. A rap on the window made Lola sigh. Rolling it down, she smiled at the burly officer.
“May I help you, sir?”
He fingered his gun, and his eyes darted around the car's interior before returning to pin her. “Your brake lights are out.”
“Really?” Lola feigned surprise. In truth, she hadn't bothered to replace the lights on the car since she usually rode the bus to work at the radio station. But tonight having her own transportation was key. “Thank you. I'll get that fixed first thing tomorrow.”
He nodded but his gaze flicked to the backseat again. Her stomach tightened. If he looked much harder, he would probably ask about the contents of the burlap bundle, which contained supplies Lola needed for tonight.
If he opened it...well, let's just say busted brake lights would be the least of her worries.
“Not so fast.” Lola paused in rolling up the window as the officer leaned closer. “Your voice sounds familiar.”
“I get that a lot.”
Frowning, he looked at the radio station sign above the parking lot's entrance. His eyebrows shot up. “Wait a minute! You're that Siren's Song lady. You sound even better in person.”
She got that a lot, too. Her fingers clenched around the steering wheel and she forced a smile. “Always glad to meet a fan. Can I leave? I need to get home.”
“Rough day?” He chuckled and leaned in the window. His gaze lingered on hers before dropping to her breasts, emphasized by the plunging neckline of the red dress. “Matter fact, I just told my partner there” his head jerked toward the idling vehicle “that I deserved something nice and soft to relax with tonight. You interested?”
“No.” The window started to close. The sound of a gun cocking made Lola freeze.
“That wasn't a request, baby doll. Get out of the car. Now.”
“You really don't want me to do that.” Lola's tone deepened, become richer, more persuasive. His eyes flickered as he leaned forward.
“I...don't?”
“No,” she murmured, holding his gaze. “You don't. You want to turn around and drive away. In fact, once you're back in the car, you won't even remember meeting me.”
He wanted to say no. His eyes reflected the struggle of his will to triumph over hers before they dimmed in defeat. Drunkenly, he stumbled to his vehicle and fell inside. The siren immediately muted. Seconds later, the vehicle pulled away and disappeared into the rising mist.
Her vision blurred and she rested her head against the steering wheel until the urge to vomit passed. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. Liquid splattered on her thigh.
Lola swore and wiped at the blood dripping from her nose. After all these years, messing with minds still took a lot out of her. Too much. But tonight it would come in handy.
Lola pulled up outside the Velvet Curtain Lounge ten minutes later. Jazz music wailed in the night punctuated by the howl of cats in heat. Nearby, tires screeched, followed by the rapid fire of gunshots, then the squeal of rubber.
Prostitutes with hollow eyes leaned against the street poles, their skin exposed despite January's chill. They watched her progress until Lola disappeared inside the stained brick building.
Only a few steps inside she spotted her target, Luigi Giacomo.
The smoky air burned Lola's eyes but she didn't blink. Everything in her fixated on the hulking, sweaty figure surrounded by scantily clad women in all hues, everything from flaxen haired nymphs with Aryan features to exotic girls with pale eyes and light brown skin, products of mixed races.
Lola knew Luigi's biography by heart: the younger brother to the largest mob boss in Virginia, Luigi made a name for himself trafficking young girls in the sex trade. He was also one of the men responsible for making the public fear people like Lola, people with…gifts.
When the media found out there were women with the power to literally talk a man into anything, they asked Luigi for his take on the “phenomena.” His response? “If it were up to me, I'd tattoo serial numbers on their wrists and throw the whole lot of those freaks on an island. I got enough trouble dealing with normal women.”
Like normal was anything to brag about.
Luigi belched and tossed a glass against the wall. Wiping a meaty hand across his mouth, he tangled the fingers of his free hand in a girl's thick locks and forced her onto her knees between his splayed thighs. She struggled for a moment, and then cried out when he slapped her.
Lola's fists clenched. Murder was a sin. God says "Vengeance is mine." But in times like these, God worked too slowly.
That's where she came in.
2 comments:
ooh I can't wait to read the rest of this one!! A sexy assasin..
Minx
I'm looking forward to more of this story.
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