L.A. Woman by Alan Russell

Author:Alan Russell [Russell, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Three Tails Press
Published: 2019-07-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Washing and Dying

In the last twenty-four hours, he’d come very, very close, but close didn’t cut it. Close didn’t get you that victory cigar. He needed to seal the deal. Third time was the charm. It had better be. Time was running out.

The watering holes hadn’t worked out as planned. Like any predator, he didn’t like doing any more work than was necessary. The craftiest predators let their prey come to them. That was the way to get it done. He knew her routines, knew where she lived, worked, shopped, and dined. Her workplace was a nonstarter. It posed too many dangers. But there were other spots that better fit the bill. It was just a matter of getting her to the right watering hole, one without too many eyes in the sky, or too much foot traffic. Success meant getting in and getting out before anyone knew what had happened.

He had staked out her favorite coffee shop, a spot in the Arts District about a mile from her workplace. Usually she parked on a side street. That afforded good hunting ground for an ambush, but she’d switched things up by arriving later than usual, and then parking in the strip mall lot. That might not have been a deal breaker; her being accompanied by a friend was. When it wasn’t right, it wasn’t right.

The rest of the day she’d avoided her usual spots. That hadn’t bothered him much. Everything should have worked out for him the night before. She had a longstanding Wednesday tradition of girls’ night out. Hump day meant she and three of her friends always went out for a meal, or drinks, or a movie, or a show. Sometimes they did all four.

Instead of leaving their encounter to chance, he’d targeted her best friend, Jade, informing her by mail that she was a contest winner and the lucky recipient of dinner for four at the Darker Than Night restaurant. The reservation was for that Wednesday night, the letter said, and couldn’t be changed. The restaurant offered the sensory experience of dining in the dark. The absence of light was supposed to enhance the senses of taste and smell. Jade and three of her friends had descended upon the restaurant, but the target hadn’t. He had waited around for a time, making sure she wasn’t a late arrival. Unlike the other diners, he’d smuggled in a night vision scope, along with a special walking stick. He’d left before his entrée arrived, explaining to his server that his date had been forced to cancel. The size of the cash tip he left made that excuse palatable, so to speak.

Because only three days had been set aside for the job, he’d saved the best option for last. Thursday was her laundry day. She always used the washers and dryers located in the basement of what was supposed to be her security building. Thursday night didn’t seem to be a popular time for laundry. So far, no one else was using the machines.

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