I woke up to smell of rust and the creak of metal. Light and shadow danced in a blinding column around me. I looked up to see a sunbeam passing through a huge spinning metal fan, the only light in this vast room. A warehouse, I realized. My head was spinning; whoever brought me here must have drugged me. No, wait, that was just the whisky.
Then I heard the click of heels, and a silhouette of a woman was towering over me, legs astride and hands on her hips.
“I’m Lizrita," spoke the silhouette. "Pleasure to meet you, Pike.” In spite of the bitter sarcasm in her voice, I thought it polite to extend my hand but found it tied firmly behind my back.
“I'm sorry about your ladyfriend, but she had it coming,” said the voice without a trace of apology. “Blabbing to the entire Dirty Rat! She should have quit while ahead. Krue got it right that Molly shot her poor, loving husband -- I just added the finishing touches.” She whipped out a knife and stabbed it into a wooden plank on the wall behind me. Then a second knife and a third one. I thought to ask where she concealed them all but decided not to interrupt her exposition.
The voice continued, dripping with honey and acid. “I’d been blackmailing Dalton for years about his secret affair with Molly. He was about to crack and tell Krue. It ripped Molly apart, but what choice did she have?”
“So this is how Don Grazianni gave Dalton his due?” I inquired.
The woman laughed, a cold booming laugh that echoed through the chamber. Maybe that’s why she chose a warehouse.
“Don Grazianni?” she sneered. “That cat-stroking, chess-playing geezer? You I think I did for him?” I started to answer but then realized the question was rhetorical.
“No. It was pure passion.” Lizrita gazed off into the column of light, and from this angle I could see a glimmer of tenderness in her cheeks. “I used to be a sweet, naïve girl like Molly. Dalton promised me the moon and stars and I fell for every word. His charisma could convince anyone of anything. He was my life and I thought I was his. But he had more girls than I have knives, and once he grew bored of me, he said a word to his mafia pals and I found myself on the wrong side of a gun barrel.” She gestured blowing smoke off her finger.
“But I survived. The doctors say I lost two quarts of blood, but now only vengeance flowed through my veins. I found out that the Casanova had a wife the whole time. I blackmailed him for years, threatening to reveal him to Krue and to every one of his special ladies as the two-faced pig he is. His money let me live like the princess I am, and he never knew it was me!”
“And our little arrangement would still be going if Dalton hadn’t decided to come clean. No, not a pang of conscience,” Lizrita smirked. “He must’ve realized he loved his money more than he loves his women. But thank Lucifer that Molly gave that philanderer what he deserved. Well, plus a few ... embellishments ... from yours truly. And now it’s done.” She paused as if trying to say what comes next but no words would come out.
I broke the silence, “So what will you do now? The police are on your tail.”
She laughed once again and I could feel the temperature drop. “On my tail? Those fools are chasing their own tails. They arrested the pastor’s wife Lydia who’s just as involved with the case as their brains are. Now they’ve locked up some dame named Rifrim for interrogation. She’s not talking, so they’re gonna be a while. Now you see why the mafia doesn't waste money bribing cops?”
“What about Officer Yedidia?”
“Him? He was the only one with a head on his shoulders, a problem I easily remedied.”
I tried to sound gruff and dramatic but wound up just coughing the words. “So you killed Krue and Officer Yedidia just because they got caught up in your twisted revenge scheme?”
I could see a shadow of a smirk in Lizrita’s face. “All that mattered was that Dalton got what was coming. The others were just obstacles.” I opened my mouth to object but she leaned in closer and hissed, “You understand, Pike Cross, don’t pretend. Only those of us who are truly alone understand. Men only become private detectives for one reason. If you could bring down Don Grazianni, would anything else matter? Would anyone else matter?”
I changed to a less uncomfortable topic. “So now you’re gonna kill me too?”
Once more she laughed, a bitter cackle that made me wish she had just said “yes” instead. She put her hands on my cheeks and whispered into my ear, “That would be too easy, Pike Cross, my dear. No. You’ll live haunted by the deaths of Krue and Officer Yedidia whom you failed to protect just like you failed your old partner and your wife and your cat. We’re kindred souls, you and I. You know the pain of losing everyone close to you. Who else could ever understand me?”
Her hands still on my cheeks, she moved her face towards mine until our lips were nearly touching. Then suddenly she drew back, and a lead pipe in her hand swung towards my head and everything went black once more.
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