Halloween Noir

Catherine and I got dressed again in silence. I gave her a hand mirror from my desk so that she might adjust her hair and makeup, as I quietly took the DVD out of my laptop and locked it in my safe for further study when I got the chance. Then I gave her a deep, sensual kiss and invited her to come by again for further consultations. I ushered her out of the office and as I returned to my room I passed by Destiny's desk. She caught my eye and said primly, "Yes, Mr. Baxter, I know, you pay me to keep my mouth shut."

The next day I called S************ and told him that the matter had been resolved. He dropped by the office. I didn't give him much of an explanation, and what I gave him was probably hard to believe, but there was no rational basis for any part of the tale. I told him that customer satisfaction was guaranteed, and he gave me another 4 hundred dollar bills.

Night was falling, and it was Halloween. The streets of Hollywood were full of people in costume. I went down to the bar at the corner and ordered an Irish whiskey. I was just starting to drink it when I got an excited call on my cell from Eddie. "Wherever you are, turn on Channel 5," he said. "They just started the weather report on the evening news, and you won't believe what is happening!"