The Shoebox Ch. 01

The desk lamp was now the only illumination, save for the dusky orange sunset that barely penetrated the sheer curtains of my office window. The rest of the room receded into darkness.

It was as if the only things in the office were my two hands and the shoebox. Bravely, I grasped the cover and gingerly removed it, setting it aside out of the oval circle of light on my desk.

There appeared to be several things in the box. I could see a stack of photos, held together with a rubber band, what appeared to be a video tape, some papers and other things.

With shaking hands I lifted up the stack of glossy photos. The first picture on top of the stack was that of a woman. It did not look like the picture of Beth I had seen in Joe Powell's wallet. The woman in this picture had a smile that was more of a smirk. It was a picture of her head and shoulders. Her shoulders were bare so it appeared as if she might be naked or at least was wearing a strapless dress or bathing suit.

The woman's hair looked sweaty and matted, as if she had just finished exercising. There was a glossy sheen to her skin, a warm, animal glow that looked healthy and sensuous.

I looked closely at her eyes. Yes, they were the same eyes and nose. But there was something different, very different about this woman. The picture of Beth that Joe had shown me earlier was of a woman who was demure, tentative, almost shy. It's hard to explain, but Joe's Beth seemed to be the type of woman in whose presence one would never even think of using risqué language.

The woman in this picture was sensual and worldly. Her grin was mischievous and beckoning, nothing like the picture that Joe had shown me. This woman looked like she was game for anything exciting, ready for action. I stared at the picture a little longer. I was convinced that this was Beth. Apparently, Joe was also convinced.

I carefully slid the rubber band off of the stack of pictures. I shuffled the first picture, the one I had been studying, to the back of the pack.

The next picture made me gasp. I was so startled I dropped the stack of pictures into the box and brought my hand to my mouth.

It couldn't be! It just couldn't be!

Continued in Chapter 2.