Meticulous Malice

The woman was shaking her head, trying to say something. Alice took pity on her and removed her gag. The underwear had become quite saturated from her spittle, she probably had been too afraid to swallow. Alice was grateful for the gloves she was wearing. "What are you going to do to me?" the woman asked in a frightened voice.

Alice looked down at her, was she really that stupid? "Why don't you tell me something, something you've held back and that will decide your fate?"

"He has a gun, I've seen it" she bobbed her head to look down on what Alice had done to her body and she thought about the pictures the woman had taken, she suddenly became angry and didn't think as she added "I hope he kills you!"

Alice had anticipated something like that, she shoved the underwear crotch back in the woman's mouth, making sure the wet area that had been between her legs was now on her tongue and then she refastened the gag. "You know, that was stupid, that was real stupid. I know where you live" she repeated the address in South Carolina verbatim and was pleased to see the woman's eye's bulge a little again "and I can learn a lot about you, I'm sure they taught you that in" here her voice changed to a derogatory tone "private investigator school." Her voice became dangerously ominous as she continued "NOW, you've just pissed me off, what I do to you now, is just a sample of what I will do if I ever see you again in this lifetime" she got up off the bed and returned to the bathroom. She took a toothbrush holder, a travelling plastic case from the edge of the sink and returned with it. Unceremoniously she shoved it up the woman's dry vagina. It must have hurt with the hard plastic, the ridges, and her dryness. The woman's body reacted like she had been wounded. Next Alice looked around and spotted the radio. Going to it she unscrewed the long narrow rubber antennae and shoved this up the woman's anus. Her body rose up at the invasion and the shocked look was back on the woman's face. Alice took a couple more pictures and she could see the woman was beginning to look glazed, obviously she had never thought of things people would do to others.

She looked around the room; she went to the lamps and staged the lighting to look like the room was dim for a romantic interlude. Next she opened the patio doors to let in the cool ocean breeze which seemed to revive the naked woman a little. She watched as Alice took the radio and threw it hard at an angle against the building across the way, if the building itself didn't shatter it, the fall to the pavement down below would, she did the same with the two cameras. She looked around the room and was satisfied that her work was done. She took her purse, looked down on her victim one last time, and left the room, taking the woman's key card with her and bending he plastic back and forth until it broke she shoved it in the door slot, too low to pull out with fingers, only a needle nose pliers would capture it.

Next she returned to her room and efficiently packed her bag, grabbing her briefcase and her computer. She looked around the room and left it as neat as she had found it. As she hadn't changed her clothes she looked ready for a night on the town. She wanted that look; it would work well to her plans advantage. She stripped off the gloves she had used in the room next to her and flushed them and walked out of her room as though she was just checking out, her bag rolling behind her, her briefcase on its strap over her shoulder. It was fairly late but a staff member was on duty and checked her out.

"Did you have a lovely stay Ms. Weaver?" he asked courteously.

She smiled brilliantly "as always, thank you so much for the lovely accommodations" she said as she signed her credit card slip. She was annoyed that she was paying for this night even though she wouldn't be staying. Such a waste of money, but then she had been very inconvenienced this night. "Could you order me a taxi?" she asked in her 'dumb blonde' voice as she termed it, she knew men would fall over themselves to accommodate her in this voice, she knew from experience, and observation.

"Right away" he made a signal to the doorman who nodded and went outside to signal a taxi or wave one down.

"I'll be in the bar" she said and he nodded.

Alice made sure that her 'friend' Richard saw her with her bags obviously packed and looking around the room for someone. He never realized she saw him almost immediately as he enjoyed a drink and nearly spewed it at her entrance. That she was leaving was all part of the game. She left as quickly as she had come in. The doorman was signaling to her and she watched out of the corner of her eye as Richard saw her get into a taxi.

"The Royal Caribbean please" she told the driver. She knew it was across the island, she also knew that she wouldn't be staying there. It was a quiet drive, she preferred it. It was late and the driver obviously took his cue from his passenger, she made no effort to talk as he maneuvered his way through the normally busy streets and across the island. Dropping her off, she tipped him and made her way towards the entrance as she watched him pull away. She stopped to adjust the strap on her sandal and saw him turn a corner. She walked across the street to another hotel and then down the street to even another where she saw a taxi stand around its corner. Checking carefully that it wasn't the same driver she was pleased to see it was a woman and got in. "The Ramada please" she told this driver.

"The one in Cayman Bay" the woman asked in a delightful Jamaican accent as she put the taxi into gear and began to drive off.

Alice smiled at her "yes please, is there another?"

The woman laughed delightedly "ah no, you have me there, there isn't is there?"

They had a delightful time discussing the various hotels and their amenities. As a taxi driver the woman knew a lot about the different places to stay. Alice contributed little, letting the woman talk and pretending to be a first time tourist. She gave the woman the minimum tip of 15% so she wouldn't really be memorable and went inside.

"Can I help you madam?" a cool English voice asked her as he looked over her polished dress, high heels, and the luggage she was toting.

She smiled "yes please, I'd like a room for the night if I could" she sounded exasperated.

"Just for one night?" he asked as though that was unheard of.

She nodded as though she had just gotten off the turnip boat. She paid cash and used her false passport to check in. In no time at all she was in a lousy room, not nearly as nice as the one she had left but it allowed her to change her clothes, wash, and sleep. She was up early though, refreshed despite the few hours' sleep. She changed into slacks with a leather belt and unique buckle, a nice blouse, and wore sensible traveling shoes, a minimum of makeup and her hair back in a ponytail. She ate a barely palatable continental breakfast and was on the quay for her plane ride back to the states. It was a relief to find a different pilot this time. She was pleased that the family she shared the plane ride with had their children and two parents with them. It was crowded but it allowed her to play the bobble headed blonde on her first vacation to the Caymans. She let the kids tell her all about their trip and learned a lot more than she had planned to from them, or that their parents wanted touted about. It made her laugh.

They were met by an official who stamped their passports, he never questioned Alice's fake one. She took a taxi to the main airport, declining to ride with her fellow airplane passengers, pointing out that there was less room in a taxi. She was delighted at the peace and quiet; it gave her time to think. This Richard by now was looking for her. She wondered what had happened at what they had found in the hotel room, she knew she would probably never know. If he didn't know she was off the island she would have put him on a wild goose chase on the islands, she could be anywhere. If he knew of her reservations to Europe and the States it might delay him even further. She wasn't counting on anything.

At the airport she saw there was a 20 minute delay to her airplane. Not unusual but she wasn't feeling too patient today. Her thoughts were not kind but no one would be able to tell them from her expression. She had stopped in the bathroom and taken out the pony tail which gave her a youthful bobble headed look that she had used today, now she looked pretty, professional, and as she fluffed out her long blonde hair she knew she would attract the right kind of attention, or so she hoped. She checked her bag in and went through security. The alarm went off and she was prepared for that. She removed her shoes, her belt, and her jewelry. No alarm, but the delay had made her nervous for some reason.

As she put her shoes and then her belt back on she looked around using the corners of her eyes, looking closely at her fellow passengers but not seeing this mysterious 'Richard' and wondering if it were possible he was here ahead of her. If he had started last night he could conceivably be here already. The plane she had taken wasn't the only way off the island, just one of the fastest. A lot depended on what they had found in the hotel room, the resulting scandal if the hotel had become involved, which she was certain they had with the broken key card in the lock, security at what they had found, etc. Who knew, maybe Richard had covered it up. She wondered if Bev would stay quiet, if her fears of exposure would keep her quiet, if she was still tied up?

There was a lot worse she could have done to Bev, sliced her throat, tortured her worse than she had...she thought the message she had left with the woman was enough to frighten her into silence, perhaps forever. Some women react differently than others. She personally would want revenge. She didn't think that the Bev's of this world though would. She wouldn't take a chance though; she would investigate the woman thoroughly when she got home.

"Flight 1203 to Los Angeles is now boarding at gate 12" she heard over the loudspeaker and headed for the gate. As she approached it she stopped herself. What was she thinking? This guy knew enough about her that he could track her movements the past week, who knew how much more he knew about her? As she approached the gate she veered to the desk. "May I help you ma'am?" the woman behind the desk asked.

She smiled "I'm sorry, I have a ticket to head to L.A."

The woman interrupted "Yes, if you just get in the line here."

'As if I didn't know' Alice thought sarcastically. She smiled again "I know, but I just got a call from work, I need to change it to Miami. Could we do that?"

The woman blinked at her and then looked a little suspiciously at her. "Just a moment, I'll check." She walked away from the counter to make a call on the phone behind her.

Alice stood there trying not to look suspicious. She knew her name was good, she was a frequent flyer mile holder, and she looked innocent. She just hoped they thought she was innocent, that there were no red flags going up. A last minute change like this always alarmed airport personnel, she understood that with heightened security these days but it didn't help her situation. She waited, holding her first class ticket to L.A. tapping the counter slightly with it.

"Ma'am?" she saw that another man had joined the woman she had been speaking with. Alice looked up innocently, she hated being called ma'am but it didn't show on her face. "I understand you wish to cancel this ticket and exchange it for one going to Miami?"

"Yes, I just got a call from my office and I need to go to Miami to see a client instead of heading back home to L.A." she explained, she hoped convincingly.

"May I see some identification" he asked officiously.

She knew he was doing it for forms sake, they would run her name to see if she came up on some registry. She was back to using her real name so that shouldn't be a problem. Even if she had been using one of her false one, those too were clear. Her fake passport was well hidden if they searched her and she wasn't worried about that. "Certainly" she answered as she pulled out her driver's license and he took it to scrutinize it closely, he took her first class ticket too, to compare names and other data. She waited as she watched others get on the plane; occasionally someone looked at her curiously, wondering what she was doing at the counter. He made a phone call at the back phone. After watching her for a while he nodded. Alice used her peripheral vision to look for a hidden camera or two, certain her picture was being taken or she was being compared to some database. The planes passengers were nearly all on before they came back to her.

"Okay Ms. Weaver, sorry for the delay, I'm sure you understand that we have to check things out these days. We've made the change, I'm sure you understand there will be a charge for it."

"What about the refund for my ticket to L.A?" she asked as any passenger paying full fare would.

He nodded as though expecting the question "the difference is $400 and we had to charge you 10% for the change."

'Wow, how 'big' of them' she thought sarcastically but smiled and nodded as though it was acceptable.

He printed out a ticket for her there at the counter "we have someone pulling your bag off this flight now and putting it on the flight to Miami."

"Oh, thank you" she said heartfeltedly as any passenger would. They better damn well NOT lose her luggage.

He directed where to go in the terminal, said there was a 45 minute wait until her flight for Miami took off and she was on her way. She knew she was being watched, and probably in person as well as on camera's. She stopped in a bar and ordered a Shirley Temple to pass the time as she people watched. She kept her eyes peeled for the guy named 'Richard' but didn't see him. She hated not knowing where he was and why he was watching for her. She thought about the film she had in her briefcase and wondered what it contained and who she knew who could develop it discretely in Miami. It might just be photos of her around the Cayman Islands; it might be a lot more incriminating than that although she hadn't done anything recently, but he had known about something of value in her briefcase. She pulled out her cell phone and looked up a number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Alice" she knew her caller identification would not come up; her phone was designed to call everyone with the number hidden. "I have a possible job for you."

"So soon?" he asked surprised.

"Are you complaining?" she returned with a grin.

"No, no, not at all, whatcha got?" he asked.

"I have some film I need processed. Do you know anyone in Florida that has a lab?" she asked first.

"Where exactly in Florida?"

"You tell me, I'll travel to them if I need to" she countered, she didn't want him to know where she really was.

"Hmmm, I know a guy by reputation in the Miami-Dade area; he might be willing to work with you for a fee. Will I get a finder's fee?" he asked greedily.

"Of course" she said annoyed.

"Okay, I'll give him a call, see if he is willing, and give you a call back."

"That sounds good, thanks."

"So what work do you have for me?" he asked curious.

"Maybe some fingerprints, I'll let you know okay?" she hedged; she had the information she had really called him for. She might throw him some more work, she might not. She knew he thought she did security work occasionally for some firms and that was the 'secret' payments he had been getting from her and others. She didn't have a lab of her own, didn't want one, but she knew his occasional help was invaluable.

"That sounds good; I'll call him right now and get back to you."

"Great, just leave me a message if I'm in a meeting." No point in telling him she might be on a plane. Too much information would only get him killed, literally.

"Sounds good, talk to you later" he rang off.

She turned off the call without saying 'goodbye' figuring what was the point. She quickly erased the call history. Checking her email on her smart phone as she sipped her Shirley Temple she saw nothing of importance that required her immediate attention. She finished up the drink and went to wait by the gate for her flight.

Florida was hot and sultry, waiting on the next cloud of rain to come through. She thought she would die of the heat as she headed out for a taxi. They had lost her bag of course she thought ironically and they'd promised to call her when it was found. Guess it was too much to hope that they could transfer one bag from one plane to the other without losing it. It was probably on its way to L.A. if anyone had even bothered to look for it in the first place. Meanwhile she had the nice clothes on her back as she got into the taxi. Heading for a nice hotel she checked in and checked out her room. A blinking message on her cell phone indicated that her guy in L.A. had called and she checked the message, hastily writing down the phone number and address of the man in Miami she could use.

"Hello, my name is Alice and I'm looking to speak to..."

"Oh yesss, Aliciaaaa" a smooth talking Latin voice came over the line "I've been expecting your call" he oozed.

Mentally Alice rolled her eyes. She knew though that her guy in L.A. wouldn't have recommended him if he wasn't any good, he wouldn't dare. She made arrangements to meet him in half an hour at one of the county offices of Miami-Dade. A taxi dropped her off out front.

"Hello, I'm here to see..." she began but was interrupted by a skinny Cuban man who asked "Alicia?" in a delighted voice.

She looked at him in apparent delight "hello, I'm glad we could get together" he grabbed her hand to capture it in his own.

"I've been so looking forward to meeting you since our mutual friend told me of you" he replied.

She wanted to shudder at how smarmy he was. How he could work for the county was beyond her but she kept her smile and asked "shall we go to your office?"

She was handed a visitors badge and he led her past many offices to an elevator and down they went to the dungeons or lab where he worked. She looked around curiously as they walked along. "Here we are" he said thrilled to have her to himself in his lab. "What do you have for me today?"

She looked at him wondering if his smooth Latin charm worked on the ladies, she knew she was immune. "I have a couple of rolls of film I need to develop, do you have an automatic developer or may I do it myself."

"Oh hooo" he said delighted "something between you and a lover perhaps eh?"

She laughed as she shook her head "no a client, I need absolute discretion on this, it's why you will be paid for that 'discretion'" she stressed.

"And what will I be doing while you develop this film eh?" he said suggestively.

She reached in her briefcase for the fingerprints she had taken in the hotel room. "You will be running these, see who they belong to and what information you can find out for me."

He looked surprised. He saw that she had actual fingerprint film that had lifted the prints from wherever they had been. He reached for the packet to look at them closely. He nodded, they were good prints, and he could run these through the database. "Let's get you set up at the developer, if anyone asks, you are working with the force to help us solve a crime" he said lamely.

She could have thought up a better excuse if she wanted but let his go as he showed her to a large machine that was behind a darkened curtain. He began to show her how to feed the 35mm film into it but she brushed him away, expertly handling the controls herself. He looked surprised and then shrugged as he went to look up the fingerprints. Alice loved the machine, ones like this made life so much easier than in years past where you had to wait for days to get film on to negatives. These machines unrolled the film and your negatives were available in a short amount of time instead of days. As it spit out the first roll she fed the machine the second roll and hooked the end of the film into the feeder. It was soon rolling into the machine. She hung the first roll up and began to look through it with orange light as the machine processed the second roll. She couldn't see much but then the orange light wasn't great. She waited until the second roll was developed to feed the first one into another machine in this small room. Pressing a few buttons she soon had small pictures of what was on the film spitting out. By the time the entire first roll was printed she fed it the second roll. None of the pictures were anything she had to worry about and she was relieved. This idiot Bev and her partner Richard had been taking pictures of her in L.A. and in the Cayman's. There was even one of her in the South Carolina airport.