The Devil's Due Ch. 03

Just as Veronica had appeared, another object began to materialize, this time on the alabaster table. A curved dagger, ancient and gleaming in the light of the fiery torches, emerged from the ether. Lilith picked up the razor-sharp knife then walked to Sam and held the blade out to him to take.

"Time for that payback we talked about," it said to him as it placed the black stone handle in Sam's hand. "You might be interested to know that the dagger you're holding is the same one Brutus used to kill Julius Caesar. Now, remember what Phineas said to you before? 'Take care of business'." Lilith looked at Veronica and frowned, "Sam told you to throw that out with the bedding." Lilith snapped its fingers and Veronica's robe flew off her body, leaving her standing naked in the cavernous conference room.

"Y-you want me to..." Sam stammered as he turned the dagger over in his hand.

"I want you to plunge that knife into her cold callous heart, Sam," Lilith stated plainly. "I told you before, we can give you the means to get your vengeance, but you must perform the deed. There she is, Sam. The stony bitch that fucked around on you with another man then had you beaten within an inch of your existence. She's a liability and she must be removed for our plan to proceed."

"Lilith, I..." Sam sputtered again, "I've never killed anything in my life! I... I don't know if I can..."

"She's standing there pregnant with another man's child, Sam!" Lilith roared, a bit of fire beginning to glow in her eyes. "Do you think that's going to go over well with the voters?! She's defenseless and totally immobilized." Veronica had been struggling to move but found her feet seemingly glued to the floor and her arms limp at her sides. "Do it!" it bellowed.

Sam took a step forward and stood face to face with his trembling wife. "Sam, please!" Veronica pleaded with her husband, "Please don't do this! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I love you!"

Sam looked at the blade reflecting the torches fire then back at Veronica. "You hurt me, Ronnie. More than anyone in my life, you hurt me. I've tried to forgive you, but I'll never forget what you had done to me. I'm sorry, but..." Sam put the blade to Veronica's left breast. The sharp point of the dagger pierced her skin slightly and a trickle of blood ran down her middle. Sam tried to slip the knife further into Veronica's body, but he found that his arm and hand that held the weapon would move no further.

Sam looked back and saw Lilith and Phineas standing together at the table waiting for the blow to be struck. He was about to lower the dagger and tell his benefactors that he could not complete the sacrifice when he felt a hand take the knife from him and he watched horrified as Jeanette drove the blade into Veronica's chest to the hilt. Veronica's eyes went wide as the sharp metal found its mark and impaled her pumping heart. She fell to the floor silently, the dagger still protruding from her bleeding torso.

"Thank you, Miss Akers," Lilith said as if Jeanette had merely held a door open for it. "I had a feeling Sam wouldn't be able to finish what needed to be done. We made the right choice in trusting you to have his back."

Jeanette flashed anger in her eyes as she demurred, "I didn't do it for you! I did it for him! His conscience can stay clear now. His hands are clean!"

"However it has to be, Miss Akers," Lilith responded flatly. She then turned to her servant to give him his orders for the night. "Phineas, please remove that and take it back to the clearing for our friends to dispose of. I'm sure they'll be very grateful for the meal."

Phineas tipped his white bowler then vanished along with Veronica's corpse. Sam stood staring at the spot where his wife had died moments before, his mind swirling in disbelief. "Jeanette," he finally spoke, "Why did you do it?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't," she answered. "And now if anything comes up you can truly say you had nothing to do with it. But the biggest reason is that I love you, Sam and I'd do anything to be with you and to see you happy and successful."

"Very touching, Miss Akers," Lilith said as it sat back down in her chair at the center table. "And, trust me, he feels the same about you. But let's not let emotions get in the way of our plans. Now the work really begins. Sam, when you return home, you'll find a note written in Veronica's handwriting telling you that she's leaving you for her lover, which isn't exactly a lie since that's what she was planning to do all along, even after you returned. Her belongings will have been removed from your home."

"Miss Akers," Lilith continued, "although you may want to visit Sam at his home, discretion is the better part of many other things besides valor. We must keep up appearances. Mr. Bailey is a jilted husband and that will play well with the electorate, especially the women voters that eat that stuff up. Sam is handsome, intelligent and single. Let's keep it that way for a while."

"What about Erickson?" Sam asked. "At some point, he's going to come looking for Veronica. He could be trouble if he talked."

"He might," Lilith replied, "but who would believe that little ol' you would be able to kick the shit out of a guy as big as him? Anyway, we have plans for him and his associates to keep them out of the way. Now, it's time to say good night. Sam, would you be so kind as to drive Miss Akers back to her apartment when you get back?"

"Of course," Sam responded but the words were spoken to no one but Jeanette as the duo found themselves on the front porch of Sam's house.

"Sam, all this craziness..." Jeanette said quietly as the chill of the night came to her once again. "I have to know... Who was that woman? Was that the devil?"

"If it isn't," Sam answered, "then it's something damn close to it. Come on, let's get you home and get some rest. We have a lot of work to do if we're going to win this election."