That one is really into me, he thought. Maybe I should spare her?
He shook his head, discreetly. No, he thought. He had planned everything in advance. He couldn’t diverge from his plan. If she had feelings for him, it was her problem. Feelings or not, she wouldn’t feel anything at the end of the night, as long as he followed his plan.
“You know,” she said. “It’s really something else with you. I don’t know how to explain but I think you’re special. You’re very different from John.”
“John?” he said, amused. Confession time, he thought. A step closer to her bedroom.
“My ex-husband,” she said. “He… he’s a cop.”
Whoa, the Dark Stallion thought. A cop! Interesting… Exciting! He was about to kill a cop’s ex-wife and the police would have no idea how to catch him. Couldn’t be better.
“A cop?” he said, keeping his voice neutral.
“Yeah. I mean, he’s a Detective. Lieutenant,” she said.
Lieutenant, he thought. Not a small guy! Not that high either, but still good, very good in fact. I’m honored, really.
“And?” he said.
“Well, he’s a great man. He’s thoughtful, smart and everything. But he’s not a good example for our daughter. His lifestyle is completely wild, unpredictable, so… uncertain. Dangerous. I can’t stand it. That’s not how I envision family life,” she said.
“I understand,” he lied.
“But with you, it’s different. You’re smart and funny. You understand me. You asked about my daughter. You have a great career with a lot of opportunities ahead. You’re the kind of man women dream about,” she said, squeezing his hand.
The Dark Stallion nodded. It’s getting boring now, he thought. He didn’t want to hear any of this crap anymore. Enough words, time for action.
“Want to come up?” she asked, as if she was reading his mind.
“I’d love to,” he said, smiling.
He followed her upstairs, into her apartment. Everything happened as he had expected. The hugs, the kiss and finally the sex. It was great. She had lots of energy. Her ex-husband cop was missing out, big time.
After their first orgasm, he let her rest and he reached for his messenger bag. It was small but big enough to contain all his equipment, including a video camera. He took it out, put it on a table across the room and press the REC button. It was now recording. Show time…
“Can we turn on the light?” he asked. “I want to see your beautiful face.”
“Sure,” she said, unaware of the camera.
He joined her in bed. They had sex one more time, when he asked her to turn around, on her stomach.
“Let’s play a little game,” he said, his voice as sensual and mysterious as possible.
“Okay,” she whispered, eyes closed.
He bent over and grabbed the handcuffs. At the same time, he discreetly took a hunting knife and slid it under her pillow. He had also brought a needle and some thread. When he was done with her, he’d planned to sew her vagina. That way, he would truly be her last. Forever.
“Do you trust me?” he said, grabbing her wrists behind her back.
“Yes,” she said.
“Good…”
With a devilish grin on his face, he handcuffed her, thinking that her ex-husband would never do the same to him.
Ever.
He would never be caught.
He sighed with pleasure as he heard the metallic sound of the handcuffs.
Click!
19
They were going nowhere. They were stuck in the unmarked police car, bumper to bumper on the highway. Lefort was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Sovann was texting his girlfriend. John was looking out the window. None of them talked about the failure they’d just encountered at Bourdot’s house.
“Want to take a look at this?” Lefort said, handing his cell-phone to John. “Pictures we took inside the house.”
John leaned forward. “I’ll have a look,” he said, grabbing the phone. He didn’t check it right away. Not ready for it. What could they possibly do with pictures of the house anyway?
He took his own cell-phone and called home. John had left without telling Claire that he had to go to work. She was still sleeping when Cécile had arrived. And she would wake up next to someone she had never seen before, a beautiful stranger, but still a stranger.
“Hello,” Cécile said.
“Hey, it’s John. How’s Claire? Did she wake up?”
“She did.”
“And? Was she scared?”
“No. She just looked at me and asked me who I was.”
“What did you say?”
“That I was your friend. She asked me if I was your friend from the restaurant.”
“What restaurant?”
“When you took her for lunch and I called you.”
“Oh yeah, right.”
“She even remembered my name. She asked me if I was Cécile. She’s smart.”
John smiled. Cécile told him not to worry. She had brought food and a few Disney movies.
“Thank you,” John said.
He hung up and finally took a look at the pictures from Lefort’s cell-phone. He quickly browsed until he stopped before the portrait of a man: good-looking, in his late thirties, very elegant, charismatic. Gérard Bourdot was definitely a gentleman, and John instantly knew why women fell for him. His physique was deceptive. Behind the mask of the perfect man was a hardcore murderer.
John kept looking at him. For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off the picture. There was something different about him. Nothing wrong really, but something… unusual. John zoomed in and squinted at the photo. And then, he saw Bourdot’s eyes and knew why he looked so outstanding. His eyes didn’t have the same color. He had one brown eye… and one blue eye. It sounded like déjà vu.
He has only one blue eye, John repeated to himself, trying to remember why he thought he had heard that before.
He has only one blue eye…
Then, the rest of the sentence flashed into his mind. “Like a pirate?” he had said to Claire.
Everything became crystal clear. John’s heartbeat accelerated and he started sweating. Claire. The man she didn’t like. One blue eye, Julie’s date, Julie’s new friend, Julie’s job, fund manager, big bank, divorced, attractive. This meant target and death.
Oh my God, John thought. Julie is having a date with the Dark Stallion right now! She’s the next victim!
“Son of a bitch!” John screamed.
20
Sovann turned around. “What’s wrong, John?” he said.
“Lefort!” John said. “I know where he is! I know where to find Bourdot!”
“What?” Sovann said.
Lefort looked at him in the rear-view mirror. “Are you sure?” he said. “We don’t need another fiasco for tonight. I’ll look like an idiot if I have to report two failed attempts in one night.”
“I’m telling you, it’s him,” John said. “He’s having a fucking date with my ex-wife right now! Put the siren on!”
“How do you know?” Lefort said.
“Shut up, Lefort, and just do it!” Sovann yelled at him.
“I just know it, now get us out of here,” John said. “If you don’t move your ass right now, my daughter will lose her mother. Go!”
“Come on, Lefort!” Sovann said. “Sounds like an emergency to me. Is it right enough for you this time?”
Lefort glared at Sovann and shook his head. “Don’t push me, kid,” he said as he put the siren on.
A blue light flashed in the night and the cars on the highway started to pull over to create a way for the unmarked police car. Lefort called his men on the radio, telling them they had a new lead.
John called Julie’s cell phone. He waited, feeling his heart beat in his chest. Then a female voice told him to leave a message. He hung up and tried again. Same result. She was probably too busy with the Dark Stallion.