Cherry Bomb

CHAPTER 44

ALEX HAS THE WINDOW CRANKED DOWN-a temporary solution for the smell coming from the body in the backseat. She’ll deal with it soon. But she has other business first.

The wind is cold, harsh, and slaps at her cheeks. She only feels its sting on her right side. Alex brings up a hand, touches the rubbery scar tissue, feels a bit of stubble. One of the skin grafts was taken from her leg, and the hairs are sharp and pointy. She thinks about shaving again-an act that humiliates her almost as much as it angers her-and decides not to.

Samantha didn’t seem to mind it.

Alex smiles privately. What a wonderful eve ning it turned out to be. Shopping was fun, even though the boots are hideous. A terrific dinner. Then back to Sam’s apartment for a drink and what ever.

They never got around to the drink.

Alex closes her eyes for a moment, and can practically feel Sam’s body lying next to hers. It’s so pleasant, so right, that it makes her anger fade away.

The future is looking brighter and brighter.

This is the home stretch. Soon after Chicago, Alex will leave the country. She’ll be gone for a while. A year at least. Sun and fun, rest and recuperation. And then, who knows? Once everything is taken care of, the whole world will be open to Alex. It will be like starting a whole new life.

“I think I can fall in love with you, Samantha,” Alex says, half of her face grinning.

She reaches Chicago an hour later, never having to stop for gas. Maybe there’s something to this Prius hype after all.

The neighborhood is dark, quiet. She got the address, and the idea, from an earlier phone call. Rather than park anywhere near the house, she finds a space next to a fire hydrant, one block over.

If Alex wanted to do this quick, she could burst into the house, guns blazing, and kill her intended victim. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so quick. He’s armed, has a burglar alarm, and has most assuredly been on heightened alert since Alex has gotten out. She could set the building on fire, wait to shoot him when he came running out. Or use some of Lance’s ordnance to send the house into the stratosphere. But those aren’t nearly as fun as what she has planned.

Giving Jack a sporting chance to prevent this murder, and watching her fail, is simpler, and more satisfying. Plus the authorities, and the media, will be focused on events here while Alex is off doing other, more important things.

She grabs her duct tape and a fresh cell phone. With some difficulty-both with the climbing and the securing-the phone gets set up in a tree across the street from the house, some dead leaves packed around it to keep it hidden. Then she brushes off the bits of tree from her outfit and heads back to the car.

After all the text messages she’s sent lately, Alex is becoming pretty adept at what is an awkward skill. Maybe she’s not as fast as the average schoolkid, but the six words appear on the screen quickly and easily.

THIS IS HERB. HE’S YOUR PARTNER.