First to Die

Chapter 114

IN THE LIGHT of the makeup mirror, the killer sat transfixed by soft blue eyes that were about to become gray. The first thing was to smear her hair until all the blond had been dyed away, then brush it back smooth, a hundred times, until it had lost its luster and shine. "You forced me into this," she said to the changing face. "Forced me to come out one more time. I should have expected as much. You love games, don't you, Nick?" With a cotton swab, she applied the base, a clear, sticky balm with a glue like smell. She dabbed it over her temples, down the curve of her chin, in the soft space between her upper lip and her nose. Then, with a tweezer, she matted on the hair. Tufts of reddish brown. The face was almost complete. But the eyes… anyone could see they were still hers. She slipped out a pair of tinted contacts from the case, moistening them, stretching her lids to insert each one. She blinked, well satisfied with the result. The familiarity was gone. The change was complete. Her eyes now reflected a steely, lifeless gray. Nicholas's color. She was him.