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Prologue
Serial killer
I missed my lovelies.
I opened the drawer of my nightstand and pulled out my prized photo album letting my fingertips brush the steel finish of the Pierre Cardin signature embossed on the lower front of my dead mother’s antique table lamp. Not wanting to disappoint Mother more than I already had by not becoming a surgeon, I had taken to heart the need to be precise in my work with my lovelies.
I thought back on all the years when my mother had been training me, and she had brought home animals for me to work on. I’d been nervous because I knew how angry and then distant Mother got when I didn’t do a good job at my tasks. I needed to do my very best because someday when I was a brilliant surgeon, the cuts I made would save people’s lives.
Seldom did I receive praise from Mother, so when she approved of my surgical technique, joy vibrated throughout my entire body. I wanted more of that feeling; it was exhilarating. I’d once made the mistake of complaining about the smell.
Mother had called me weak and childish. She said that I’d never amount to even half the surgeon she was because I was a pathetic loser, like my father. He had left us when I was just a toddler. My mother said it was my fault because I wouldn’t stop my incessant crying and pathetic whining. After that I’d spent the next several years trying to please her, to prove her wrong, to get that exhilarating feeling from her admiration.
When I got older, I’d started bringing home what I thought most parents would have felt were the perfect women. They were good girls, girls that had been getting a higher education, staying away from drugs and any bad influences. Before Mother died, she had taken to calling them all whores. I’d broken it off with them because they weren’t good enough for her. Still, I strived to please her, and I’m certain my plan to create the perfect woman will do just that.
Flicking the lamp on, I looked heavenward and murmured, “Mother if you’re quiet you can watch over my shoulder as I savor time with my lovelies. Your demands for perfection I believe will be quenched.”
To make myself comfortable, I fluffed the pillows behind my back and leaned against the headboard. I placed the treasured album on my lap, rubbed my hand over the cover, and enjoyed the sense of calm that filled me.
I opened to the first picture, and a lock of hair fell from the page. I fingered it tenderly.
With reverence, I whispered, “Ahh, you were my first and my most special.”
I flipped the page and caught the next soft lock of hair and caressed it. I admired the fine lines that I had placed on her face as I ran my index finger over them. Her skin had been almost perfect. Now, with my superb marks, I’d made her flawless.
“My lovely, you must be so pleased with how beautiful I’ve made you.”
One by one, I gazed at three more images, honoring them for their beauty and perfection; delighted that the last two had been found and now others could see my meticulous work.
Chapter One
Jaq
I pressed the phone to my ear and spoke softly so the customers in the bookstore wouldn’t be disturbed by my conversation. “Hi, Violet, I’m so glad you called. It’s been so busy lately that we barely get to talk and we need to finalize our plans for later today.”
Forgetting that I was sitting in my open office, I spun around on my chair happy that I was finally getting together with my friends. It made the seat squeak and caused the customers in the cooking section closest to the register to turn to see what was going on. I gave them a little wave then whispered, “We’re still going shopping for me to get a new outfit after my shift ends, right?”
“Of course we are, but you should know that trying to get you on the phone lately has been almost impossible which is why I’m calling you at work. Have you considered that if you weren’t dating four men at once, we’d have more time to hang out together?”
I rubbed the nape of my neck in a soothing motion. “Oooh, burn. I’m not doing anything wrong, Violet. The guys all knew from day one that I was dating others, but it has gotten awkward at times.”
“What does that mean?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my brow at the stressful memory of those past dates, sighed and uttered, “Well, I was on a date and ran into one of the other guys I’m seeing.”
Opening my eyes, I looked around the store to make sure no one was paying attention to my conversation. Luckily for me, no one was watching, but I was instantly happy again as I saw a mother and her three little munchkins in the children’s section having a grand time with the story she recited for them. I turned away from their location, and my eyes landed on a couple of regulars.
“Ooh, Violet, those two geeks from the local engineering college are in the science fiction section again.”
“Like you should talk Ms. Star Trek geekazoid.”
“Guilty as charged. Love me some Captain Kirk, and Bones.” We both giggled.
“Enough with the geeks; I want to hear more about your run-in with two men at once.”
“Just last week I was at dinner with a guy when Jaden walked into the restaurant with his friends. He came right over to the table to say hello to me; then he got all possessive and asked me to introduce him to my ‘little’ friend. My date stood up like it didn’t faze him in the least. He put his hand out to shake Jaden’s and told him that it was nice to finally meet him as he’d heard so much about him. Of course, that wasn’t true, but you should have seen the surprised look on Jaden’s face. I just wanted to hide under the table.”
“Better you than me. There’s no freaking way I could deal with that crap.”
At that moment two women from the bestseller section headed for the check-out, both with a couple of books in hand. I stood up and started down the two steps from my mini office to the register.
“Hey, Violet, a couple of shoppers just walked up to the counter; I’ll tell you more when we see each other later. Got to go.”
“Looking forward to it just can’t wait to hear what happened next. See you later.”
Talking with my friend about Jaden reminded me that Jaden and I had been seeing each other for a year now. I’d been grateful that he’d seemed understanding about me dating others, but I wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be willing to do that. I loved being with him but kept my guard up because I didn’t trust him enough to fall completely in love.
My family seemed confident that I didn’t let anyone in because of my past relationship with my father and all of his lies. I thought it was because the right one hadn’t come along yet and there was no reason to rush into something that just didn’t feel right.
Tonight was going to be all about having fun with my friends; especially after my latest disastrous date with a lunatic. I still needed to tell Violet about that one. Thank God, I wouldn’t be going out with another potential crazy tonight. I was putting all the men in my life on hold and enjoying a stress-free evening with my girls.
***
When I entered the mall, Violet was coming my way. Few women could look sexy in work scrubs, but with her long silky hair up in a high bouncy ponytail and virtually no makeup on her gorgeous face, she was smoking hot. Walking up to me with a spring in her step, she grabbed my arm and immediately started dragging me toward the coffee shop. She claimed that she couldn’t do anything without her coffee fix.
She placed her order of a large dark coffee with two shots of espresso, paid the bill and then got right down to business. “Tell me all about your latest guy friend?”
“He’s the funniest person ever. He’s super smart, a chemical engineer. I told him everything about the other guys I’m dating because he asked. So he spent most of the few dates we went on determined to imitate every one of them to make me laugh and maybe to make himself seem a little more desirable. He had me cracking up the night Jaden came over to our table. He did a perfect impersonation of him. Of course, he waited until Jaden and his friends left the restaurant before he started.”
Violet gave me her ‘you’re nuts’ expression.
I shrugged my shoulders. “What?”
“Jaq! You told him about Jaden and the other men you’ve dated recently?”
“Why not? It’s not like it’s a secret.”
Holy smokes, between the strong coffee and the mounds of sugar she added to her drink, it was easy to see why Violet was always so high strung and full of energy. We sat for a bit while she sipped her coffee with gusto; she seemed immune to the burn from the high temperature.
Violet leaned in placing her elbows on the table and wrapped both hands around her cup. “Okay, if you’re having so much fun with this guy, why isn’t he the one?”
Putting my opened hand alongside my mouth to block the sound of my voice from traveling to nearby customers, I murmured, “Well, I’m a little ashamed to admit that as incredible as he is, I can’t get used to his lanky frame. You know how we both like our men to have broad shoulders with a masculine build.”
“Sure do! The bigger a man’s chest and shoulders, the better.” Violet laughed, and a small spray of coffee landed on the table. She grabbed some napkins and wiped up the few dots before either one of us could get any of it on our clothes. The two older women at the table next to us made a tsk, tsk sound, letting us know that they disapproved of our uncouth behavior. We looked at each other and couldn’t help but crack up.
Not even bothering to whisper, I replied, “Well, he’s cute and all, and is good for a laugh, but he didn’t turn me on physically or make me feel safe, and I don’t trust him because of the way he talked behind other peoples’ backs. As a matter of fact, I broke it off with him yesterday.”
“You can’t judge all men by what your father did to you and your family. I get that you have an issue with them after one or two lies, but everyone tells a little fib now and then. You need to get past your daddy-daughter issues.”
“Yes, Mother dear,” she rolled her eyes at me. “Speaking of trust issues… Last week I went to an ROTC military ball with a lunatic. At first, we were having a great time. He had the photographer take our picture together then one of me alone. He informed me that since this was his Military ball, he needed to keep the originals as a keepsake for his photo album, but he was supposed to get me a copy. At the time I thought it odd but sweet.”
I batted my eyelashes and fanned myself. Violet giggled at my actions. “All the soldiers looked so handsome in their dress uniforms, and they were all so polite.” I slapped my hand on the table.
“My soldier started out that way too, but then, it went downhill.”
“What did the guy do?”
“It just got weird.”
Violet leaned forward, put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on the open palms of her hands.
“Halfway through the evening, he introduced me to his father, a general and his mother. They both seemed nice to me. My escort told me he wasn’t feeling well most likely because his father was there and he always made his stomach turn with his overly controlling ways.”
I found myself rolling my eyes knowing now that he had been full of it and was a bold-faced liar which I refused to deal with in any man or woman. I’d had enough of that with the lies Dad had told about not drinking. The memory of Mom blocking our front door so he couldn’t go back out to drink more and him promising he’d stop came to mind. That had not turned out well as he climbed out their bedroom window, after telling us all that he was going to bed. I shook my head not wanting to dwell on the past and continued my crazy story.
“He gave his father his regrets, and we left early. Then instead of taking me back to my apartment, he pulled into the parking lot at his college fraternity house. That’s when I asked him, what the heck we were doing there.
“He had the balls to tell me that he wasn’t sick and had just used that as an excuse to leave the formal early so we could go back to his house and have sex.” I rubbed my temples, puffed out my cheeks and let out a huff.
“He’s a complete moron; without a clue,” declared Violet as she removed one hand from her chin and began to roll the tips of her fingers on the table like she did when she was annoyed.
“I agree. What would make the idiot think just because I went to his dance that I’d have sex with him? We barely even knew each other, which was pretty much what I told him with a few expletives thrown in for good measure.
“He not only had the nerve to get angry at me, but he drove me home speeding all the way. When we got to my street, he became more reckless; driving on the wrong side of the road for several blocks. It scared me out of my mind.”
My heart raced from the memory of that moment. I closed my eyes and released a noisy exhale.
“He parked in front of my place; I jumped out of the car and ran to the stairs with keys in hand. The guy had the nerve to call up to me how sorry he was and said he wanted to go out with me again.”
At that point, Violet stopped drumming on the table and abruptly blurted out, “Please tell me you told him to shove it?”
“In no uncertain terms. He heard loud and clear that he was out of his mind if he thought I would ever go out with a lunatic like him again.”
“Has he bothered you since? Did he use the need to give you the photo from the formal as an excuse to talk?”
“Yes, but I’ve ignored his calls. You can see why I’m looking forward to just being out with you and our friends tonight. I just need to chill.”
“God, yes.” She took her last sip of coffee, got up and threw the empty cup in the trash, turned back to me, and grabbed my elbow. “We are running out of time, need to get shopping and find you a killer outfit so we can have a little fun with our girls tonight.” She was right. I’d have to tell her about my other creepy date at the club.
We went into the mall to search for something tantalizing. After purchasing a pair of skinny jeans from my favorite store, we found a sexy top that showed off my figure. Shoes weren’t an issue; we both agreed that I already had a pair in my closet that would work just fine.
With a glance at her watch, Violet said, “We need to head home and get ready. Unless you think I look sexy in my work scrubs.” She did a little wiggle a few feet in front of me and then twirled around. We both laughed and headed for the parking lot.
We gave each other a goodbye hug, and as we were getting into our cars, I called over to her, “It’s my turn to be the designated driver. I’ll pick you and the others up later tonight.”
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Patrick by. Click here to read Chapter One.
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