Free Fragrance of Revenge by Dick C. Waters

out.” And, we laughed again.
    “You
first,” I said.
    “No, you
better go.”
    “Okay,
let me tell you what I found when I got to the apartment yesterday.” I went
through spotting them on the sidewalk and getting into the cab. Then I told her
about the condition of the apartment.
    “I’m
going to kill him,” she responded.
    “I
thought you were going away with him for the holiday weekend. The fact that you
didn’t clean up what happened, I mean what looked like what happened in the
apartment, made me think you were really upset with me and running off with
him.”
    “Now I
know why you were so short with me on the phone. I suspected something when I
talked with Ralph this morning, but this goes beyond what I ever thought he
would do. I’m still going to kill him…or worse.”
    “Mercedes,
calm down a minute. If he went through that much trouble to split us up, can’t
you imagine how much he likes you and wants you?”
    “I guess
you’re right, but I’m still going to find a way to get even. I love you Scott.”
    “I love
you too.”
    “So,
where were you last night that I couldn’t reach you?”
    “Do you
want the bad news, or the bad news?”
    “I’m not
sure. What is the first bad news?”
    “Remember
Maggie from the Harvard Pub?”
    “Yes,
and you better not have spent time with her.”
    “Define
‘time’?” She didn’t respond. “Given what I thought happened with you two, I
went to see her dance.”
    “And?”
    “And she
was good.”
    “How
good?”
    “Unbelievable.”
    “Are you
talking about her dancing, or something else?”
    I didn’t
immediately answer.
    “So,
what is the other bad news?”
    “I can’t
say.”
    “What do
you mean you can’t say?”
    “You’ll
only get mad at me.”
    “Oh
Scott, tell me you didn’t.”
    “I
didn’t.”
    “Then
why can’t you tell me?”
    “I’ll
tell you later, when we’re together.”
    “You’re
right Scott, it will be later…much later.”
    I heard
the click and the dial tone.
    I don’t
know what is worse…her thinking I spent time with Maggie, or my keeping the
secret of doing her father’s investigation? I guess the good news is that she
didn’t have sex with Ralph. Oh shit, she thinks I did with Maggie, and now
things are reversed. Will she now spend time with him to make things even in
her mind?
     
    *.*.*
     
    I pulled
into Stephen’s parking lot. It was a Friday, but it was the day after the 4 th ,
so it was a long weekend for most people. The only car in the parking lot was
Stephen’s.
    As I
went up the stairs I could smell the freshly brewed coffee. I entered Stephen
Strong’s office.
    “Well,
what is slowing you down this morning?” Stephen asked turning in his chair from
the window to face me.
    “I don’t
understand.”
    “Well
Scott, since I’ve known you, you take those stairs two at a time. So, what has
got you down today?”
    I knew I
couldn’t share what had happened with Mercedes. “I got to bed late last night.”
    “Yeah, I
hoped you were able to spend enough time to see who’s behind this scenario.
Coffee?”
    I
started to get up, but Stephen held up his hand. “I’ll get it, while you think
about last night, or this morning.”
    A minute
later Stephen handed me the cup and I tried to take a sip, but the cup was
shaking too much.
    “Would
you like something a little stronger?”
    “I could
use it, but no thanks.”
    “I got a
good look at the blackmailer. He came out of the station and spotted three men
coming in his direction from across the street…he was motionless while his
brain kicked in.”
    “Tell me
about him.”
    I took a
deep breath, but my mind was going back to my last conversation with Mercedes.
“I would say he’s in his mid-thirties, about six feet tall, slender build with
brown hair and good looking. He wasn’t what I had pictured. I thought I would
see an ugly creep with a beard. I could id him again if I saw him. I didn’t get
a look at his vehicle as he went