Free No Ordinary Killer by Rita Karnopp Page B

shook her head.
    “They’re three, what do you expect?”
    “Don’t talk to any reporters,” she said, placing two
bottles of chardonnay and a container of strawberries in the near empty
refrigerator.
    “You know I wouldn’t talk to anyone about the twins.
They need their mama.”
    “Let’s not get into this again. They love living with
you and life is just too hectic here right now. You know I’ll come get them
soon. Besides, it’s summer, they’re bored here.”
    “They don’t know about being bored. They do know about
their mama being gone.”
    “Must we do this right now?” Megan tapped her nails on
the counter.
    “Tell me when you’re coming to visit so I can let them
know. It’ll give them something to look forward to.”
    Megan crunched the paper bag and tossed it on the
floor. “I’m not sure. I’ll let you know when I get it figured out. You know,
Mom, I really have to go. I was almost out the door when you called. I don’t
want to be late. How about I call Sunday? We’ll talk then.”
    “Okay, Megan, go to your meeting. Make sure you call
the twins after church on Sunday.”
    “Fine, I’ll call after lunch.” A quick press punch to
the off button flooded her with relief. These phone calls were getting more
tiresome and annoying as time passed. Maybe she should just give the twins to
Cooper and be done with the frustration. No, that would please Cooper too much.
    What was the hoopla about being a mother? Demanding,
exhausting and annoying were only a few adjectives she’d call kids. Maybe it
got better with time … but she doubted it. If she hadn’t wanted to please Coop,
she’d never have allowed it. He was a good father, and that annoyed her even
more. He loved the twins and for that reason alone she’d never give him
full-custody.
    He’d humiliated her. He’d told her family about her
botched abortion. He could have considered her feelings and kept that mistake
between them. She’d lost friends and her marriage … all because of Coop.
    She tossed the deli sandwich in the fridge, no longer
hungry even though she’d only eaten a bagel all day. On second thought, she
grabbed a bottle of wine, removed the cork and poured the enticing liquid into
her favorite Tiffany glass. A long soak, candles, and soft music would make her
feel better. Hopefully by then she’d be ready for some satisfying sex … the
kind that made her forget everything and everyone.
    Settling down against the headrest, scented water reached
her chin. Beethoven soothed her mind, sandalwood candles soothed her soul.
Closing her eyes, she allowed the stress between her shoulder blades to
evaporate….
    A thin young man, long blond
hair pulled back into a ponytail, laughed as his older, male lover tied his
wrists to the bed post. “You don’t get too kinky, do you?”
    “I’m going to bring you to
the height of your senses. I’m going to help you face your greatest fear.”
    “Oh, yeah, and what’s that?”
    “Death.”
    “Shit, what you talking
about?”
    The older man finished the
last knot on the ankle restraint. The fear in the young man’s eyes was all
consuming. “You should never go home with a stranger. Didn’t your mama ever
tell you that?” The older man’s laughter held a steel edge.
    “You seemed so nice. You know
my friend Billy.”
    “You ever wonder what
happened to Billy?”
    “He … he went to Chicago to live with his
real dad. You even told me so.”
    “What would you say if I told
you Billy never left this apartment alive? He stayed here for weeks … but then
I had to get rid of his body. The neighbors started complaining that my garbage
was stinking too much. I had to take him away.”
    The young man snapped his
head to the right, then left, looking around the room as though seeing it for
the first time. “He was dead and you kept him here? Man, that’s sick. You
aren’t going to do that to me, are you?” His voice rose and trembled.
    “No, Joey Fallon, I have
better