Guilty.
“—Tattooed bad boy that just happens to show up with guinea pig bribes and blanket snuggles?”
Katie pauses, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. “Shut up!”
The groaning bed comes to a screeching halt, and I log out of the camera feed, shoving the phone back into my pocket.
“Was it good for you?” I hear Hennessy ask from above me.
Well, if you have to ask…
It takes another twenty minutes of faffing about for his unsatisfied guest to leave and his fat arse to jump into the shower.
Wriggling my way out from under the bed, bringing the dust bunnies and stray hairs with me, I make my way towards the bathroom door.
Pulling the wire from my back pocket, I roll it between both hands, ensuring the cord is taut and ready. It’s all too easy to creep in silently behind him. While lathering his chest and bollocks with an inexpensive body wash that smells of mint and middle-aged desperation, Hennessy hums a tune.
I tug on the wire, wrapping it around his neck before pulling it tight. His humming turns into a desperate gasp for air as he kicks and thrashes, desperately trying to free himself from my grip. My back connects with the sink with a loud thud, causing bottles and toiletries to crash to the floor. “Come on, you fat bastard!” I growl, tightening my grip on the wire. Hennessy’s face turns red, his eyes bulging as he fights for every breath.
And then he does it.
He fucking shits himself.
My foot slips in the mess, causing me to lose my balance, and my shoulder slams into the tiled wall. “Motherfucker!”
Hennessy’s feet slide, pressing his throat further into the wire and opening a beautiful gash across his neck. Blood spurts out, painting the walls crimson.
“Are you dead yet?” I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Nudging his head with the tip of my boot, I see his eyes wide, bulging, and petechiae already forming.
I stumble to the shower, stripping off my clothes and shoving them into the plastic pedal bin bag beside the sink. I’ll need to bring it all with me. Everything, including my boots, will have to be burned.
As I step into the shower, the hot water cascades over my body, washing away the remnants of Hennessy’s DNA that cling to my skin. The water turns pink as it swirls down the drain. There is no way in hell that I’m using his body wash or any of his products. Water alone will have to do; I’m not risking partial fingerprints, and I need to be quick to avoid leaving any footprints behind. Once I’m done, I grab a towel and carefully dry myself off, making sure not to touch anything else in the bathroom. The towel then goes into the plastic bags along with everything else.
I take my burner phone off silent, noticing a message from Tracy that reads, “This could be you” and a picture of her sucking on a lollipop.
“It could be if I were hung like a bumblebee.” I text back and retrieve the bag I stashed under the bed, taking out a change of clothes and putting them on quickly.
“Are you coming over tonight? I wanna taste you.” Tracy replies, adding an obscene amount of emojis to emphasize her intentions.
“Well, I am a mixture of sugar, spice, and all things nice, but tonight doesn’t work for me. I have to work.”
“I can come by.”
“I’d rather you don’t.” I do another once-over of Hennessy’s house before I leave and head to the Orion. The deed is done. The person who hired me wanted to send a message—no clean-up, no way to claim it was an accident—a good old-fashioned crime of passion.
My phone rings as soon as I get out of the car, and Katie’s name pops up on the screen.
“Well, if it isn’t my little snuggle bug, long time no see.” I chuckle as I answer the call.
“I found your wallet down the side of my couch.”
“You did?” I feign surprise. I stuffed it down there on Sunday, knowing she would find it and reach out to me. “I was wondering where that went to.”
Several employees scarper as soon as they see me coming.
Her voice drops to a whisper as she continues, “Have you seen the news today?”
I pause, halfway up the stairs to my office. “No. I’m surprised you did. Did you not say that you’re not a fan of keeping up with current events?”
