should really know about. But what can I do? I have no assistant to watch twenty-four hours a day tapes that may or may not prove there’s something I need to know.
Specimen 3
The day had come at last when she arrived on my doorstep, bright California sunshine on a dark, wintery, stormy day. The weather had suddenly turned two days before. As typical in this unstable climate, one day Specimen 2 was out riding his bike in the sunshine, and then the next day the temperature dropped fifteen degrees and a sudden hail storm hit. The wind and sleet made leaving the house a nightmare for anyone. It seemed odd to me that she somehow showed up on this day, when I was certain that the airport had been shut down for hours.
“Come in quickly,” I. She wore a toque, a hooded parka and heavy boots. I found it odd that a California girl would come equipped with a parka and boots. There is some more background checking to be done with her. I was so enamored of her and so preoccupied with the boys that something has escaped me from her files.
She stomped her feet on the outdoor mat before coming into the house. She quickly removed her coat and boots, and I whisked them off to dry in the parlor bathroom, hanging them on one of the hooks I’d installed over the heater. It was a great coat-warming spot. I used it all the time for myself. When I returned, she was fluffing her hair and staring around the hallway. She wore a jersey-knit minidress and black stockings. Chunky turquoise jewelry she wore around her neck and wrists spoke to me more of Ontario aboriginal art than anything Santa Fe. Her countenance seemed off-kilter, something in her vibration that wasn’t quite correct.
“How was your flight?” I asked her as I led her through to the kitchen. My kitchen was a stainless-steel wonderment and could be used to prepare food for one or for fifty. When I first purchased the home, it had been set up as a party kitchen, with two ovens and all kinds of features, such as two fridges plus a wine cooler and a beer tap. I was going to have them all removed but as I got deeper into my experiments, I realized how convenient having choices could be, especially when I was entertaining.
I poured water into the kettle and plugged it in.
“I… Okay.” She smiled. “I could really use an espresso. Do you have that?”
“Of course,” I said as I pulled out my small one-cup espresso maker. I quickly ground a fresh batch of beans and in a few minutes she was sipping her espresso and still not telling me about how she magically appeared on my doorstep.
“The weather’s not usually this bad this early in the season,” I told her.
“Sure it is. It’s downright schizophrenic.”
“I suppose it is. Shall we go to the living room?”
She placed her cup on the kitchen counter.
“We haven’t even said hello to each other properly yet,” she said with a pout. With a start, I remembered that I’d better get focused on the reason she was here and worry about the details later.
I hugged her, holding her tightly.
“I’m so excited you could make it. We’re going to have so much fun.”
She kissed me warmly on the mouth and then a glow of excitement flushed her cheeks.
“This kitchen is so huge. You must have some amazing kitchen parties.”
“Yes, I most certainly do.” I backed her against a counter and kissed her again. She hugged me close, her hands cupping my ass through my jeans.
She was much shorter without the tall heels that she had worn, but her shapely legs more than made up for it.
She broke the kiss.
“Don’t forget the money,” she said, suddenly businesslike.
“Of course,” I said. I left her and went upstairs to my office where I pulled two thousand dollars out of my filing cabinet. I shoved it into an envelope.
I returned to the kitchen where I thrust it into her hands.
“There will be much more, don’t you worry,” I promised her. She peeked inside the envelope and giggled at the
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