Fatal Deception: Part I by S.R. Burks Page B

away slowly.
    He walked past her, mulling over her words. She watched his blood-shot eyes as he pondered.
    “You know, you’re right, Deidra,” said Marc. “I have been doing that. I can’t do it anymore.” He sat down on the sofa, defeated.
    Deidra looked at him sympathetically, but knew in her heart that this was the time to strike. “You loved her dearly,” she said affectionately. “And no one should try to take that from you. She was an important part of your life–the love of your life! You don’t have to forget your love for her, you just put her in a special place in your heart, and embrace new love.” She came to sit beside him and softly caressed his shoulder.
    He looked into her beautiful eyes and felt his heart yearning. “I have an idea,” he said, jumping to his feet and buttoning up his shirt.
    Deidra watched him with curiosity when he suddenly took her by the hand, and nearly dragged her out of the house. He assisted her to the passenger side of her Jeep, then jumped behind the wheel and drove away into the night. She had no idea where they were headed.
     
    Alondra woke early as always, and went searching for Geri. When she didn’t find her up, she thought she was still sleeping and knocked on her bedroom door. It was partly ajar, and slowly swung wider with her touch. “Geri?” she called. There was no response.
    Alondra stepped further in and called out again thinking she might be in the shower, but still no answer. Then she remembered she liked to go jogging. She turned to walk out of the room when she spotted the briefcase, and pictures strewn about. She knew it wasn’t nice to pry into other people’s things, but she’s become very close to Geri in the last few days and wanted to know more about her.
    She eased over to take a quick look and gasped in horror. They were pictures of Alondra’s family. It was her father, her uncle, her aunt. Some of the pictures were old and others were recent. Some were from way back when she was a baby. Then she cast her eyes on a lone picture placed on a pillow. It was a picture of her mother, Clarice. She was young and she was with a girl who looked younger, but very much like her, maybe a sister.
    “But Dad never told me my mother had a sister…” Alondra said out loud.
    “Because he never met her sister, so he probably has forgotten about her,” said Geri.
    Alondra turned quickly to face Geri who was standing in the doorway.
     
     
     
    Chapter 22
     
    Cain and Blair came around the bend in the Yukon. Even though they’d shared a blissful night, they were glad to be home. They’d got the car much earlier than they thought they would and when they pulled up, the magazine crew was just unpacking. Cain and Blair went over to greet them.
    Blair noticed that Deidra’s Jeep was there. She was partly surprised because Deidra had been late the last couple of visits. Then she heard the guys laughing amongst themselves and pointing at the Jeep. Cain disregarded it, but Blair could not. She thought she heard something poignant. “Could you repeat that?” she asked walking up to one of the men. The others looked away, sorry she had overheard the sly remark.
    “No disrespect intended, Ma’am,” said one of the men. “We were just joking around.”
    She touched his arm. “That’s not why I asked,” said Blair. “Deidra didn’t come in with all of you this morning?” She looked at each and every one of them.
    They tried to avoid eye contact, aware that Deidra had been after Marc since the moment she found out about the shoot. “No, Ma’am. She didn’t sleep in her hotel room and that’s all I want to say.” He threw up his hands and backed away as did the others and returned to their work.
    Blair looked down at the ground, all sorts of terrible thoughts racing through her mind. Then her eyes went to the house. She started towards it. Soon she picked up her pace, her heart began to pound. A dreadful feeling came over her. Once inside, she