The Killing Kind (20 page)

March 27

The twenty-four-hour Walgreens on South Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach wasn’t exactly jumping at two in the morning. The three fugitives arguing in the hair-products aisle became the only customers in the store after an old lady with rollers in her pink hair hobbled out with her Geritol purchase.

“You’re going blond and that’s final.”

“You know, you keep saying ‘that’s final’ about things. You sound like a fucking dictator, Roxie.”

“That’s what I am.”

“I just don’t think blond is the way to go. It’s too obvious.”

Roxie snorted and rolled her eyes.

“I’m totally serious. My hair is very dark, almost black. A lighter shade of brown would be more subtle, less likely to draw a second look. You could even put in a bit of gel, I guess. How’s that for a compromise?”

Roxie smacked his chest with a box of Clairol Born Blonde. “Fuck your compromise.”

Rob stared aghast at the package pressed against his chest. “Come on, Roxie. This is for chicks. I’ll look ridiculous.”

Roxie seethed. “Rob. Pay attention. I’m starting to get pissed. Now think about that a minute. You really want me to lose it right here in the middle of this store?”

Rob groaned.

“
AHHHHHHH
!”

Julie couldn’t take it anymore. The scream just came out. It was a full-volume blast of rage and exasperation. Probably not the brightest thing she’d ever done, given that they were supposedly trying to avoid attention. But the nearly identical shocked expressions on her companions’ faces were totally worth it.

A lean black man in spectacles and a Walgreens vest poked his head in the aisle and said, “There a problem?”

Roxie summoned a high-wattage smile and batted her eyes at him. “No, sir. Just having a little disagreement. We’ll keep the volume down, I promise.”

His expression conveyed doubt, but after a pause he gave a terse nod. “If you need any help, let me know. My name’s Tod and I’m the manager.”

Roxie kept smiling. “Thanks
so
much.”

Tod turned and left them without another word.

Roxie sneered.
“Gay.”

Rob shook his head. “Let me guess. Any guy who doesn’t fall down drooling at your feet is queer, right?”

“Obviously.”

“What about the frat boy you’re planning to—”

Roxie slapped a hand over his mouth. “Shut up. Fuck’s sake, Rob, you know not to talk about that shit where people might hear.”

Rob pushed her hand away. “And why should I care? Like it matters. Like there’s any way this thing ends in anything other than total disaster.”

Their voices had been rising again and Julie was unsurprised to see Tod the manager reappear at the end of the aisle. “Ladies. Sir. Please keep it down. You’re disturbing the other customers. If it continues, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Roxie’s brow creased. “What? Seriously? There
aren’t
any other customers.”

Tod’s expression remained stern. “Nonetheless. This is my store. So, respectfully, please be quiet. I won’t ask again.”

He retreated again.

Roxie scowled. “That miserable little—”

“Fuck this shit.”

Julie started walking away from them.

Roxie called after her. “Hey! Where are you going?”

Julie stalked quickly down the aisle and soon saw the automatic doors at the front of the store come into view. “Outside for some fresh fucking air. Problem with that?”

The door opened and she stepped out into the cool night air. The door whisked shut behind her, mercifully blocking the sounds of the ongoing feud. She moved a few yards down the sidewalk and dug into her purse for a pack of Marlboro menthols. The cop car pulled into the parking lot just as she was lighting up. The headlights hit her and she felt frozen to the spot.

Aw, shit. This just fucking figures.

She lit the cigarette and inhaled as the cruiser pulled smoothly into the spot directly facing her.

Well, this is it. Game over. Time to go home.

Or to jail.

Whatever.

The car idled there for more than a minute. Julie squinted against the headlight glare and was able to make out the shape of a big man behind the wheel. He didn’t appear to be doing anything other than just staring at her. She smoked the cigarette down to the butt and thought about lighting another. But she was too spooked to reach into her purse again. Too afraid to move at all. Finally, after several minutes, the driver-side door opened and a big man in a uniform stepped out. He was really buff, filling out his striped trousers and crisply pressed shirt in interesting ways. He saw her looking and smiled, an expression that lit up a face that was
just shy of handsome. His eyes were a little too close together and his lips were too thin, but he had a strong jawline. Given the rest of the package, the face was more than passable.

The cop slammed the cruiser’s door shut and stepped up onto the sidewalk. The car’s engine was still running, the key still in the ignition. How arrogant was that?
Fucking cops.

“Evenin’.”

Julie smiled. “Hey.”

The cop stroked his chin with a thumb and forefinger as he walked in a slow circle around her, looking her up and down. “Mmm…”

Julie swiveled her head but didn’t turn as he circled her again. “See anything you like?”

He moved in close behind her, leaned down some, and pushed his crotch against her ass, letting her feel his enormous erection. His hands gripped her by the waist. “
Feel
something I like.” He chuckled, his breath warm and stinking of whiskey. “Like to break me off a piece.”

Julie did a slow grind against his crotch. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll let you. Mmm…but what about the surveillance equipment in your cruiser?”

He kissed the back of her head and slid rough fingers under the silky fabric of her halter. “The…what?”

“You know. The video camera. Like on
Cops
?”

“Um…”

“Isn’t this the kind of thing you could get in trouble for?”

“I don’t know. Is it?”

His hands moved to her breasts and gave them a none-too-gentle squeeze. She faked a groan of pleasure and said, “Yeah. Like that. I don’t know. I guess I just thought soliciting a prostitute was still a crime in most places.”

“That what you are, girl? A whore?”

Julie wiggled against him. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

The cop laughed. “Yeah. Knew you were a pro. Can spot
’em a mile away. You’re fresher meat than I usually see, though. You can’t be any more than, what, seventeen?”

She giggled. “Almost.”

He made a low sound deep in his throat. A
hungry
sound. “Don’t worry about the, uh, surveillance equipment. I turned that shit off the second I saw you.”

“Oh, good.”

Julie had slipped a hand back inside her purse while he was preoccupied with the task of molesting her. She turned around as her hand came out of the purse and thrust herself against him, half-feigning lust again as she got her right hand up and ready to strike. Half-feigning, because she actually was sort of turned on. He did have a dynamite body. It was kind of a shame, really.

He grabbed her ass and pulled her tighter against him. “Gonna tear your pussy up, girl.”

Julie slammed the big hunting knife into his side, jerked it out, and slammed it in again.

Then again.

And again.

The strikes were rapid, all happening within a few seconds, too fast for him to react efficiently. He shoved her away, causing her to stumble backward on the sidewalk and land hard on her ass. She bounced up and came back at him cobra fast, jamming the knife into his neck as he fumbled for his gun, his weakening fingers unable to get a good grip on the holstered weapon. She pulled the knife out and a gout of blood splashed her chest.

The cop wobbled a moment before crashing to the sidewalk, where he convulsed and spilled blood all over the white concrete. Julie wiped the blood-soaked knife on her shorts and put it back in her purse. The cop was clearly dying and no longer a threat. Julie got down on her hands and knees and rolled him off the sidewalk. She gripped him by his thick ankles and tugged him around so that he fit
lengthwise inside the parking space to the immediate left of the cruiser, adjusting his feet so the toes didn’t point straight up. She had to hide the body, at least temporarily, and there was only one way to do it. He was too damn big to drag off behind the building. Someone else would surely come along and see what was happening before she could manage that.

She reached for the handle on the driver-side door.

Mouth agape, she stopped and stared at the emblem on the door.

In the middle of a seal were two words in bold letters:

Julie couldn’t believe it. “Oh. My. Fucking.
God!”

The guy she’d just killed wasn’t a real cop at all. She suddenly felt very stupid. There had been some obvious subtleties that should have tipped her to the truth of the situation. The bit about the surveillance equipment seemed particularly telling. At some point the guy realized she’d mistaken him for a real cop and decided to take advantage of that.

Motherfucker!

She was angry as hell, but she knew she had to chill and start dealing with the situation before it got even more out of control. She got inside the still-idling car, found the gearshift, and put it in reverse. She backed up and glanced in the rearview mirror. Some light traffic moved along South Kings Highway, but no one was approaching the drugstore. That wouldn’t last. She backed the car up and began to move it into place. She felt the body catch on the undercarriage and slide forward some, but that part didn’t go as badly as she’d feared. Turning the feet so they lay almost parallel to the ground likely had helped with that. She managed to get the cruiser parked nice and square in the space. Then
she opened the door and got the hell out. Another car pulled into the lot just as she was slamming the door shut.

Her heart started trip-hammering again.

Shit! Not now!

The car was a very old and beat-up Oldsmobile. It moved slowly across the lot, almost painfully so, and eventually pulled into the handicapped space right outside the front door. Julie watched the car carefully and quickly became impatient. The driver was taking his or her sweet fucking time getting out. But a door finally creaked open and a stoopedover old lady emerged.

Julie wanted to scream. What was it with old women and their late-night trips to Walgreens?

Don’t these bitches ever fucking sleep?

The old lady shut the car’s door in slow motion and began to hobble toward the store. When the automatic door opened, Julie dropped flat on the pavement and reached under the cruiser. The rent-a-cop was dead as fuck. And was sort of all fucked-up after being run over and dragged a little bit with his own car.

She’d wanted the man’s gun, but a closer look at his holster made her screech in frustration. He didn’t have a gun. Of course not. He wasn’t a real cop. He was just some minimum-wage douche bag out for a joy ride on company time. The thing in the holster was some kind of electronic device. A Taser, maybe? Well, shit, it was better than nothing. She grabbed the device, got to her feet, and hurried back into the store.

Roxie and Rob were still arguing in the hair-products aisle.

Of course.

Roxie ceased berating Rob in midsentence and frowned. “Is that a gun?”

Julie sneered. “No, it’s not a fucking gun. It’s a fucking Taser.”

“Where’d you get a fucking Taser?”

“From the fucking guy I killed in the parking lot just now.”

Rob groaned. “Fuck. What is it with you two? Look, murder isn’t the answer to
everything.
Just once—”

He broke off and stared at something behind Julie. She turned around and saw Tod the manager staring at them from the end of the aisle again. But his air of smug superiority was gone. He was shaking. He held up his hands and started backing away.

Roxie laughed. “Looks like somebody heard something they shouldn’t have. I hate eavesdroppers. Don’t you, Julie?”

“Yes.”

She put her head down and charged the man. He back-pedaled faster a few steps before turning to run, but the soles of his loafers slid on the slick tiles and he fell awkwardly to the floor. His left hand hit the floor at a bad angle and snapped at the wrist. He howled in agony and rolled onto his back in time to see Julie leaning toward him. He opened his mouth to scream again, but by that time she’d already pressed the Taster to his chest. She pressed a button and thousands of volts of electricity poured into his body, making him froth and convulse. When he was done shaking, she zapped him again. And then again.

Someone grabbed her by a shoulder and pulled her away from him. “Stop that before you kill him.”

She pushed the hand away and whirled around. “That’s the point, asshole.” She pressed the Taser against Rob’s chest and savored the way his face paled. “You want some?”

Rob opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Julie pressed the Taser harder against his chest. “I hate you. I’d be having so much more fun with just Roxie.”

Roxie approached them, getting close enough to snag Julie’s attention while still keeping a safe distance. “Julie. Don’t. Okay? I know you’re upset, just…please don’t hurt him.”

“Can’t you see how weak he is? We’d be better off without him.”

The poor bastard looked like he was about to crap his pants. She came very close to shocking him in that moment. The thing that stopped her was a sudden, jarring mental intrusion. It was the recognition of what her life had become, what it was in this very moment, on the edge of this act, versus what it had been a week and a half ago. Within that very short span of time she’d gone from slightly troubled teenager studying for exams to being a person on the verge of murdering her new best friend’s lover.

It was somewhat disorienting.

She lowered the Taser and looked at Roxie. “Sorry. I know I get…out of control sometimes.”