Chapter I

Half of the names in the list had already been crossed off. Sal sat in the floor of her apartment and asked herself how she survived the most efficient and bloodthirsty women criminal in the Northern California even though she had been living at Jamaica, Queens for three years. She did not know martial arts, she did not know kick boxing and other fighting arts, but these reflexes exercises at school was not anything to brag about. Most of the times, she came back with her head twice as big as the ball that stroke her during the whole time. Of course, she did not succeed without most of her body broken, sliced many times with a knife, and a broken arm, but now the new question in her head was: “How was she going to fix this mess in her apartment and what to do with the body?”
Jeremy Lawrence killed a lot of women in Northern California. The most precise MO in his crimes depended of the nature of the women. His preference rested on the beautiful Hispanic with long black hair and feisty character. These women usually did not accept any crappy movement, touch, or jokes from any men whoever the hell they were. He based his motive about their concept to gain respect from their partners. Relatively, woman looked for support, attention, and protection from men, but these ladies only needed to meet their equal in the new society of today.

Of course, the police caught him one night in his process to send a young girl in the afterlife. This young girl who liked to see beyond men fault forgot psycho existed as well. Jeremy fought his way through the arrest, but with the new kind of well-built police officer in the Northern California, the officer who handcuffed him pulled him in the ground so hard that he almost lost his thoracic cage. The prison had to hospitalize him for over a year in order to repair the damage. The officer received a promotion and became a detective. From there, he followed the crimes MO of Jeremy close and he discovered the numbers of women he made disappeared reaching over 35 and more. The first kill of Jeremy kept everybody in the hook and frightening, her sister Carla who lived with him during their young age. Jeremy and Carla did not look like each other at all, day and night stuck for them at school even in the family. Carla had been adopted in her five-year old from an orphanage in South California by Jeremy family. His mother wanted to have a girl badly in the family, but his father was not fun of the idea. Jeremy father believed the family to be among the strong personality with nerve of steel. Most of the therapists who spoke with Jeremy deduced he wanted to realize his father wish and something broke in him and kept him from accepting women who decided to impose their feminism either with him or in the world.
Sal remembered Jeremy story because she had a paper to give as an assignment at her school from this case that came at the summit of CNN news in America in 2014.
While Sal were watching the body of Jeremy on the ground, bleeding over her beautiful white floor, she noticed a black bag in the corner of the door, behind the chair she always put in the other end of the opening door. She forced herself up from the ground and walked to get the bag. The bag rounded in his form at each four side and stretched a lot to resume something inside filled it without any corners to spare. She hesitated to touch the zipping then she noticed her broken arm. Asking herself what could it be to cram the bag so hard. He knelt before the bag, she unzipped the bag to smell this oddly odor which everybody was capable to kill for. The number of the bill counted limitless and she could not believe her eyes. Before she knew, she figured what to do and how to do it, she had found a reason also to become someone else way out of there not to be linked to this murder. Looking at the cash, she put a theory to the event.
Jeremy escaped prison two years ago after a fire burned down the third quarter of the jail location. According to his presence at Jamaica, this could only mean he came to New York after he reinvented himself under a new name and became a serial killer who did job for the higher bidder. But who would want her dead? That part would have to come later, peeking the cash, she deduced Jeremy was in road for a new destination and he had to complete these assignments before he left the country. The list she found in his pocket after the fight proved he had murdered these ten previous victims. She rolled over quickly even though her own body did not want to, but her will needed answers. She picked up the list and read it while trying to identify even one of the chosen. She recognized one of the victims who died three weeks ago in his way to work by a hit-and-run. The man left behind a wife with four children. The guy worked at a company many of the people of New York knew and respected well in his products, Apple.
How can she be a target? She did not work not even close to this company affiliation. The door rang with two knocks from someone who tried to understand why she was making all the noises. She quickly lanced her attention to the door and listened as the person knocked again for her to open.

- Hi, sorry. How can I help you? Sal placed her head between the door and the bar prevented the inside of the apartment to be seen.
- Sal, is everything ok? Why are you making all these noises at this time of night? An old grown lady appeared to be in her fifties and wise enough to reprimand to her leader the nuisance that came out of her noise.
- Night, you are kidding. I just watched the time, it is fourteen past eight. The face of Sal longed and her expression changed to surprise.
- Are you kidding? Did you watch in your window? Right now, it is one o'clock PM, in the middle of the night. The old lady explained as she signed of her wrist.
- What? I am sorry Mrs. Dolenz. I am going to sleep and to seize the noise alright. She smiled with great efforts in her suffering wounds.
- Thanks girl. And, this time your face is worse than the last time. Why don't you quit this game that is killing you?
- Oh, it is the opposite. It just saved my life.

Sal closed the door and looked at her window to see the darkness in the sky had covered the world and she needed to rest and to recover her strength before she did anything. She looked at him in the floor once more to assure he had died and she breathed hard enough to let Mrs. Dolenz hear one last time, because she did not know what tomorrow would bring for her. Her thoughts did not stay to run around as soon as she touched the bed she felt asleep. Blood, fatigue, and solution did not give her time to prepare the bed as usual. She ended up over it with every single cut and pound of wounds she had.
Her clock sounded as hard as she used to knock it off when she woke up in the morning for work. Sal worked on a company that made electronics products and she had been in this employment for one year and half. Her job consisted to receive orders and customers. She sat up front after the open door to visualize and to encourage people to come buy into the company. Her receptionist skill served her more time she could remember. Her strong skill rested on her ability to talk to the customers and to convince them to buy or to learn of what the company offered.  Every worker who knew her loved her and appreciated her. Waking up for Sal had been the easiest thing she did every morning, she considered herself a morning person. Her daily workout kept her in form to discriminate from the general population. When she wanted to be a man, she did the necessary with the many aspects and behavior of a man. The same went for the opposite sex but she always thought her right sexuality rested with the testosterone of a real man. From there, she found an idea. She wrote everything she needed down and started to clean the room up. Three hours later, the apartment shined as the first time she walked in to with this smell of new and arrival furniture. The floor whitened, the wall fixed, and the room restored with the furniture smell. She made a miracle in this apartment that day.
During the middle of the day, Mrs. Dolenz heard her door cracked up with knocks and she rushed to open with surprise in her face when she regarded Sal dressed up from head with her long mixed brown and black hair, covered her little face. She smiled a little at Mrs. Dolenz but she could not return the smile to Sal. Mrs. Dolenz had never met in her life, a leaser as quiet as Sal except for last night. She could not remain mad at her either, because by the time she reached her apartment Sal room became a cemetery once more. Mrs. Dolenz looked upon her shoulder noticing the stretching bag and the other hand to see the cash she brought to her.

- Don't tell me for last night, you are going to leave. She wondered with confusion in her face.
- No, Mrs.Dolenz, I liked my time here but I have an emergency to take care for my family in California. I must go. I am here to pay you for the rest of the lease and to tell you I am going to miss you. A tear streamed down on Sal face while she hugged Mrs.Dolenz who held her strong enough to break her in two.
- I can't promise you anything but I might see you one day. The expression of Sal face left a big doubt on Mrs.Dolenz mind. 
- Who is going to replace you?
- Find someone you like. Again I am sorry about last night.

Sal walked down the stairs with Mrs.Dolenz standing there hoping she would not dare leaving her like this. She held the front door and took a last look at Mrs.Dolenz door. She smiled again and Dolenz smiled back this time to tell her she was waiting for her to come back. However, she knew her coming back would be on wait forever. As she walked through the door and saw the street where she called home, her memories returned when she moved to the neighborhood.

She remembered the first time she met Mrs. Dolenz. She was living with a friend she knew online before she came to New York and she planned to become a famous model for any magazine that could choose her. Before she traveled to New York, she made preparation and sent her resume for many positions she deduced would be perfect for her talent. The only deduction she did not make concerned the transition between the procedures of her native place at San Francisco to New York. Sure, many people and news around the world concluded New York was a state with a lot of opportunities. Opportunities, Sal did not foreseen relocation would be harder than expected. When she arrived at New York listening to his friends and people, she believed she would be hired in the next three weeks. Instead she spent seven months and half before she could breathe in a job she got. During these seven months, she went to interviews over and over. At one point, she joined a new company in his early development, but the schedule of full-time from 8AM to 12PM did not do her justice. So she quit before she died of overwork. She remembered how she used to sleep during the long hour of the train track back to the friend house. One night, she walked on her two long legs to the house in a road of one hour and 15 minutes. On the third month at New York, Sal started doubted her decision had been the hugest mistake of her life. She still responded and looked for work but without the fire she had when she first came to New York. She thought at some point she had been cursed from her family line. The one time she always enjoyed during her stay at her friend house took life in the laundromat. She enjoyed doing laundry even if everybody charged her with a full overboard load of clothes each time. Every time she went to this laundromat that was ten minutes of the house, she could breathe and watched her days differently. Then one day, she watched the day differently with this lady who forgot her clothes and she folded them for her. The lady was surprised Sal wasted her time in her clothes, not hers. They introduced themselves and Sal told her story. The next Sunday, a day Sal always went to do the laundry, the “lady came back to invite her to go in this place and to try to find a job. Sal found a job that day with her enthusiasm behavior and her skills to talk to people, to understand, and to be patient with them.

- So how is everything?
- I have a job and I am starting tomorrow, on Monday.
- That is good. I hope everything works for you from now on.
- I believe so. I have to thank you for everything.

They said goodbye and left with their load of clothes and trouble baggage, but their story was far from over after this. Sal begun to have problem in her friend house with certain visitors she had that Sal did not quite sympathized with. The living together transformed into hell kind ' Sal could not support no longer in her new situation, but it did not mean they had bad habits she could not tolerate. Smoking all kind of crap, doing nasty, and vulgar language; Sal could live with anyone except these kind of persons. The last straw happened one night when one of them tried to get his way with Sal. She broke her nose twice before he could leave her alone. Her allegedly friend did not say a word. That night, she went to the laundry in an intuition where she met the lady again. Before they knew they were strangers to each other, they had form some kind of friendship. Proposing her to come to live in her building while she got in her feet before she took a lease on one of the apartment. Sal moved from her friend house during the day. She did not bring a lot of stuffs, two trips and she was done. She left a note of thank you and a consideration for her service during these seven months. That night, Sal met Mrs. Dolenz who helped her with her problems and gave her a place to remain. In her first month, she begun to pay her for a lease. In the next three month, she had her own place to continue the road of her life. She worked in the company for manufacturing accessories for ipod, tablets, ipod, games, iphone, and much more. Mrs. Dolenz and her went to a new laundry that opened close to the building and they helped each from time to time. Mrs. Dolenz had a 15 year old boy who had a crush on Sal and a brother she loved with all her being. Her brother was born with a disorder who put him in a wheelchair for life even though he could be useful sometimes with his genius brain.
Sal could not turn her head from the direction of Mrs. Dolenz building and her thoughts could not forget all she had done for her. Leaving like this became the worst decision she had made in her entire life. Nevertheless, she could not change her life anymore thanks to her own murder and her assassination.

 

Chapter II

Carla Stanfield walked out from the elevator of the third floor to see the everyday occupation of her workers in order to provide excellent services to their customers. Carla crossed the different offices in her long sleeve gray pant over her high heeling boots, holding her working folder close to her black leather jack covered with the scarf around her neck. One of the ladies followed her with a big calendar in her hand and Carla got in her office. She dropped the scarf with the jacket to leave her sleeveless mixed black and white shirt out.

- Minia, what is it? She asked her while sitting on her chair.
- Robert called. It seems the order for the flowers in the wedding of Mr. And Mrs. Alvin will be a little late. He got stuck in traffic.
- He will make it. What about the sixteen birthday of this girl, Nirva?
- No worries, everything is ready. Just her mother wants to meet you before the event on Saturday. She molded her face in a worry expression and unimportant.
- Do I have place on Thursday?
- Yes, but…
- Minia, there is one thing you have to remember. The customer is more important than the event or the wedding. Alright, put her on Thursday. Carla stated with confidence.
- What about the John Wayne event? How is that one?
- Minia, this one demands your own attention.
- Do not worry, I will take care of it. Minia could not fake her expression before her own sister so she lied.

Lawrence Wedding and Event entered in the life of the people of California in a day. Five months after that, almost half of the population knew where to go for an event, their wedding planner, a hotel conference, and more. Carla Stanfield appeared to be the CEO of this new business and she did good jobs with the first events and wedding she organized. No one knew her existence from the Lawrence family, but she claimed to be a long lost member from far away. The Lawrence family could not say much since the only one left had been the mother of Jeremy Lawrence. She said she met her cousin Jeremy in New York and he sent her in order to meet the family and to do whatever needed to be done. Impossible to overcome the death of Carla all these years ago, Jeremy mother adopted another little girl she named after his son, Jeremia. When Carla presented herself to her, she almost died from a stroke, thanks to Jeremia she avoided a great tragedy. Carla changed their life in the next month with a new house, a new car, a nurse to take care of the mother, and an employment for Jeremia. Jeremia did not take Carla with joy since she had been the one who caused mother great pain starting from her name to her way to do things. Jeremia felt threatened the moment Carla walked the door and took over mother life. Putting the whole family in a new level, Jeremia could not do much except followed Carla like everyone else as a puppy. She tried to challenge her one day and that was the day Carla named her Minia, because she could not see bigger than herself and around her. After this confrontation, Minia and Carla became a little closer in that faithful day. The day they learned Jeremy Lawrence had been identified in a house explosion and forensic confirmed the body and the dental record. Carla and Minia decided to keep this news from mother forever and it was the first time they started to agree with each other.

- Carla, Minia, your mother is here and asking for you.
- Mother, what are you doing here? You know how busy we are in here.
- I wanted to see you before I went to the hospital for my checkup.
- Ha, ha, ha. Minia please, mother felt a little nostalgic I think.
- Mother, we did not abandon you for the job. It is just…
- Ha, do not worry about that. I know how hard you two work every day.
- Maybe she is right mother. We do not see you when we come from work.
- But I do each night, in your bed when I covered you.
- You are unique mother. Come here. Carla went to her mother arms with smile.

Minia and Carla hugged their mother with such strength that either one wanted to let go. She smiled through her tears and tapped them to release her. She turned toward the care giver and she gave her arm so they could leave the ladies worked.

- Sylvia, take this and take care of our mother and we will see you tonight. Do not leave her until we come back home alright.
- Of course ma'am.
- I am worried about mother, I can't feel her soul or something.
- What are you talking about Carla? Should I be worried?
- I am always worried about mother.
- Why are we so different from each other? Everything I think I catch up with you, you surprise me and you keep on going.
- The idea is not to be me or to catch up with me, the idea is to be you and to learn from your experiences. We are different from each other in so many ways you can't possible imagine; however, we are not so different if you look closer with what we have in common.
- I wish I had your…
- Do not, you know one day you will have to continue this without me. What are you going to do? I won't be here to help you. You are going to become the master. Start thinking of that while worrying about mother. Because I won't put a stranger in front of this family business.

Carla picked up her jacket, scarf and folders to direct herself to the elevator. Minia was lost in her new lesson of the day. She could not understand how Carla could be so unbelievably strong and confident in her work. Carla turned her head to notice Minia in her daydreaming. She stood up watching her as a mirror of her old self. She could not believe how someone can be looking up to her as a model. She smiled and put up the boss face in a second to get Minia attention.

- You are coming. I do not have all day besides we want to finish early to meet mother later.
- Sure, coming.
- Wait, wait, it is urgent. Ally one of the workers called to mind of the ladies
- What is it?
- Ms. Stanfield, an officer Gaston called early today and it wanted to know when he can find you for a visit.
- Any number?
- He left this one.
- Thanks Ally, Minia will takes care of it from here. Have a great day.
- Yes ma'am.

The John Wayne event represented the commemoration of the former actor John Wayne in the Western movies in the 1950's to 70's. He realized titles such as True Grit, The Searchers, and Rio Bravo. In the day of his death anniversary, the new generation wanted to remind them the work of one magnificent pioneers of Movies in the US. The event would occur in California where artists and celebrities originated in this corner of state and Carla and his agency had the chance to be the planner. Carla and Minia sat in the car finishing projects, adding new ones, and concluding last minutes modifications. Carla earned a car where she set up a place to be at ease in the middle of the car with her flowering pillow and her favorite picture of her time away from her family. She took a look again at Minia who put her efforts in her work and her concentration in figuring her big sister before she turned to be the new CEO of Lawrence Wedding and Event. Carla thought of the first time she met Jeremia in mother house.
The day came for her to present herself to mother and she knocked at the door. The voice reached with echo to tell her the door rested open, the only thing she could do simply to push it. She did and her look fell over Jeremia. Jeremia appeared to her as a resolution to redeem herself from what she did in the past and she immediately saw her as a mean to build someone and to repay the society with a strong and independent woman who can pass the model. Jeremia had a good physical but still weak, her face expression projected uncontrolled emotion mixed with unfinished business she could no longer know or alter with her own power of determination. Jeremia contained a beautiful form, she heightened better than me, and her voice had a charm no one could ignore when she spoke with energy. Today, Carla watched her again and again she could not recognized this frightening little girl she took and transformed into a woman. Carla never knew when her past would catch up with her but she needed to leave her adopted sister ready in case the circumstance arrived one way or the other.

- Have we spent time together these last days, sis?
- This is the first time you call me sis. Something's wrong?
- No, nothing. Did we go to an event together?
- No, when you went in your time, I am always busy with the finishing of another event.
- Remember what I just told you, one day you are going to run this family business. Then you are going to start today. I want you to be my equal.
- Sis, I can't. I am not you or me yet and I have not figure out anything.
- We will on the way.
- We are here ma'am. Lucius announced to the ladies.

Carla and Minia got down from the car, Carla left her folders behind in guise not to be annoyed during her examination. Minia left the car with her folders the same way she took them over her desk this morning. Carla grabbed her hands and threw the folders back in the car and held her to walk with her sister in the decorating room. Everyone had something to do, the one with the little flowers for the men, the one with the dishes after the ceremony and the movie, the one with the cards, the one with the menus, and the one with the invitees list. Carla walked around with her sister trying to figure what was missing but everything was going perfectly. While standing, Carla caught two glasses and gave one to Minia, they toasted and they drank together for the first time since they met each other. Minia contemplated her sister in her craft and her way to do her job as well as she knew how. Minia doubted to see herself like this one day and she trembled with the glass at her hand and Carla heard a noise of glass breaking in the floor.

- Hey, this is a place for a ceremony, not for your personal breaking point.
- What? I am sorry I dropped it. I feel a little nervous that is all.
- Well, then you are not supposed to be here.

Minia did not continue the conversation and left the room Carla thought she saw tears before Minia disappeared behind the door into the garden. Carla kept on going with her last minute preparation and concluded at the time she felt right. The noise of someone sniffing attracted her attention more and more in the garden where Minia wasted her tears for a simple misunderstanding. Carla surrounded her with her arms and she bent into her shoulder. Her tears were enough for Carla to deduce she was in no way ready for the job.
The car stopped in front of the house Carla bought for their mother and for them also. The house formed the diameter of half a circle, the room of mother in the middle, Minia took the right side, and Carla conserved the left side.
The house covered the same shape it was built. A pool came in front opening the three ways to the house, the two sides form the stairs in front of the entree and the middle that cut the pool in two on top, but not all the way down. The front of the house door made in glass let you grasp the activity of the ladies inside as Carla and Minia noticed their mother in care from the nurse. This time, they tried the way in the middle to go see their mother who slept calmly through the silence of the place.
Her long brown arm chair, with five pillows and a small table in front did the trick for her. The wood platform in the wall contained the Big TV, the radio stereo, the books she liked, and the tapes and DVD she begun to admire in this time.
- Mother, how was your day? Minia run to her arms with a great smile.
- It was great after I saw you two worked together in one place.
- Where did you go when you left us? Carla resumed in her questions.
- She went to see an old friend. We visited that new park on our way here and she almost fainted from the walk the doctor advised her to do. The care giver responded with precision.
- Mother you can't push yourself like this. We still need you.
- I still need you two as well but you went to your business every morning. You have to let me live my life. Mother deduced to them.
- No, not if you think you can run from us.
- Carla, is everything ok?
- No, I think I will leave you two to catch up.
- You are my daughter too even if you are from a far family.
- I know mother but sometimes I have to deal with moments I swear to forget in my life.
- You know you can talk to me. Mother insisted while fixing through her eyes
- Of course.

Carla kissed mother on her forehead and left the room to cross over hers in a few minutes. Minia posed her head over mother legs to let her talk to sleep. She did not dare to ask advices from her mother in order not to disappoint her big sister. She figured mother might know the answers but she wanted to uncover them herself before long and to show her sister she can be more than she hope. Carla rushed in her room to unbury an old bag she put under her bed behind her shoes. This picture left tears came out in flow from her eyes, her face changed, and her hands shook so hard she dropped everything in an instant. Her knees followed and she looked at an old friend she knew once who helped her in her hard times. She did leave and she knew she would not return but she could not control her emotions.

- Oh, old friend where are you right now?
 

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 18.05.2016

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