Lucky Swing

The door opened. Selena, ready with the letter opener, attacked. She stabbed Stan right through the eye. He died instantly, falling slowly backwards in a tightly drawn arc.

It was a lucky swing. She was hoping to startle him just long enough that she could get past him and run for freedom. She wasn't trying to kill him.

And then she realized something was wrong. Stan wasn't wearing his black leather jacket and black denim jeans. He was dressed in a grey suit with a blue dress shirt. It wasn't Stan at all.

It was Richard.

Part Thirteen

Nerve

She waited in the closet while tightly clutching the letter opener to her chest. She'd never killed anyone--never come close really, unless you count the car accident and she'd been drunk so she never did. But she was going to kill Stan, or at least hurt him really bad. She knew she had to do it quickly, as soon as the door opened, because if she saw his face she'd lose her nerve. Not that he didn't deserve to die, but she'd be too scared.

She heard footsteps, so she stood next to the door, her whole body tense.

Part Twelve

The Letter Opener

As the minutes stretched on, Selena wondered how long she would be abandoned in the dark. She could hear distant shouting and decided to look for a means of escape.

Throwing herself against the door convinced her she'd never be able to barge her way free and instead she began searching through the contents of the closest. Richard had kept a revolver in an old shoebox, but she had gone for that immediately and it was no longer there.

Other than the books and files, there was little that could prove useful. Until she found the letter opener.Part Eleven