CHAPTER 3

Travis knelt by the pool twirling a pen between his fingers. Alfonso's body was being fished out of the dyed red water. The body rolled over revealing large pupils and a slit throat. If he was to look closer he would notice the slit wasn't smooth but rather jagged.

"Let's check upstairs." Detective Leo said approaching from behind. Leo's head was on a swivel constantly looking at every inch of the backyard. From the professionally trimmed trees, to every lawn chair, empty alcoholic beverage and every civilian that was currently being questioned by a police officer.

Detective Travis stepped away from the pool and wiped the wrinkles from his suit jacket. He placed his pen in his pocket then headed inside stepping around the police officers and other law enforcement working hard at cracking the events from the party.

Leo led Travis to a woman that was spotted with Alfonso. She had a towel over her, hair wet probably from having swam in the pool before Alfonso took it over. She was young but looked old enough to be able to purchase a drink.

"Tell me again, when was the last time you saw Alfonso?" Travis pulled out a small writing pad and the same pen he often fiddled with.

"I saw him at the bar with a woman. He took her upstairs, that was the last time I saw him. Then...then..." She buried her face into her hands and cried. If Alfonso wasn't a drug lord, Travis may have felt sympathy for him. Truthfully, he felt he got what was coming to him but he had a job to do and thanked the woman for her cooperation and was even able to pull out that the woman was wearing a red dress. She wasn't able to give any further details so both Detectives went upstairs to Alfonso's room.

Police Officers walked around taking pictures of the overturned furniture. Of the smashed window, the broken wine bottles, and even the smashed flat screen tv.

"Well, whatever happened didn't go as planned. What do you think Detective," Detective Leo said rubbing his hand through his slick black hair.

Travis took a moment to study, analyze and think. He checked every corner, every spec of dust; even walked out onto the balcony and thoroughly examined it before returning to his senior detective.

"Well, what do you think?" Leo asked. Travis was sure he was testing him but gave him his thoughts anyways.

Alfonso's door swung open. Julie laughed teasingly, rubbing her hands on his shoulders as he escorted her inside. Julie looked around and made sure to exaggerate on how impressed she was with the size of the room. The furniture was placed around a fireplace, a CalKing size bed, a personal bar and a balcony that overlooked the party. It was definitely his Bachelor pad. The Dj's music played loudly but that didn't stop Alfonso from playing music from his sound system. Where the Dj's music was rap, hip hop and pop, Alfonso played soft, slow beat music; the kind you play when you are making love to your spouse or want to romanticize your lover.

Alfonso led Julie to the bar and sat her down on the stool.

"They started here," Detective Travis said standing by the fallen stool.

"So Jennifer, what do you prefer? On the rocks or a mixed drink?" Alfonso placed two empty glasses on the table and pulled out a variety of hard liquor.

"On the rocks." Julie said. To be honest, she didn't know what that meant until she saw him place three ice cubes in a glass and poured in the liquor. Julie smiled a fake, forced smile and leaned forward ensuring he had a clear view of her cleavage. He bought it and his eyes couldn't help but look. Made her feel worse about herself.

"Something went wrong over here. Look underneath the counter an empty holster. The gun is missing." Travis said peering under the counter.

"Oh sweetie you are so beautiful. There is just one thing I want to ask you..." Alfonso's hand lowered under the counter and before Julie knew it she had a gun pointed at her face.

Julie froze, unsure of how to react or what to do. She's never had a gun pointed at her before. Her heart raced, everything she had planned and hoped to achieve tonight had just flown out the window. She was scared, envisioned him pulling the trigger and even flinched waiting for it but it didn't come.

"Who are you, really?"

"What?" Julie's voice cracked.

"This is my birthday party. I personally know every single person here. I kept it that way so that if somebody that I don't know, let's say you, come in here uninvited I'll be able to spot them and deal with them." Alfonso clicked the safety off.

"My only guess is that whoever killed him, came here with that purpose and he found out." Travis continued.

"So I will ask you again. If you value your life, you would tell me who you are and who are you working for?"

Julie stared at him, took a deep breath to calm herself. Remembering why she was there in the first place. She kept her movement slow and grabbed the glass he had poured for her. Glancing at him, he didn't seem to mind so she took a sip and was surprised to find it go down smoothly. "About a month ago, my mother Sara Lawling was found dead in an alley. Did you kill her?"

"Sara Lawling? I've killed many people in my life but I don't remember her..."

"Look at this glass here, there's a trace of blood." Travis knelt at the broken glass by the fallen stool. "I bet if we take this glass to the lab we may find some prints."

Julie waited patiently sipping away at the drink. She learned through all her years dealing with a drunken father they would always slip up. He was no different and it showed when his grip on the gun loosened. Julie sprung into action, shattering her glass across his forehead.

Alfonso, having been caught off guard nearly fell but was off balance which was all Julie needed to knock him on the floor. She knew from watching multiple crime based movies, always go for the gun first, so she did. Through the skirmish she managed to free the gun from his hand but was unable to get to it as Alfonso shoved her off of him. The small table she hit shook and the lamp fell shattering when it hit the floor.

"There was a struggle here. Someone hit this table causing the lamp to break..."

Julie stood breathing heavily. Her back was to the balcony, her head bled from where he had hit the table. Alfonso stood across from her with a knife, he drew from his pocket. It was this moment she wished she took the Karate classes as a child more seriously.

"You're going to pay for this you bitch!" He lunged.

Julie, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to wrestle a man of his caliber, turned and ran, jumping over the furniture but she stumbled, her drinks finally catching up to her. Thankfully, they were well working on him as he staggered across the room and tripped over the furniture. His weight caused the furniture to tip over and the knife to slip from his hand.

"They ran this way towards the balcony. They're both drunk so that explains why all the furniture and bed is knocked over and in this condition. This was obviously done by a rookie and very sloppily."

Julie stood with her back at the balcony window. From the partiers below it looked like Alfonso was about to get his way with an attractive female but inside it was Julie trying to defend herself from a drunk who was trying to kill her. At this point the room was a mess, the furniture turned over, she even stepped over the bed trying to keep her distance. She was scared and didn't know how she should react or what she should do.

"Will you stay still already?" Alfonso complained between breaths. She could tell his drinks were starting to wear as he was walking straighter.

"Stay away." She went for the knife in front of her.

Alfonso charged recklessly. Julie screamed, closed her eyes and swung. She felt blade touch skin and when she opened them she stared right into Alfonso's petrified eyes, the knife's point in Alfonso's neck. She screamed moving her hand, finishing the cut across his neck.

Alfonso held his throat and reached for her. Scared she slid the balcony door open. The outside music blasting loud, causing the balcony floor to vibrate. Alfonso kept at her and slowly turned around. With one final scream she pushed and Alfonso fell off the balcony smashing into the pool. Julie peered over the railing, and watched as his body floated in the water and the partiers screamed upon noticing the blood.

"My verdict is our attacker is a female. Someone pretty enough to easily lure Alfonso away but no experience. This couldn't have been a planned attack but spread the word. We are after a woman probably around his height if not taller."

The thought of her almost dying brought a different sensation to Julie all-together. It's been three weeks since she killed Alfonso and every night, that night replayed in her dreams. Before she never had a reason to fear for her life but the moment the gun was pointed at her head, everything changed. She now knew the meaning of fear. Her fear haunted her, it kept her awake at night. She peered out her window, it was raining. Before, rain used to calm her. It was peaceful, the sound of the water pouring from the sky; now it triggered her. Forced her to remember the look on Alfonso's face when she sliced his throat.

Forcing herself out of bed she walked over to her dresser. Figured, if she couldn't sleep she might as well write. She opened the drawer and paused upon looking at a small black box. Travis's ring. Pulling it out her drawer she opened it once more and stared into the diamond. Julie couldn't help but to smile as memories of Travis and herself replayed in her mind.

A smile when she thought of her first date with Travis. How he took her to Maggiano's, the Italian restaurant they had always wanted to go to. A blush when she reminisced about their very first awkward kiss at a house party. He was drunk and had kissed her the moment she entered his house. Luckily for him, she kissed him back and spent the rest of the night together. Her heart raced when she remembered the first time he told her "I Love you." It was at a secret beach, Panther Beach, she remembered its name. In his rush for a perfect date, he forgot firewood for the bonfire so they huddled on the sand under a blanket and he told her "He loved her." Playfully Julie responded with, Thank you, and waited until he gave an awkward look before she kissed him and returned the words. Tears when she remembered their last date together in the restaurant. Now it was too late. He was in his career and to make things worse, he's the detective on the case for Alfonso the man she killed. She feared it would be a matter of time before he figured it out. However, despite knowing that, she wanted to see him. Wanted to tell him she loved him and she needed him more than ever at this moment. Wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

She looked at her keys on the dresser and the clock that read 10:00pm. He would still be awake. He would often play video games at this hour. A way to "de-stress" he always put it. Julie knew, deep down, he was a gamer and if it was up to him he would play video games all day. Grabbing the keys, she left and drove to his house, she just needed to see him.

"What would my life be like if I married Travis? What would have happened if I had said yes?" Those were some of the thoughts that entered her mind as her car pulled to a stop just outside his house.

It was nighttime but she was still able to recognize the light blue paint that coated the one story house. Travis had always loved his front yard, grass and granite beside the driveway with a lemon tree on its way to maturity. She stopped at the front door. Breathing heavily, she felt more nervous. Doubts crossed her mind, she began envisioning him tossing her out, slamming the door on her face, or arresting her for killing Alfonso.

"This is stupid." She muttered to herself. "It's just Travis." But was it really? Although they've seen each other in passing they never really spoke about the proposal. Never laughed in each other's presence or comforted each other. He had no reason to allow her to speak to him, to use him as comfort. Rather, he had all the reason to curse her, arrest her and throw away the key.

Shaking, not due it being rather chilly but because she was scared. Knocking on the fine crafted wooden door with a green and red reed hanging above the small peep hole seemed foreign. Usually she would have used her key and welcomed herself inside. However, before she could knock the door opened and two men nearly ran into her only catching themselves at the last second. Kyle and Thomas, his best friends from high school. She knew them rather well and often shared adventures with the trio. However, the look on their faces when they met eyes told her Travis wasn't the only relationship she messed up. Both simply nodded, gave a fake smile then hurried off to their parked car.

"Julie? What are you doing here?" Travis asked standing in his doorway.

Julie opened her mouth to speak but no words escaped her. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally said, "May I come in?"

Without a word Travis stepped to the side and closed the door behind Julie. Julie stood amazed at how clean his house was. His tv was still on from when he was playing the xbox with his friends. He walked over to the granite table and cleaned off the trash before sitting in his rocking chair. Julie sat on the chair beside him taking pleasure in how comfortable the couch was.

"What can I do for you Julie? Why come here so late at night?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"To be honest, I don't know. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Uh-huh. Why do I not believe that? I mean what? How long has it been three, four months? And you are now thinking about me?"

"Travis...I'm..." She wanted to say sorry.

"I don't want your apologies Julie. I want an explanation. It’s complicated isn’t good enough!"

Julie broke eye contact. She couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes, all the feelings he held deep coming to the surface.

"I'm sorry. It was a mistake coming here." Julie stood, keeping her head down. When she turned to the door she felt a hand on her elbow. She turned and Travis was on his feet. He pulled her in and to her surprise held her how he used to. Julie melted into his chest. At first she was surprised but when she closed her eyes and heard the beat of his heart and felt the warmth of his body it seemed all her worries just seeped away.

Julie didn't want this moment to go away but he pulled away and both returned to their seats. "I'm sorry. My emotions were getting the best of me. But Julie, I loved you with all my heart. You were my everything. I would have treated you right. I've never done wrong by you so I don't understand why you just walked away?"

"I was scared. I had a lot going on, Travis. I didn't believe that marriage was the right thing to do..."

"Then why didn't you just tell me? Talk to me, and let me know what was going on? I could have helped you. I would have understood."

"I..."

"You broke my heart Julie. I've tried to do my best to be there for you but you closed down and pulled away from me. All this time I thought it was my fault, that I had done something wrong. That was selfish of me. This was on you and it took me all this time to realize this. I can't do this anymore Julie. You can't come to me to help you with any problems. Maybe before but not anymore." Julie saw him stand and opened the front door. The look on his face clearly showed he was a hurt, a broken man and hated his actions. Julie understood the hint and walked slow. She wanted to say something, come up with the magic words that will make him embrace her, to forgive her but she couldn't. As she passed he said, "Please don't come back here again." The door closed behind her.

Her phone rang. Julie checked, it wasn't her personal phone. The phone kept ringing. She looked around her room, tossing her things searching frantically until she found the phone buried in her drawer. It rang once more before she answered.

"Hello." She said.

"Griffith Observatory, midnight, don't be late." The line disconnected.

Julie let out a sigh. Finally after two months she would receive her first assignment. She was growing impatient but figured it was to let the death of Alfonso come down before they made another move. She placed the phone back in the drawer beside an empty manilla envelope. She had deposited all the money into an account under her own name and had vowed not to touch it. Well not all of it, only spending enough to pay for the house, food, a new car and any other necessary supplies. She had thought about getting her own apartment but she feared what would happen if she had left her father alone to his own self destructive tendencies. While waiting, she had kept herself busy with school, exercising with Monica, who no longer pestered her about her mother, and making sure her drunk father didn’t drink himself to death.

She spent the rest of the day making dinner for them both and hiding all the remaining bottles of alcohol. Of course, her father fought her for them, but she was resilient and he gave up passing out on the couch. It was time for her to leave. She dressed in sweats and a hooded jacket. She drove up the hill, parked, took the dolly up to the observatory and waited outside the observatory leaning against the wall staring out at the beautiful city lights. The clock struck 12:00 and a man stood beside her.

"Don't look." He said, handing her an orange envelope from under his arm which she took and placed in her pocket. He was gone before she could say anything.

Thirty minutes later she was back home sitting on her bed staring at the sealed manilla envelope. She opened it and pulled out a picture of a middle-aged Asian woman and a folded piece of paper which read: This woman has taken something from me and went into hiding. Her last known whereabouts were in Chinatown. Find her, and bring her back to me, dead or alive, along with the item she stole. Do this and you'll get $10,000. She peaked inside the envelope and found a set of storage keys with a locker number and combination.

The next day she found the locker and opened it finding a black duffle bag. When she pulled it out and felt how heavy it was, she knew what was inside and quickly rushed home. Her suspicions were true when she opened it, finding guns of all calibers with another note inside addressed to her. There's a shooting range 5 minutes from you. Global Gun Range. Meet me there tomorrow at 9am- Steven. So, she did. At nine, she walked into the gun range, carrying the duffle bag and dropped it at Steven's feet.

"I don't need all this." She said.

"Have you ever shot a gun?" Steven asked.

"No."

"Have you ever purposely killed somebody? And don't give me any bullshit. We both know Alfonso was an accident." Steven said.

"Then no."

"Then how do you expect to kill the person who murdered your mother. To be able to kill someone with her skills they must be a professional, someone very experienced. It won't be easy and you can't rely on sheer dumb luck. So, you may not use all of these, but you surely will need to know how to use them. From here on out, you will train here everyday until you've mastered each weapon. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, now pick up the bag and follow me." Steven said. He walked through the back door and Julie followed to a private room. "No one will bother you here. This will be your private range. Take advantage of it."

"What about my assignment?" Julie asked placing the bag down on the table and took out a .45 ACP pistol. She examined its fine details and admired how light it was in her hand.

"Your assignment starts tomorrow. Today you practice." Steven answered by lighting another cigarette.

For the next two hours Julie practiced at the range with pistols, rifles, and shotguns with Steven instructing her how to use each. By the time she left, her shoulders were on fire and she now realized just how difficult using guns were. They make them look so easy to use in the movies. She went home and took a nice long bath, allowing her body to be completely swallowed by the hot water. Checking the time, it was one in the afternoon, her stomach growled. It was Saturday and thought taking a trip to the mall would be nice. She reached over to the phone and called Monica, hoping she was free to join her. She wasn't. Something to do with a sports game with her new lover.

She sighed, placed her phone down, then got out the tub. She would just go alone, but didn't feel much for a drive so she walked. Found it more refreshing this way. Looking at nature always seemed to put her in the right mood. She changed her mind from the mall to the park and sat on the bench that allowed her to view the trees clearly, and the families playing on the grass and play structure.

Julie spent an hour relaxing, before a black car pulled up. It drew her attention. Four men and one woman and a little girl exited. She instantly recognized her from the woman in the photograph. Liz Lee, Julie recalled, was her name. What was she doing here and with a child? The reports said nothing about there being a child! This changed things. Her heart raced. She tapped her knee and bit her nails, a nervous habit she kept her entire life. She kept her eyes on the woman, and the guards around her.

Julie watched her play with the child, who ran happily laughing when her mother pretended to be the big bad monster coming after her. It reminded her of when she was a child and her parents took her to this same park. She would run around pretending her parents were scary monsters trying to catch her. Of course they always caught her and tickled her to the ground. Julie didn't realize she had been crying. She wiped her tears and looked for the family. To her surprise, Liz was walking in her direction with her daughter holding her hands. Julie was unsure what to do. Her target was staring right at her, walking with her daughter close behind. Julie thought of leaving, but her feet felt numb. She looked behind her hoping someone the lady knew was there, but there was no one.

Liz stopped in front of her and looked down at her. Julie kept her face hidden by her hair, until she saw a hand holding a tissue.

"Here. My daughter noticed you were crying and wanted to give you a tissue." Her voice, so angelic and yet so proper.

"No, I want to give it to her." Julie heard from the little girl.

Julie raised her head and gladly accepted the tissue and dried off her eyes. Julie was nervous. Her target standing right before her, so close she could easily grab her. "Thank you." Julie said politely.

"Will you be okay?" Liz asked sitting beside Julie. She pulled her daughter onto her lap. Julie noticed the four men kept their distance but watched carefully. If she tried anything, they would be on her like dogs. "Don't mind them. Husband hired them to keep watch."

"Why were you crying?" The daughter asked.

Julie kept quiet. The daughter looked at her mother. "Mom, why doesn't she speak?"

Julie didn't know the answer to that either. Her heart was racing, hands fidgety. She held them to keep it from being too obvious. Julie took a deep breath. Thought it best to be engaged. Maybe she could learn more about her target. "I was crying, because my mother passed away." She answered softly.

The daughter looked at her mom who simply smiled. "Sweetie why don't you go play I will watch you from here." Liz placed her daughter on the ground and the daughter ran off to the swing set.

Liz looked at Julie and placed her hand on her back, rubbing it as if she was comforting a sad child. "Losing a mother is hard. I lost mine too. Do you have a place to stay?"

Julie thought about her home, her drunk father who was there waiting for her. She never really considered that place home, at least, not anymore. "No."

"Why not stay with us for tonight. We don't live too far and I make an excellent pot of coffee."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Julie asked.

She placed her hand on Julie's leg and smiled. Julie felt at ease, dropped her guard and smiled. "Because, I know who you are Julie and I know what you were hired to do."

Julie's heart dropped. Her smile faded. How? How was she found out? "I don't know..."

"Cut the shit," the tone of her voice was so different, Julie barely recognized her as the nice friendly mother. "Don't worry, I am not going to call the cops. Besides I was the one who called the hit. Your real target is my sleaze ball of a husband. I know you're new at this, but if you succeed, the house is yours in addition to the prize money. All I want is him dead and keep my daughter out of this so make sure she is sleeping before you...well...you know."

Julie raised an eyebrow. Her house? She didn't respond. She didn't know what to say, how to feel. She knew she was doing all she could not to throw up. She was so confident with Alfonso, but now felt like a shy girl thrown onto a stage in front of a million people. Perhaps, Steven was right. Before was just a fluke and now she was in way over her head.

"Anyways, you may call me Liz and she is Lily. Let's get going. The husband will get too suspicious if I don't arrive by a certain time." Liz stood.

The car pulled to a stop, driving past the plants laced with Christmas lights, and up the driveway. Julie went to the window. She felt like a fangirl staring at her celebrity crush as she stared at their lighted mansion decorated with Christmas lights. "Woah," she didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Do your job and this all will be yours." Liz reminded, while stepping out the car. She picked up her sleeping daughter, before heading to the entrance.

Julie stepped out the car and walked slowly to the door. She couldn't help but feel anxious. This was the biggest house she'd ever seen. When she walked inside, it looked even bigger. Reminded her of the castle in beauty and the beast. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Julie figured Liz's touch. The stairs were lined with pictures of the trio. There were two pathways. One led into a full fledged chef's kitchen and the other side a living room as large as her entire downstairs.

Liz walked back downstairs after putting her daughter to sleep. "Right this way, I will show you around. My husband will be home in one hour. We don't have much time." Julie followed. "When my husband gets home, I am going to introduce you as my new work associate and you will be joining us for dinner. During dinner, I am going to present my husband with a document he needs to sign for new insurance. Instead, it will be the deed signing the house and all his assets to you courtesy of Steven. After dinner he is going to drink himself to sleep. When he comes to his room, you will be there waiting for him. Make it look like a break-in. I can't collect his life insurance if it is suicide." Liz spoke fast, but Julie understood. Liz ended the tour when she heard the front door open.

Julie followed Liz to the front door where her short and chubby husband took off his hat and coat and placed them on the rack by the door. Liz knelt down, kissed him, and escorted him to Julie. "Honey, this is Julie, an associate of mine from work. She's going to be joining us for dinner."

Julie could sense the judgement look by how he looked at her from head-to-toe. He looked away unimpressed, "Is dinner ready?"

"Yes, the chef's have worked all night preparing your favorite." Liz put her hand on his elbow and both walked into the kitchen. Liz turned her head and winked at Julie with a smile planted on her face.

Julie followed them into the kitchen and felt she walked into a restaurant. Chefs and servers were slaving away preparing the food. Julie walked past them and joined Liz and her husband into the dining room. Liz and her husband were already sitting on the Oak wood table while the waiters served horderves. A chandelier lit up the room with stained glass windows and lit candles to set the mood. Liz tapped the seat next to her and Julie sat where instructed. Moments later they were served a 3-course meal. Julie struggled through the dessert but gobbled down the Lobster tail, the mashed potato, corn, and drank a glass of wine.

The waiter took the plate. Julie nearly forgot she had an assignment to do until Liz slipped out the paper and pen. She slid it over to her husband, explained it was for a life insurance policy on their daughter Lily. Her husband muttered some complaints but signed it without reading a single word. He drank for the rest of the night and when he left for the bathroom Liz slipped Julie a knife and told her his bedroom was the last on the right so Julie left.

Julie walked up the stairs passing their family photos. Seeing their joyous smiles, and the big smile on their daughters face made her pause before making her way up the stairs. She lifted the picture, her heart felt heavy seeing herself in the picture's reflection. Julie placed the picture back and walked up the stairs, thinking it best, just to get it over with. Finding the bedroom she crept it open to see if the husband was inside; he wasn't. Julie slipped inside, thought best to keep the light off for now. Maneuvering around in the dark she found the bed and slipped under the covers hoping he would confuse her as Liz and lay beside her making her job easy. She held the knife close and waited patiently.

Just as she hoped, the husband stumbled into the room. Julie was thankful he was too drunk to find the light switch and by the movement he even struggled to remove his daily clothes. "Oh honey, papi here and ready for you." Julie kept herself hidden under the covers and back turned away. By the sudden shift in the bed she knew he was behind her.

"Oh honey, playing hard to get. Come play with papi." Julie felt the husband's arm reach over and grab her chest.

Julie spurred into action, before the husband could realize she wasn't his wife. She mounted him, holding the knife still out of his eyesight. Her heart raced, he was looking at her, hands groping her chest still thinking of her his wife. She hesitated, thinking of his daughter, how killing this man would change her life, rip away the father from her like her mother was ripped away from her. This man revolted her, she felt disgusted with him as he grabbed her chest. "Come on honey, play with me." He grabbed her head and pulled her close forcing the kiss. She didn't mean to, but she thrusted the knife into his side.

"Shit!" She cursed when she realized what happened.

"What the fuck!" He pushed her off him. Julie fell off the bed and the husband pulled the knife from his ribs. "Who the hell are you?" He cried out.

Julie crawled around the other side of the bed breathing heavily. She heard the husband stand and fall with the sound of everything on the dresser dresser crashing down behind him. Suddenly the light came on and Julie turned to find Liz standing at the door. Julie made eye contact with her. Julie felt like she was hyperventilating. Liz walked past her and Julie peeked around and saw Liz stand over her dead husband. Liz picked up the phone and called the Police putting on the act of a distressed wife who really cared for her dead husband. Liz then knelt before Julie.

"Good job. The car up front is going to take you home. You were never here. Steven is going to contact you once everything has been taken care of. I advise you to lay low for a while. I have already cleaned off your prints so you don't have anything to worry about it coming back to you." With that, Liz stood and left the room. Julie stood and took one look at the husband before rushing out the room. She passed the family portrait and ran out the door, still unable to control her breathing. She got into the car and it drove off with Julie who cried the entire way home.