Prologue
The beautiful young woman strolled through the bar and took a seat on the leather stool that had its fair share of grunge left on it. She let her thick red curls flow down her exposed back before pulling it to the side and draping it over her lithe shoulder, letting all of the gawking men get a glimpse of what was underneath her green halter top.
“What will you be having?” The bartender asked as he set a coaster down in front of her.
“Gin and Tonic,” she replied in a flirtatious tone.
He was not the one she was after, but she wanted to appear available for when the one she was waiting for showed up. The bartender looked her over and licked his lips before pulling out the bottle of gin from beneath the counter and pouring it into a glass with ice. He topped it off with tonic water and added a lime to the rim, slowly sliding it over to her.
“Thanks,” she said smiling up at him.
“Can I get you anything else?” He was implying something more, such as himself served up in the backroom.
“I’m fine,” she said with a wink before turning around to face the room.
The bartender waited a moment before moving on to another customer. She scoped out the collection of people inside. There were a handful of fishermen along with a few other day laborers who were in for a drink after a hard day’s work. One or two were attractive, but most of the others were older than she was looking for.
She had come to Bellingham almost two weeks ago and started her search, scouring several bars and event halls looking for the right target. She was looking for a strong, attractive man that had some book smarts. A week ago she found the perfect mark. A tall man named Jeff who worked as a city planner. His short cut chocolate brown hair and deep green eyes were an instant attraction for the woman. After spotting him at the bar, she returned each night to learn his habits. He was a regular there, coming in every evening after work to have a few beers before heading home for the night. After being sure that he was the one she wanted, she dressed herself up and came to the bar ready to lure him to her hotel room.
She waited, eager but nervous. She had only done this once before, four years ago. It was exhilarating and a fun break from her normal life. For a few days she was able to pretend that she was someone else. She thrived on the thrill.
Out of her periphery vision she noticed she had caught the eye of another man. He was older. She put him around fifty or so with his greying hair and his growing wrinkles. His eyes roamed over her body as if it were a dessert that needed to be consumed. A shiver ran up her spine and she turned away from him not wanting to lead him on. She sipped her drink and looked at the clock. The man should be getting off of work about now. He would be there soon and it would be time for her to work her charms on him.
She polished off her drink before walking to the restroom to freshen up her make up. She looked in the dirty mirror and applied her brick red lipstick as she heard the door open. She glanced over and saw the creepy man from the far side of the bar. Her body froze.
“This is the ladies room,” she said sternly, wanting to steer him back the way he came.
“It is?” he replied as if dumbfounded, an obvious rouse.
She turned to look him in the eye, wanting to project as much confidence as she could muster.
“It is, and it’s best that you head back out the way you came.”
“I will,” he said with a cocky smile. “I just happened to see you out there and what my luck to have stumbled upon you here.”
“You mean, after you followed me in?” she stared at him hard.
“Oh, nothing like that. I just got mixed up…but while I’m here, perhaps a lady like yourself is looking for a good time? One I would be happy to help you with.”
“No, sorry. Not interested. Now leave,” she said more forcefully.
“Okay, okay. I get the hint.”
He turned back to the door. The woman’s body began to relax with the threat seemingly leaving. That was until she heard the click of a lock. Her eyes widened and watched as he turned back around to face her. There was no more playfulness in his eyes, just evil.
“Last chance before I scream,” she hissed at him.
“The band is starting up. Might be hard for them to hear you sweetheart. We both know what you came here for. Why don’t you just accept that it will be with me and we can both be happy.”
He took a step towards her. She dropped her lipstick, throwing her hand up at him. The man that had been standing a good ten feet away from her flew into the door, knocking the air out of his lungs, but he stayed on his feet. He looked at her stunned, before turning angry. He stormed at her again, this time when she threw her hand at him he jumped to the side, only his shoulder was struck. He pulled a metal pipe out of his waistband and brandished it against the fearful woman.
She screamed, but as he noted, the band had begun playing. A steady loud beat reverberated off the walls muting her sounds outside of the restroom. He neared her and she tossed her hand once more, the man flew into the sinks, falling to the ground.
“You bitch. I was going to make it good for you, but now I will have to make you pay for this.”
He pulled himself back up as she ran for the door, continuing to scream out for help. She unlocked the door and began to pull it open when she felt a hard crack to her skull. She fell hard to the ground squintingher eyes in pain, finding everything a blur. She took in a few deep breaths trying to gain some composure. Grabbing ahold of the handle to the door, she began pulling herself up only to be hit again and again.
Her body was riddled with pain when she felt her pants being undone and yanked down her legs. She tried with everything she had to push her assailant off of her, but with one final hit to the face, her world turned dark and she felt her life slipping through her fingers. The last thought she had was of her three year old daughter, Juniper. With her last living breath, she mustered out one last chant to the world.
Le m’ anail mu dheireadh, bidh mi a’ cur thugad mo phàiste, mo chumhachd agus mo neart gu lèir. Great Selene, ar màthair agus ar dìonadair, cùm sùil air an Juniper agam.
As her prayers to the great Selene to protect her daughter were cast into the universe, she felt the last flicker of her light dwindle and leave her body.
