Chapter 19

Mark sat at the desk staring at the piece of stationery in front of him. After innumerable drafts, he finally had something he was satisfied with. Katherine might throw it in the trash without opening it. Even if she did read it and passed it on, there was little chance Lilith would do anything other than toss it. But he had a back-up plan if this didn’t work. This was at least a start.

He read through the handwritten note for the fifth time:

“Dear Katherine, When we met in Chicago, your anger was completely justified. You were right to protect your sister. I was wrong to have caused so much harm.

I love Lilith. It grieves me to know how much I hurt her and how indescribably selfish and stupid I was to do what I did. Lilith told me, as I was doing it, all of the reasons why I was making a mistake, reasons now so patently obvious to me as to make me want to scream. I sat there, wallowing in self-pity, not listening.

Nothing can excuse what I did and I don’t ask for forgiveness. What I hope for is an opportunity to apologize to Lilith. I want her to know that I understand the magnitude of my mistake and the unnecessary pain I’ve caused her. I will respect her decision whether she wants to see me or hear from me ever again.

I understand if you choose not to help. If you do, please give my apologies to Lilith, and if possible, relay my message.

Respectfully, Mark”

He folded and put it in the envelope. Then he drove to FedEx to send it via overnight delivery to Katherine.

Mark sat on the couch typing on his laptop. They’d found him a new apartment, which he quite liked. It had a minimalist, Scandinavian look with uncluttered space, light colors and clean lines. But he kept the window drapes closed. Over three weeks had passed since he’d sent the letter and he’d heard nothing. He was considering implementing Plan B.

Both plans, however, relied on the same weapon – a dart pistol, powered by a CO2 cartridge, and designed to be used on both wildlife and domesticated animals to deliver anesthetics, tranquilizers and medications. His research, however, had disclosed that you could deliver anything you wanted simply by buying 3 cc syringe darts and loading them just like a hypodermic. The gun was made of anodized aluminum, was lightweight and virtually silent. It came with an overly long barrel – intended for long-range use – but it was simple enough to hacksaw the 11mm barrel down to an easily concealable size. At the range he had in mind, it would be plenty accurate. He’d tested it to make sure.

His phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but answered it anyway.

It was a Lilith.

“You sent a letter,” she said, her tone flat.

“Lilith, yes, I wanted to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to hear it. Didn’t I make that clear the last time we met?”

“Lilith, please, listen to me. Please do what I didn’t do. Give me one chance. I promise, I...”

Lilith hung up.

“Fuck!” he said.

The next day, when Mark answered the phone, it was a woman’s voice he didn’t recognize.

“Listen carefully. This is from Lilith. Go to Walnut Avenue and 24th Street. Wait there. And don’t call anyone. Do it now.”

She hung up.

Mark grabbed his jacket, making sure he had what he needed in it, and walked out the door.

He drove to the street corner, which was in an industrial part of town, parked and got out. It was late evening and deserted. The occasional car or truck rolled by, but otherwise there was no one on the streets. The wind was blowing steadily from the east. After twenty minutes, Mark began to stroll back and forth along Walnut Avenue, going half a block either way and then turning back.

Fifteen minutes later his phone rang.

“Walk north on Walnut.”

Mark was about to ask how far, but she’d hung up.

Mark started walking briskly along the Avenue. After twenty or so blocks, the phone rang again.

“Turn left on 3rd Street.”

Mark didn’t try to say anything. He’d already passed 3rd, so he backtracked.

As he turned into the dark residential street, he saw a sedan parked against the right curb, its lights on. The driver’s side window went down and an arm came up. He walked over to the car. He didn’t recognize the woman in it. He got in.

The car turned into the back parking lot of a decrepit office building. The woman led him through the rain to what looked like a service entrance. She unlocked it and they walked in, past layers of deconstructed boxes and strewn packing debris.

They walked down a darkened hallway until the woman stopped at one of the doors. She knocked. There was a buzz and she pushed the door open.

Lilith sat at what looked like a card table with a laptop in front of her. She didn’t look up as they came in. The woman closed the door and stood by it.

Finally, Lilith glanced up, her eyes focused on the woman.

“Bye,” she said.

The woman left.

She was dressed as she’d been the first time he saw her, in a black skirt and heels, except that her blouse was white. There was a chair across from her.

Lilith didn’t speak until the woman had left.

“Here we are,” she said, her eyes cold. “Why?”

Mark sat down.

“Because I’m going to kill you,” he said, pulling out the gun and putting it on his lap.

“With your little pop gun?” she said, glancing down.

“It’s a dart gun. Loaded with sodium cyanide.”