Chapter 76: Oh The Webs We Weave...

by Kathy R.

Uri Matsumoto looked down at the envelope once again. Should she look? She knew she could do it and never get caught. 'Yet, I do have explicit instructions not to open it -- or else. Or else what?' She was torn between doing what was right and what...

"Oh damn!" She marched down the road, deciding to just ignore the envelope. As she walked, she tucked it into her bag, alongside her copy of the forms from the Zoological Society. 'Shit. What the hell am I going to do with these papers?' She pulled the thin stack of forms out of her purse and unfolded them, never breaking stride.

Holding the packet loosely, she wondered again why Asa hadn't bothered to see her. 'Perhaps, ' she decided, 'I did too much lying on the application?' She glanced down at the forms, shifting her gaze from the page she was scanning to the street ahead of her, forever on the look out for other pedestrians and motorists. Scanning part one, she saw that nothing was amiss; the second part proved just as innocent, well except for the few minor lies on both pages. She flipped to the final section -- billing. Nothing amiss there. She knew paying the bill would be easy, since she kept money hoarded away in a secret location. She was glad her father didn't keep track of how she spent all her money. It was easy enough, that way, to hide change here and there over the years. Now that change would be put to use paying for those pills. Except, that she'd left the office without any pills, bills, or any request to return in the near future.

She stopped and reassembled the sheets. She came to the first page, the waiver. It had been pretty routine and so, without hesitation, she had forged her father's signature. 'So why had things gone sour now?' She glanced over the page, immediately bored with all the disclaimers, warnings and... And that was when she saw the blank that didn't possess a signature. And now that she looked again, she realized she neglected to circle whether it was co-signed by her owner or host.

'But should that be a problem?' She asked herself. She continued walking, faster now. She wanted to get home and take another look at that envelope. She tucked the papers back into her purse, ignoring the fact that she hadn't taken the time to tuck them safely inside where they wouldn't be noticed.

She got herself up on the sidewalk, before she created an accident. Doing all she could to keep her mind off the forms and envelope, she decided to do some window shopping. 'Was I required to have a signature and stamp from a Notary Public?' She mentally slapped herself across the face for her lack of control at keeping her mind off that blasted envelope. She turned away from the direction of home and headed for the nearest shop window.

After an hour of useless attempts at distraction, she finally decided to head home and steam open the envelope. Quietly she entered the family's apartment. Her father would still be gone for the day, but her Mother might still be around -- unless she too had errands to run. Uri was thankful she'd taken the afternoon off from work. She didn't think she'd be able to return and concentrate on her work -- nor on the men. She smiled in the way things worked out -- fucking ironic really. For the first time since her stalking by the Tazer Killer, she wasn't horny. A good bout of being used would have been nice, but she hadn't encountered anyone during her walk home.

She made her way through the living room, pulling the envelope free of her purse and then tossing the bag onto the coffee table. The bright apartment cheered her up somewhat, but not enough. She needed to see what was in that envelope to feel completely relaxed. She walked through the archway leading to the kitchen and right into the angry stance of her father.

"Father!" She cried out, involuntarily taking a step back. A moment later, she espied her mother standing a few feet behind her husband -- gently crying.

Her father reached out and drew her back to him. He reached down and grabbed the envelope from her shaking hand. Shaking hand? Hell, her whole body was shaking at the sight of her strict father. He didn't say a word to her as he retreated to the kitchen table. Sitting down, he pushed his cup of tea aside and ripped open the envelope. Without withdrawing the paper tucked inside, he looked up at his daughter. "Before I continue, is there anything you wish to tell me, daughter?"