"It's about damn time you showed up. I've been waiting in
this alley for twenty minutes and nearly got mugged
twice."
"I was detained," she said cooly, giving no indication of
how much she detested having to deal with the sorry
creature.
"Well, you're damn lucky I waited," he informed her, his
Mississippi drawl even thicker due to the liquor. "Another
two minutes and I'd have been gone."
"Then I guess it's fortunate that I showed up when I did."
Following his lead, she opened the passenger door of the
car and nearly gagged on the stench of whiskey and stale
cigars as she slid inside. Still she forced herself to
pull the car door closed, shutting out the noise from the
street musicians and revelers who'd flocked to the New
Orleans' French Quarter to celebrate Halloween.
"Fortunate is right, Missy. I'm a busy man," he said,
puffing up his chest and straining the buttons on the
dated suit coat. "I've got better things to do with my
time than to wait around for the likes of you."
Better things like drowning in a bottle of whiskey or
slithering into the nearest casino, she thought, even more
repulsed by the man now than she'd been when he'd first
sought her out six months ago. "Then let's not waste any
more of each other's time, doctor. Did you bring the
document?"
"Of course, I brought it. But first I want to see the
money"
She retrieved the black tote bag that she'd filled with
$100,000.00 in cash. Opening it, she angled it so that the
light from the street lamp fell on its contents. There was
no mistaking the lust in the man's bloodshot brown eyes as
he gazed at the money. Like a drug addict about to get his
next fix, she thought. But when he reached for the bag,
she snapped it closed. "Not so fast, doctor. First, I want
the birth certificate."
He fumbled inside his coat pocket, drew out an envelope
and hesitated. He narrowed his beady eyes. "You know, your
daddy sure loved that little girl. Used to call her his
princess. I imagine he'd have paid a lot of money to find
out she didn't die in that fire after all."
"Unfortunately for you, my father's dead. And I can assure
you I don't place the same value on the result of his
indiscretion. My concern is protecting my family's good
name. It's the only reason I agreed to pay you for that
birth certificate."
He tapped the envelope against his palm, gave her a
measuring look. "I imagine your sister would be willing to
pay a great deal more to learn who her daddy was. Of
course, if you was toโ"
"I don't have a sister," she snapped. Fury caused her
vision to blur for a moment before she caught herself.
More calmly she said, "And I strongly suggest you quit
trying to shake me down for more money, doctor. As it is,
I'm seriously reconsidering whether or not I made a
mistake in not going to the police and telling them about
your offer."
"Now hang on a second," he said, alarm in his
voice. "There's no need to go dragging the police into a
little business transaction between friends."
"You and I are not friends, doctor. And I seriously doubt
that the police would see your proposal as a business
transaction," she said, toying with him and enjoying the
fact that she was making him nervous.
"We had a deal and it's too late for you to try to back
out now," he countered and shoved the envelope at her.
She took the envelope. And while he pounced on the bag of
cash and began pawing through the stacks of bills, she
withdrew the faded sheet of paper from the envelope. An
icy cold rage whipped through her as she stared at the
form, read the names and examined the signatures.
For a moment, she was eight years old again and listening
at the door as her father told her mother he was leaving
them. She crushed the paper in her fist. Reaching deep
down inside of her, she channeled her anger just as she
had that night all those years ago and focused on what had
to be done. "You're sure this is the only copy?"
"What? Yeah, it's the only one," he muttered, distracted
by all the cash.
She tucked the envelope and crumbled paper inside her
purse and reached for the gun. "Then I guess this is
goodbye, doctor," she said politely and pulled the trigger.
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