+++
“I thought you guys didn’t have kids.”
Cami and I had ambushed Sera the second she left Larry’s. She’d ignored our questions the entire way back to her house. Once inside she continued to ignore us and headed for the shower.
“What the fuck ?”, Cami had questioned.
“It’s really not my place to talk about this.”
“Well. That was a confession, right?” Cami had said, “AJ said he was glad Mia was dead.”
“It’s something to look into.”
“There was also something in his eyes. He looked…scared.”
I’d nodded in agreement.
When Sera got out of the shower she seemed annoyed that we were still here. Cami had bombarded her with questions that she thoughtfully ignored. It is only when Cami starts questioning me that Sera decided to answer.
“We didn’t”, Sera answers taking a seat at the table next to Cami. Sera puts her phone on a stand, turns the camera on. She brings an electric razor to the short crop of hair she has left and gently shaves it into a tight crew cut, “I was...a teenager.”
I’d of course heard the rumors that swirled after high school. Over the years there had been silent moments between Sera, Aria and Leon that hinted at something we never discussed.
“He was the reason you came here”, I start putting it all together. “Sera, I wish you would have told me you wanted to find him. I would have helped.”
“It’s not like that.” Sera focuses on her phone, “When I was driving across the country I had a lot of time to think about my past. I was curious about what happened to him. I didn’t want to make contact. I was just curious. His life wasn’t what I expected. He was a baby with fucking blue eyes. Babies like that are supposed to make lonely rich couples happy. He was re-homed eight times. Four different states. Lots of bad foster homes in between.
No one could form a bond with him. The file said he was destructive, distant and angry. He got sent to Severance when he was sixteen. Marcia, Larry’s wife, was really good with troubled kids. She died a few months after he was placed. Larry didn’t know what do with the kid so he kept him around.”
“Does AJ know?” I ask.
“No. When I came to Severance I just wanted to see what the kid's life looked like. It was bad. Larry was struggling to keep the lights on and Granger is such a little ungrateful shit. The kid got dealt a bad hand. That’s life. I wasn’t going to stick around and make it worse. On my way out of town my RV broke down. I picked up work at the boat yard to make money. Larry was my trainer. It was a big fucking coincidence. Larry was…is… a mess. He married out of high school. He doesn’t know how to manage on his own with two kids. But he tries. I admired that. It actually reminded me of you.”
She glances at me when she says that. There is a rare bit of vulnerability in her eyes. Instead of ‘reminded me of you’ I heard ‘I was thinking about you.’ Sera digs through a container filled with make-up, magnets and lip gloss until she finds a vape pen and cartridge.
“I think Larry knows… but we don’t talk about it. You can’t tell the kid.”
“We won’t”, Cami says, “But we should talk to AJ. He had some harsh things to say about Mia.”
“That’s because Mia was a bully in high school.” She puts the vape pen in her mouth and turns to Cami, “They dated a little bit this summer and had a bad break up. That’s the kind bullshit that happens when you graduate high school and don’t leave your small town.”
“Could AJ have killed her?” Cami asks, “Maybe Mia was the actual target. Maybe the others were…practice.”
“No. He’s too weak for that”, Sera says pulling a fleece lined flannel on over her Henley, “He works at the community market in the evenings. He usually waits for a ride after closing. Talk to him then. You’ll see. He’s too weak and pathetic to do this.”
“Sometimes people can surprise you.” Cami says and that feels directed to me.
Sera sits back down and fixes her gaze on Cami, “Can I touch you?”
“W-what?”
“Can I touch you”, Sera asks again.
“What? Why?”
Sera moves a disheveled slip of blonde hair from Cami’s face and tucks it neatly back into her curtain bangs.
Sera looks at her phone, “I’m going to be late for my shift.”
She picks up her helmet and tosses me her house keys, “Lock up and drop these off at the bar when you’re done.”
+++
“So… she’s…not what I expected.” Cami says as I park across the street from the Severance Community Grocery Market. The parking lot only has 8 spaces out front and my shiny CR-V once again stands out against the trucks and beat-up hatchbacks. I check my watch. The store is set to close in five minutes.
“Who? Sera?”
“Who else, Paris? Mark would flip if he knew your ex-wife was a chaotic bisexual bodybuilding bartender moonlighting as a dominatrix.”
“Mark knows my ex is a Domme.” I know Cami is teasing me but I can’t stop myself from adding in a small correction, “Also I think she’s a powerlifter not a bodybuilder I’ve been reading up on the differences are actually quite subtle but if you look at it from physiological point of view…”
I keep talking to avoid the subject circling back around to my ex-wife. The ex-wife who thought about me…but never called. Never apologized for how it ended. She’d been everything to me. I’d worshiped her. I’d made my mistakes but I was loyal to her.
Cami and I hadn’t brought up Sera all afternoon. We’d driven to the larger town of Aberdeen to pull stories about the stalker from local news archives and magazines. It’s shocking how little there is out there. The regional media seemed to be the only ones consistently reporting. There was a tiny bit of conversation on social media, but it was mostly about how this story was flying under the radar because true crime wasn’t ‘trendy’ anymore.
We’d had a late lunch at a mediocre food truck and spent the afternoon logging what information we had. It was Cami’s idea to use the inside of the hotel armoire as a make shift murder board. We’d cut out pictures and separated out the actual Severance Stalker victims from the copycat’s victims.
Severance Stalker Copycat Victims
- 08/17/27 – Seraphina Prince (40)
- Survived the real Severance Stalker
- Why didn’t the copycat go back for her ?
- How did the copycat know what she did to the original killer ?
- Connected to Paula Felton, ex-girlfriend
- 09/05/2027 - Mickie Green (23) and Paige Horne (24).
- Ecology Graduate Students, Working Remote
- Elma Lake Cabin. Murdered 15 miles outside of town?
- 10/05/2027 - Kim Harbinger (66)
- Severance Community Market Manager
- Murdered at home
- 11/18/2027 - Mia Felton (20, unemployed) and Paula Felton (45, HS Administrator)
- Mother and Daughter, Murdered at home.
So far we just had one suspect.
AJ (21)
- Mia’s ex-boyfriend. Bad Break-up
- Worked for Kim Harbinger
- Former troubled Foster Kid
We’d stared incredulously at the board for a while before heading out to catch AJ after his shift.
“I’m just saying”, Cami continues, “Seraphina is interesting.”
“Yeah. I had a thing for adventurous types until I hit my mid-thirties.”
Cami smiles, “Had? I’m not adventurous. I’m a safe option?”
Fuck.
I collect my thoughts “I didn’t mean it like that. I was married to and dated people who made me look different and interesting around other people because I was insecure. When you and I were together I didn’t care how I looked or came off to other people. I just cared about sharing a space with you and sharing our relationship with people. That’s what I mean.”
“…So you are getting the divorce?”
“Of course. That’s why I came here”’
Cami settles back in the passenger seat.
“...I know now is not the time”, Cami starts,”But I got early admission to Columbia.”
“That’s amazing Cami. They have no idea how lucky they are to have you. You’re going to love—“
“Paris, I don’t want to be that girl who lives her life around a guy. But you’re not just some guy. If you want to get back together, Columbia can wait. I can defer for two years if Montana or Nebraska is where we need to be.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“I want to. We are entering a big election cycle. You can get your name out there before 2032 and I could get some more work experience and build my network. We make a good team.”
I keep my eyes trained on the market, “I’m just not sure if I’m ready for the Midwest jump.”
Before she can respond AJ bolts out of the store. He looks both ways before heading across the parking lot with his hands in his pockets. Cami and I get out the car at the same time.
“Hey. AJ”, I call.
He whips are around and brandishes a curved sharp-edged knife.
“Jesus”, Cami exclaims as I step in front of her, “Why do you have that?”
AJ lowers the knife, “What part of serial killer stalking the town do you two not understand.”
“We just want to talk about Mia.” I say, “We probably shouldn’t have ambushed you last time.”
He closes the pocket knife. “This is also an ambush. What the fuck do you want? Me to say Mia lit up a room?”
He has genetically defiant expression. He also kind of reminds me of one of Helios’ thugs from school, but I couldn’t put a name to the face. It was something about the dark hair in a tight bun and the sharp widow’s peak.
“You said you were glad Mia was dead”, I remind him, “That’s a bold thing to say considering she was murdered.”
There is a strange glint in AJ’s eyes.
“Granger said you were doing a podcast.” AJ looks between Cami and I, “Shouldn’t you have recording equipment? “
“No”, I jump in, “This is a preliminary interview. I’m a lawyer so anything you say is off the record. It’s okay.”
I hand him an outdated business card from my private practice
“Prince”, he says tugging at a beaded bracelet on his wrist, “You’re Sera’s ex-husband.”
“…She told you about me?”
“She talks a lot when she’s high.”
Cami steers us back on topic, “Sera told us you and Mia used to date. We just want to understand why you are glad your ex-girlfriend is dead.”
AJ sighs.
“Mia was a bitch. She hated this town but was too afraid to leave. So she made it everyone’s problem. She likes…liked to snoop and collect secrets. Blackmailing was how she entertained herself. I only dated her so she’d keep her mouth shut. Now it’s been permanently closed. I’m not the only one in town happy about that.”
“What did she have on you?” Cami asks.
AJ’s tilts his head towards store, “Work is hard to come by unless you drive out to a resort or qualify for a union job. I’m lucky to do 20 hours a week at. Sometimes I can pick up side work loading beer trucks but that pays shit all.”
“…but the minimum wage here is $17”, Cami says
He shakes his head.
“That doesn’t cover a mortgage, feeding three guys and Larry’s medical bills. Sometimes when I would close….I’d take a little food and beer for Larry. Mia caught me one night. She had this dumb little internship at the Sherriff’s office and threatened to tell that ass face "Sherriff" Nate. Mia said if I started dating her --she’d keep my secret. “
“But she eventuall broke it off.” I recall.
He hesitates.
“Not really. We got into a fight at the bonfire. I told her I was out. She didn’t put up a fight. Then I got the call about Larry’s accident and that bullshit stopped mattering. We tried to be friends but Mia is...was Mia.”
“Wait”, I stop writing, “Bonfire ? You broke up with Mia during the Labor Day weekend bonfire?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait…so Larry’s hit and run was the same night the grad students were murdered.”
He folds his arms.
“No. That doesn’t sound right.” AJ says
I look through my notes, “Yes, it was. The grad students, Mickie and Paige, weren’t found until Wednesday but they were killed on Labor Day. What are the chances? It has to be related. We have to talk to whoever hit Larry.
AJ folds his arms, “Um, It’s called a hit-and-run. This card says you went to Harvard.”
“He did but that was like 20 years ago”, Cami explains.
“It was not 20 years ago.” I try to defend myself, “I graduated …17 years ago.”
AJ thinks on this.
“Wait. So you were in college in 2006?” AJ says doing some quick of math in his head.
I attempt to change the subject, “We have to find out who was driving the car. That might be a clue to who the copycat is--.”
“Did you say copycat?”AJ interjects.
Shit.
“No. I meant killer. It’s possible the killer was speeding out of town after killing Mickie and Paige. They probably hit Larry by accident.”
AJ keeps his eyes focused on me. He wasn’t letting my slip-up go, “Cars stick out around here. No one saw anything. But if you find whoever hit Larry…let me at them first.”
The threat feels empty. AJ is tall but willowy. He seemed to have a lot of strong feelings and words but I’m not convinced he would act on them. A car horn sounds across the street. I see the beat-up Camry pull up with Granger behind the wheel.
“I got to go”, A.J says heading to the car then he stops, “Look. . .Mia was kind of a loser. She had nothing better to do but poke around town and find secrets. She had dirt on everyone. Anyone could have killed her.”
+++
Cami heads back to the hotel while I go by the The High Noon to drop of Sera’s keys. The atmosphere is still the same calm quiet. There is more noise from the television than the patrons. I get a little tense when I see the Deputy Sherriff Nate Sanders at the bar in his full uniform. Sera’s boss is sitting next to him.
They turn to face me when I walk in. I take my time heading over to the bar.
“Keys”, I say. Sera gestures for me to throw them and they pitifully fall on the floor a few feet away.
I see the moment Sera is about to order me to bend over, pick them up and bring them to her. She bites it back and busies herself wiping the bar. I pick the keys up and place them on the bar in front of her.
“Thanks”, she says clipping them to her belt loop. She turns to her boss, “Scott…this is my ex-husband. Paris this my boss Scott Dodson. You drank half his sangria last night.”
“That’s some strong shit”, Scott says, “Beverly did say the new guy in town was drunk off his ass last night.”
“Get a divorce from this one and you’d drink too.” I quip.
The men erupt into laughter and Sera breaks the glass she is holding. She looks a little frustrated with herself and quickly cleans it up. It was a stupid and dismissive joke but years on the campaign trail had taught me to make quick judgments and become the person people wanted me to be. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimated by straight masculine men like them. I always wanted them to like me. See me as an equal.
“And you remember Nate.” Sera says gesturing to the Sherriff Nate who had come to Sera’s door the night the Feltons were murdered.
“I do... Sherriff.” I hold out a hand.
“Call me Nate”, He says pointing to the seat next to him.
“Sera filled me in on what’s been going on. I’d be glad to assist while I’m in town.” I tell him.
“You a cop?” Nate asks. Nate looks like a television law official. He’s attractive with high cheekbones and bright boyish eyes. He can’t be more than 40, but his dark auburn hair is neatly parted and makes him look younger.
“No, but I have some experience in criminal law. I managed the district attorney’s office in East Hampton. I worked with a lot of investigators and cops. I advocate a lot for small towns and rural communities.”
Nate drains his beer and considers me.
“You know any feds? We’ve been trying to get them involved but no dice. The Olympia PD is a pain to work with. They won’t even be down to process the Felton house until tomorrow afternoon.”
“You should try writing your state representatives. They always go to bat and make noise for law enforcement.”
He shakes his head, “I’ll try make time for that in-between trying to lock this guy down and keep the town calm.”
“I could help.” I say taking an opportunity, “I think I might have met some of your state reps at this leadership retreat the DCEC had at Camp David. My colleague is also in town. She’s working on a podcast about the case. If you send us the info on the situation we can see what we can do.”
“This guy”, Scott seems amped to jump into the conversation, “He has some colleague.”
“…What does that mean?” I turn to Scott and pretend to be confused.
Cami and I never talked about it but she was slim, blonde and conventionally attractive. Working in politics meant she had to be careful who she was alone with. She had to make sure she didn’t become a victim or get falsely accused. It wasn’t fair, but it was a fact.
“Nothing. I just. I—“Scott stutters.
“Any help you can provide I’d appreciate.” Nate says in an apologetic tone.
“Well. I noticed that Larry’s hit and run happened the same night the grad students were killed. Do you think there could be a connection?”
This seems to catch Sera’s attention.
“You’ve really taken an interest”, Nate settles into his bar stool, “I thought there might be a connection too. Thing is, college and high school kids from all over the region were at the bonfire. It could have been anyone.”
“Where was the accident?” I ask pulling a map up on my phone.
“Outside the boatyard.” He moves the map to where the inlet is, “It was past midnight. Larry had no business being there but they were behind on quota so he was working off the clock. He was tired and overworked. Trying to keep a roof over those boys’ heads. Isn’t that right, Sera?”
She nods.
“You know”, I start. “When I approach my contacts for help it might help if I had some insider information. Something to make them feel involved in the case.”
Nate smirks, “What do you want?”
“The casefiles”, It was a bold asks, “I could FOIA them but that would be more work on both our parts.”
Nate downs his beer.
“Fuck it. Why not. I need all the help I can get.” He turns back to Sera and gestures for another beer.
“We’re dry”, Sera says.
Nate flashes a charming smile and looks to Scott for help. Scott gets up to grab him a beer. Sera turns her stern expression to him and Scott nonchalantly sits back down.
“Come on”, Nate says jovially, “Helps me think.”
“No”, Sera says, “You’re carrying a gun. You shouldn't have had the first one.”
The charming school boy façade falls in an instant. Nate’s about to say something to Sera when a tall young man in a trench coat walks with AJ rolls his eyes when he spots me.
“Are you and all your PhDs fucking stalking me ?" He leers Nate, “I’d ask the sheriff to arrest you but he’s fucking useless.”
“Hey”, Nate says, “You are not going do disrespect an officer.”
AJ flips him off and walks out. I’m certain the bad blood has more to do with Larry's unsolved hit-and-run and not the unsolved murders.
Sera and Scott head to the back of the bar and come back with a stacked cart of beer and a keg. Madison comes out the back to help with the order. AJ’s friend pays with a bunch of crumpled bills.
“Big plans?”, I ask AJ’s friend.
“Memorial bonfire tonight.” He says, “For Mia.”
”This shitty light beer was Mia’s favorite.” Madison adds holding up a can of Funky Daisy Chain Light IPA.
“Man, those little bonfires are tame compared to how we used to do them”, Scott says elbowing Nate, “To be young again.”
“You’re still young, Daddy”, Madison. I suddenly realize Scott is probably around my age. Given how old Madison is he must have been a teen dad.
Madison helps Sera and the other kid carry the beers out to the Camry. With Sera gone, Scott takes the opportunity to pour Nate one more beer on the sly
“Not like he’s driving”, Scott says. He trust me to be part of their boy’s club and turns out I don’t like it.
“Do you think it’s safe for them to have a bonfire with a killer loose ?”, I ask.
“I’ll have my guys do a few rounds”, Nate says, “Please tell us how you ended up married to our Sera.”
My Sera I want to say
“We went to high school together.”
Scott elbows me, “I guess you’re the real powerlifter.”
“Not really. I liked to be on top.” Nate almost spits out his beer and Scott is akwardly silent because he thinks I’m oblivious or stupidly blunt. He can't think of a response. He looks embarrassed and a little humiliated. As he should be. No one disrespected Sera without paying for it. Not even me. I felt bad for lying. Sera didn’t approve of missionary unless she was really tired.
Sera and Madison come back in deep in conversation.
“Uh-oh”, Scott says moving to a new topic, “What are you two planning ?”
Sera speaks first, “I told Madison she should invite Cami to the bonfire.”
“What? Why?”
“Because it will help with her audio project. People who were closer to Mia will be there”, Sera says, “What’s Cami’s number”
“Here”, I say writing the number down, “Maybe I should go too. It’s dangerous out there”
“You give off authoritarian vibes plus you’re old.” Sera says, “Madison and AJ will watch out for her.”
“I should get that patrol out”, Nate says grabbing his hat and heading out the door.
“Paris, give Scott your card”, Sera says. I immediately do what I’m told out of instinct. I wonder if she realizes she said it as a demand.
I hold one out to Scott and he hesitantly take it, “What is this for.”
“You let a drunk cop walk out of here.” Sera says to Scott.
“Sera…”
“You two aren’t in high school anymore. If he does something stupid—you’re going to need a lawyer. Never again.”
“Okay. Okay. It’s all good.” Scott says casually, “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Sera rolls her eyes and takes some cleaning supplies to the back.
“You must have been a saint to last 13 years”, He says jokingly.
“Far from it.”
+++
I stayed at the bar long enough to have another ice water. Scott Dodson and I fell into an awkward silence before I made my excuses and left.
“Paris !”
Bev calls out to me as soon as I enter the lobby. The woman she is checking in looks down her nose as I approach.
“Daniel dropped this off”, She rolls a cart of banker boxes around the desk.
“Daniel?”
“Sorry. He’s a deputy. Nate asked him to bring this over ASAP.”
“That was fast.”
I take the cart so Bev can return to her irritated customer. When I get to my room I confirm the box has copies of the case files for The Severance Stalker. I set aside the files for the actual stalkers victims and focus on the copycat’s victims.
I text Cami and she jogs down from her room. I fill her in on the bonfire. She seems a little nonplussed about it. Then we dive into the files. I focus like I used to in law school and scribble notes as fast as I can. The files depicted the gory and depraved details that were left out of the media. .
“This is devastating”, Cami says jotting down notes on her iPad.
“Are you noticing anything?”
“Well. Yes.”, Cami says, “The copycat killer’s victims don’t have defensive wounds. The copycat victims didn’t fight back. They must have known their attacker.
“Mia fought back”, I say pulling up her file. The pictures of her defensive wounds made my stomach tighten.
“Her mom didn’t”, Cami points out.
“Maybe she was too scared to fight back”, I say feeling the nausea build up in me, “That’s what happened with me. During the home invasion I saw …”
He was bashing the lamp against the bed—no. Not the bed. Sera. He lifted the lamp and slammed it down against her face. I heard the soft crunch of bones breaking and light bulb shattering. He hit her again and again until she stopped moving. Pieces of the broken bulb were still stuck in her face. He vomited on the floor while his brother continued to tie me.
“She’s down…she’s’ down”,
I run to the bathroom and throw up water and bile.
“Paris. Are you okay?”
“No. Sorry. I guess I didn’t account for what this would bring up.” Full body chills worked through me, “I know what these people went through. They deserve justice.”
“Paris. I’ve been thinking…do you think Sera could be a suspect?”
“No. An attack like this destroyed us. She wouldn’t.”
“Unresolved trauma makes people unpredictable.”
“Unresolved trauma?”
“You’re still dealing with the invasion. Maybe she is to. Maybe in a way she doesn’t realize.”
I shake my head, “I know better than to go down that road.”
Cami checks her watch.
“Let’s take a break. I have to get ready for the bonfire anyway.” she lets her hair down and stretcher her neck, “Do you think Sera and Madison are setting me up because we dated.”
“Sera’s not petty like that.”
“You were hanging out with her at the bar for a while”
I glance at my phone and see several missed calls from what I’m sure is my mortgage company. I probably couldn’t beg for more time anymore.
“I was getting to know the locals. Sherriff says Olympia PD isn’t coming to look at the Felton crime scene until Monday. We should see if we can sneak in. Take a look around.”
“That’s bold.”
“Yeah. But let’s not tell Sera. I don’t think she did this but Paula was her ex and she didn’t tell me. Something is going on there.”
“Make up your mind Paris, should we trust her or not.”
“Can we do both?” I give Cami my car keys, “Please be careful.”
“I will. You should get some sleep.”
It’s barely 6 pm.
“Should I start a rousing game of shuffle board too?”
“Stop”, she says depositing the last of the files, “Seriously get some sleep.”
“I will”, I punctuate that promise with a kiss. I hadn’t meant to it was just out of habit. She closes the quarter inch between us and kisses me again. He lips feel familiar and comforting in this bizarre situation I’d put myself in. She pulls me closer and I lean deeper into the familiar. She brings her arm around my neck and pulls me over her --
A loud knock make us both jump. I pull her close and we both stare at the door. I eventually move to the door and look through the peep-hole. Seraphina’s tall figure fills the frame. I mouth Sera’s name to Cami and open the door.
“Sera what are you doing here?”
Madison pops up from behind Sera clutching a helmet
“Hey?” Madison turns to Cami, “Sera said I should give you a ride to the bonfire.”
Cami is still a little flush but quickly collects herself, “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Madison takes in Cami’s wide leg pants and oversized teal sweater and white boots.
“Are you wearing that?” Madison asks and I notice she is clutching Sera’s motorcycle keys.
“What? What wrong with it?”
“Nothing. It’s just…a little formal.” Madison says.
“Here.”, Sera said shrugging out of her leather jacket and giving it to Cami, “It’s cold by the lake anyway.”
“Oh. I… Thanks.” Cami awkwardly slides on the oversized jacket.
“And this”, Sera hands Cami her motorcycle helmet.
Cami slips her recording equipment into her bag and follows Madison down the hall. When they disappear Sera shuts the door.
“You let Madison use your bike?”
Sera shrugs. “It used to be her Dad’s. Scott gave it to me when he couldn’t make payroll.”
“The grown frat boy is paying you in Sangria and bikes?”
“Times are tough”, she says, “I only took the bartending job because I felt bad taking a union job at the boatyard.”
“What happened to the $15k you took when you left?”
She looks a little pensive, “It’s been gone a long time.”
“You know there was more. It wasn’t much but between the rental property and dividends.”
“I didn’t want it.”
“You didn’t want it?”
“The fuck do you want to hear?” She snaps, “I didn’t know how all that worked.”
“You could have asked, Sera”, I push down the warm anger that comes out of nowhere, “You could have called me. I would have given it to you. I would have given you anything.”
“I didn’t want it”, She says again. Quieter. Not as assured.
“So you went back to Domination because you needed the money?”
She shrugs, “I also missed being a Domme. It took a long time for me to get back there. I mean the Dominant part of me is always there but expressing that was hard after….everything. Every time I tried to do it there was this little voice in my head saying. ‘fuck this’ ‘you’re not really in charge’ ‘you can’t actually control shit’.”
“What tuned the voice out?” I ask wondering if it will help me with my kink issues.
“Sadism”, she says, “I met this Domme and holistic practitioner when I was in Alabama. He was kind of crazy but he had this deep alternative understanding of pain and pleasure. Pain is wild and feral and must be endured to be tamed. To be a Domme again I had to accept and process my own mental and physical pain. I had to know it intimately before giving it again. We had Lots of long brutal session among other things. ”
Suddenly all the tattoos and piercings made sense. It was about the pain. Having control over it.
Sera continues, “I think the freedom I had while traveling helped me. Getting in touch with my dominate side again and alternative medicine put me on the right path. I met spiritual healers who turned orgasaming into an art form. Literally coming for ten minutes.”
“I take it that was before the celibacy.”
“Just before.”
“Tell me more about these orgasms.”
“No.”
She pulls out a vape pen and opens the armoire. She glances at the makeshift murder board and quickly closes it. I can’t tell if she’s seen the AJ post-it.
“What are you doing here, Sera?”
“I figured with baby out Daddy Prince would be all alone.”
“Sera-“
“What’s the point of having an age gap without a little age play?”
“Stop. Cami and Kink is a hard limit.”
She takes a step and blows vapor out of her nose. “I just didn’t think you should be alone. I brought beer.”
She holds up a plastic bag with multi-colored dented cans of beer.
“I’m not that fragile, Sera. I can handle being alone”
“It’s the murderer I’m worried about. Open this.”
Another demand but this one was intentional. She hands me a beer. I clean the top and open it with my keys.
“So Larry’s hit and run. I can’t get it out of my mind. I think it was the killer leaving town. They have no leads? “
“Nate put word out to the auto shops in the region to keep an eye out for cars with suspicious damage. Nothing so far. It’s such a mess. Larry was working outside of business hours so the company has been fighting his claim and threatened to sue him for trespassing.”
“You really care about him.”
“I hate it when shitty things happen to good men. Decent ones are hard to find.” She rubs her eyes, “That night was awful. Larry was airlifted to Olympia. He almost died.”
“And Larry doesn’t remember anything about that night. How does he know a car hit him?”
She shrugs, “…I don’t want to talk about his.”
“What do you want?”
She leans back in the chair and pulls on the vape, “Drink beer. Watch a movie. Sign the fucking divorce papers.”
“This whole thing is so weird. What the hell happened to our lives?”
“You’re so uptight.”
“You’ve chilled out way too much.”
“I’m still a demanding bitch.” she keeps her eyes on the armoire, “Can I show you something?”
“Sure.”
She pulls takes off her knapsack and pulls out a clear case with thin acupuncture needles in it.
“I thought with Cami out for the night we could work on your kink shit. Are needles still a hard limit”
I can’t tell if it’s my imagination but the scar from my botched BDSM session tingles. I grab a bottle water from the ice bucket and down an anxiety pill.
“I’m not ready for…that.”
She puts the needles away.
“Can I cut you?”
“No.”
“Choke you?”
“No.”
“Tie you up?”
“No.”
“What are you afraid of, Paris? “
I thought about the dark place I went to after that disastrous session in Hamptons. They couple had made the whole thing about them. I was just an object to get them where they needed to be. They were enjoying inflicting pain and not what was being given. It didn’t feel right on an emotional level. I never wanted to feel that again.
“I’m just not ready for touch or tools or anything.”
She sits up and leans forward, “Okay. How about a little objectification? I’ll be a gentle Dom for you.”
“What are you thinking?”
She smiles and it almost reaches her eyes, ““I’m thinking as long as you are with me you need to look presentable. Professional but fuckable at all times.”
She reaches into her bag and tosses me a travel bottle of some hippy farmer’s market orange and spice peel body wash, body butter and cologne.
“Throw out any other body wash or cologne you have. This is what I want you to use from now on.” she says, “Take a shower. Get out the second you hear my phone alarm go off. You can wear a towel but no clothes. Also what’s your safeword?”
“Cerulean.”
“Okay.”
When I got out the shower I see Sera has gone through my suitcase and thrown out my concealer, boxers and one of my ties. She is settled in the oversized accent chair and gestures for me to sit on the floor.
I sit between her legs and she starts cutting my hair with a pair of scissors she must have bought with her. I’d kept it a bit long in an attempt to look younger. She didn’t bother showing me what it looked like because it didn’t matter what I thought as long as it pleased her
“Look at me.”
I do as she says and she takes a picture. She somehow had the shutter sound and her the flash on at the same time.
“Sera, please delete that if your phone isn’t secure.”
She rolls her eyes.
“No one wants a half-naked photo of a failed mayoral candidate.”
“I won’t always be a failed candidate.”
She considers this.
“It’s just your face.” She shows me the picture and it is mostly the chest up. My dark under eyes look awful in the florescent light. I hadn’t realized how hollow the side of my neck was. Before I can pick out a more things I don’t like, she deletes it.
“Lay down for me.” She moves to sit on the bed and puts a towel across her lap. I lay on the bed and she sets my head in her lap. She unwinds some thread from the hotel sewing kit. She starts on my eyebrows and I defiantly stare into her eyes. They were still a unique bright cobalt blue. I zeroed in on the fine lines around her eyes and curve of her defined jaw. She aged like a fucking Greek god. It wasn’t fair.
There was something about her hovering over me that was making me hard. I kept trying to adjust the towel to hide my erection. She runs her fingers under my eye, across my cheek and under my chin.
“Paris Prince. Did you laser off your facial hair?”
“It never grew in right anyway”, there was too much dead tissue around my face scars. Her hand runs down my chest where there is still a light dusting of hair, then she goes lower and unties my towel. “What’s your excuse for down here?”
“It’s just cleaner”, I readjust the towel
“No more lasers, chemicals or fillers. No make-up unless it’s organic. You need to take care of your outside like you do your insides.”
“You know there are a ton of chemicals in vapes.”
“It’s my job as your Domme to take care of you so you can meet my needs. And one of my needs is that you don’t talk back to me or correct me on useless bullshit. When I tell you something… you say… you can say …‘Yes, Mistress’.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
The tip of her finger brushes my erection and I grab her wrist.
“Cerulean. I don’t think you should.”
“A hand job doesn’t count as sex.” She says.
“Let’s just avoid it until your case is closed.”
“Fine but your erection is distracting me so…you take care of it.”
I move to sit up but she holds my head to her lap. She’s looking straight down at me and there is no hiding my flush.
“You can reach can’t you?”
She brushes a strand of my hair back and I reach down to fist my cock. I move at a slow pace like I usually do and only pick up when I feel my testicles tighten.
“Such a tight grip”, She half-muses half teases, “You’ve always had that problem haven’t you ?”
She lays back on the bed next to me. Her shirt lifts a little and I catch a sliver of the flat toned muscles beneath. She pushes her pants to her ankles and I hear he push two fingers into her pussy.
“Fuck”, she says or I say. I’m not really sure. Her legs spread a little and one of them overlaps with mine. I can hear how wet she is and listetning to her fuck herself makes all the blood rush out of my head. My head is swimming and I smell peppermint
“Don’t”, she breathes, “Not until I ...fuck… tell you.”
I’m not going to be able to follow that order. Sera could edge for hours and I’d be lucky to last five minutes. Then she starts cursing and her quiet moans are abruptly cut off. She turns away from me and curses quietly.
“Now.”
I reach for a towel on instinct and pump and come into it. Sera pushes herself up and pull her pants back on.
“Get dresses. Fuck. I should have grabbed a towel. ”
I pull on the outfit she’s laid out for me and realize she’s talking about the wet spot on my sheets.
“These are mine. I always buy my own sheets. I have extras.”
“Oh, that’s right”, She says laughing a little to herself, “Because of Budapest? I should have known you’d be allergic to soviet laundry detergent.”
“Hungary wasn’t a part of the Soviet Union.”
“Oh my fucking God, Paris”, She says immediately pissed, “What have I told you about correcting me. You always have to prove your superiority don’t you?”
“No. Sorry. Sorry.”
“You need to be put in your place so fucking bad, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Sera picks up her phone. When she steps into the bathroom for a second I grab the lacy boy shorts she’s left on the floor and hide them in my suitcase.
“Are we…going somewhere” I ask taking in my new haircut. It looked really good from the side.
“No I just wanted to make you pretty enough to look at.”, she settles back onto the recliner, “Come sit on the floor by my feet. I want to talk.”
Her shiny Dock Marten barley hit the hem of her worn and wripped black jeans. Her thin faded black cutoff t-shirt is wrinkled and so thin I can see her nipples.
“Do you think you’re ready for more? Do you trust me?” She asks.
“I think so.”
“What do you need for this to work?” she asks tossing her vape pen into the trash can.
“I’d want control over certain things. If you use equipment it has to be new. Clean.”
“You want to go shopping in the middle of investigating a murder?”
“I figured there is an Amazon warehouse every 20 miles here.”’
She digs in the bottom of that small bag again and pulls out a joint.
“Sera”, I say her name as a warning. It had been so long since I’d done that. It didn’t have the same effect because she still lights up.
“You’re not the only one with aches and pains”, she said gently massaging the back of her neck. I hadn’t thought she still had chronic pain considering she was a weightlifter.
“I want this to be good for you to.” I say, “What would please the Dom in you. Tell me what will satisfy you.”
She considers this. None of her clients probably asked her this. They were probably all just weak men with fetish and money. They weren’t real submissive. A real submissive would ask her this every day.
What would please you, Sera…My Love…My Darling.
Mine.
“I don’t know.” She says.
“Really? Turning a smart mouthed handsome accomplished Ivy League lawyer into your pathetic obsessive sex slave must be part of it? Every other time I’ve touched you’ve barely been wet.”
“I used pepermint oil", she picks up a small bottle I hadn't seen roll onto the floor, " This isn’t about me. It’s about you. Now. Will you wear a plug?”
“Sure,”
“Okay. What about Ms. Camilla.”
“I want to leave her out of this.”
“Shouldn’t you tell her I’m helping you with your kink shit? We were always open with our partners.”
“Cami and I are not together right now. She understands kink but she doesn’t really get it.”
“And you still want to marry her?”
“It’s not a deal breaker for me. I won’t really have time to participant in the community while I’m re-figuring my career anyway.”
“But you’re always going to want a power dynamic in your relationship. An equal partnership is never going to work for you.”
“You don’t know me that well.”
I press my lips to the shiny surface of her Doc Martens then up to her exposed ankle.
“I should go.” She says and she sounds out of breath.
“Let me drive you.”
“I can walk.”
“Please.”
"Fine."
We leave out the backdoor of the hotel. Though I’m sure Beverly had seen her come in and not leave. Sera had also grabbed the sheets on her way out.
Despite the AI upgrade, GPS still can’t navigate the town. I follow Sera’s directions back to the house. It was unusual for her to sit in the passenger’s seat. She’d preferred me to drive her around. I kind of liked the closeness of this. We pass the ridge and I see a hint of the bonfire at the lake below. She turns the music to that fucking trap acoustic station again.
“I hate this fucking music.” I admit
“No you don’t”, she says turning it up.
“Seriously what the hell is it?”
“It’s purely for ambiance. It’s immersive. It’s sound that is meant to be heard and evoke emotions naturally. That’s real music. Not like one of your sappy love song playlist.”
“You loved those. I’ve got eight new bedroom playlist by the way”
She opens the window and lights up again, “Send me a copy when you get back.”
“You want me to burn you a CD?", I tease her a little, "I think my ancient set-up is in one of my storage units.”
“Whatever. Send me an Apple Snap Cloud or however people send music nowadays”
“You know---”, I pull around the corner, “Sera…. Did you mean to leave all your lights on?”
“What?”
Sera does a double take as I pull in front of her house. Sera reaches inside that small bag again and pulls out a pistol.
“What the fuck, Sera. You had that the whole time?”
“I think I’m more than justified to carry this.”
She gets out the car and I follow behind. The front door and all the windows are open. The garage door is wide open as well with all the lights turned on.
“Let’s call Nate” I suggest.
She rolls her eyes
“The last thing we need is a drunk cop.”
I keep close as she ascends the front steps and enters.
“Is anything missing or out of place?”
“No”
“…How can you tell?” I ask stepping over a pile of clothes. The house was somehow more cluttered than it had been this morning.
She opens the front closet and the bathroom. I check the garage. I step back inside the house and notice the center of the kitchen table is empty and clean. There is a shiny gold and pink hand weight in the middle of it with a letter underneath.
Keeping Chasing Me and You’ll Get Caught.
Sera drops her gun and picks up the hand weight. She slowly approaches the letter and brushes away a bright orange flower petal. Panic runs across her eyes
“Shit”, Sera drops the weight and bolts outside.
I turn on my flashlight and follow her into the backyard. She’s on her knees digging through the flowerbed with her bare hands. I suddenly notice the mums are gone and there is a four foot deep hole in their place. Sera sinks her hands into the dirt.
“They stole the body.”
-----
Dun dun dun