Deadly In Stilettos (10 page)

             
The Ninja blowgun had been a great choice, Demi thought. She researched the weapon and learned that the dart hit its target every time, with perfect precision. It certainly had this time. She practiced her aim for weeks now and was glad she had. “Perfect choice,” she said, and then she smiled, walking out of the study. Her long black trench coat made her look like a Ninja as she strode swiftly to the front door.

             
As Demi left the Stratton residence, she looked around before walking down the steps, just in case the cameras got a glimpse of her. With the faint light from the street lights, and the darkness of her coat, it would be hard for anyone to make out who she was. She hoped the brightness of her shoes was not detected.

             
It was still early in Paris, so Demi decided to go have a drink, eat some delicious cuisine, and mingle with the locals. She didn’t want to be alone. That night she enjoyed herself, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Returning to the loft, Demi took a shower and then slept until it was time to go back to the airport to catch her next flight.

             
When morning came, Demi packed her clothing and left the loft, and her sleeping lover without any trace that she had been there at all. She now checked Chauncey Stratton’s name off her list. The final three names would take more than a few days to complete, so she had to remain focused. No distractions of any kind would be tolerated she told herself. It would take much skill and acts of seduction to take down her next prey. She had to be prepared.

Before boarding the plane, Demi stopped at a shoe store and purchased several pairs of stilettos for her trip to New York. She
needed heavy ammunition. The choices she made would definitely do the trick. “Look out New York, here I come,” she said as she took her seat in first class.

             
Enry Williams was a man who got anything and everything he wanted. Demi once had loved him deeply.Her relationship with Enry came way before Makei and after Chauncey. Once Chauncey was out of her system, she had been open to giving love another chance. But Enry abused her heart and tried to ruin her reputation, never feeling any remorse for doing so
.
‘Soon his bed will be a coffin’
,
Demi thought, resting her head on the cushiony pillow the stewardess brought her.   

Chapter 7

             
ENRY WILLIAMS was a high-powered attorney with his own law firm. It would be hard getting next to him without anyone noticing her presence, because many of his colleagues had once been her friends. Demi would have to be very wise about her tactics. Her plan was, simply to catch him by surprise when she showed up at his law firm and then leave him lifeless before he knew what hit him. As an attorney, Enry had many enemies, so no one would know for certain who had finally killed him. That worked to Demi’s advantage, but would be suicide. She would be in prison before Enry’s blood grew cold. She had to be smart.

             
Closing her eyes, Demi relaxed. She would be in the air for several hours, so she cleared her mind and caught up on some much needed rest. Being on one plane after another fatigued her, and was giving her a severe case of jetlag, and if she knew Enry Williams like she used to, she would need all the energy she had to get next to him. Although he betrayed her, they once shared something special, and maybe that would help with her plan. Demi knew from her sources that he still had a thing for her.

             
Once in New York, Demi checked into the Plaza Hotel. She was used to staying there whenever she was in town. Her job always provided her with the best of everything, assuring her that she deserved nothing less. She simply loved the atmosphere and ambience the hotel provided whenever she stayed there during her many visits to New York.

             
The weather was beautiful. The crisp breeze tickled her wavy locks, dancing them around her face. She smiled, already loving being back in the city. Getting from the airport was painless, something that rarely happened in New York City. As the car headed to her hotel, all kinds of memories flooded Demi’s thought. She loved New York and regretted being drove away from its fast pace and hidden charms.

             
Soon the car, provided by her employer, pulled up in the front of one of the most amazing hotels Demi had ever stayed in. After checking in and going to her suite, she decided to check her voicemail on the cell phone she used for business purposes. She checked her messages constantly throughout the day and she didn’t want to miss any important messages. Once she finished with business, she checked her personal messages.

             
Carefully easing off her shoes, she sank into the deep plushness of a high-backed chair, next to the hotel phone. Demi had three new messages. One was from her friend Tabitha to see if she had made it to the city, the next was from her childhood friend Sidney, and the other was from someone whose voice she did not recognize.

             
She and Sidney Kickass had been friends since first grade. Both of them had unusual names. Most of the kids at school teased them for that very reason, which drew them closer together. One day Sidney was crying in front of the school when Demi arrived. Feeling sorry for the new girl, as she was then, Demi asked her if she was okay. Sidney was extremely polite, with long pigtails down her back. Her parents owned one of the local nail parlors, which caused them to move to the city of Dallas.

When Demi told Sidney her full name, they laughed and became friends instantly. They were inseparable from that day, and even after Demi ran away with Troy, she kept in touch with Sidney. They always stood up for each other and
never let each other down. Demi’s relationship with Sidney was the only one she could call successful, loving, and caring. Sidney had never given her reason to believe any different. Whenever she needed her, she was there, no matter what. Demi never went to visit Sidney in Dallas, but they took several vacations together each year. Sidney now owned her parent’s nail parlor, and several others besides, so she was free to go and do whatever she chose. Being the boss provided Sidney many perks. When Demi lived in Italy, Sidney came to visit her there. Sidney filled some of the void inside her, making her life a little easier to endure.

             
Just a few months earlier they had gone to Jamaica to a reggae festival. They’d had a blast. Demi loved Sidney like the sister she’d never had, but always wanted. Sidney was the only person who loved and cared about her unconditionally, that was until she met Tabitha. Demi was grateful to have two friends she could always count on.

             
Sidney called to tell her about her fathers’ untimely death, which Demi had no interest in
.
‘If only he could have seen me before he took his last breath,
’
she thought before pressing the delete button on her phone. The other called sounded as if he or she had disguised their voice. Demi listened carefully.

“You think you can get away with what you’re doing? It’s just a matter of time before you get caught. I will make it my business to see you pay for what you’ve done. If you know like I know, you will stop doing what you’re doing and go home before
you get caught or worse.”

             
Demi wanted to know who had made that call. She had been extremely careful with her plans and actions. As far as she knew, no one knew anything. What was going on? It had to be someone playing a trick on her. But who?

             
Saving the call from her phone to her computer, Demi decided to call Sidney just to see if she had any useful information as to who could possibly be threatening her. Sidney answered on the first ring, sounding devastated.

             
“Demi, I am so sorry. Are you okay? The police have been trying to get in contact with you. I didn’t give them your cell number, but they do have you home number though, so they will probably be calling. Where are you?”

             
Sidney meant well, but Demi did not feel like talking about her father. She had other things she needed to know. “Sid, look, have you seen or heard of anyone coming around asking questions about me lately? I received a strange voicemail from someone who said some disturbing things. Before I go to the police, I wanted to see if you knew anything that could help me figure out who I might be.”

             
Sidney was silent. She had spoken with a man a few days ago who had asked questions about Demi. The man did not seem to be any threat. In fact, he seemed to know a lot about her. Sidney did not want Demi to be upset with her, so she lied.

             
“No, girl!” she answered too quickly. “I haven’t seen or heard of anyone asking about you. Why would someone want to know so much about you anyway? That’s very strange. Demi, are you in some kind of trouble? You know you can count on me if you need anything, right.” Sidney prayed Demi had forgotten just how bad of a liar she was.

             
Demi knew Sidney was lying through her teeth. Someone had indeed spoken with her friend about her, and Demi was going to get to the bottom of it. Sidney would suffer greatly if anyone found out about her secrets, even though she knew nothing of them herself. Despite their close friendship, Sidney rarely mentioned anything going on in her life outside of her businesses. At first Demi found that strange, but soon realized it wasn’t wise to share every detail of your life with anyone. That way you didn’t have to worry about it coming back to bite you in the ass.

             
Deep down, Demi knew Sidney would never betray her. Still, she could not take any chances. People never ceased to amaze her even someone whom knew you almost as well as you knew yourself. They chatted a few more minutes, and then Demi told Sidney she would be in touch soon.

             
After hanging up, demi refocused on the reason she was really in New York. Tomorrow she would attend a business meeting, make some necessary contacts, and then she would be free to do what she needed without any distractions from work. Enry Williams would not know what hit him.

             
Demi and Enry had once made the perfect power couple. They both contained Ivy-League educations and great careers, and they both loved shoes. Until she met Enry, Demi did not think it possible for anyone to love shoes as much as she did.

             
The first time she saw Enry, he’d been on television defending a well-known rapper, on a murder charge. He was smooth and intelligent, but too arrogant for her taste. Some would call it confident, but Demi knew arrogance when she saw it, and Enry Williams possessed that quality in abundance.

             
One night while she was attending a charitable event, a mutual friend introduced her to Enry. At first, neither of them liked the other, but after running into each other at several other events around the city, they developed a friendly acceptance of each other.

             
One evening, a colleague set Demi up with a cynical and unlikeable gentleman, and Enry was there to rescue her. From that night on, they hit on off. If they were attending the same event, they went together. On some occasions, they attended events the other person had to go to just for the company. They became good friends. When Demi had to go away for a few weeks for work, Enry was sick without her. He told her so when she returned. From that day forward, they became a well-known power couple, taking New York’s elite society by surprise. Anyone who was anyone wanted them at their function or event. Enry and Demi loved their life together, until one day Enry asked her to marry him. Demi accepted his proposal without any hesitation, but in the back of her mind, she knew a marriage to him would be disastrous.

             
When Enry later informed Demi that he did not want his wife to work, she was outraged. He then went on to tell her what he expected of her, which was to stay at home, have his babies, and take care of them basically by herself while he remained the same as he was before the marriage. While he worked and brought home the bacon, as he called it, she would join a social circle of housewives and be the perfect little woman, throwing lavish dinner parties and hosting other social events that were necessary for his business.