Chapter 2

“And much as I hate you? You fucking right I will shoot to kill,” she said, breathy little girl voice making the threat all the more powerful.

“So how do you like being a whore?” he had spat at her.

“Oh, it’s not as rewarding as being a piece of shit, but it has its moments,” she said, hitting the key fob for her Lexus convertible.

She was washing the large salad bowl when she heard the burner phone chime. The ad very specifically instructed the caller to leave a message and someone from EG Entertainment would return their call.

Listening to the message, Penny gave a bemused smile; it was an odd call. For starters, it was a female voice. This was the first female that had ever responded to her ad. Secondly, Sabrina Jacobs sounded extremely nervous.

Setting the phone to record the conversation, Ebony Goode returned Sabrina Jacobs’ phone call. Her first thought was to hang up when a generic message announced the number she’d reached.

“Hi! This is Ebony; you called for me?” Ebony said, voice light and well-modulated. “I do hope you will call me soon.”

More on instinct than anything else, she answered the phone when it rang, rather than have the caller leave yet another message. She did not announce herself, though, just answered with a cheerful ‘Hi!’ then waited.

“Hi, I uh, this, is this Ebony? Um, Ebony Goode?” the woman asked.

“Hi! Yes, this is Ebony. Is this Sabrina?” Ebony breathed.

Sabrina’s nervousness was palpable; stammering and hesitating after each sentence. Penny did what she could to calm the woman down, reassure her that she was no threat.

“And uh, you know, tomorrow’s Christmas Eve and, well, I mean, everybody’s already got all these plans,” Sabrina finally managed to say.

“So…” Ebony prodded after a moment of silence.

“So, you know, I was hoping, you know, a little company,” Sabrina disclosed. “We get together, eat a little supper, have a couple of drinks, and then, um, well…”

Ebony asked the pertinent questions; how many people would be attending this little party; how many people expected to be entertained. She also verified that Sabrina was not affiliated with any law enforcement agencies.

“So, just you, you and me,” Ebony affirmed.

“Yeah, yes. I Like I said, everyone else already has plans so…” Sabrina said.

A good portion of the money came from tips. A solitary guest would not be expected to be very generous with tips. And in general, women were horrible tippers. So Ebony tacked two hundred and fifty dollars onto the charge for a three hour party.

“Okay. Um, cash or…” Sabrina agreed.

“I take cash or charge. I do not, I will not take checks,” Ebony stated firmly.

“Checks? God, is there anyone still using checks?” Sabrina giggled, the first laugh Ebony had heard out of the woman since the somewhat awkward, stilted conversation had begun.

“You’d be surprised,” Ebony giggled.

“Your picture was, is so pretty,” Sabrina said, a genuine warmth to her voice. “But listening to you talk? You sound even prettier than your picture.”

“Oh, well, thank you!” Ebony gushed.

Christmas Eve in Oakleaf County, Texas was a balmy seventy four degrees. Three hours before her engagement, Penny went to Nailz4U to get a mani-pedi. She had the two girls paint her fingernails with red and white stripes; a peppermint design. She made sure to slip the two Asian girls a ten dollar bill apiece. Once, one of the girls confided to Penny that the owner, a stone-faced Asian man did not give the girls any of the tips the clients put onto their charge cards. Since then, Penny made it a habit to directly tip the service provider, in cash, whether it be a nail salon, her hairdresser, the waitress at her favorite salad restaurant.

“You put tip?” the man asked, finger poised above the keys of his register.

“Hmm? Oh, no, no, not today,” Penny smiled sweetly.

Arriving home, Penny showered, shaved, then cleaned herself. She did a little trimming of her pubic region. Checking the time, Penny fixed herself a light meal; a bowl of spicy humus with stone ground wheat crackers, carrot sticks, celery sticks and broccoli florets. She then took extra care to floss, brush her teeth, then gargle with cinnamon flavored mouthwash.

She rolled the scarlet micro-fishnet stockings up her legs. The bright red garter belt went about her waist but she did not clip the stays to the cuffs of the stockings. She put on her virginal white half-cup bra. Looking in the mirror, she nodded with approval. Her half-dollar coin sized dark brown areolae and hard nipple were visible but the underwire of the bra cradled her heavy breasts perfectly.

She slipped the very short red felt dress on, then again fixed her hair. The dress reached to mid-thigh on her, displaying her stockings very well. The scoop neck showed off the tops of her breasts; the bra doing its job. Neckline, hem and wrists were decorated in white ‘fur’ trim.

Her last act before slipping her feet into her bright red five inch pumps was to fasten her garter stays, then wiggle into her virginal white thong panties. Penny scrutinized her image in her full-length mirror and nodded her head in approval.

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Clos…” Ebony Goode giggled, putting the red felt cap onto her head.

Strolling into the lobby of the Oakleaf Towers Building, Ebony Goode verified the time; she was ten minutes early. She preferred to be early; it gave the guests less time to organize any nefarious plans. While waiting for the elevator, Ebony checked that her.32 was handy, loaded and ready. She also made sure that the recording microphone was ‘On’ and positioned to pick up conversations. She smiled, seeing the fourteen inch double-headed dildo in the bright red handbag.

The elevator opened onto the ninth floor and Ebony took a moment to admire the quiet, understated elegance of the lobby. The thick plush carpet was a sandy beige in color. The walls were antique white and the wood was a honey blond color. Next to each of the four doors was a small wood block with a brass plate. On each brass plate was the number of the condominium etched into the brass. Next to the elevator was a small wooden table and on the wooden table was a heavy leaded crystal bowl with a single silk yellow rose.

“Nine oh one,” Ebony said quietly as she found the condominium.

She heard nothing when she pressed the button. But a moment later, she heard someone call out. The words were muffled, but it was enough to let Ebony know the doorbell had been heard. The peephole darkened and she gave the aperture a friendly smile.

“Hi! I uh, hi,” an attractive brunette with beautiful blue eyes said, flinging the door of Unit 901 open. “I, you, hi; you, you are Ebony, right?”

“Hi!” Ebony smiled, displaying her dimpled left cheek. “Sabrina, right?”

“I uh, yeah! Yes, yes, I’m Sabrina,” the forty something year old woman said, then stepped back, motioning Ebony into the condominium. “I wow! I mean, your picture was so pretty and I… But in person? You are just gorgeous!”

“Aw! Thank you!” Ebony smiled happily. “It is so nice to meet you. I, I honestly don’t know what I was expecting; you can never tell from someone’s voice, can you? But you are very pretty.”

“Oh! Well, thank you,” Sabrina smiled, gesturing Ebony into a large room.

The furniture looked comfortable, inviting. The colors were chosen very well, projecting comfort and warmth. The art on the walls were also soft and muted with just a splash of color here and there.

“I, I was just fixing open a bottle of wine. Normally, I don’t drink. Well, not much, but I, well, I’m kind of nervous, you know?” Sabrina rattled as she headed to an open doorway to the left of the sitting room.

“Oh, let me,” Ebony insisted, following Sabrina into the large kitchen.

The countertops were faux marble, gleaming. The cabinets were beaded glass; somewhat opaque. All the appliances were stainless steel and Ebony could tell that they’d been recently wiped clean. On one countertop sat a bottle of white wine, corkscrew next to it.

Had the bottle been opened, Ebony would have politely refused any wine. Cassandra, a fellow dancer and part-time prostitute had accepted a glass of wine from a customer and had come to in a dried out stream bed in Wagon Wheel, Texas. Her face, breasts, buttocks and pussy were badly bruised; she lost nine teeth as a result of the horrific attack. To this day, she spoke with a horrible rasping wheezing voice because of the damage to her larynx from the strangulation.

Because she’d been fortunate enough to survive, the police were able to capture the Sweet Oak Strangler. Cassandra was able to tell the police what apartment she’d gone to and inside of the apartment, Brian Long, a successful car salesperson had some date rape drugs and the panties that belonged to Cassandra and the six other victims of the Sweet Oak Strangler. Cassandra identified Brian as the man that had hired her for sex.

But ever since that incident, Ebony was doubly cautious when offered food or drink. She had no desire to wind up as a statistic. The bottle was unopened and Ebony picked the corkscrew up and quickly, efficiently uncorked the wine. Sabrina indicated which cabinet held the wine glasses and Ebony poured the wine.

Sabrina Jacobs was shorter than Ebony; significantly shorter as she stood in flat-soled sandals. Her thick, wavy brown hair hung down to her shoulder blades; Ebony liked how the casual style framed her round face, light blue eyes and small nose. Her plump lips were twisted into a nervous smile as she took a sip of the dry white wine.

Her chest was average; Ebony did like the silk blouse and how the creamy white material clung to Sabrina’s bra-less breasts. She could just make out Sabrina’s dark half-dollar sized areolae through the clingy top. Sabrina’s blouse was tucked into a short black skirt that ended just above her knees.

“I uh, you said, you said you like seafood; I there’s that new place? Boudreaux’s?” Sabrina stammered. “I ordered us, I ordered their gumbo and fried catfish platters. I’ve never had it but my bro… Gena has and she said it’s to die for.”

“Sabrina, are you still nervous?” Ebony asked, voice soft.

“I, uh, well, kind of yes,” Sabrina giggled nervously.

“Come on, Sweetheart,” Ebony said, grabbing Sabrina’s free hand and pulling her to the sitting room.

“So, tell me about you,” Ebony suggested, sitting on the middle cushion and positioning Sabrina into the corner of the couch.

“I, uh, well, uh, there, there’s not much to… Oomph!” Sabrina started then grunted when Ebony kissed her on her mouth.

Pulling back, Ebony lightly ran her fingers through Sabrina’s hair. She smiled as Sabrina just sat and stared at her. Leaning forward, she gave Sabrina a feather light kiss then softly licked Sabrina’s lips.

Sabrina opened her mouth and allowed Ebony to slowly work her soft tongue into her mouth. Raising her arms, Sabrina embraced Ebony and returned Ebony’s passionate kiss. She gasped when Ebony’s fingers slowly traced around her left nipple through her silk blouse

The chime of the doorbell caused Sabrina to squeal out in alarm. Ebony giggled at Sabrina’s reaction. A moment later, Sabrina giggled as well.

“Our food is here,” Sabrina announced needlessly.

Ebony helped Sabrina put the food onto plates, helped her divide the gumbo evenly. Then they adjourned to the dining room. Sabrina admitted; she’d been in her condominium for two years now and had never eaten in the dining room.

“Well, you should; it’s just lovely,” Ebony said, admiring the elegant furniture. “Especially these padded chairs? My Mom’s mom? Her dining room chairs were these hard chairs with these backs? Straight up and down; wasn’t no way to get comfortable in them. But these are nice.”