Jessica Chapter six
“Do it again” Jessica moaned. Her legs were still firmly locked around Arnolds torso and she began to buck gently beneath him. “More” she hissed in his ear, the knowledge that Leo had witnessed the carnal performance from it’s beginning. The knowledge that the Absinthe had possed his mind and driven him to the brink of insanity renewed her lust. Arnold lunged deeper and the old bed sang.
Afterward Jessica said said dreamily “Arnie..”
“Hmm?”
“I simply can’t look Leo in the eye again...lets kill him!
Arnold laughed nervously, “your joking old girl, kill him?”
“Yes kill him! Bump him off, top him, rub him out, snuff him.” She shook her head and began muttering to herself.
“I say, are you alright Jessica?” Arnold asked in alarm, he had not seen her like this before!
Jessica stared fixedly at Arnold without seeing him. “I hate him you know. He spent half his life trying to get into my mothers pants. I hate him!”
“Come on old girl, that’s a bit over the top!” Arnold smiled at her warmly. “After all, I got into your pants,do you hate me too?”
She looked at him strangely, sending a shiver down his spine. “That’s completely different, don’t be silly darlink!”
“Different how?”
“Because”
Cupping her face in his hands and frowning worriedly into he eyes he asked softly, “Because what?”
“Because because” she snapped petulantly. Brightening suddenly she added “ Lets not fight darlink.” Her tongue slid into his mouth and they kissed passionately. His hand found her breast but she suddenly pulled away from his, asking, “Have you ever wondered what it feels like to kill someone?”
“Well” he answered sheepishly, not kill necessarily kill but I have fantasized about dueling.”
“Dueling?”
“Yes, pistols at ten paces! I actually have a pair of early nineteenth century flintlock dueling pistols here with me.”
“Gosh!” Jessica’s eyes were glittering with excitement! “You could have a duel with Leo..and kill him!”
“You don’t give up,do you?” Arnold laughed.
“I am not joking” Jessica asserted. “He could easily disappear out here in the Never never! Nobody would know what happened to him, how could they?”
“True, true” Arnold stroked his chin thoughtfully. “But...” he threw his hands up dramatically, “I have no powder or shot so we will just have to bally well forget it!”
“Oh don’t be such a defeatist!” She got her purse and shook the contents onto the bed. Picking up the ball bearing she had found in Leo’s house she asked, “could this be the bullet?”
Arnold examined it, “dashed good show! Where did you get it?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Arnold shrugged. “Useless without powder though.”
“Well make some then you dip stick!”
“Make some?” Arnold thought for a moment. “I say, that’s not such a jolly silly idea you know!”
Jessica rolled her eyes..men!
Four hours later Arnold proudly announced
to Jessica that he had managed to make a gunpowder..sort of. He was pretty sure it would work and had one gun loaded with the ball bearing and the other primed with the powder. It would make a noise but do nothing more. He would give that one to the ill fated Leo. Was Jessica sure this is what she wanted?
Yes.
Arnold told the unsuspecting Leo it was all a game. His chance to impress Jessica. How brave he would look, fronting up to the arrogant Englishman. They would stand back to back,take ten paces,turn and fire at each other. Lots of noise and smoke but nothing more. Harmless,like firing blanks. It would seem they had missed each other.
Leo counted ten paces and turned. Raising his pistol he pointed at Arnold and fired. There was a loud bang and a cloud of smoke. Arnold smiled.
“Bad luck old man” he called, raising his own pistol. He fired and the steel ball punched into Leo’s chest, tearing a hole in his startled heart. Leo was dead before he hit the ground.
“Oh you did it, you did it!” Jessica screamed ecstatically.
She ran up to Arnold and threw her arms around his neck.
“I’m so hot, make love to me right now, ravage me, conquer me my master!”
Arnold struggled to free himself from her. “Are you mad!” Holding her at arms length he shook her roughly. “We must make haste to remove all sign of Leo immediately!”
“Why? what’s the hurry?” She started to unbutton her blouse.”We are all alone, all alone!”
“Stop it damn you!” Running his hand through his hair he looked worriedly toward the highway.”We better get rid of the body before someone calls in here.”
She sighed, “Alright you wimpy creep!”
“Wimpy creep! What the hell does that mean?
“It means you are starting to bore me, I thought you were more fun than that!”
“I say, Jessica!”
“alright darlink, I know we have to get rid of the body, I know, I know, I know!”
Arnold was starting to wish he had never met this strange moody woman. She was unpredictable, dangerous. “I know where to dump the body Jessica. We just need to get the body into the Land rover.”
“Yeah? Whats the plan lover?”
“Listen Jessica, why are you acting this way? You seem different.”
“Aaw, don’t worry, I’m just a bit spaced out. Never been an accessory to murder before.” She gave him that strange smile again, “and I am used to getting my own way. Something to remember darlink!”
“I’ll bear that in mind my lady. There are a lot of places along the coast that we can access. I am talking about along the cliff top. We can drop the body into the great southern ocean. It is a three hundred foot sheer drop, very isolated and lots of sharks too.”
“Wouldn’t he land on rocks and stuff Arnie?”
“Possible but he will be a skeleton before anyone comes across him, if they ever do!”
“OH god the land rover! It is not his, he borrowed it. Someone is bound to report it missing!
“Don’t worry. After we get rid of the body I will drive the land rover back toward Ceduda, you can follow in my car and after we push the rover off the cliff top at one of the lookouts we can head back in my car.”
There was an access road to the cliff top about fifty miles west of the murder scene and Leo was rolled over the edge of the cliff from there. They soon lost sight of the body. It was a good place to get rid of a body, invisible from the cliff top. A hundred miles east of Leo’s resting place they pushed the rover off the cliff and into the ocean. All the windows were open and it sank quickly. They drove back to the roadhouse as quickly as possible. Arnold was worried because it had been left unattended for several hours. What if someone had come along, found it deserted and reported the fact to the police? He kept his fears from Jessica.
They had decided to leave all Leo’s belongings in his room. That would add to the mystery when the police did come to investigate. Arnold,on Jessica’s behalf, would phone Ceduna in the morning and report the fact that Leo had vanished,leaving his possessions behind. Arnold knew Sargent Dalby of the Ceduna police would call in the C.I.B. From Whyalla and that they would be very thorough indeed. The question was could Arnold and Jessica fool the police. Another thing, had anyone noticed their absence. That Arnold thought is the biggest worry. He was not really looking forward to making that phone call in the morning.
C Gainsford © Copyright 2012