Sam Spade 06: Case of the Murdered Mistress

Showering the black dye out I realized how easy the clothes and a few words changed my appearance. I would have to do this more often and hide in plain sight. I found to my glee that the latex clothing washed just fine by hand and hanging up to dry I could wear them again tomorrow night when I went looking for Cynthia. I had no idea how to find her or any of her kind. Frankly, I did not think I could find that club again. Either way I was determined to try. With those thoughts I put the do not disturb sign on the door, called the desk for an eight pm wake up call, and went to bed.

Chapter 5

My life became a steady routine, each night I would wake at eight pm, order room service, get dressed in the latex rubber and hit the streets. I managed to find an all-night store with temporary hair color bottles and bought one of each. Before heading out I would change my hair color. Also as an added precaution, I stayed at a different hotel every time.

The more I searched for one of Cynthia's kind the less likely it felt that I would ever find one. It seemed like an easy idea at first has turned into a chore. Pounding the pavements in a rubber dress, and five-inch heels, while strangely erotic is not a pleasant way to spend your nights. I wandered in and out of clubs and taverns each night stopping and having a drink or cola before moving on. I lost count of the number of propositions I had. If I wanted to, I could spend my life hopping from one bed to another.

I headed to a hotel feeling dejected and not a little frustrated. My idea of finding someone connected to Cynthia did not pan out. I called Jade's phone direct from the pay phone in the hotel lobby. I knew it was a chance but I was beyond exhausted. Five nights up and 5 days of restless sleep alone and on the run was making me sloppy. She answered the phone halfway through the first ring as if she were expecting me to call.

"Where have you been? Are you all right? We've been so worried about you," Jade's voice said quickly. In the background, I could hear Sue Ann's voice in the background asking if that was I repeatedly.

"I'm fine, just tired" I replied. Fighting back a yawn I asked, "Did you find anything?" I could have fallen asleep leaning up against the wall by the phone without much trouble.

"Here let me put Sue Ann on," Jade replied. "She can explain better then I can."

A moment later Sue Ann's voice replaced Jade's on the phone. "Mistress, we found it." In those four words, I went from being dead tired to wide-awake. "I'm sorry mistress," she added when I didn't reply. "Over the last five weeks there has been fifty thousand withdrawn in cash. There have been a series of phone calls to an untraceable number." She paused and then said, "Mistress? Are you there?"

I was devastated, at first I could not find my voice, "Who, who is it?" I finally asked in a broken voice.

"Angela" Sue Ann's voice said softly.

It felt as if someone had ripped my soul out. I had lost her once more, "I, I gotta go," I said as I hung up. I could hear voices from the phone but did not care. I walked over to the gift shop and picked up a portable phone. Going up to my room, I stripped off my clothing and took a hot shower. As the water ran over me, I curled into a ball on the floor and cried.

When the water began to cool, I got up washed the dye out of my hair and walked back to the bedroom. Picking up the new phone, I called Jade's number again. Just like last time, she answered on the first ring. "Mistress!" she cried happily. "We thought you would do something foolish."

"No dear," I replied, "Remember you still have a boon to collect." I said trying to put some joviality into my voice. However, Jade knew me better than that and scolded me. She wanted to come be with me but I would not allow it. "What I do want you to do is, next time Angela leaves, call me and follow her. I want to know where she is going and who she is meeting with."

Jade replied, "Yes mistress, but I would feel a lot better if you would let one of us come be with you."

"Who else knows?" I asked.

"No one Mistress. As hard as it is Sue Ann and I have not told anyone." She replied. When I asked to speak to Sue Ann, Jade passed the phone over to her.

"Is it possible someone is setting up Angela?" I asked now that I was calm. I remembered the mess with the masks, how I was set up.

"My love, my goddess, no one is better than I am at juggling books as you know. She did not even try to hide the transactions. I can show you the bank pictures with her standing at the teller as the cash is being counted each time. Forgive me mistress, but there is no mistake." She said sadly.

I gave them my love and broke the connection. Lying on my back I thought, if Angela wanted me out of the way then I did not want to live. I loved all my girls with all my heart and if one died or decided to leave, I would be crushed. Angela was special, she was part of me, our souls were wrapped around each other. The thought that she hired someone to blow up buildings and shoot innocent people just to make sure I was dead cut me to the bone.

The more I thought about it the less it made sense. Angela would know better than to withdraw funds in public if she were behind these attacks. She had to know that I would be checking sooner or later. The more I thought about it the more I realized that she was being set up to take the fall. The one difference between an artificial and human intelligence, was that I could look at the larger picture instead of just what the facts showed. It is true, Angela was up to something and I would need to find out what it was.

I spent the day drifting in and out of sleep. My dreams filled with nightmares of someone faceless flaying me alive and destroying everything I loved. Just after five pm I gave up trying to sleep and called Jade. "Hello dear," I said as an opening statement, "Did anyone react to finding my hat in the office?"

"No mistress, as far as I know no one has noticed it there. You know no one dares go into your room or the office without your permission," she answered.

"Really?" I asked surprised. I did not know to tell the truth. "No matter. In about 5 minutes, I will call the house. I want you to be where you can watch people's reaction. If anyone makes a call, then find a way to listen in. If someone leaves, follow her. If more than one leaves take Jasmine into your confidence and have her help, follow. Got it?"

She nodded and said softly "Yes mistress."

While I was waiting, I streaked my hair and got dressed. I left in the red this time and added pink highlights to it. When I finished putting the 2^nd shoe on I went down the street to a pay phone and dialed the house. The phone rang two times before I heard Heather answer, "The Hidden Mask Detective Agency, Heather speaking."

"Hello dear, how's my girl doing?" I said in way of hello.

"Mistress!" she replied happily. "Where are you? Are you all right?" In the background, I could hear the other girls talking excitedly.

"Go ahead and put me on speaker dear, it will save you from being mauled when we hang up." I said with a giggle.

"Done mistress." Heather replied.

"Everyone here?" I asked as I tried to make out the voices. I had always hated these public phones. The video portion never seemed to work with them.

I could hear voices calling out names and after a moment I heard Angela's voice, "Everyone is here mistress."

"First and most important, I miss you all so very much. It looks as if this will be all tied up in a day or so. Tonight I am meeting with an informant to get the final proof." I paused, "I know who is behind this and if she is smart she had better pick a direction and start running now."

You could have heard a pin drop and finally I heard Angela's voice say, "What are you saying Samantha?"

I was taking a gamble with this and knew it but I was frazzled, "Just what I said and nothing else. Once I have the proof I need I will share it with all of you." I hung up after that and continued walking down the street. I needed to get something solid to eat before I tried to find Cynthia's people one last time.

Chapter 6

It was around nine pm and I was wandering the streets of the old town. The bars down here seemed darker and it might have been my imagination but I felt as if I were being watched. I spotted a woman emerging from an alleyway wiping her mouth and licking her fingers about fifty feet ahead of me. As she came closer I recognized her, Arianne, the woman Lady Darkness referred to as her daughter.

"Arianne?" I asked as she came closer, "Oh thank god I found you."

Looking up Arianne hears a familiar voice and smiled. Coming closer, she stopped, looked at the woman who seems different but something says she knows this her. "Lady Spade?" She asked realizing who was standing before her. "Quite the new look you have," she said smiling.

I looked at my outfit and smile ruefully; "Yes it is an interesting change." I had now been wearing latex now for almost a week for every waking moment and it felt natural. I had also gotten used to the soft squeaking sound with every movement I made. "If you want to hide in plain sight, nothing like a change of clothes and a little hair dye," I said spinning around.

Arianne seemed the same as I had last seen her but at the same time different. I could not place my finger on what had changed with her and while I was interested, I did not feel I had to time to pursue it properly. I expected things to start popping soon and I would need to move fast when they did, "Do you have the time for a few questions?" I asked. I glanced around; the feeling of being followed made the back of my neck itch.

Giggling at Sam's reply, she smiled a moment before being serious once more. Arianne studied her new friend and wondered why she would do such a drastic makeover. Something must be wrong in her world. She knew what humans were, having once been one herself. Though she had a tendency to forget, being brought up by vampires. She looked around, sensing uneasiness around Sam. "Yes, I just got done with dinner, so I am free. What do you require my dear?"

"Perhaps there is somewhere we can talk? Somewhere less exposed?" I replied. I did not like standing in one place for any length of time. I smiled and said, "I just came from this wonderful little bar, there is a band playing there that is to die for." I paused a moment, "That is to say you would rather be dead then listening to them."

Arianne chuckled at the joke and the intended pun Sam made. She hugged her friend again and winked, "I know just the place... a small friendly pub with private rooms for private use. It is not far from where we are now." She then added, "The drinks are on me. Looks like you could use one or two."

While I was not nominally a cuddling type person, I needed comfort. Wrapping my arm in Arianne's arm I smiled, "Good, let's go." As we walked I muttered, "Yea a bottle or two to be exact." I noticed her arm was cool to the touch and wondered. Here I was walking around without panties and was a touch warm, yet Arianne was cool to my fingers. "Forgive my ignorance, but you are not like everyone else. That is to say or ask are you like Cynthia?" I kept expecting to hear the roar of a car followed by the sounds of automatic weapons fire.

"In this city, there are a lot of people like Cynthia. I am not quite like her but I have my moments." Arianne chuckled and then catches the real meaning behind the question. "Well... how exactly do you mean that?" Arianne knew but wanted her human friend to say it. It made it easier to digest that way.

I decided that the best way was to just come out and say it. I was not sure what Cynthia was yet other than immortal. "Cynthia is my cousin. I am her last surviving relative. It seemed around nine hundred years ago more or less her mother's sister had a daughter. I am of her line." I paused and again felt as if unseen eyes were following me. Picking up the pace a little, I tried once more, "So I guess the question is, are you immortal like Cynthia? Or if not do you know someone who can advise me who is?"

Arianne nodded as Sam speaks; she understood her assumption was correct. Since Sam asked, Ari did not feel she was betraying anything by tell her the truth. "Yes.... I am as you say immortal. There is much more to it than people think."

Reaching the pub, she opened the door for Sam, went in, and got a bottle before taking a table in the back. The tables in the rear of the pub were more exclusive with curtains. They could talk more openly and without ears and eyes of those who would not be sympathetic or understanding. She closed the curtain to the booth, poured them both drinks, and continued her explanation, "You see, many of our kind roam the world. We keep ourselves as secret as we can, so we can live in peace and without those who would seek to destroy us. It is a silent pact that keeps us all able to live among you. We, being immortal, have special talents, some use them, and some do not. Those who do not, die and wither, those of us who do, try and blend." Arianne studied Sam's face and waits for the barrage of questions her mind was sensing from her friend.

I could well understand needing to hide. If it got out that there were races of immortals living, everyone would want to join the club. I was dying to know more about this. However, the sound of a car backfiring outside brought me back to reality as I dived under the table. Getting up from under the table, I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, just checking for bubble gum."

Arianne watched as Sam came from under the table and heard the excuse but knew better. Something was frightening her detective friend. She could see the questions in her eyes; smell the curiosity all around her from the little Ari had shared with her. She knew in time they would get to the point.

"Do you have human relatives?" I asked leading in sideways into the question, I did want to know.

Arianne replied, "I suppose somewhere I do, though I do not know who they are. For you see, I was taken as a baby and my parents killed. So whatever family I had as a human is unknown to me." Arianne squirmed a bit shifting in her chair, been a while since she thought about this. She smiled though hoping this was not too much for Sam. "Why do you wish to know?"

Looking down at my hands, I recount the attacks, the diner, car, bank, and finally federal building. I look up at Arianne, "I need to know who is doing this. I am damn tired of running and looking over my shoulder. I need to know if this is something an immortal would do to strike back at Cynthia."

When she does not answer right away I continue, "Would an immortal attack like this? Or is this someone else trying to put me and anyone around me into the ground?"

Arianne ponders the situation and what she knew of vampires and warfare, "Hmmm.. sounds like something humans would do more than immortals. But depended on the immortal, his or her station within society, and how they blend into it, they might. I am not exactly sure, usually the way vampires fight is not as you described." Arianne gasps at what she just said, she had let it slip. Sighing she looked at Sam for a reaction and the incoming fallout from her mentioning it.

I sighed, instead of a simple yes or no answer I get a maybe. It could be someone of Cynthia's type but might not. I drop my head into my arms on the table and shake my head slowly. "Not the answer I was hoping for," I said softly into my arms. Then the penny drops, looking up at Arianne, "Vampires? Like turning into bats and flapping around in the night?" All the questions pop up once more and with an effort, I thrust them down again, "I don't want to know. I have enough to deal with right now." I say looking at her.

Pausing I try to wrap my mind around it. Thousands of questions raise but with effort I thrust them down, "One of these days I would love to talk more of this please. Now I have to worry about not getting more people killed because of me. Is there someone who would be able to give a more concrete answer? Or will be able to tell if there is a war with Cynthia going on?" I ask

Arianne nodded, "I think maybe my mother might know or she would know someone that you could talk with about your problem." Ari sighed not being real help, as she always wanted to be. "Let me see if I can't find mother, and then we shall go from there."

Seeming to concentrate, Ari focuses for a few minutes. It was harder to use her powers in the big city. She nodded and as if answering some silent conversation. Getting up she looked at Sam and motioned for her to follow. "I know exactly where mother is, let's go."

Chapter 7

I followed Arianne through the streets taking twists and turns until I was lost. Finally, we came to a building and with hope in my eyes I followed her in. At last, I will be finding the answers I have been seeking for. The relief from worry calms me to the point I become aware of the rubber moving over my body once more as if it were a thousand fingers gently caressing me.

Lady turned from what she was doing to see Arianne walk in with someone in tow. Tilting her head to one side, Lady could sense she knew this woman. As they approached, Lady hugged Ari tightly looking at the woman with her. "Hello darling" Lady purred to her daughter. Still looking at the woman, recognition swept over her face and she smiled broadly. "Well if it isn't Sam Spade. Nice to see you again."

Arianne hugged and kissed her mother in greeting and stepped back so that Sam could have the full attention she deserves. She sends, "Were you able to get a hold of obsidian mother?" In the background, she faded a little and listened until she was needed.

I smiled at Lady, "The pleasure is all mine." While before she had been beautiful in the tavern, here in the flickering lights of candles it highlighted her beauty even more. Her black hair glimmered with golden highlights as she turned her head.

Sitting down Lady smiles, "She will be here just about now," she thinks back to Arianne, and nods towards the front door. As if on cue, obsidian walks through the door and stands looking around for a moment. She waves a hand and says, "Free blood pretzels!" and laughs as obsidian's head whips around to look. "We're over here dear." She adds at a slightly lower volume.

obsidian scanned the room, the phone call she received from the bartender on Lady's behalf had said that Samantha Spade would be here. Her brow rose as she saw the human across the room. Samantha looked a bit different since the last time obsidian had seen her. She arrived at the table and nodded as she seated herself.

I watch as obsidian joins us at the table. Other than my girls, these three women made me feel safe for the first time since I have taken to the streets. Even knowing what they are now does not change my feelings. Looking at obsidian I smile warmly, "I am glad to see you once more. Thank you for coming." She was every bit as elegant and beautiful as she had been when Angela and I first met her while trying to find Cynthia a lifetime ago.

"Greetings Samantha, it is a pleasure to see you again." She smiled.

Looking around the table, I wonder 'is there is something about their condition that makes them beautiful?' I recount the attacks on me, trying to give as much information as possible for each one. "That leads me up to now. I got to know. Is there a war going on against my ancestress? Am I helpless?" I look around the table, "Or are these attacks a human condition and something I can fight back against."

As Samantha recounted her story, obsidian became more intrigued. So many near misses in so little time. It seemed someone was serious at trying to eliminate Samantha. "I am not too sure at whom is in your lineage... what is your ancestress' background?"