Dying For A Masterpiece

[Ceraphine Davis]

Another day, another long ass fucking day, and Kevala was drained. But she had work to do tonight, that was clear…She had been putting it off for weeks now, this new photo shoot that she was supposed to have done by Thursday, today being Monday. Yeahhhh last minute was sorta her thing. So yeah, she had three and half days to take the shots, develop them, hope to hell they were good, and then pick out the ones to blow up into portrait size shots. FUN! Growling softly at herself as she gathered up all her gear, she checked her phone, no messages, good…at least she knew that Ezekial had not murdered Nathaniel in his sleep or anything. Sneaky little booger.

Setting the phone down, she then went about finishing up all her preparations.

• camera
  
• lenses
  
• film
  
• knife
  
• clean clothes
  
• bleach
  
• gloves
  
• hair tie
  
• tarp
  
• snacks
  
• drinks
  

She ran her eyes over the list of things that she needed, checking each one off one by one. This client better appreciate the work she was putting into this project. Sure, mostly all of her art was dark, morbid and depressing. But, this guy had wanted a realistic dead girl, in several different poses to create a set. Easy enough, for even the most inexperienced of artists. Granted the quality would not be as good as her own, but it was simple. Get a model, pay her to pose, fake blood, black and white film, different size lenses for different angles and different view, and done!

Well, okay, so that was how she would have gone about it, maybe….ohhhh…three weeks ago..maybe four..She just could not remember how long it had been since she murdered Chantel Seran in her garage at her pretty little estate home. But however long it had been, it was sure as hell affecting her art. Now, she saw no pointing faking such wonderful shots, when she could get the real thing on camera, make the person buying the piece believe they were fake, and then make a killing off of this shit. This guy was already willing to pay her $50,000 for the series of 7 different photos. Black and white…elegant looking and classy.

Sure…why not!?

She could make some preppy girl look classy, despite the thought echoing in her mind that nobody really knew the meaning of the word anymore. Including herself.

Making another double check of everything that she had, she then leaned against the wall, grabbing up her phone and dialing Carmine.

”Yes Ms. Katashi?”

Good he answered on the second ring. He really was proving to be worth what she was paying him.

”Is she there?”

There was a moments pause on the other end, no doubt the man making sure he checked before he spoke, not wishing to get this wrong. They had been tailing the little princess Lisa Dominich for two weeks now. Learning her habits, learning her schedule and learning her schedule.

It was a tiresome chore but one which she needed to perform if she wished to be careful. Honestly she did not want to be caught. She was content with her life and as such she planned on sticking with it. Which mean taking every precaution imaginable. Not to mention it didn’t help that Kevala was extremely paranoid and worried ALL the time. So yeah, being careful was not really an issue. She had sat down with Carmine over the last couple of days, worked out what she was going to do and where he needed to be and when. It was not going to be a typical night. No, she was going to have to do this fast and to the point. No teasing the poor thing with thoughts of a possible release, no feeding her own inner demon. Just go in, kill her, take the pictures, load up the body, and have Carmine dispose of it as she made her way back, in her car, to her studio.

”Yes Ma’am she is there. She shall be leaving in about half an hour. Plenty of time for you to arrive.”

”Good, I am on my way.”

She then slid the phone closed, slipping it into her back pocket and turning to her things. Grabbing up her camera bag, her duffle bag and the roll of tarp, she turned and headed out of the building and into the night air. Feeling it brush against her skin like a soft caress. It was perfect timing. Tonight was going to be a true masterpiece. She only wished that she had her camera the night she killed Chantel. Then she would have photos of her to go along with the bits of hair she had cut from the girls head.

Oh well.

*sigh*

Not everything could work out as perfectly as this night was going to be.

Shutting the front door to the studio, she made sure that it was locked before hitting the button on her keys to unlock the Denali parked outside. It was a very “responsible” vehicle. One which could hold both a car seat and a dead body in the back. Perfect for her lifestyle.

Popping open the back of the SUV she shoved her bags and tarp in before closing it and heading around to the drivers side, checking her watch. Good, she still had plenty of time to set up.

Carmine would leave his position as soon as she arrived, driving her car of course, returning to the studio to wait outside, giving her an alibi for the time of the murder just in case. She on the other hand would set up shop next door to the building that “Lisa” was currently in. One that was conveniently abandoned and had just the right space for what she was looking for.

Carmine had already been there earlier that day setting up the lights and power supply, and as soon as he was done with the body, he would return, pack up, and set fire to the place. Erasing all trace evidence that could be left behind.

By the time the cops even noticed she was gone, which given the girls parents absence from the states for the next two weeks, would take awhile, there would be nothing to link her back to Kevala.

Oh, how she loved when everything went just as she planned. She may have failed at a lot of things in life, but this, this she could handle and do without flaw……

Turning over the engine of the SUV she threw it into drive and headed off to her destination. Already her eyes were glowing crimson with the thought of what would occur to night.

[Ceraphine Davis]

It took her a little under 20 minutes to make it to the spot that she had chosen, parking the black SUV in the shadows between two buildings, both of which were abandoned, one of which was her playground for the evening. It was a perfect position, and just as expected Carmine soon appeared to carry her stuff into the building next to them so that it allowed Kevala time to get into place.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her hair tie, pulling her hair back, and wrapping it up into a tight little bun, slipping on her baseball cap to conceal her hair and to keep it out of the way.

”I will get these things set up Ma’am.”

With a silent nod, the time for words having passed, Kevala let him finish his task before locking the SUV. No need to have the thing stolen really, she sorta needed it for later in the evening.

She then stuffed her keys back into her pocket and gave herself the once over. Black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots, annnnd of course black hat….Yes, she blended nicely with the area around her. Why on earth anyone would want to attend a dance studio in this part of town was beyond her. The only reason she could think that the little princess blond bitch would do such was this was her idea of slumming….Of living on the wild side once a week….Well she was about to know the danger she had been so carelessly risking for the past few years…Or at least according to the records Carmine had managed to get from the dance studio when it had closed last week, it had been years….

It was of no matter to Kevala, the facts were simple. The girl left her car two blocks over, in a more “decent” part of town. She came here once a week, stayed for two hours, on the dot, and then left, walking the distance back to her car. A bottle of pepper spray clasped tightly in her right hand.

Tsk tsk..Silly thing. Develop a pattern to your life and you set yourself up to be taken down. Kevala knew that, shame this girl would never get the chance to.

Slipping silently through the alley to the corner that the girl would pass by. First the instructor would bid her goodnight, lock the door and then pull the shades. It was then, and only then that Lisa would start to move, taking that long to gather her pepper spray from her purse.

Yet the downfall was the fact that in that few steps it took her to reach the alley way, she never looked around, and nobody was ever there to see her….It was almost too perfect a setup to believe..but Kevala had been watching had done research, and had gotten to know the girl better than most ever would.

So, when the click of a door sounded, Kevala simply pressed her back to the cold, slippery brick wall behind her, and waited………

”Good night Sir.”

The girls voice cheerful and upbeat as usual.

”Good night Lisa. See you next week.”

~No you wont~

The sound of another click followed by several heavy duty locks, it was after all a bad part of town, and then rustling through a bag. Ah, the girl was like clockwork.

Then came the footsteps,…..

One…….

Two………..

Three………..

The sight of a blond head exposing itself around the corner caught those crimson eyes, a grin plastered firmly upon her face as she waited…Two more steps and without hesitation, without worry or fear, she slipped out, directly behind the girl and slammed her fist into the back of the girl’s head.

She could not mess up the pretty little face of this one. That would ruin the shots.

As the force of the blow rendered the girl unconscious, Kev’s arms shot out to catch her on the downfall, not wanting anything to fuck up her art project.

Thankfully, even though the girl was bigger than Kevala, the strength the little one possessed was more than enough to rapidly drag the limp, lifeless body into the alley way and toward the side entrance to the building.

*knock*

The single knock given and a few seconds later the door being pushed open, unable to be accessed from the outside.

Once she was inside, or they in this case, Carmine took over the load, lifting the girl up easy enough and moving her to the play room. Once more that all too familiar feeling of the demon inside roaming free, stalking the corners of Kev’s mind, could be felt as she stretched her neck a bit and eyed the door leading to the “photo shoot” …. This was going to be fun, she just knew it.

A few soft steps, never one to make much noise, carried Kevala into the room, just in time to see Carmine drop the girl carefully onto a well positioned cushion. It was there for the fist three shots, then it would be time to move onto the cold, desolate looking floor that filled the room.

In that instant, Kevala stopped to realize that despite what she was about to do, she did not see this as taking a life, she instead saw it as a simple act of performing her job. Nothing more and nothing less. Perhaps that was the scariest part about the madness she suffered. The lack of caring, not the lack of knowing what she was doing…she knew well what she was doing…she just…….didn’t care….

Dismissing Carmine she let him leave, knowing he would be back at a set time to dispose of little Lisa….

For now Kev stood there, looking at the girl..pretty indeed…perfect for the pictures…..Kevala could have killed her then, could have been done with it sooner rather than later, but instead she leaned down, her hand coming out to lightly tap the girls face….

”Lisa…wake up dear…time to help me create my best work yet…”

[Ceraphine Davis]

The soft sounds of the girl starting to come around brought a smile to Kev’s lips. Yes, she really did enjoy the feeling that was about to come from the girl. Pinning the girl down with her weight Kev put her hand across the girls mouth, preventing her from………

A muffled scream escaping behind the tight grip of her hand over that little mouth. A grin spreading across Kevala’s face.

”Shh..shh…shh…None of that. There is no point in it.”

First came anger, hands trying to get at Kev though she just dodged, the girls movements slowed and panicked. Nothing to really worry about. Then came the shifting of the girls body beneath her own….A few heavy rocks, trying to get away…..Honestly, it was always the same…….

Then, as she started to gain more strength, Kev reached down, grasping the handle of the knife that was about her thigh…Pulling it free of its sheath and flashing the silver blade in front of the girls face. Letting her catch a clear view of it and feeling her anger suddenly fade into fear…tears filling those eyes….spilling forth to run down the sides of her face as she shook her head….

It was the heavy breathing and the soft sobs pushed against Kev’s hand, that about the tilt of the her head and caused her to look down at the girl as though she were trying to figure her out…Trying to understand her.

In deed she was, trying to figure out why the girl feared this so much. Why would she fear death? It was just an escape from this world. A chance to be free of suffering, pain, loss………..The only things that really came about in life. Sure, there was love, friendship, family, and all the other good things that people held onto, but in the end, they ended the same way…..loss, pain, and suffering……Kev knew this, and no matter how much she could go about her life pretending that she didn’t, pretending that she was happy….She always had it in the back of her mind that sooner or later it would all end. Everything…..Jack, Nathaniel, Zeke, Gabriel……Her position at school, her position in life…..All of it would one day be gone, and she would be left alone, wishing for that gift she was about to give the girl……

”I don’t know why you are crying. You will be free of this world in only a moments time. For as much as I would like to play with you, I do have a schedule to keep. Shame that I cannot kill you like all the others, but cannot have people catching on.”

With that the girl again started to scream, this time more fearful, more determined, and just down right annoying….

Rolling her eyes Kevala sighed and pressed the blade, which was held in her right hand, to the left side of the girls throat, those eyes flying wide and locking on Kev’s……Met only by the soft, almost warming smile of Kev’s….well at least it would be warming, if she was not about to slit the girl’s throat……

”Goodbye little Lisa. Don’t worry, your life may have been pointless but your death will not be.”

She then pressed down as hard as she could and drug the knife across the girls throat, feeling the girl jerk under her, seeing the blood begin to pour out and onto the area below them as well as Kev’s hand that held the knife….hearing the sounds of gurgled breathing, or the lack there of……It was all heavenly to Kevala, she loved it.

Holding the girls head to face her, she pulled the knife away, watching as the light that had shimmered in those eyes began to slowly fade…the life leaving her……It was…beautiful….Then there came the moment when you could tell, or at least Kev thought you could, when the spirit, the soul left the body. When the girl was no longer the girl she had been.

Kevala pulled her hand away, the girls breathing now ceased and her head lolling to the side. Her life gone, and the blood continuing to flow onto the mattress below them…..

Just like that, Kev hopped up, not lingering on things and turning on the rest of her lights….She then moved to set up her camera, snapping a few pictures of the girl as she laid there, her position rather realistic…..well yeah…but still!

Then, she changed lenses, took a few more and then moved to reposition the body, of course getting blood on her but yeah, not like that bothered Kevala.

The whole thing, in total, took about an hour. Not an amount of time Kevala really liked, not being in her own kill room, but it was worth it. She had gotten some good shots by the time she was packing up, wrapping the body up in the tarp she had brought and preparing to leave.

Then, just one time, Carmine appeared, his movements full of purpose and determination as he bypassed words and simply began his duty….

First was the chore of taking down all the equipment, which luckily, thanks to Kevs planning was easy to do and once it was all down would fit into the trunk of the car that Kev would be taking back to her studio. Next came the moving of the body, which would go into the back of the SUV, the one Carmine would be taking in order to dispose of the body.

As he did that, Kevala packed up her stuff, and in turn put into the trunk along side the equipment. In total the whole task took about half an hour, and by the time Kevala was done she offered Carmine a silent nod and hopped into the car…..

She trusted him to handle the rest, knew that he knew what to do. Destroy the building, take the body two towns over to dispose of it….Where he had a boat, under false name, and where he would simply take the body out into the ocean, and weight it down, and be rid of it….forever…..

Kev on the other hand, would end up back at her studio soon enough, giddily going through the film and developing it….Looong into the early hours of the morning……

She just could not wait to see what sort of masterpiece she had managed to pull of here. It was almost as exciting to her as taking the girls life……….

Not a bit of remorse to be found…..just…..happiness…..

[Ceraphine Davis]

As she pulled into the parking area in front of her studio, she leaned back against the seat, her head laid back as she closed her eyes and sighed softly.

It was not due to any form of regret, but instead due to the fact that she was tired....exhausted to be exact.

With a little brush of her tongue to her lips, she opened her eyes and looked down at herself, noting the blood that coated some of her clothing and her hands.

Ugh, she sooo needed a shower.

Shaking her head, she reached up and tucked her hair back behind her ear, then slowly reached down and grasped the door handle, making her exit from the car. With a nudge of her foot she shut the door and headed to the trunk.....It did not take long for her to gather what stuff she needed, head to the entrance and get inside.

There was still much to do. Carmine had left the papers that detailed what all he had done over the last week on her desk. She needed to go over them, make sure that everything was in order and then she had to develop the photos....Frame them, and call the client......After a short nap of course.......

Honestly she thought maybe, just maybe it was too much work, but then, was she not having fun? Okay, so the fun had been limited to the event taking place earlier, now it was more duty and that in itself was boring.......But it had to be done...Or else that poor little thing would have died for nothing.

Depositing her bag where it belonged, she moved to the room in the back where she had set up a bedroom for herself for nights just like this....Stripping down as she went, making sure to throw her clothes into a trashbag to be disposed of later......

As she entered the bathroom, turning on the warm water of the shower, she smiled slightly. The thought of the water dancing across her flesh, sliding over every curve, every tired and achy muscle, it was enough to bring a bit of happiness back into her mind.......

Stepping in, she was slow in her process, letting her body soak up the heat of the water and laying her head against the cold tile of the shower walls. With her eyes closed, she let her mind wander. A few questions entering her mind as to why she was who she had become as of late.....Yet there was no answer...Nothing but silence......It was maddening.

Half an hour later, she stepped out, wrapping a towel about her body as her long black hair stuck lightly to her neck and shoulders.

The tasks ahead of her seeming to have been waiting just outside the shower to once more weigh down upon her.

With a little growl, she shook her head, drying off and slipping into the bedroom.....A quick move about the room landing her in a pair of boy shorts and tank top...No need to get dressed since she would be spending the rest of the night alone.

Once dressed, she made her way into her office, taking a seat behind her desk and opening the file left there for her...\

It was not hard to see that Carmine had indeed falsified records to make it look as though they had hired Lisa 2 weeks ago to "pose" for these photos, which they had paid her handsomely for, and then she had left......The bank records all in order.....

Good, it would show that they had paid her, that they had valid reason to have such photos in her possession, and eliminate any suspicion about herself when the girl did not show up.

Nodding to herself she closed the file, loading it through the paper shredder.....Listening to the hum of the machine as it ate away all evidence of the paper trail....

Then she pushed herself up, heading to the bag she had put all her film in and took out the rolls, heading into her dark room and shutting the door.

It took around 5 hours for her to get everything like she wanted, developing, blowing up, tearing up, and starting over.....It was a long, tedious process, but one that needed to be done.......

When she was done, she barely made it to her room before she collapsed onto the bed and passed out.....Sleep...Yes...Good.....

____________________________________________

Several hours later, she felt a hand pushing on her shoulder, a light nudge against her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.

"Ms. Katashi.....You must get up. It is time to meet with the clients."

Groaning lightly, she slowly let her eyes flutter open, rubbing them sleepily as she drug herself out of bed, forcing herself up to get dressed and wake up enough to deal with the Montecelli's....

Couple of rich snobs who viewed her art as a way to live out the dark side of life, without ever really having to get their hands dirty....

Secretly she hated them, but as it stood, she would make her entrance, that smile on her face as she extended her hand.

"Mr. and Mrs...Montecelli I believe I have just what you asked for.....Carmine?"

With that Carmine brought out the 4 frames, each one holding a different black and white still of Lisa, in all her beauty.......Dead...Or at least they believed she was pretending to be......

"They are perfect!"

"Very lovely. Just what we wished for."

"Thank you both. I do try."

That smile still in place although inside she could hear that demon purring with satisfaction.

As Mr. Montecelli produced the check to her, she bowed her head in thanks and in a show ( however mock it may be ) of respect. Taking the check and slipping it onto her desk where she would leave it until she could deposit it into her account later that day.

"Carmine here will take these to your car."

"Thank you again Ms. Katashi...We could not have asked for anything better. Be expecting to hear from us again."

She smiled, another nod offered as she watched the man usher his wife out the door. Waiting until Carmine had followed with pictures in tow and the door was shut before she dropped the smile and rolled her eyes.......

Stupid rich freaks............

Once Carmine had returned, Kevala would simply shake her head, handing off to him the bag of clothes, and the keys to the car. He knew the drill...Unload the equipment, dispose of the clothes and then the rest of the day and night were his to do as he pleased.

As for her, she gathered her stuff, the check and her keys to her SUV......

It was time to return to her normal life......Deposit the check, get something to eat, and then head to pick up Zeke......Then......home.....

Back to being the normal, every day Kevala that everyone knew.....Her dark secret left behind at work........

For now............