Call Me Kate

        As the planes wheels slowly rolled to a stop, the let herself take the first deep breath of freedom. Just a few short steps to the start of a whole new life, in a land free from extradition. That thought had her almost vibrating with anticipation and excitement of all the possibilities. The woman she had been, until six months ago, would not recognize the person she had transformed herself into. That woman had been no more than a mild impersonation of her true self and she vowed she would never go back. Shielding her eyes from the tropical sun, Kate Beckett descended the stairs into a new world, and she could not stop smiling. This was her new home, and she had a new look and a new name to go with it. All she carried was a small carry-on and her purse, there would be heavy baggage weighing her down as she shed the last remnants of who she was and what she had done, Susanna Preston was gone, and all she had to say was good riddance.

               Pulling out of the airport lot, in her newly rented convertible, she felt like anything was possible. She settled in and turned up the radio, she had about an hour of driving to do and she was going to enjoy each minute of it. Her realtor, a lovely, helpful woman named Kim, would be awaiting her arrival at the beautiful house on the coast she had recently purchased. Most people would never dream of buying a house they had never stepped foot in, she used to be one of them, but in a place this magical, you could not go wrong. Besides, with the amount of money she was willing to spend, she was confident she would be happy with her choice. Realtor Kim had been such a darling through the whole process, rushing things along as quickly as possible at Kate’s request. She was unaware of the true nature of the situation but under the assumption that Kate was trying to escape after a terrible, very public divorce that left her heartbroken but extremely well off financially. It would be completely unnecessary to divulge the reality of the situation, it would not benefit Kim to know that the money used to purchase this little slice of paradise was stolen or that to get her hands on it, Kate had committed unspeakable acts. Yes, the less she knew the better. There was something to be said for anonymity, for being able to shape and mold your backstory into whatever you wanted. After all, life is what you make it.

               Driving along the coast helped to relax Kate into an island state of mind. She had always heard of living on island time, she planned to spend the rest of her days, doing just that. A few years ago, all she had wanted in the world was a child of her own, a beautiful baby to love her without hesitation. Something she had yearned for since she tragically lost both of her parents at the age of twenty in a terrible car accident. Maybe if her parents had still been alive, they could have opened her eyes to the truth about William Preston. That he was a con man, a lying, manipulating user who would dedicate years to breaking her down until she was nothing more than what he allowed her to be. Her husband had made her promises of unconditional love, a home filled with children and laughter, growing old side by side. It took entirely too long for her to realize that he never loved her, she was another of his possessions, one he had grown tired of and could not wait to discard. If he had taken the time to get to know her, he may have not dismissed her so easily. Underestimating her was his biggest mistake and would ultimately be his last.

               Marriage can be a beautiful partnership when two people love each other and are committed to weathering the storms together; but marriage can also be a cruel captor, determined to make you suffer. And boy did she suffer. Thinking about it now, filled her with a quiet rage that would have consumed her if she had allowed. These thoughts instantly transport her back to the very night that almost broke her. Bill had been relentless in his criticism of her that day, from the outfit she had selected to the meal had planned for dinner. Plans had been made for their friends, Todd and Beverly, to join them for dinner that evening, not an uncommon occurrence as Bill loved to entertain. He relished being the center of attention, he knew how to charm his audience and they soaked it up. If they only knew the way he spoke of them after they left, he rarely had a nice thing to say about anyone. The men were overweight, undereducated, and dull. While the women were too outspoken, forgetful of their place and inappropriate, he would never tolerate behavior like that, as he reminded her frequently.

               On this evening, however, Todd was unexpectedly called into work, but Beverly would still be joining them. Minutes before she was due to arrive, Bill practically demanded that Susanna leave right that instant to go pick up the bourbon he preferred, appalled she had forgotten to restock his favorite drink. While it was not unusual for Bill to make immediate demands of her but something about this felt off, she couldn’t explain it, she just knew. As she turned back onto their street, she saw that Beverly, or Bev as Bill frequently referred to her, had already arrived. It wasn’t that Susanna disliked Beverly, she simply did not trust her, everything about the woman was carefully crafted but lacking substance. She was undeniably beautiful and had a talent for enhancing that beauty with cosmetics and constant physical upkeep. Very well put together, never a hair out of place or a blemish to be found, Susanna was not jealous of her, in fact, she could appreciate the care and effort that was put into Beverly’s appearance and could acknowledge that she was an attractive woman. In the beginning, Susanna had genuinely hoped a real friendship would develop between them, but it felt as if they never quite could find a common thread.

               Already annoyed, Susanna entered the house expecting to hear the chatter of conversation, it seemed Bill and Bev always enjoyed each other’s company, maybe that was the root of the disdain she felt for the woman. Unlike Bev, Bill did not seem to enjoy the company of his own wife, she could not recall the last time he smiled or laughed when it was just the two of them. It wasn’t until Kate started up the stairs that she began to hear any sounds at all, with every step she took, her heart sank as she had a good idea of what she was going to find. Unable to stop herself, she continued down the hall towards the closed door of the master bedroom, filled with a sense of dread and sadness that even now she could not put into words. The sounds coming from beyond the closed door were unmistakable, she knew exactly why her husband had been so determined to get her out of the house. Placing her hand on the handle, she debated if she should open it and face the humiliating scene on the other side or getting back into the car and driving herself right off a bridge. As hard as she tried, she could not make herself turn away, turning the knob, she braced herself for the brutal slap of shock. Opening the door, she heard Bev squeal and try to cover herself; not Bill, he had a little chuckle and said to Bev, “Don’t worry, Susie doesn’t mind. Do you Susie?” Then he told her to get out. Shutting the door behind her, she heard them laughing as she walked slowly back down the hall. Laughing at her. A quiet rage began building up inside her, instead of extinguishing the tiny flicker of light she had left, this had stoked a flame that would consume them all.

               Susanna knew that Bill had been unfaithful, almost since the moment they said, “I do.” There had been countless affairs, he did not flaunt them, but he also did not work hard to conceal them.  Early in their marriage, she dared to question him about the nature of his relationship with a certain female in his office, the anger that exploded out of him had shook her to her core. He rarely hit her, he preferred to torture her mentally and emotionally, physical violence took too much of his energy but that night, he slammed her into the floor of the master bathroom so hard, she could almost hear her ribs crack. That was the beginning of the end of Susanna, she felt like she was drowning but could not die.

               Susanna had returned to their home the afternoon following the incidence with Bill and Beverly, she did not speak a word, just resumed her normal routine, as if nothing had changed. Her smug husband would frequently comment about how pathetic she was and if she behaved, he would allow her to continue to stay. What Bill had not realized, was that the woman who came back was not Susanna. Susanna was gone, she no longer existed, he had seen to that. This woman had risen from the ashes of a sad life and was determined to exact her revenge, she had big plans for Mr. Preston. After the crying had stopped and the anger had solidified her resolve, she had decided that she was not going to give him the satisfaction of disappearing, she refused to leave him intact. It was time he got what he deserved.

               Susanna needed to get her affairs in order, she was going to need money; luckily for her, Bill seemed to have plenty. She had been deemed unfit to take care of their finances, so she only had access to the money that he allowed, she got money for groceries and occasionally, he would make her buy new clothing so that she did not embarrass him in her hideous outfits. He was all about appearances, after all. As it turned out, Bill did not believe in things like security codes or passwords, he probably thought Susanna would never dare checking his computer or phone. Honestly, the enjoyment she should have gotten from setting up regular money transfers to a secret account in an undisclosed location without being detected left her feeling rather melancholy. He had made it so dreadfully easy that it diminished the excitement. Even still, she had to carry on, she continued to plan and continued to wait. The waiting was the worst part, every time she knew he was sneaking around with Beverly, she thought about saying to hell with the plan and ending it right then. But she had to be smart, not emotional. If she wanted to get her revenge and enjoy the benefits of her hard work and suffering, she had to be cunning and patient.

               It had been over five months since she began siphoning Bill’s money to an account with a lovely little bank on a lovely little island. An island, that per her online research on Bill’s computer, did not have any extradition laws. The day she learned that bit of information had been the day she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It was late one afternoon when she overheard Bill having a heated exchange with someone on the phone. She was not sure who he was speaking with, but she had heard enough to know he had finally discovered the missing funds. Susanna had been skeptical of the sheer amount of money that Bill had access to; she knew he made a good living at his job; things did not seem to add up, quite literally. She was unaware of the specifics of his conversation but one thing she was certain of, it was time to move forward to the next stage of her plan. It didn’t surprise her that she was slightly hesitant about what was to come, it went against everything she believed, it contradicted every fiber of her being. Susanna also knew that she would follow through with her plan, there was no turning back now.

               The GPS signaled that her destination was approaching, in less than ten minutes she would be home. Part of her thought she would never actually make it, that some part of her plan would fall through, and she would be left to pay the price for her transgressions. Although he had been violent with her in the past, she couldn’t quite claim self-defense. Bill had been shocked and horrified when he’d opened his eyes to see Susanna standing beside the bed. The look of terror when he realized he couldn’t move or speak, the confusion and finally the understanding and acceptance. Susanna had been thorough in her research, exploring all of the options when it came to murdering her husband and his lover. In the end, she decided that a strong paralytic followed by a large injection of potassium, administered under the tongue, would be her weapon of choice. Not a climatic ending but an effective one. Taking a slow, deep breath, she pulled herself back into the present; she turned into the drive and got the first glimpse of her brand new home. This was her life now, she had moved heaven and earth to get here and if anyone came looking for Susanna Preston, they were going to have a hard time finding her.