A Deadly Conversation

As I opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony, I left the party behind. She stood twenty feet away at the edge by the stone railing. It was a clear night, and the city’s lights were as alive as ever. 

Snowflakes descend around us. I take my time as I approach. I keep my hands concealed in my peacoat and move slowly to admire her as I amble closer.

She doesn’t acknowledge my presence. Her mind is elsewhere. I can’t know what she is thinking, but it must be intense to distract her from the bitter cold.

 I think if I had to pick a single word to describe her. 

Gorgeous, would be the one.

She has her body wrapped in a blue cocktail dress. Disheveled brown hair dangled above her shoulders, and goosebumps covered her bare skin.

 “Would you like some company?”

she smiles at me and turns away to wipe a tear from her cheek swiftly. “That may be nice,” her voice is low and delicate. I could see the torture behind her sparkling eyes.  

 “What are you doing out here? It looks like you are missing all the fun,” my banter has never been groundbreaking, but it is enough to hear more of her voice. 

“I’ve just been caught up in my thoughts.”

I sense her confliction. 

Margo Kemper doesn’t know me but, I know her. I am the reaper to the names that find their way to an otherwise blank piece of paper.

The summary I received on her went as follows. Miss Kemper treated herself as a product and used her beauty to seduce a weak yet powerful man. Now Margo has a tape, and she can use it to ruin his clean reputation. 

Jared McGill wants his little problem to disappear. McGill, the scumbag politician, wants Margo dead by morning when she threatened to release the tape. I’m not clear on her demands, but it is hard to argue that dead girls tell no tales. 

 I grip the silenced pistol in my pocket. 

“Do you care to elaborate?” 

“Why would you want to hear my sad stories, mister?”

“Dennis, Dennis Hart,” I tell her my real name. I don’t know why.

“Okay, Dennis. Why do you care about a lonely girl’s troubles?”

I want to hear her say my name forever. “Sometimes talking is the best medicine,” I explain. 

She pushes her hair behind her ear and holds it. “I think if you knew why I was upset, you wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

“I don’t scare easily, darling.”

“Margo,” she informed. 

“Tell me your truth, Margo.”

She turned to the city. I saw the breath of her sigh float and dissolve.

“I’m a bad person,” she admitted. The sliver of detail made me more curious to hear her side of the story before I squeezed the trigger. 

“We can’t all be saints,” I tell her.

“No, but we don’t have to be monsters either. I did something to hurt a man.”

“Did he deserve it? Did he harm you?” 

“Yes…”

“May I ask how?” 

She ignores my request and shifts her focus to the sky. “Aren’t the stars beautiful tonight?”

I look up to catch snow in my eyes. “I don’t see many stars,” I say.

“They are there. You just have to look deeper.”

She glances at me, and my body quivers. Maybe it is the weather, but I don’t think so. There is something about her that weakens my knees. She is fire, and I want to burn.

I have this craving desire to wrap my arms around her and say, “everything will be okay.” I want to preach the words until she believes the lie. I don’t understand how she is consuming me. I breathe her in like a cigarette. 

“You asked how he hurt me.”

I nod and join her at the railing to talk face to face. 

I begin to envision the best course of action. I need to act fast. I want to be sure I can catch her after the bullets I fire sink into her. She will stare at me, blindsided by the unspeakable pain. I’ll hold her and gently lower her to the patio. No matter how long it takes, I will stay with her to ensure she doesn’t die alone.

“He killed my best friend,” she tells me. 

I don’t have a response. 

“So I made a plan to ruin him. I won’t live to see him fall, but it is worth it to me.” 

“Why won’t you be alive?” I ask with my job weighing on my shoulders like a ton of bricks. 

Those sparkling eyes bore into me. “I know the reason you are here.” She isn’t scared or angry or anything I would have expected when she says it. She is in acceptance.

I stand with her speechless. 

It won’t make a difference. The film will meet the world at sunrise.” She tells me with confidence.

“How can you be so sure?” 

“I think ahead. I left ten copies with ten individuals who know what to do.”

“What if you survive the night?” I lower my head with shame and remorse, knowing I can’t let her go.

“I won’t,” she confirmed quickly. 

At that moment, I had to make a decision. I brought my gun out and decided to fulfill my duty. Margo gave me a nod and then turned her back to me.

I’m breathing heavily and don’t know the truth from the lies. I feel the sweat under my collar even in the snowy weather. 

I turn without thinking and leave the dame. I get fifteen feet from her when I stop. I turn to see her one more time before I go. 

Inside at the party, the count down begins. 

10

9

8

I turn to see Margo up on the stone railing. She’s facing me.

7

6

“No!” I scream the word like it could make a difference.

5

4

She drops back.

3

2

I get to the rail. I watch her, free falling. 

The room shouts.

“Happy New Year!”