9 comments/ 14704 views/ 5 favorites Mistaken Malice By: KAnneMeinel To my readers, please feel free to leave feedback for me so that I know that you liked my stories, what you would like to see, and perhaps maybe suggest one. Please also vote on how you liked it, every vote does count. If you'd like to read it over and over again, favorite it and come back to enjoy it like an old friend. I look forward to hearing from you...K'Anne "If at first you don't succeed, destroy ALL evidence that you TRIED" So she had killed a cop, so what. Alice knew though there could be serious repercussions from that. They would review tapes from the parking garage, of who came and went and ask questions. She was fairly certain from what she could see that Richard had chosen a spot that wasn't visible from the cameras for his own use. She wondered how long it would take to find his body. She walked around her condo like a caged lion. She didn't make mistakes often and she had nothing against Richard personally but it had been almost automatic, a self-defense response. Her buckle was already soaking in bleach, removing any DNA from it. The leather had been washed even with a leather solution and she was fairly certain it contained no blood. She had wiped it off on his clothing. But killing a cop? This was a new one for Alice. She couldn't justify this one as she had the others. That a cop was on her tail made her wonder, what else did he know about her, how long had he been investigating her, and why? Questions like this could drive you mad, she thought. But that was how Alice's mind worked; she was analyzing it from every angle. She knew she had to go to the man's office and home and see what else he had on her. She glanced out the patio window, it was still closed with the drapes across it, and it also told her she had several hours before sunset. Several hours that other cops would discover the body and search the very places she needed to. She couldn't wait for them to find something she needed to see, some evidence that would link her to his death. She got on her computer and looked up what she could of one Richard Haggard, L.A.P.D. She was intrigued to find he wasn't an active police officer. He had been retired two years ago with honors. Apparently he had been hurt in the line of duty after some heroic deed saving a woman's life and been retired ever since. She wondered that he had been still carrying a badge though; did he use it to intimidate people? Was it for show? Some guys just couldn't give up being a cop. Shit, she had killed a cop! Even a retired one, he was still a cop, and the other cops would go nuts over it. They tended to band together at a time like that, all for one and all that. "Hello" her cell went off. "Hi, my friend in Florida came through, he found out why it was taking so long to get the results we were waiting for." 'We were waiting for?' she thought to herself before she answered "well?" She wasn't in the mood for word games. "Yeah, he was some cop." 'No SHIT!' she said to herself. He went on "but they retired him like two years ago and now he does a kind of private investigations kind of work but for real high end security, not that sleazy 'dick' work" he loved using the word 'dick.' "Really?" she pretended amazement at 'his' find as though he had given her important information. She didn't want him tying her in with the apparent murder; it was going to be plastered over all the television stations in L.A. by tomorrow. "Yeah, once we figured out he was using the wrong database; I helped him piece it together." "My client will be pleased then" she planted that little tidbit in his psyche. "There's more if you're interested" he offered, you never knew, sometimes she gave 'extra' into his account for information. He already had to wire the prick down in Miami a sizeable chunk and soon but he knew his payment would be in his account by morning after he gave his report to Alice. "Of course" she coaxed him. She knew how to handle him. He was greedy, he wasn't stupid. "All the information indicates he was honorably retired for helping that woman but I have friends who I remember telling me about the case. He was forced to retire or the scandal would have been horrendous. She was some high muckety muck who was bopping him and got caught in an awkward situation. She was blackmailed and he killed her blackmailer. They covered it up because he not only got shot but 'saved' her life. Her husband was 'grateful.'" "You haven't discussed this with anyone?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting to confirm. "Of course not, may I ask why your investigating him?" he cringed knowing he had stepped over some invisible line with her, there went his bonus. "No, you can't, but I will pass this information on to my client so they can decide what to do with it, I'm sure they will be 'appreciative.'" She stressed that last word knowing his greedy mind would grasp it. "Thank you" he said relieved. He had to learn to shut his mouth sooner; she had sent him numerous 'clients' that paid very well. She had taken his retirement and these extra's and he was really set for someday when he did actually retire. He couldn't afford to offend her; he had an eye on a condo near the beach. "If you find out anything more or remember anything more, let me know. I don't know what my client wants with him but I am sure if he does what you say he does they might want to know." She planted this in his mind, it would at least cast any doubt on the thought that she, petite little Alice, had anything to do with his death. He smiled delighted "of course." After getting off the phone with him she went to her computer and transferred several thousand dollars to his liquid account. He would make sure his 'friend' in Miami got paid; she didn't have to worry about that. There was a network of contacts around the country, hell around the world that would do things like this for a price. It still didn't settle the problem of rifling through one Richard Haggard's files; she couldn't have anyone else but herself do it since it was about herself! It settled the problem of going to the police department which really hadn't been an option. He had to have an office somewhere. Going back to her trusty computer she couldn't find a listing for an office. Apparently whatever he did as a sideline to supplement his income he kept fairly quiet so as not to affect his retirement from the force. That he used contacts and buddies to help him she had no doubt. She wondered if anyone besides Bev had been used to research her own life and activities. She would worry about that when the time came; she wasn't going to spend time in useless speculation. She decided the only way to find out anything was to go to his home. She had a hard time finding his home, probably a failsafe against anyone he had put away over the years finding him when they got out. She finally found it through archives of retired L.A.P.D; breaking into their database through a third party server so no one could trace it back to her. By the time she found he was divorced (no surprise there) and found his condo on a nice address in Venice it was dark and she gathered a few things to help her on her foray. Dressed in dark but inconspicuous clothing, she wasn't going to wear a black mask and tight jumpsuit; it would be too obvious on her lush form. She instead chose a baggy sweatshirt she could zip up, some sweatpants with pockets, and a hat that she could put her blonde locks into if necessary. If anyone saw her they would assume she was out for a jog and she could pull that one off. She looked at her Porsche in disgust; it was a highly visible vehicle with its expensive paint and style. It was too obvious but she didn't have a second car to drive and there was no time to rent one. She shrugged, she didn't have a choice and if the place was swarming with cops, then she would just drive on by. Marina Del Rey and Venice Beach were neighboring communities and she was quickly there despite L.A. traffic. She drove slowly around the cul-de-sac where he lived realizing there was nowhere for her to park her white Porsche. She found a park a few blocks away and got out to follow the canals back to his address, figuring out the address from the back along the walkway. Fortunately the structure of his house was distinctive. She saw no lights on; no one must live with him. She jogged past it before jogging back as she looked around for anyone who might be watching as she pretended to stretch, it was sufficiently dark that she had no problem slipping into his fenced off yard. She quickly went to a door where she slipped on tight leather gloves from her pocket and slipped on the hat to hide her bright blonde hair, the door was in shadow and she looked around several times for any prying eyes. Who would rob a cop's house anyway? They'd have to be insane! She smiled at the thought as she soon had the lock picked. Putting away her case in a back pocket she pulled out a thin mag light. There was sufficient light from the drapes being open and the street lights to let her move stealthily around the condo and get her bearings. She felt creeped out though and it wasn't because she thought anyone was there. She had felt awful since she had killed Richard, feeling without a doubt that somehow it was a mistake. She found an extra bedroom that he obviously used as an office. She was careful not to shine her flashlight against a window or to attract any attention. The state she saw the office in though gave her pause as she thought someone had been there before her to ransack the place it was so messy. Then she realized that this Richard was a slob and she wondered at the gossip she had heard, if he had been having an affair with a married woman, then it was also possible his other habits weren't too good either. It took a little while, more than she was comfortable with to find a file marked with one word 'Blondie' to find what she was looking for. She glanced inside it once to confirm it was about her and then she tucked it into her shirt across her back, making sure nothing would fall out as she pulled up her sweat pants tightly by their string. She turned on his computer but couldn't figure out his password. She rolled a set of magnets across all access points and the sides of the unit, it was a little noisy and she knew it didn't always work but the magnets might screw up the data on the computer whatever it contained or at least corrupt it. She was nervous about the amount of time she had been here and she quickly headed out of the little office after turning off the computer again. She checked the other rooms, saw a picture of a little boy, must be his son, and another of a woman that made her eyes narrow, it wasn't his ex-wife, that was for sure. She had her arm around another man and Alice realized she knew who this woman was. Starting to get a little jumpy, she had been in the condo too long she headed out, using the same door she had entered in to leave, locking it; she pulled it shut behind her quietly. In the shadow of the condo she removed her hat and gloves, stuffing them in her pockets as she again looked around for anyone. She saw someone way down the walk along the canal but they were far enough away that she felt confident jumping the fence and walking along before them. She walked briskly as though she was exercising doing that odd little walk that speed walkers do. She felt the file slipping into her pants further and worried about something slipping down her pants. She was ever so glad to find her Porsche where she had left it. As she took off her sweat jacket, actually sweating from her exertions, she noticed a red light out of the corner of her eye and looked up to see several police cars heading off down the street towards the cul-de-sac where Richard lived. She waited a moment and removed the file when she was inside the tinted windows of the Porsche. Starting its powerful engine she began to move off slowly, making sure to stay within the posted speed limit. That had been a little too close for comfort. Throwing the file on her own desk she headed to the shower to quickly clean up, stuffing her sweaty clothes in the hamper for wash day. As she was drying off she heard the doorbell and for a second her heart was in her throat. Dismissing the feeling she wrapped a towel around her hair and swung a robe around her naked body as the doorbell rang again, a little more insistently. Annoyed she pulled the door open. "Yes?" she said before she saw who it was. "Jeez, don't you ask who it is before you answer the door?" a cute little blonde stood on her doorstep with a sassy little grin on her face. "I just got back into town and you're already on my doorstep?" Alice answered as she let the blonde into her condo. "Oh, where were you?" the other blonde asked curiously. "Out" Alice returned as she began to unwind the towel from her head and rub her hair dry. She started to walk up the stairs to the bathroom to hang the towel but turned as the other blonde followed her. "Was there something you wanted?" she asked a little coldly halting her in the middle of the steps. Her glance towards her office and the file on her desk was brief. "Can't I come and see my little sister now and then and see how she is doing?" the sassy little grin was back. Alice sighed and shook her head "no, you don't happen to come and see me to see how I'm doing, ever" she stressed the last word. The grin deepened "you know me so well. So where ya been?" she asked returning to the earlier subject. "Miami, the Caymans, a few places" Alice said airily knowing her sister would keep pursuing the subject like a hound dog on a scent. Her tenacity was a little annoying sometimes. "Wow and you didn't think of taking your poor old sister?" the pout was there. Alice looked down from her spot on the second landing to her sister standing on the stairs "you don't look poor, I know for a fact you aren't, and old, well, you're only a few minutes older than me my dear old sister," adding the last part sarcastically. The blonde on the steps looked down at her manicure and shrugged "but I would have enjoyed a trip to the Cayman's, even Miami has its vices" she grinned again at the innuendo...they both had enjoyed the cop show 'Miami Vice' when it had been on years ago. "I went for personal reasons and to get away from things, why would I want my 'old' sister to tag along?" "Meet anyone interesting?" she asked slyly. Hmm, in a moment the thought of Sonja, Bev, and Richard flashed through her mind "interesting?" she considered for a fraction of an instant "no, not really." "That's too bad" her sister returned as she studied the identical face above her own. "Do you mind if I get dressed?" "Do you mind if I help myself" her sister indicated the kitchen "I don't know what's in there, I just got back today" she called as she headed into the bathroom to leave her towel to dry. She hurried up the stairs to her bedroom to change into jeans and a blouse not bothering with underwear and going commando. She was just in time to see her sister walking into her office. "Hey, where you going?" she called as she came down the stairs to the second landing. Her sister turned around to look at her and shrugged; she had an apple in her hand and was chomping on the bite she had just taken. "Thought I'd see what you were working on lately." Alice laughed convincingly "you know I don't keep any details out where people could find them, most of it I keep in my head." She tapped on her blonde head for emphasis. The other blonde shrugged her elegant little shoulders and turned around to head back down the stairs to the living room "why do you still have the drapes closed" she asked as she headed to open them. "Because, like I said, I just got home today. Don't open them" she stopped her from pressing the button that would have opened both sets "its night and I don't want people looking in." "You're such a prude" her sister returned. "You have such a great view and you don't even utilize it." Alice sighed; dealing with her twin sometimes was a pain in the ass. "It's night, they can see right in to the place if the lights are on, I have them open during the day" she explained patiently. She sat down on her couch, pulling her feet up to sit with her legs Indian style on the couch "so what have you been up to?" Her sister sat down across from her taking a small bite of the apple she was holding as she gestured "nothing much, I got bored, so I thought I'd see what you were up to." Alice nearly winced as she watched juice from the apple fly around in the air, she restrained herself but barely. "Yeah, I was bored too so that's why I went out of town, why don't you go somewhere, do something?" she suggested. "Yeah, I probably should" she answered as she took another bite and began to chomp. Alice rolled her eyes at the indelicacy of her sister. "I don't mean to be rude but it has been a long day and I'm kind of tired." Her sister looked at her with a sardonic look in her eye "I've seen you go 36 hours without dropping, why so tired tonight?" Well, I flew in from Miami today, killed a guy, checked out his house; "It's been a little long of a day, you know how a flight can take it out of you" she answered with a yawn for emphasis. Her sister nodded knowingly as she made to get up "we should go shopping tomorrow." Alice got up as well to see her out "yeah, that sounds like a plan, call me and we will set it up." "Beverly Center here we come" her sister smiled showing bits of apple in her pearly white teeth. Alice grinned, her sister while her twin, was absolutely nothing like her. Once the door was closed and locked for the night, Alice watched on a closed circuit television in her office as the nearly identical Porsche to her own drove away from the curb. She picked up the file on her desk. Opening it she realized the first items in it were a set of press releases, the next a series of photos that had her sitting up and pulling a magnifying glass from her desk drawer to look at. There were a few reports too that had her starting to smile and then sit back in anger shaking her head. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day... "So I told the bitch that she needed to upgrade her computer or get a better boyfriend, because one or the other was going down wrong on her and it wasn't good for her either way..." Constance was telling her about a friend as they shopped in an exclusive store. "Clever" Alice grinned at the pun. "She had no idea what hit her" Constance turned to a mannequin and asked Alice "what do you think of that?" "I think if you want to be a be-bopper you would so be in with that" she indicated the youthful display. Constance started to laugh "trust you to get to the heart of it." As they walked away from the teen display to a more 'adult' section of the store. Alice had a good time with her sister, she was decent company, and slowly she led her conversation around to why she had consented to going shopping with her. Not that they didn't do it fairly often, but Alice did have more things to do than shop with her sister. Nothing had been on the news, yet. "So, I heard through the rumor mill about Senator Edwards..." she left off with a grin. Constance's head came up and it almost gave her whiplash "how the hell did you hear about him?" Alice laughed "how do you think?" "Are you having me followed?" Constance asked in alarm. "Of course not!" Alice returned in appropriate chagrin "you know how these things are, word gets around!" Constance shook her head "there is no way this 'got around' how the hell did you find out?" Alice tread carefully she had made a stab in the dark about Senator Edwards, no one but she and a dead guy knew about the file she now had. "Constance, let's just say I'm taking care of business, why don't you tell me your side of things? Hmmm?" Mistaken Malice Constance looked terribly defeated and Alice was surprised, from a guessing game to seeing her sister look alarmed and now down, this was not a good sign. She wanted to get to the bottom of things before they got any messier than they had. Killing a cop, even an ex-cop was not her style, even if he had deserved it, but had he? Constance sighed deeply and led Alice over to a bench and looked around carefully to see if anyone was nearby and could be hearing what she had to share with her sister. "I met Ken at one of those high faluting parties where they invite anyone with money. He assumed I had a lot and then I realized he thought I was you, you know many people still make that mistake?" Alice nodded, anyone who saw them side by side would see the differences but if they hadn't met them really or didn't know them well they could still assume one was the other. "I didn't correct him; after all he was calling me Ms. Weaver which is still legally my name..." "Oh this month?" Alice couldn't help but put in and then smirked at the look her sister gave her. "It's not my fault I can't find a man that can keep up with me" Constance whined mockingly. Alice laughed "yeah, those sixty something year olds and older are a little hard on the ticker when it comes to long lasting love." Constance laughed "it's a gift" she said sardonically. "Ok, back to your point...you met Ken..." she prodded. "Yeah, he was like oh Mr. Charming and on and on. Since wifey was there I figured what the hell, she must know the score, she's that Senator too, you know the big news, Mr. and Mrs. Senator?" Alice nodded, she knew more about this than Constance knew and wouldn't let on, she wanted details though, why had she had to kill this cop? "Well that all started things, one thing led to another and I thought I'd try something other than the geriatric generation." That was what this was all about? An affair? Shyte, shyte, shyte, why couldn't her sister stay playing in the pool, one not owned by Mrs. Senator? Alice wasn't pleased, it made sense now. Mrs. Charming had set the ex-cop on her because she thought that Alice was Constance! She smiled sweetly "what happened?" "Well, he wasn't great in the sheets if you know what I mean, hell a few of the men of the geriatric set could have taught him a thing or two..." she went to go on but Alice was getting impatient and held up her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know" she was bored with hearing about good old fashioned hetero sex from her sister. "Mr. Charming was a dud, but what happened?" "Well, I think wifey caught on because he started acting a little weird, I don't know, but we haven't seen much of each other lately" she sighed dramatically "and his gifts haven't been quite as stunning as they were at first." Alice looked at her sister and her eyes narrowed slightly, selling yourself for gifts that you could sell later was a form of prostitution that she just wouldn't lower herself to. "You know, you have enough money that you don't need those 'gifts'" she told her, she knew how much money her sister had, she invested it for her! "Oh, I don't do that anymore, but they should show their appreciation now and then shouldn't they?" she said airily. Alice knew her sister wasn't the bubble headed bleach blonde that people stereotyped out here in Southern California. She was crafty, she was intelligent, she could do anything she put her mind to, but when she talked like this, like she deserved gifts from her gentlemen callers it really drove Alice crazy. "What planet are you from? They don't have to give you anything but their time, besides don't you feel like their whore if they pay you for their affections?" "That's mean Alice!" she said with a whine "I don't get paid for going out with them, if they want to give me a gift now and then that's our business." Alice mentally rolled her eyes and sighed, there was no convincing her sister that she wasn't entitled to these gifts; they had had this conversation many times before. "So, when am I going to meet this Mr. Charming?" she asked to change the subject. "Meet him?" her sister faltered, Alice rarely met her boyfriends, only her husbands and not always then... Alice shrugged as though she didn't care one way or the other "well, if he's becoming laggard in his affections and he met both of us, you know how men think..." she let the innuendo hang out there. Constance grasped it immediately. Many men over the years when they found out she was a twin had asked to meet Alice thinking that if one twin was fun, two would be fantastic, they made assumptions that were never proven. Alice and she were as different as night as day, she for instance liked the company of men. Rich, old, and generous men.... "Well, there is a fundraiser I'm invited to on Friday if you'd like to go with me" she told her sister. Alice smiled "maybe we should shop for something to wear...." Alice did her homework. Senator Ken Edwards and his wife Senator Cecilia Edwards were national news. The fact that they were both senators and had a successful marriage too made for interesting news, calling him Mr. Charming wasn't so far beyond what he was, he oozed charm and his wife and he looked like a beautiful couple. Alice knew that looks could be deceiving. Theirs was a marriage made in Washington, not heaven. It was all for political gain and power. That power meant a lot of money and they both worshipped at the Federal Reserve. The more she looked into them the more she realized that Mrs. Charming must have thought that Alice was Constance and that she needed investigating, that was why the ex-cop was on her tail. She wondered why his death hadn't made the papers yet and then thought perhaps that Mr. and Mrs. Charming Senators might have something to do with it. Perhaps Mrs. Edwards wasn't so pure and charming; maybe she had been bopping with the cop...she thought about the picture she has seen of Cecilia Edwards with Richard Haggard, that certainly wasn't a 'fan' shot. As she dressed for the fundraiser she looked at her invitation that Constance had managed to obtain for her. It was embossed and expensive looking. They would save a hell of a lot of money if they didn't print to impress. Her phone rang. "Hello?" she said seeing that her sister was calling. "Do you want to go in one car or two?" Constance asked. "Let's take two, that way, if either of us gets lucky, the other isn't trapped" she joked, but it was a double edged joke. Lucky could have a myriad of meanings. Constance laughed delightedly "okay, but let's enter together, sound cool?" she sounded so high school, excited at the prospect of them looking similar. Their dresses that they had found in the high end boutique were very similar but not identical. Alice wouldn't allow that, she found it so...gay. "I'm leaving in 15, where do you want to meet" Alice told her. They made arrangements to meet on a corner that had a gas station before driving up to the Beverly Hills Hotel where the banquet was being held. Alice followed Constance's Porsche under the portico and the valet's ran out to take their keys. Alice smiled as she saw the confusion on the two men's faces as nearly identical blondes got out of nearly identical Porsche's. Constance looked over at Alice and smiled delightedly, she had been the one all through school who loved trying to trick people with their nearly identical looks. Alice's pale brown eyes, almost yellow were fastened on Ken Edwards and his wife Cecilia when they were announced. She saw the widening of their eyes as the two nearly identical women made their way into the banquet. Already waiters were walking about seeing to the guest's needs, serving dinners and drinks. Alice and Constance made their way to the area where the Senators were holding court. "Well hello Ms. Weaver" Ken Edwards greeted them unsure which one was which and his puzzled look held a little lust that both women recognized, one with anticipation and one with disgust. Constance took the lead "Mr. Edwards, Mrs. Edwards, I would like to introduce my sister Alice to you." She smiled at the startled looks of both of them; they had thought they had already met Alice Weaver. "And this" Alice's voice held a sarcastic note "is my sister Constance whom I believe you have already met?" She noted that both Senators were startled but something about the way that Cecilia's expression altered held her attention a moment longer. The lust she could see in Ken Edwards's eyes told its own story. "Well, well, well, this is a surprise" Ken said charmingly "I had no idea there were two such lovely women in the Weaver family" he looked at Constance, realizing that he had charmed and he thought seduced the wrong sister. "Yes" piped up Cecilia Edwards "this is a surprise, how wonderful for you two, twins!" as if they didn't realize it "you must have had great fun fooling people when you were growing up." "Not really" the two sisters said at the exact same time, exchanged nearly identical looks, and then started laughing. The other people with them joined in on the laughter. Alice and Constance found themselves seated at a table not that far from the dais where the two Senators were holding court, everyone was now sitting and eating before the speeches would begin. Alice would have given her eye teeth to hear what the Senators were whispering about, it seemed a heated exchange. "Do you think she's angry with him?" Constance asked with amusement. Alice looked back at her sister as she took a sip of her rather excellent wine "yes, I think she is, but she hides it well." "You didn't realize there were two of them?" Cecilia was whispering to Ken. He smiled so no one would realize they were arguing, it was an art form you learned in Washington or you soon lost out when your enemies realized your weaknesses. "How the hell was I to know that there were two of them? She was introduced as Ms. Weaver. Naturally I thought it was the one with all the money and power!" "You fool" she hissed with a smile as she took a bite to eat. "You could have made the same mistake" he whispered back. She shook her head and ignored him as the man on her right made some comment and she concentrated on her conversation with him. During the course of the evening Alice silently studied the Senator's and those around them. It gave her an insight to what kind of people they were. After the long and boring speeches and polite applause everyone mingled. A band had been brought in and some couples were dancing. Constance had found an acquaintance and was chatting animatedly. Alice slowly made her way around the room observing people. She was observed as well. Cecilia Edwards was watching her covertly. Surreptitiously since every move that the senators made was watched by all, she couldn't help but wonder which sister was which as she watched one sitting and chatting and one move about the room. Something about the one walking around the room drew her attention though, it was like a feline the way she walked, it was attractive as she was attractive, but it was also xyz. Cecilia was talking with several of her constituents when she realized that one the twins had joined the small group. After she was done making her point, rather brilliantly she thought too, she turned to the blonde and asked pointedly "wouldn't you agree Ms. Weaver?" Alice looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then said "no, I wouldn't" and left it hang there in the air. Several of the group gasped at her audacity in disagreeing with the senator. Senator Edwards waited for her to continue, to explain herself and instead Alice waited and observed. Several of the group exchanged looks, from alarm to amusement. No one disagreed with a senator after all. The waiting seemed to stretch out over a long period of time. Finally Cecilia could wait no longer without looking like a total fool, something she suspected that the blonde had intended. "Well then Ms. Weaver, what would you do instead?" Alice waited a count of three seconds before looking the senator in the eye with a challenge and stated "I would make a mandatory test for ALL teachers that they had to take every year that would show that they knew not only the subjects they were teaching, but the level they were teaching at and if they failed it their license would be revoked. It is not the schools fault that they have inadequate teachers or the children's fault that they are not receiving the level of education they should be. It's up to the parents to fill in the gaps, not regulating it to death. One hundred and fifty years ago a teacher had to sit for exams each and every year to get their teaching certificate to prove they were able to teach, sometimes the old ways are the best." Cecilia was astounded. Not only had Ms. Weaver totally made her point moot but she had put in about the testing in a manner in which was actually a good idea. Angry at first but unable to show it she looked at Alice. Alice never turned a hair, she could see in the Senator's eyes that she was angry and then was amazed as they changed. "That is a rather excellent point actually. We must look into that further" Cecilia conceded. The group was rather amazed as well, Senator Edwards was well known for her beliefs and rarely if ever backed down, to hear her concede on any point was unheard of. "Do you follow politics Ms. Weaver?" One of the men asked candidly. Alice turned and smiled briefly "no, not really, however my sister has become interested recently and I thought I should see what all the hoopla was about." "Ah yes, your sister has been to many of these functions" another man noted. Alice saw out of the corner of her eye that Cecilia realized which sister she really was. "Aren't you the Weaver who invests?" someone else asked. Alice nodded, "yes, I handle a few private investments, family investments, but mostly I handle my own." "Make quite a bit there I've heard" he tried to be a little friendlier. Alice looked at him coolly "I hold my own" and she knew the double entendre was lost on him. The conversation fortunately turned to other investments and the others didn't notice that Alice didn't contribute but then neither did the Senator. Alice watched her covertly and realized that the woman not only was interested because Alice had money that the woman would dearly like her to donate to her or her husband's joint campaigns but there was more than that kind of interest in her face, Alice could read a lot more than casual interest, this surprised her but she was certain that no one else noticed it. Alice went to several fundraisers for the Senators. She was certain that Constance was only seeing Ken Edwards occasionally, he must be keeping her because he enjoyed the attention and the beautiful body, she certainly wasn't contributing anything other than a $5000 a plate presence otherwise, she didn't know anything about politics, or care. Alice though was intrigued. Not by their politics which she couldn't have cared less about. It afforded her several opportunities to observe the Ken and Barbie couple. The Senators, both from California but from different and distinct districts ran their campaigns in a way that allowed their supporters to rally together and create a bigger presence and the money poured in. Everyone loved the idea of the two, the beautiful couple in Washington taking care of business for them. Alice was positive they did nothing but for themselves. It disgusted her to see them rake in the monies that people were convinced would help them get re-elected and ensure that their policies would be carried out. It also afforded Alice the opportunity to get to know Cecilia Edwards better. She was an intriguing woman, brilliant, and if she hadn't strayed into politics she would have been endlessly fascinating to Alice, instead she began to bore her. Just when Alice thought there was nothing there, that the woman couldn't have covered up the death of the cop and shrugged it off the woman took a decided interest in one Ms. Alice Weaver and began inviting her to the more private 'ladies' only luncheons. When this graduated to a more private and intimate gathering between only three or four of her most 'valuable' constituents Alice began to be intrigued at the manipulations of the woman. No one thought it odd when she was invited to a private lunch with the woman to discuss things, after all, she had become part of the senator's inner circle, or at least that was what some might think. "Alice, so lovely to see you" she was greeted informally by Cecilia Edwards. "Senator..." Alice began. The other woman interrupted "please, when we are alone call me Cecilia." "Cecilia then" Alice agreed and was led to a tea set that sat between two couches. When she went to sit across from the senator she was surprised when Cecilia joined her on the same one. Her antennae went up. "Would you like tea or coffee" Cecilia offered from the beautiful set before them. They chatted idly for a while before dinner was announced. Sitting at the end Cecilia was every inch the lady of the manor and enjoyed chatting with Alice about countless topics. It showed her Stanford education very well how much she knew and her various interests. Alice was enjoying herself immensely; her new 'friend' seemed to make things cozy and intimate. The servants cleared the table and they sat sipping wine in front of the fireplace as they chatted before Cecilia finally turned the conversation to her ultimate goal. As Alice had been waiting for weeks for this subject to come up she wasn't surprised. "Alice, I feel you and I have become the best of friends, I hope I can confide in you?" she said with the right amount of almost hesitant embarrassment. Alice wasn't fooled, she had studied this woman for weeks, she knew that the woman was calculating and would use every advantage but she played along "of course you can" she assured the woman. "I hate to bring it up but..." she shyly looked down as though it were painful to bring up "I can't see this happening anymore, I don't want Ken to lose his career." "Ken?" Alice asked convincingly as though she didn't know what was coming. "Yes, you see he and your sister Constance..." she looked properly embarrassed, as though she shouldn't know about this. "You mean their having an affair?" Alice gasped in outrage. Cecilia looked up to study the blonde and convinced at her innocence she nodded in agreement waiting to watch her reactions. "Oh my god, I had no idea!" Alice was a better actress than this Senator. "I'll speak to her immediately!" she said in her chagrin. "Wait..." here Cecilia was hesitant, it was hard to tell if it was genuine or not "I just don't want it made public, he would never recover, neither would I." "Oh, I'll make sure it's discrete" she answered in mock outrage. Cecilia leaned over to put her hand over Alice's "thank you but that's not all" her eyes flicked up for a moment to meet Alice's as she held her hand, "perhaps you could emphasize to her to keep it quiet, I actually don't mind their involvement as long as it doesn't become public, it's just that..." here she looked down at their hands in mock innocence "I can see why he might be attracted to her, as different as you two are, you are both attractive women." Alice smiled inside, she had known, seen the attraction weeks ago, it had just been a matter of making herself available, contributing to those countless boring dinners, willing to put herself out there for her to reel the woman in. She was endlessly patient if anything. Instead she looked at the other woman calmly and lifted her chin to look deeply into her eyes as she leaned in for their first shared kiss. At first Cecilia didn't respond and then quickly she expertly helped herself to Alice's lips. Mistaken Malice Alice was surprised at first and then delighted at how wonderfully the Senator could kiss. She soon realized that the woman was no innocent in the matter of kissing another woman. She hadn't learned this at the hands of Ken Edwards. Slowly, her own expertise taking her time as she began to pull the woman closer she used her hands to caress along her shoulders and pull her into the kisses she was sharing with the woman, her tongue caressing her lips, playing with each other's tongues, tasting each other, getting to KNOW one another as they breathed in their own unique essences. Cecilia was thrilled, she hadn't had a woman since her days in college, and she had to be so very careful with whom she got involved with. Richard's investigation had revealed that Alice Weaver was a lesbian, a very discrete one but a rich and powerful one nonetheless. Cecilia, while she despised Constance had found herself drawn to the money and power that Alice held and didn't wield. She wondered if she could get Alice to use her money for her own gain. She knew the value of using her body to get what she wanted; she had done it to get Ken Edwards years ago. She used her mind and her favors in the Senate all the time for her constituents. No one and nothing was sacred. Right now though she was going to enjoy this little blonde, perhaps later she could convince her to use her money to the right projects. Quickly, a lot more quickly than either realized they were both heated and excited from the one kiss that had turned into many. Hands roaming shamelessly, both wanted more, a lot more. Finally Cecilia said breathlessly "come with me" and pulled Alice's hand off her breast and took it to pull her towards a mantel piece that she turned aside. A narrow steep staircase went up behind the fireplace and Alice assumed to a discretely appropriate bedroom. She followed bemusedly wondering where this all would lead her. Cecilia Edwards was a lioness in the bedroom. Once they were alone and the secret doors closed behind them she turned to Alice and basically attacked her and her lush form. Alice didn't mind in the least as she let the less experienced woman have her way. She was pushed down on a large bed with a canopy over the mattress that she didn't get a chance to examine as Cecilia pounced on her. Rolling in the sheets Alice gave herself to enjoying the woman's body and teaching her more about it. They were both quickly naked and enjoying the feel of naked skin against naked skin. Alice kissed her way down the other woman's neck and licked her way across her chest to her erect nipples. For a woman of her years they were amazingly pert and Alice briefly wondered if they were even real. She didn't care as she licked and gently sucked at them as her fingers strayed down to the shaved V of the other woman's legs. Cecilia parted them instantly to allow Alice access to her charms. Alice was delighted to find how wet the woman was for her, a moan was torn from her lips as she first touched her erect clit. Slowly Alice kissed her way down to her belly button as her fingers spread the woman's nether lips and began playing with her wetness, first one and then a second finger slipping inside. By the time Alice's tongue and lips made their way to Cecilia's erect clit her fingers had set up a rhythm that had the woman moaning and groaning and her hands deep in Alice's hair encouraging her. Her hands slipped to Alice's shoulders where her finger tips squeezed and pulsated in rhythm with what Alice was creating. Sucking and plunging she 'accidentally' hit the woman's G spot every other thrust and rapidly drove Cecilia Edwards over the edge. As she came unashamedly she turned her face into a pillow and screamed her orgasm to the heavens, Alice held the woman with her mouth on her clit and her fingers plunging unashamedly inside. She didn't stop either until she wrung all the wetness she could from the woman. The bedspread had a large wet spot on it before Alice would consent to stopping. She herself was so aroused that she turned around and thrust her own wet crotch on the woman's face below her. At first Cecilia was surprised at this turn of events but she hesitantly began licking at Alice's dripping crotch finding a rhythm that pleased them both. Alice was soon grinding down on her face hard as she kept playing between Cecilia's legs, their cries and grunts blending beautifully as they played to each other's mutual satisfaction. Soon, not soon enough for Cecilia who was tiring rapidly from their exertions, Alice felt the familiar tingling that signaled an orgasm building. She ground down shamelessly on the less experienced woman as she took her pleasure from her novice licking and sucking. As she finally released her pleasure all over the woman's face she felt immense satisfaction over the control she had of her own body, ejaculating on the woman when she least expected it. She rolled to the side. Cecilia Edwards lay there in stunned satisfaction. Never in all her years had she expected to feel so sexually satisfied by an encounter with a woman. She knew she hadn't from a man. Even in college her lovers hadn't given her the feeling that Alice had just given her, she felt so, so USED, and yet so fulfilled, for Alice had given her several orgasms before she herself had taken her own satisfaction. She had heard of female ejaculation but never seen it and certainly never experienced it. The surprise of it, the humiliation of having her face splattered with what she first thought was urine and then realized it was nothing like pee, to realize what exactly had happened filled her with amazed delight. Slowly she licked what she could reach from her face, bringing her hand to her face to wipe it before licking that off as well with relish. Alice had turned to watch her and was amazed at her actions and delighted that she cleaned up so well. She turned around and shared a deep and intimate kiss with the Senator before holding her as they both continued to calm down and think about what both had just experienced. Cecilia was the first to make a move "we have to clean up" she said hesitantly, reluctantly. Alice nodded wondering what she had in mind. Her makeup was ruined by their lovemaking. Cecilia rolled off the opposite side of the bed and held out her hand and said "come on." Alice followed to find a fully stocked bathroom. Cosmetics of various kinds were available and they could have showered and changed into the outfits hanging in a closet if they had wanted. Both washed up with washcloths and repaired their makeup and hair before donning the clothes they had been wearing. Back down the secret staircase they were back in the living room when a discrete knock on the door signaled a servant to bring them coffee and cookies as they pretended to be talking. Alice wasn't surprised at the secret room as she realized Ken must have used it many times as well. She was surprised to find that Cecilia wanted to use it frequently. The four of them went out on Alice's boat several times and none of them were indiscrete. The press were put off that there was no impropriety between the Senators and their new friends. Sometimes others were with them on their outings and other times the 'friends' were invited to dinner alone. No one thought anything of the intense friendship between the two Weaver sisters and the Senators. Alice liked how much access she had to the Senator's home. A couple of times Cecilia was late to their dinners and it allowed her to rifle through papers and personal items and learn more about the two of them. It was months before she found anything of interest and by then Cecilia was totally enamored of her, certain that Alice felt the same and would remain discrete. Alice had gone up to their secret bedroom alone one night to wait for Cecilia while she stayed on the phone to someone. She had been in Washington the previous weeks and the two of them had looked forward to screwing each other's brains out after weeks apart. Alice had brought along a really fine California wine for their evening and now she waited for Cecilia. She wasn't of course still as she waited. She had seen the room many times; they had made love in it frequently over the months she had known the senators. She was certain Constance had been a frequent visitor as well if the 'gifts' she had received were any indication. She examined the expensive and tasteful décor and that was when she realized the discretely placed camera's placed around the room, drilled into the walls, and hidden behind the mirrors. She didn't make any indication that she recognized that they were there of course but she took a mental count as she went around the room looking at things and waiting for Cecilia. That night well after she had left the Senator's mansion she thought over what she had seen and realized. Not only could the Senator's blackmail people, but the Senator's themselves could be very vulnerable if their camera's and the film footage were revealed to the public. She wondered at the angle they used their film for in this technological age of digital footage, their faces could be obscured very easily from the film. It could be very embarrassing for anyone caught in that vulnerable a position. She wondered how much footage they had of her and her sister. She decided she had to find out. Knowing the layout of the mansion helped. The servants were incredibly discrete and also incredibly lax whenever the Senators were out of town on 'official' business. Sometimes Alice had to wonder what the public would think of their tax dollars and contributions dollars at work if they only knew how much of it was wasted on wine, women, and vacations. All legal of course but wasted nonetheless. She waited for a time she knew that both Senators would be in Washington for a period of time before she made her move. Nothing in her manner or actions to Cecilia in the previous weeks would have indicated that anything was out of the ordinary so she knew that no one would be suspicious of her. She prepared carefully as she always did in all her actions. Her black sweat suit and its pockets carried everything she needed to get into the mansion. She let herself over the wall and knew from her walks with Cecilia where the security guards were as well as any monitors or laser beams as she made her way to the living room and the secret staircase. Soon she was in the room and using her lock picking tools had the locked door open in record time. She made her way to the nearest room next to this one and even she had to admit the video recording equipment was impressive. She took her time examining what was on their computers and the disks she found, many that ended up in her bag. She also erased that evening's record of her coming through the bedroom before resetting the equipment to start recording in fifteen minutes after she had left. She realized there must be motion sensors in the room to set off and begin recording when one of their victims entered the room. As she was getting set to leave she realized there was one more disk she hadn't viewed and she popped it into their computer and as she viewed the image she stiffened in shock. As she viewed it, it went on for quite a while and she realized it was one of Ken Edwards and her sister Constance, as it came to the end of their encounter she quickly suppressed her anger as she played the ending over and over again. Her fifteen minute window of time came and went as she watched this disk. She suddenly realized she had been in the video room much longer than she had intended. She heard the guards outside the room and froze as she stuffed this last disk in her pocket. The rest in the bag she had brought could be lost but not this last important disk. She listened carefully for them to go by and realized they must not check this particular room or the one next to it as they checked others. She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked around the room a final time and knew she had been thorough. She had erased all of the data on the computer but this was the only destruction she had wrought although she had been tempted to destroy it all. She had all their evidence and she reset the equipment for her fifteen minute window as she returned to the 'tryst' room as she was now thinking it. All the combs and other items in the bathroom that would carry her or her sisters DNA went into her bag before she used a spritz bottle carrying a chemical that would destroy further evidence and she thoroughly wet down every square inch of the bathroom and bedroom. She barely made it out of the bedroom before the motion sensors would begin recording again. She nearly got caught by security as she realized she was in the mansion much longer than she had intended and the shift had changed. As it was she heard "hey, you, wait there" before she pulled herself over a wall and sprinted away to where the unobtrusive car she had rented waited and rolled down the hill without lights before she started it and drove away. Her heart was beating hard as she made her way back to where she had rented the car pulling off her more obvious 'night' clothes from the sweat jacket and wriggled into something appropriate as she returned the car with a smile, glad that their night drop meant they really didn't 'see' who she was. Her cash had assured there was no real record of Alice Weaver renting the car which was why she had chosen this particular rental place. Her Porsche was parked down the street and she got in wondering how many cameras had actually captured her today. She didn't worry about it, there was no way they could tie her into the theft from the mansion. When she was home she rapidly changed completely and threw the sweat suit into the washer after cleaning out her pockets holding the last disk thoughtfully. Making her way to her office she left it on the desk and made a phone call, no answer. She made another one, still no answer. Thoughtfully she made her way into her bathroom and showered as she thought methodically about what she might need to do under the shower's soothing spray. She carefully made herself up and changed into comfortable and casual clothing as she thought more about what she might need to do. She was coldly and furiously angry and as she watched the disk one last time she placed all of the ones from her bag and this particular one carefully in her safe, locking it with an angry twist as she set the traps and the alarm on it. She stared at it for moment before making her decisions. Getting back into her Porsche she tried reaching Constance on her cell phone again, calling first Constance's cell and then her house phone, no answer on either. She wondered how many days had passed from what she saw on the disk and what she would find at Constance's place had passed. She hadn't heard from her in a couple of days but that wasn't out of the ordinary, they weren't tied at the hip like other sisters, but she was STILL her sister! As she made her way into the exclusive community that Constance lived in they waved her by the guard shack but then they probably assumed she was Constance with the nearly identical looks and the nearly identical Porsche. Using her key she let herself into the mini-mansion that was made to look like a Renaissance home, something that could and would be found in Paris and remembered with a wry grin how annoyed Constance was that she, Alice had a key to her place but that Constance didn't have one to hers. She looked around the place and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ultra-modern and ultra-expensive furnishings still tastefully took up the décor of the place. For some reason these didn't annoy Alice like they usually did. She actually didn't notice them as she made her way through the house. She went almost directly to the bedroom where she saw what she pretty much thought she would. There lay Constance in an unnatural position, her face black from having been dead for several days. Alice was not surprised but she went through the motions of touching her sisters corpse, touching her neck for a pulse that she knew would not be there and shaking the body for 'effect' before reaching for the house phone and dialing 911. "911 Emergency, what's your Emergency" a cold dispassionate voice came over the line. In an appropriately upset voice Alice responded "my sister" she sobbed for effect "she's dead, I just found her..." she subsided into tears, some of them actually real. "Ma'am did you say your sister is dead?" the dispassionate voice repeated back to her with no emotion. Alice didn't answer. She let the phone fall. She knew her not answering; the dead but open line would achieve the same results as anything she could say. She stared at her sister's dead body for a moment as she began to thoroughly look around the bedroom. Nothing seemed disturbed and she realized her sister had been unceremoniously thrown on the bed. Whoever it had been had delivered the corpse and nothing more. She waited for what seemed an eternity before she heard the sirens and a banging on the front door. She went and let the police in. "She's in there" she gestured towards the bedroom appropriately and convincingly despondent. What greeted the officers had both of them swallowing hard to keep their dinner's down and to keep from despoiling the crime scene. What had once been a beautiful woman was now black and actually smelling; she had been dead several days. The unnatural angle of her head and neck indicated how she had died but they couldn't be certain until they investigated. One of them turned to question the sister. What he saw was obviously an identical twin to the victim and in shock. She stood there holding herself and it was apparent she had been crying. "Ma'am, may I speak with you?" he offered gently. She looked up at him with a hollow eyed look and nodded and went into the immaculate living room and sat down. "Could you tell me who you are and what you found?" Alice already had it all rehearsed in her head but in no way could he tell that as she told him that she hadn't heard from her sister in a few days and something had compelled her to call her repeatedly tonight and when she didn't answer to come over. Alice knew when they ran the phone records of both her sisters' cell and house phone they would see her calls anyway so it was certainly believable. She also knew that calls to the Senator would come up and there would be questions asked. She hoped their alibies would be just as foolproof. She didn't care what the police found, she Alice would take care of the results, not them. The police took her statement and she had to repeat it to another investigator when he got there. Alice knew it was a way to see if she was lying or there were any holes in her statement. She also knew she was a lot smarter than either of the cops she spoke to and they wouldn't tie her into any of this. Her sister Constance Weaver had been killed several days ago and NOT in her mansion. From the look on her face underneath the rigormortus Alice knew that she had died unpleasantly. From what she knew and the police didn't, she also knew that she would have to plan carefully in the coming days, weeks, and possibly months. Alice didn't move from the couch until late the next morning when they took her sister out in a body bag on a stretcher. By then she knew her sister would be the morning news. She saw quite a crowd outside with all the police cars, the ambulance, and the coroner's van. She was surprised that with all the exclusivity of the community that the local television stations had been allowed in, but then not really, cash greased a lol of palms. She had used her time to think about her next actions beyond the funeral she must plan. Her sister and she while not really close had been sisters and her death would be avenged, especially as she alone knew how her sister had died and who had done it.