The killer's first step when she landed in Tokyo was, of course, to hide the parachute. But the most pressing need was the need to change her appearance. She needed to alter herself enough to make it more difficult for Lassiter and his pets to recognize her. The supposed psychic was the biggest stumbling block she'd encountered so far. Somehow, he was bringing Lassiter too close to catching her. She intended to stop him.
She knew that leaving the plane early had bought her some time, but the clock was still ticking. She had about two days left until her meeting with Lassiter at the Ryokan Hiei; until then, she would need to keep a low profile.
Which was why, when she arrived at the place she considered her "safe house," she trimmed off six inches of long, luxurious brown hair with a pair of pinking shears before grabbing a bottle of peroxide and hot pink dye. Her cropped hair now fell to her shoulders instead of down her back, and bright streaks highlighted the dark brown. Wearing her hair loose instead of tied back would also help in changing the look. Ditching her thick-soled boots and replacing them with flats knocked an inch and a half off her height, and swapping her sweatpants and t-shirts with something more form-fitting slimmed her down. Aurora had made herself ready for the psychic with yet another layer of camouflage.
Of course, none of that would help if he'd seen her face. But she had to take a chance and assume that he hadn't. Even if he had, what difference would it make? The odds of Lassiter and his pet psychic discovering her in a massive city like Tokyo were astronomical. No, the killer had no fear, not anymore. All she needed was to wait and bide her time until her prey's time was up.
Rebecca Williams went into Chief Vick's office for the sixth time that day, carrying the Chief's tenth cup of coffee. For the sixth time, she caught the Chief sleeping at her desk and shook her shoulder to wake her.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," Chief Vick said after a few quick slurps of caffeine-enhanced liquid. "This has never happened to me before."
"Maybe you should see a doctor," Rebecca said.
"Maybe I should. But I just don't know. When will I find the time?"
"You can't do much of anything like this. It would be better for you to take some time off than to stay in here miserable and still not get any work done. Wouldn't it?"
"That's true." The Chief sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "But I get plenty of work done at night. It's like I've suddenly become nocturnal!"
"I've never heard of that happening before." Rebecca bit her lip, thinking. "Are you sure that it's not just your internal clock being off?"
"I had no problems at all until a week or so ago. It started all of a sudden. The change was abrupt. That's not an internal clock issue." Chief Vick sighed. "But I don't know what else it could be. I already had Dr. Strode test me for drugs."
"If Woody didn't find anything amiss, then it can't be anything too serious. Can it?"
"No. But it is a mystery."
Rebecca didn't know what else to say to her newly narcoleptic boss, so she stammered out an excuse to leave the office and get back to work. The Chief attempted to get some work done herself, but halfway through reviewing a case, she noticed something that made her drop the Manila folder flat on the table and gasp in shock and horror.
Stumbling over her desk chair to reach the door, she peeked out and waved Rebecca over.
"Come in here, quick!" The Chief whispered.
Rebecca nodded and stepped into the office and the Chief closed the door behind her.
"Why are we whispering?" Rebecca asked, watching with a frown as Chief Vick closed up the blind on the the only window the Chief had left open that day.
"Because of this," the Chief replied, and held her left arm up for Rebecca to see.
Rebecca couldn't help but stare at the thin, narrow strip of orange and black fur streaking down the Chief's left wrist. "Is that real fur?"
Chief Vick, in a voice that betrayed more of her fear than she would have liked, replied, "Yes, Ms. Williams. Yes, it is."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Used a jump cut in this chapter. I'm not used to using jump cuts in the middle of chapters, so I'm not sure about the etiquette. I just left a big space between the two sections. Is that clear enough, or would you like me to add in a line of asterisks or something next time? Thanks for the help!
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