Another of my short stories. I am rewriting for my editor, another story for my second Tommy Two Shoes mysteries. I will share this instead of writing an entry for my blog.

Matchless Grace

Grace decided to create a matchmaking business for the sole purpose of finding men for herself. The interviews for women were short and much less intense than the questions for the men. The men answered an impressively long list of probing and intimate details. Most of what she gathered was for her own use.

She created a profile for each applicant as well as one of her own. Her intuitive skills worked quite well. Many of her subscribers were dating exclusively or already wed. It wasn’t the best of the applicants she kept, but men who were desperately lonely and alone. She sought men who were small cogs, men who would be scarcely missed when they disappeared. Not overly impressed with their looks or prestige; she was decidedly not finicky. She took her time and chose her men with extreme care.

Grace could have created a thriving business with her intuitive matchmaking, but she ignored it, concentrating on her own desires.

She found new applications in her site’s email and began to rifle through them. One application caught her attention. She was attracted by the stats of Alex Walters. He was 34, a writer, his parents deceased, and no close relatives. Few other items mattered. After running a background check and finding no arrests and no outstanding bills, she was satisfied with her selection. His address was located in a moderately high scale building.

Immediately she began to memorize his likes and dislikes before sending him a “like” message. He accepted and soon began to date. At their first meeting, something was vaguely familiar, but she thrust it aside. Three dates later, she enticed him to visit her home. She slowly enticed him to come into her bedroom. He was shy and reluctant, but she finally convinced him.

Inside her boudoir, things changed and he became aggressive. She was willing to follow his lead, as long as it allowed her to gain access to his assets.

After she was firmly bound, hands and feet, Alex said, “I had a twin brother, Alan.”

It clicked. She remembered Alan. He was her first victim.

“We were separated at birth and had just found each other when he disappeared. I decided to find out what happened to him.” After removing a Tazer from his jacket pocket, he leaned over Grace and smiled.