SMOLDER

The odor in the air was distinct. Sweet, almost cloying, with undertones of decay, burnt hair and flesh, and gasoline.

Kelsie leaned over cautiously, stretching her hand over the smoldering pile behind a large rock, and felt the heat rising, cradling her palm.

Horrified, she fumbled to pull out her phone. Who knew that her daily morning walk, a routine she had developed in a desperate attempt to get rid of the dreaded belly pooch, would end in her finding a body?

A burned body, at that.

Almost entranced by the gore, her hands froze reaching into the pocket of her workout leggings. The body was pretty badly singed at the front, but she could see long, dirty blonde hair. The arms were pulled to 45 degree angles, like a boxer in the ring, and on the middle finger of the left hand was a magnificent large diamond ring, virtually untouched by the flames.

As she looked further, she saw that, close enough to the body to identify that it belonged to her - she was sure the victim was a woman at this point - but far enough away to be undamaged was a black bag. Curiosity quickly overcame her common sense and, after looking quickly to make sure she was alone, Kelsie knelt down and unzipped it.

Almost instantly, she was overcome with the smell of gasoline. The culprit, she quickly found, was a disposable water bottle with a dribble of gas still inside. Next, she pulled out a prescription pill bottle, half empty, with the label ripped off. Lastly, tucked away in an inner compartment in the bag she found a small black notebook, a shiny black gun, and, to her shock, several stacks of cash, still wrapped in bands.

A quick mental calculation revealed it was $20,000.

Kelsie had never seen that kind of money in her life. This was the kind of money that could change everything for her.

She sat on the ground for several minutes, turning the stacks of cash over in her hands, smelling them, imagining how this money could change her life for the better. At the same time, Kelsie had always imagined herself to be an ethical person, the kind of person who would turn in $20,000 cash to the authorities and wouldn’t think twice about doing so.

But here she was, thinking twice.

After a few minutes, she decided to get a second opinion. She decided to talk to Miranda. Miranda would know what to do.

Realizing that her fingerprints and DNA were all over the items she had touched, she put everything back into the black bag, then slung it over her shoulder. She turned to head home, leaving the woman’s body behind.

Kelsie almost ran back home. She burst through the door, covered in sweat and breathing heavily, to find her long-term girlfriend, Miranda, on the couch, drinking a coffee with her legs tucked elegantly beneath her, reading the local paper.

Where Kelsie was short and thick, with hazel eyes and cropped black hair, Miranda was tall and willowy, with skin that looked sunkist year round, wavy chestnut brown hair and soft brown eyes.

Breathless and rambling, Kelsie quickly recounted the insane events of her morning walk to an incredulous Miranda. Incredulous, that is, until Kelsie pulled out the bag.

Miranda’s eyes burned with excitement and awe when presented with the cash. Unlike Kelsie who had never in her life beheld so much money, Miranda had, many times. Miranda had been raised in a WASPy upper class household, and spent her life surrounded by finery. That is, until she came out as gay to her Protestant parents and was swiftly disowned. Where Kelsie was used to scrimping, saving, and suffering, Miranda was resentful of their relative poverty and aspired to more.

“We should give it back, right Mer?” Kelsie concluded, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Miranda didn’t say anything for a minute, until finally replying in a low voice, “No.”

“Really? You think we should keep it?” Kelsie was shocked, but if she was honest with herself she was also somewhat relieved.

“Yes. The body hasn’t been found yet, and who knows when that will happen? You didn’t touch it, and even if they find a hair or something, that’s your usual walking trail. Plus, they’ll never trace it back to you. You took everything else at the scene, so they won’t be looking for it. We need this money, she doesn’t anymore. Let’s take it and use it to make our lives better. In her memory.”

“What do you think this is?” Kelsie asked, picking up the black notebook. Miranda took it and flipped it open. They quickly discovered that every page that had writing on it was completely indecipherable.

“It looks like some sort of code,” Miranda said, slowly turning the pages.

Each page was broken up into columns, and each column contained a jumble of letters and numbers in a row. As they looked further, they realized that, while most of the letters were familiar to them, a few were quite foreign. One looked somewhat like a Pi symbol: Л. Others, a backwards R: Я and Y: Ч.

“I think it’s Cyrillic,” Miranda mused, “Russian letters.” She pulled them up on her phone and confirmed it.

“Why was she writing in Russian?” Kelsie wondered.

“Russian, and in code.” Miranda added, “Do you think she might have been… You know?”

“What?”

“A… spy.” Miranda whispered, pulling out the gun.

The revelation sent a tingle down Kelsie’s spine. Suddenly frightened, she turned to Miranda and said, “We should put the money back.”

“No,” Miranda said firmly, shoving the gun back in the bag, “No one saw you, right? There’s no reason not to keep it. Think about our future babe. We deserve this.”

“I don’t know…” Kelsie shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

“Look,” Miranda took her hands and kissed her knuckles, “Let’s start with some breakfast, OK? Best not to make rash decisions on an empty stomach.”

Guiding Kelsie to the comfiest chair in their front room, Miranda motioned her to sit, then knelt down to look her in the eyes. “You sit here, I’ll go get you some food. I love you, Kels. Don’t forget that.”

“I love you too.” Kelsie replied, a happy smile crossing her face.

Miranda turned to walk into the kitchen, and Kelsie settled into her chair. Maybe Miranda was right, that money would be huge for them. Life altering.

As she sat, daydreaming about what they could spend the money on, an unusual movement caught her eye. She turned and saw a shiny black car pull directly in front of their house and park. She watched intently, but no one got in or out.

“Breakfast time!” Miranda called out in a sing-songy voice, emerging from the kitchen, a bowl of instant oatmeal balanced on her hand.

“Come here!” Kelsie hissed, waving her over, “Look!”

Miranda looked out the window at the still car for a second, then said, “It’s just a car, Kels.”

“No one has come out of it!” Kelsie whispered anxiously, “What if it’s the cops staking us out? Or another spy! We don’t know what happened to that woman, maybe this is the person who killed her and set her freaking corpse on fire! Maybe they saw me take the money!”

“Why would they set her body on fire and leave the gasoline and matches behind?” Miranda asked, “I think she did it to herself. ODed on the pills and set herself on fire for some reason.”

“Even if that’s true, she might have stolen the money! Maybe the person she stole it from found the body and found us that way!”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Miranda scoffed.

“I think we should give the money back, Mer.” Kelsie wrung her hands anxiously.

“Stop saying that!” Miranda said, exasperated. “Just, eat your breakfast.”

But Kelsie couldn’t eat. She sat staring at the car twisting her forelock around her finger, rocking back and forth. Miranda sat where she could keep an eye on Kelsie, scrolling through her phone and thinking about what she would do with her money.

Suddenly, Kelsie stood up and stalked into the kitchen. “I’m giving the money back,” she declared, “I don’t care. I can’t live like this!”

“No!” Miranda jumped up, grabbing her arm, “You are doing no such thing!”

Kelsie spun around, tears in her eyes. “Mer, I can’t handle this. I can’t. We can’t spend that money, I never should have taken it in the first place. I should have just called the cops.”

“No, babe, you made the right choice!” Miranda pleaded, “We need this, we deserve this!”

“I don’t!” Kelsie screamed, “And neither do you. We don’t deserve this. We are terrible people. I am a terrible person.”

“Kelsie, I swear to God, if you take that money…” Miranda grabbed Kelsie by the shoulders and shook her violently.

“It’s wrong, Mer,” Kelsie whimpered, “I can’t handle the guilt.”

SMACK! Miranda backhanded Kelsie across the face.

Horrified, Kelsie sank to her knees, shaking like gelatin. Her quivering hand rose to a wet spot on the corner of her lip, and when she pulled it back and looked she saw it was blood.

“You… you hit me!” she whispered.

“And I’ll do it again if you don’t stop with this shit.” Miranda responded coldly, “I’ve worked too hard and lost too much to lose this now. This is my chance, to do better, to be better.”

“You’re a monster,” Kelsie gasped, “I can’t believe I fell in love with a psychopath!”

“And I can’t believe I fell in love with a spineless, pathetic, weakling who falls apart at the first sign of light at the end of the goddamn tunnel!”

“I’m calling the cops. I’m ending this once and for all. I don’t care if I go to jail.” Kelsie reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

“Don’t you dare!” Miranda reached behind her and pulled out the gun that had been in the bag from her waistband, pointing it at Kelsie.

“Mer,” Kelsie gasped, “What… what are you doing?”

“I’m stopping you from making a stupid, selfish mistake,” Miranda spat, “Just, put your phone away, and lets go back to our lives.”

Kelsie stood there, trembling, eyes glued to the gun in front of her face. Her brain was going a million miles a minute - why would Miranda do this to her? Is the money really worth all of this?

Finally, after what felt like hours, Kelsie sighed deeply, her shoulders dropping, her whole body un-stiffening. “You’re right, Mer,” she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Miranda slowly lowered the gun, tears pooling in her eyes. “Come here, babe,” she said, opening her arms with the gun still in her hand.

Kelsie slinked over, pressing her forehead against Miranda’s chest. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured.

“Me too,” Miranda rasped, pressing the gun to Kelsie’s temple and pulling the trigger.

Kelsie’s body jerked violently, crumpling to the floor. Miranda stepped over her body, walking over to the bag of cash. After wiping it thoroughly with her shirt, she replaced the gun. Later, she would take the money and burn the bag, and the body, next to the one Kelsie had found earlier. The cops, of course, would think it was the work of a serial killer or that Kelsie witnessed something she shouldn’t have.

As Miranda lovingly fingered the stacks of cash, she glanced out the window and saw the black car pull away. She watched it disappear up the street, then turned around, looking at the body and the blood pool that was slowly spreading across the floor..

She had a lot of work to do.