Betrayal - Fern Michaels [84]
Next, she went to the small bathroom. She had two bottles of Suave shampoo and conditioner. Two tubes of Crest toothpaste, two unopened toothbrushes, and three bars of Dove bath soap. Ten Daisy razors, three packs of dental floss, and a large bottle of Scope mouthwash. She grabbed the light blue can of Secret deodorant. Anyone would use the products she did. There was nothing special about them at all. She peered beneath the single cabinet and removed a generic box of tampons. At forty-three, she needed them less and less with each passing month.
She looked around the place she should have called home for the past five years. There were no pictures to remove from the walls, nothing personal. No magnets collecting on the refrigerator. Once she removed her clothes and toiletry items, the apartment could’ve housed anyone at all. She thought about tossing all the frozen dinners, but at the last minute changed her mind. The next tenant might enjoy them.
Her computer system would go with her. She still had the original cartons they came in, so they were easy to pack. With all the electronics gone, the room was as empty as Kate’s life. She didn’t know what the future held. Only one thing mattered to her at this stage. She must avenge Alex’s death, or else he’d died for nothing.
The last thing on her list was a disguise of sorts. Her hair made her visible. As much as she hated to, she knew it had to go. She went to the bathroom with a pair of hair scissors she’d ordered. She removed the elastic that held her hair in a loose knot. She shook her hair out, like a dog shook after a bath. She remembered Alex when he would bathe the dogs. He’d get as wet as they did.
She grabbed a handful of hair and started cutting. Twenty minutes later she had a cute bob. A box of Nice’n Easy waited. Cool brown, the color said, but Kate knew it would be closer to black, the color she wanted. She’d seen women who had what she called “witch black–bottled” hair. It was extremely unnatural. That wasn’t the look she was aiming for. Forty-five minutes later she viewed her handiwork. Not bad. She had contacts to turn her green eyes brown. She had a cosmetic case full of eye shadow, mascara, and every shade of lipstick in the rainbow. She had never worn much makeup. She spent a few nights trying some tricks she had read about. They were quite drastic. She would now be one of those women who couldn’t leave the house without “putting her face on.”
She went through the apartment one last time. It was after ten, dark enough that she could begin loading her car. She had a Ford Explorer, so there would be room to spare once she filled it with her meager possessions.
When she finished, she took the large garbage bag and placed it next to the Dumpster. She didn’t want to throw the clothes in with all the smelly garbage. Maybe someone who needed them would find them.
As she pulled out of the parking space, Kate felt an odd sense of freedom. All that she’d studied, planned, and plotted was about to come to fruition.
Kate settled into her new apartment with ease. The complex was adults only, and was occupied mostly by retirees. That was good. They’d be too busy playing golf and cards to bother with the new tenant.
Her last trip to Naples had been lunch with Coleman Fitzpatrick. She often thought about him. He’d been devastated upon hearing the news of Alex’s death. So much so that he immediately flew to North Carolina in his private plane. He’d had some weather delays. Kate remembered trying to call his office and home repeatedly. They were going to bring Alex home after his new trial exonerated him, but it had never happened. She’d paid Coleman an exorbitant sum of money and donated an equal amount to the American Cancer Society in his wife’s name.
He would call daily, and twice he came knocking on her door. She begged to be left alone. She couldn’t face him. There was