Chapter 15:
It was a Monday, so there weren't many people there. There wasn't much she liked in the lower floor of the mall, as it was mostly children's clothing and shops old people usually shop at. The second level was much better. The first store she went into was Frederick's of Hollywood. It had been a while since she had last bought underwear, so she had to get fitted for a bra and had to try on several pairs of panties until she found the size she needed.
She surveyed her body in the full length mirror in her dressing room and made a face. "No wonder Vincent likes Vera's body better," she whispered, staring at her small breasts and bony hips. "At least I have a flat stomach, though."
After choosing about twenty matching bra and panty sets, Katrina stood in front of the sexy lingerie section with a wry grin. She grabbed a royal blue satin corset with matching garter belt and held it up to her body before tossing it into her shopping basket. A few silk nightgowns went into the basket as well. After she made her purchases, Katrina felt her anger recede. "So shopping does make a girl feel better," she said, much to the amusement of two women behind her who began to laugh. One of them nodded to her.
"You're a bit old to figure that one out, honey."
Katrina glanced at her, realized the woman wasn't making fun of her, and smiled back.
She went into several other stores before finding one that she liked. After buying several pairs of jeans that said Lucky You when you pulled down the zipper, as well as numerous miniskirts, schoolgirl skirts, baby T shirts, and tank tops, Katrina was loaded down with shopping bags. She decided to get her hair trimmed as a way to rest for a while. The woman trimmed and layered Katrina's curls and cut some wispy bangs across her forehead.
"Gorgeous!" the hairstylist told her as she got off the beautician's chair.
Katrina glanced at the clock in the food court of the mall to see that she still had a half-hour left before Bo came to pick her up. She bought an ice cream and strolled the mall to kill some time. She had stopped in two more shops. One was an accessories store where she bought jewelry and belts, while the other was a shoe store. She only bought a pair of sneakers, a pair of sandals, and a pair of sturdy boots, not being a real shoe person. In fact, she preferred going barefoot. But the sneakers and sandals would look good with her outfits, while the boots would come in useful while living in Ambrose.
As she was walking towards the exit, she came across a hunting store. She smiled at the display of knives in the window and decided to go in and look. In one corner was a set of matching black handled knives with twelve inch blades shaped into a sort of tribal design. Katrina drew in her breath.
"Can I help you?" the clerk asked.
Katrina pointed towards the knives. "Are these just for decoration or are they actually useful?"
The man pulled them from the display and handed them to her. "They're imported from Japan. Best knives we've got. They can cut through anything."
She touched the blade, feeling its sharpness, and then trailed her fingers along the hilt. There was a silver oval embedded there. She looked up questioningly at the clerk.
"The hilt is real ebony, and the silver is for engraving your name."
Katrina nodded. For a moment she thought about what Vincent had said and grew angry. Then she smiled. "How much?"
The man named the amount.
"Good. I'll take both. How long will it take you to engrave names on there?"
"About ten minutes. A machine does it. What would you like on them?"
She smiled. "Katrina on one, and Vincent on the other." She glanced over at a deadly looking blade in the middle of the display, with a jagged edge on one side. "I'd also like that, also engraved. And this too," she said, picking up a bowie knife.
"What engravings would you like on these?"
"Bo on this one, and Lester on the bowie."
"How would you like the engraving?"
"The scroll calligraphy on the matching ones, and the Roman letters on the other two."
The man nodded at her and went into the back room. Katrina walked around the store, looking at other things until he was done. She smiled at the beauty of the engravings and glanced up at the shelf behind the clerk.
"I'll need some of these too," she said, pointing towards black leather sheaths for the knives . . . belt sheaths for the men and a thigh sheath for herself.
When the register rang up the final amount, Katrina smiled sweetly and beckoned to the clerk with her finger. "You know," she whispered, "I just don't have enough money for all these. So . . ."
Before he could make a sound, she drew the bowie knife from her thigh and stabbed him in the gut. She pulled the body into the back room before leaving the store.
"Fuck!" she exclaimed, staring at the clock. It was fifteen minutes past the time Bo had told her to be outside. She ran as quickly as she could towards the exit, panting heavily underneath all the bags she was carrying.
Katrina called out to Bo, who had just walked in the mall with an annoyed expression.
"What the fuck, Kat? I told you to be outside!" He glanced at her new hair. "It's nice."
"Thanks, and sorry," she apologized. "It's hard carrying all these."
Bo sighed loudly and took some of the bags from her. They hurried out to the truck, where he secured the bags in a corner. The bed was full of boxes and crates.
"What's all this?" Katrina asked.
"Food and other shit we need. Like beer," Bo said, glancing at the camouflage bag she was carrying. "What's in there?"
She grinned. "A surprise."
"What is it?" he asked, starting up the truck.
"You'll have to wait until we get back," was all she said.