Chapter 32, Part 4

2 Years Later

Xavier Dower was a man in his late thirties who looked to still be in his early twenties. He had a strong, muscular build and was right around six feet tall. In a word, he was a hustler. He preyed mainly on women whom he considered to be rich and well off. He would woo them with his talk and pretty words, and then he would take advantage in every since of the word. He raped, stole jewelry and money from the women, and by the time they woke up from the chloroform nap, he would disappear. He never killed any of his victims. He merely exploited them for their money and promptly left. This time he decided to take his game to the theater, where a play of Dante Alighieri's La Vita Nuova would be shown.

His game? Simple. He would first stalk several persons of interest. After he had chosen his next victim, he would talk to them, keep them drinking, and wait. All that alcohol would eventually lead to an inevitable bathroom break where he could snag them easily. He always played it off to the people around him by saying his wife had too much to drink and he needed to get her home. If not, he would invite them outside during the intermission and do his dirty work there.

Xavier was not a wealthy man, but he played one well enough that by a passing glance people would assume he belonged there. But a keener eye might find that tailored suit of his to be a little cheap and not entirely fitting.

Tonight Xavier entered the theater with the guests gathering around him, and he decided it was time to choose his next victim. He looked around, spotting several women of interest. A few of them were with husbands but that was not a problem. Eventually the husband goes outside for a smoke, or the lady excuses herself, and he was always watching. He was trying to select the best candidate when he noticed a women out of the corner of his eye. She had beautiful blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders. She wore an emerald green necklace laced with diamonds all around. Her dress was tight around the bodice and flared out at the bottom a little, and it was the deepest color of black. She stood poised with chin held high. But most importantly, no man was with her.

Perfect.

Xavier approached slowly, looking around and admiring the architecture of the theater. When he was within range he smiled and shook his head, "The beauty of this theater always astonishes me every time I enter."

The woman turned and looked, smiling, "It is indeed beautiful. It is the perfect venue for Dante Alighieri's work to be on display."

"Ah! You admire Dante do you?"

"Yes, I do."

"What is your favorite work of his?"

The woman smiled again, "I do love the Divine Comedy. The journey Dante takes through hell and Purgatory with Virgil is quite an adventure. All of this til he finally reaches Paradise where his love Beatrice waits. It parallels a lot in life I think. Which makes me wonder, does one always have to wander through hell to reach Paradise? Or is there another way?"

Xavier blinked twice and smiled meekly, "Well, you are a fan indeed! Oh, I didn't catch your name. My name is Xavier and you are?"

"Eve."

"Eve…lovely name. Tell me Eve, are you with someone today?"

Eve tilted her head slightly, "What makes you ask that Xavier?"

"Just wondering why a woman as beautiful as yourself is here alone. Surely you are married, yes?"

Eve smiled, "You are quite the charmer aren't you? Where is your wife?"

Xavier feigned sadness, "Sadly she passed away four years ago. You remind me of her you know." Of course this was a lie, but Eve wouldn't know that.

Xavier looked at his watch and back up to Eve, "Miss, we have an hour before the play starts, care to have a drink outside on the terrace with me?"

Eve nodded, "Sure, a drink sounds nice right about now."

Xavier smiled, this was going to be easier than he thought. He brought Eve outside and talked to her about some of his favorite performances he had seen and she just watched him smiling. They had a couple of glasses if wine and then walked down the street. Eve looked to Xavier, "May I show you something Xavier?"

"What is it?"

"Well, its just that, you are such a fan of the performance itself, I wanted to show you something unique about this theater."

"OK, yes that would be excellent."

They walked down the dimly lit side alley that ran alongside the old theater building. Eve approached a small window and glanced in and then gestured for Xavier to join her. He did and looked through. The window showed into the backstage where the performers were getting ready for the big show.

"Wow! However did you find this?"

"I like to wander and look around. Turns out this room used to be an office before they tore down that wall on the other side to give the performers more room to practice."

This was the perfect setting for Xavier to do his work, she was just making it too easy for him. He glanced at his watch, "Ah! Almost time for the show. After you Miss Eve. I will follow."

"Thank you."

They walked down the alley Eve in front and Xavier behind her. Eve commented, "This time of year is so lovely, you can smell the rain in the air can't you?"

Xavier pulled a small container from the inside of his jacket and put it on an old rag. He was ready to make his move. He couldn't wait to touch her once this was all over, and that necklace would go for a lot of money. He grinned. Eve still continued talking.

"You know what is funny though?"

"What's that Eve?"

"I can smell the wine, the rain, and the chloroform from you Mr. Dower."

Xavier froze in place, "I'm sorry?"

Eve promptly spun around and now faced Xavier, "Was I not clear on what I said Mr. Dower, or did you simply not understand?"

"I….I don't recall telling you my last name."

"You didn't."

"Then how did you-"

"Mr. Dower, we have been watching you for some time now. We know about the women you have raped and preyed on. We know everything."

"We who is we?"

"Mu husband and myself. That is who 'we' is."

"B-but you said you didn't have a husband!"

"No, no Mr. Dower I never said that at all. As you recall I declined to answer that question."

Xavier froze in fear, who was she? FBI? Cops? What was this?

"You're crazy! I'll kill you, you stupid bitch!"

A raspy voice echoed from behind Xavier, "I'll carve out your tongue for that boy."

Xavier turned around fast, "Who……who…is there?"

Out from behind the large lamppost stood a man dressed in all black with a crimson red tie. His hair was slicked back. He wore a threatening smile on his face.

"Who are you!?"

Eve answered from behind, "My husband."

When he turned back around again, he was met with a gun to his head.

Xavier began to cry, "What do you two want from me?"

The man approached from behind and whispered in his ear, "We only wanted to invite you over for dinner."

A sinister grin appeared on his face just as quick as the harpy in his hand.

A/N: Back in action!!!! Sorry for the delay. It took me some time to decide how I wanted to start the new part to this story. I thought this was a fitting start to our couple. 2 year time skip does mean that the baby is around now and you all will get to meet the child next chapter. But until then I hope you enjoyed this prologue. Until next chapter! Please as always, write a little review for me!