It's Only Dinner

She sifted through her closet, again. But still, Beth couldn't decide what she should wear. The restaurant where they were meeting was casual but it was Valentine's Day and there would be a different atmosphere even with the usual clientele.

Geeezzzz!!! I can't remember having such a hard time trying to figure out what to wear! Beth thought. Though she generally had no trouble knowing what was fashionable at almost any affair, she also knew that this was a special night. At least she was hoping it would be.

Beth had met many men from the dating service she had joined online, but she felt a definite connection with Taylor. From the first time they spoke online, Taylor had stirred feelings in Beth that she had thought died after Josh. He made her feel good about herself. And he made her laugh. Something Beth hardly did anymore.

Tonight would be their first meeting. Beth was wondering now why they had decided on Valentine's Day, of all days. She smiled, remembering the conversation that lead to that decision.

"I really want to meet you, Beth!", Taylor had IMed. "How about if we do it on Valentine's Day? hahaha"

"Valentine's Day?", she answered. "What if we don't like each other? We'll always remember it as our disastrous Valentine's Day date!  LOL"

"Or," Taylor wrote, "it could be the BEST Valentine's Day we've ever had!!"

Beth doubted that, thinking briefly about Josh. They had done the same thing five years ago and it was the best Valentine's Day she had ever had. She was excited about meeting Taylor, but she knew this meeting would never top the one with Josh.

She shook her head to clear those thoughts and answered, "That's what I'm hoping for, Taylor. I hope neither one of us is disappointed! But if you want to meet that day, then let's do it! After all, it's only dinner!" She added a smiley to her IM and hit the send button.

They spent the next three days discussing where and what time they would meet, and finally decided on Alberto's at nine. They were both regular customers there and knew, if nothing else, they would have a good dinner.

Beth pulled the black strapless satin from her closet. It was still wrapped in the plastic from the last time she had it dry cleaned. She had worn it the last time she had seen Josh. Maybe someday, she thought. "But not tonight," she said out loud, as she placed it back in the closet.

She removed the red crepe from its hanger and held it in front of her as she looked in the mirror. She smiled at the reflection, thinking, I don't look half bad for a broad my age! Her small frame was slender and shapely. Of course, being in her early 50s did show on her face. Life had been good to her, but it had also been extremely harsh. All in all, though, Beth was pleased at the woman who smiled back at her. Even the dark look in her eyes wasn't as prominent as it had been. She decided the red dress was the best choice for tonight.

Beth hadn't told anyone about her meeting with Taylor. She never did mention her meetings with the men she met online. She felt safe enough meeting them in public places and so never felt the need to tell anyone where she was going. She was an extremely cautious woman and always knew what she would do if things went wrong. Besides, Beth couldn't handle her friends and family constantly calling to see how things were going. If she met someone she wanted to keep around, then she would tell them about him.

She took off her robe as she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She let the warm water wash over her body, feeling calmer now that she had decided which dress to wear. And thought about Taylor. Closing her eyes she tried to picture the photos she had seen online animated. The dark curly hair that Taylor kept fashionably short. The strong smile that lit up his face in the photo taken of him in a local park. She tried conjuring up a voice to go with the thousands of words he had spoken online.

Beth realized that she couldn't possibly put Taylor together, sight unseen, and stopped day dreaming. She had met enough men to know that what you see and hear online isn't what you usually get when you meet them. And she tried not to do that with Taylor, hoping this time she wouldn't walk away disappointed.

She stepped out of the shower and glanced at the clock. Only two more hours and she would know for sure. She looked into the mirror as she wiped away the steam. It always bothered her when she saw the dark look in her eyes, but she knew it was part of who she was now, and tried not to let it worry her. She knew how to keep that look to herself. Taylor wouldn't see it tonight when she walked into Alberto's.

Beth made a few adjustments to her hair and smoothed the side of her red dress. She liked what she saw in the mirror and only hoped that Taylor would be pleased when he saw her too. She picked up her matching red bag from the dresser and, grabbing her black fringed shawl from the end of her bed, turned off the bedroom lights. Beth walked through the house to the front door and stepped onto the porch. She knew that this may be the first step into a new chapter in her life.


Beth stood next to the hostess, waiting to be seated. She glanced around the room and saw Taylor standing next to their table and looking at her from across the room. His face was roughly handsome just as it was in his pictures. The smile on his face, as he looked at her, told Beth that he was pleased with who he was looking at. She smiled as she turned from the hostess and walked over to him.

They awkwardly shook hands and then Taylor put his arms around her and gave her a soft, yet sensuous hug. Beth looked into his eyes, her heart thumping in her chest. She knew this meeting was going to end up just as she had hoped it would. She sat down in the chair Taylor held out for her and smiled at what she hoped would come later.

The dinner had gone even better than Beth had hoped for. Ending with champagne and a red rose Taylor had given the waiter to deliver to Beth after his signal to do so. They left the restaurant and walked for hours in the local park that was in Taylor's picture. They talked until two in the morning, neither one wanting the night to end. When Taylor walked Beth to her car, she was sure he would kiss her good night and was surprised when he bent over her and brushed her cheek with his lips instead. She smiled and looked into his eyes. For the first time that night she saw a slight hint of darkness in them.  As she got in her car, the smile slowly faded.


Beth and Taylor spent the next three weeks talking online, on the phone and meeting for casual dinners and movies. They grew closer with every day, but Beth wondered if they were ever going to become intimate. Taylor was still kissing her on the cheek at the end of their dates, and made no attempts to start a physical relationship. She began thinking that maybe she was wrong about Taylor.

And then one night as they were talking late online, Taylor started speaking in a more intimate tone. They discussed at great length the pros and cons of becoming that close to each other, but by the end of their conversation they agreed that they were ready to take that chance. They made a date for the following night to meet for dinner at Alberto's again, which happened to be next door to The Red Coach Inn. Beth got offline smiling, knowing that things were working out just the way she had hoped. She went to bed that night with anxious anticipation for what would happen tomorrow night.


When Beth walked into Alberto's, she knew she was turning heads. She had always done that when she wore her black strapless satin dress. She could be a striking woman when she made the effort. And tonight she had taken the time to look her best. It was, after all, a very special night for her and Taylor. She walked over to their table seeing the pleasure in his eyes as he drank her in.

They enjoyed the meal, both a bit nervous as they talked about their day. Beth knew by the few cracks in his voice that Taylor was just as anxious as she was about the rest of the evening. But he seemed a little more confident as they walked from the restaurant over to the Inn. Before they entered the elevator to go up to their room, Taylor bent over and kissed her. Not on the cheek this time, but on the mouth. A slow, sensuous kiss that made Beth even more excited about what would happen when they got to their room.

The room was beautiful, decorated in classic Victorian. It was expensive and charmingly furnished in dark reds, greens and golds. It was inviting and sexy. And the exact mood Beth was hoping for.

They looked at each other and Beth stood against Taylor, reaching up and putting her hand in his thick dark hair. She drew his face to hers and gently touched his lips with hers. Taylor reached for her and pulled her closely to him, while gently returning her probing kisses.

She slowly began unfastening the buttons down the front of his shirt, while he unzipped the black satin dress from behind. It didn't take long before there were two piles of clothing on the floor. Taylor took a moment to glance at Beth's body as he gently lifted her in his arms and walked over to the king sized bed.

They made love for over an hour. Sexy and sensuous at first, and then becoming playful and whimsical, then returning to a passionate and exhilarating climax at the end. They laid wrapped in each other's arms for quite sometime afterward, savoring the feelings of satisfaction. Slowly Beth pulled away, kissing Taylor on his almost closed eyes. She slipped out of bed, grabbing her purse, as she went into the bathroom.

Taylor laid with his eyes closed and could have easily gone to sleep. But he wouldn't let himself drift off, as he strained to listen to the sounds coming from the bathroom. He could hear her vomiting in the toilet, as he knew she would and then heard the water in the sink running as she washed up. His senses were on full alert and his body tensed as he heard the bathroom door slowly open.

Beth walked over to the bed, still naked, and looked down at Taylor's supposedly sleeping body. Too bad, she thought as she slowly raised the gun and pointed it at his chest. She smiled at the handsome face, thinking, He was a good man and a good lover, but he lied to me. And so he has to die. She knew the dark look was in her eyes as she squeezed back the trigger, and shot Josh dead, again.


Beth was dressed in her black strapless satin, the glare of the bright lights not able to hide the dark look in her eyes as the camera snapped picture after picture. Taylor was standing in the doorway, watching as his ex-partner typed away at his desk. Reports. Always so much paperwork with a bust, he thought. I sure don't miss that part of the job! He smiled as Pete glanced over at him, walked out the door and down the hall to the Captain's office.

It had been two years since he left the force and gone into the PI business. Sometimes he missed having a partner, but having the opportunity once in awhile to help out his friends on the force was good enough. He had recovered nicely from the car accident and was feeling stronger. Going back on the force wasn't really an option with his injuries and he was able to help them now and then with cases like this. Like sleeping with Beth, he thought. He knew no one on the force could've done that. She would be sitting at her computer right now, drawing in another unsuspecting chump!, Taylor sighed and walked into Jim's office.

"You ok, Taylor?" Captain Frye asked. "You know we had to do it. She didn't give us a choice," he added.

"Sure," Taylor answered. "I know, Jim. I just wish there had been some other way. Caught myself hoping we were wrong, though, until she showed up in the black satin dress."

"Made a mistake wearing it every time. Satin has a tendency to fray at the seams. We only needed one thread to tie her to the rest of the murders." Frye said. "But I guess she had to wear it so she could keep killing Josh." He glanced over at Taylor again, adding, "Would've been easier on you, Tay, I know, but she wouldn't have tried if we hadn't done it that way. She didn't kill any of them until afterwards."

"Well, I have to admit," Taylor said, smiling, "it wasn't easy doing that knowing Pete was crawling across the floor to switch the gun in her purse. I didn't hear him, but I knew he was in the room. At least, when she was pointing the gun at me, I hoped he had been in the room." He glanced toward the interrogation room where he knew Pete was still typing the paper work. He grinned and added, "I know I'm going to get ribbed about this for a long time."

Captain Frye laughed. "No doubt about that, Taylor, but I hope it will be worth it knowing that we got her out of circulation. I'm afraid we won't get the death penalty, she's a total nut case. But at least she won't be able to meet men online anymore.  He sighed deeply, thinking out loud, "Six men in five years."

Taylor knew what he was thinking. Beth had been methodical, even in her madness. "If that online dating service didn't keep profiles for five years, we never would've been able to connect them. And the testimony from Susan about Josh telling her he had met a woman online who scared the shit out of him helped a lot too. Too bad Josh didn't know Beth could see him online even when he thought he was hidden. Maybe if she hadn't found out he was lying to her about seeing Susan, he and the other five would still be alive."

Frye looked at Taylor, and could see the regret in his eyes. "You sure you're OK, Tay?"

Taylor looked down at the floor a second and then looked over at the Captain. "She was one of the most beautiful women I've ever known, Jim. Intelligent, talented, bright and funny. I was just thinking what a shame it is that she allowed someone who didn't appreciate all that to ruin the rest of her life."

He pictured Beth in her black strapless satin dress. He remembered the smile on her face as she walked toward him in Alberto's. And for a brief moment he felt that he had been cheated out of something wonderful because of the actions of another man.

He glanced over at Frye, shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the interrogation room to help Pete with the rest of the paperwork.