The Hills

         A cool breeze blew through southern California.  Carmen welcomed it, leaning her head back and letting the wind play with her onyx hair.  It was always hot in the 90210, but summer afternoons were complete hell.  As the breeze faded away, Carmen lay back in her lounge chair and continued to sweat. 
         “Still hot, dearest?” her husband asked.  Carmen turned and smiled at him.  Paul was a nice guy, always concerned with her well-being.  He was the only suitor her father had approved of who had never tried to seduce the young heiress. 
         “A bit,” she said teasingly.  “I think I’m going to take a quick dip in the pool.”  As she stood, Carmen heard the distant sound of the doorbell.
         “I’ll get it,” Paul said.  “It might be that package I’ve been waiting for.”  He rushed into the house as Carmen leapt into the pristine water.  She took a moment underwater to enjoy the cool.  Her head finally broke the surface and she took a gulp of air.  It took a moment before she realized the man standing at the poolside.  She gasped when she saw he held a gun.
         “Out of the pool,” he said roughly.  She quickly climbed out and stood, dripping, in front of him.  “You’re going to tell me where your money is now, or you get a bullet to the brain.”
         Before she could respond, she heard Paul yell, “Carmen!” 
         The man turned and she heard a shot.  The burglar fell to the concrete.  She looked at Paul and saw him drop the gun.  She started to smile at him, but she felt a pain in her abdomen and she noticed that Paul was crying.  She fell backwards into the pool, tainting its waters with her life’s blood from the bullet meant for another.