Lucky: A Mystery

Dressed in red from her tight dress to her high heels I couldn’t miss her and didn’t want to. Even her lips were sealed with red lipstick that begged to be kissed. Her eyes begged also.

Just as quickly as my eyes took her in she turned and ran down the alley. How she ran in those heels I'll never know. But she did and made it look easy.

I rushed away from my blind date that I had just come out of the coffee shop with and charged down the alley. Shouting back to the woman smartly dressed in sensible shoes and a proper skirt and blouse I told her I had business to take care of. I would call her. Thanks for a nice evening. She frowned and then turned brusquely and hailed a cab. Don’t bother to call she yelled at me as she got inside.

That fast that date was gone from my sight and from my memory as I pursued this lady in red. Cliche I know but she was actually in red. But probably no lady.

I saw her go out of the alley at the end of it and run to the right. I picked up my pace but by the time I got to the end of the alley and turned she was gone. Looking down I saw her red handbag. 

Why would a woman who could run like that in an alley have dropped her handbag? I had no idea but opened it to see if there would be any hints inside of who she was or where she lived. 

I pulled out a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a small revolver. Then in a corner of the bag, I saw a pack of matches. Why would a woman with a lighter need matches? And where was this Lucky’s that it advertised? That’s all that was in there.

I didn’t smoke and didn’t need a gun that could potentially get me in trouble. So I tossed the bag into the alley against the wall. I tucked the matches into my shirt pocket and walked down the street where she had disappeared.

I looked in every store on that street for blocks. She was nowhere to be found. Sometimes I asked a store clerk if a pretty woman in red had been in today. The usual response was no and if they had seen her they would have remembered. I agreed. I sure did. Remember.

After searching late into the night I got hungry and thirsty and decided I had better get something. I wanted to get her but that wasn’t happening yet so I called my buddy and told him about my blind date and my evening since.

He laughed and said that he was never going to fix me up again but at least I got some matches out of it. Funny guy. Just before I hung up he told me that when he got home that night there was a pack of matches leaning up against the front door. He hadn’t thought anything of it and had just kicked them aside and gone inside. 

Go outside. Now. Find those matches and tell me what they advertise. I hadn’t told him what was on the outside of the ones I had found in the lady’s purse. Get them if you ever want to borrow my car again.

Ok, ok, he told me as I heard him walk to the door, open it, and go outside. Hey, here they are. Good thing the breeze hadn’t blown them away yet.

So where are they from? What does it say? Hold on a minute take it easy he said. Ok, here it is. I’ve never heard of this place and you know I’ve been to a lot of places in town. Lucky’s. That’s what it says.

I went silent. Lucky’s? I knew that was it but to be sure I pulled out the matches that I had from her purse. There it was. Lucky’s. How had those matches gotten to my house?

And now I knew why she had dropped her purse when she obviously knew how to run in heels like an athlete. She dropped it for me. She wanted me to find it. But why?

If she wanted me that bad all she had to do was wait at the end of the alley when she saw me chasing her. No need to drop her purse and then drop matches at my place. Why was she doing this? What did she want to see? What was she after?

I grabbed some coffee and a danish, both day old by that point, and sat on a bench. Drinking and eating I tried to find Lucky’s on the browser of my phone. Nothing was showing up. It looked like I wasn’t getting lucky that night, or the bar.

So I went home, grabbed a shower and a few hours of sleep, and then headed back out to look for her. To look for Lucky’s. Didn’t the bar or whatever it was, know that these days if you wanted to survive you had to have a website? Or at least be listed on Google. 

Nothing. All day long I looked. In the evening I went back to where I had first seen her, parked, and was getting out of my car across the street. There she was. Dazzling. Seductive. Smiling over at me as she turned and walked down the alley. Dressed in red again. A different dress this time but still red. Still tight and showing every curve she had. The dress was different but the heels were the same. Red. Luxurious bright red. High heels. Spiked.

I walked quickly across the street and followed her down the alley until she twirled around and stopped. Right in front of me. I could breathe her in. But barely. I could hardly breathe. My heart pounding out of my chest.

Tag. You’re it. She said as she gently touched my chest. She stepped closer until her face was inches from mine. I think you have something I want she whispered. I know you have something I want I whispered in return.

She kissed me. Gently at first. I pulled her tight and felt her bend against me as the kiss lingered.

Then she pulled back and put out her hand and asked for the matches. I gave her the pack from the night before. 

Then looking past her to the end of the alley I saw my blind date from the night before. She walked towards us. She smiled as she reached into a red handbag, the red handbag, from the night before. 

She pulled out the revolver and pointed it towards me. The lady in red stepped aside and spoke to her. You are such a drama queen. Don’t be mad at him. Who could resist me? Just look at me, and look at yourself. Who wouldn’t choose me?

Anger raged in my blind date’s face. But her hand was steady as she walked closer with the revolver pointed at my chest. She glanced over at the red seductress. You shouldn’t have borrowed my handbag without asking.

I just figured I could take your bag if I could take your man. Sorry for taking it though. I know it’s your favorite. I’ll make it up to you. His buddy is cute. I’ll get him for you.

The bullet tore through my chest as I collapsed in the alley. The last thing I saw was the two of them walking away together. The last thing I heard was the lady in red laughing and calling my blind date by what must have been her nickname, Lucky.