The Beauty Hunter


The sun had been peeking through the curtains for only a few minuntes when
Elissa Jones' eyes opened. The dawn of a new day did not bring any particular
feelings of hopefulness or anticipation. It was simply another day in this
coastal paradise, where Elissa hoped to wipe away any past concerns.

She slowly rose from bed, sitting on the edge for a few moments while her mind
awakened from its slumber. Her bare feet were pressed firmly on the wood floor,
and it amazed her that the floor could still feel slightly cold when the
temperature at this early hour was already in the 80s. As the sleepiness faded,
she slowly lumbered to the bathroom to wash her face and get ready for another
day.

It may seem strange to complain. Here Elissa was on Martha's Vineyard,
surrounded by beaches and water, with perfect weather to boot. Who could be
unhappy in such a locale?

Well, Elissa could, and with good reason. She was not here on some sort of
vacation, but on more of a mental holiday. You see, Elissa had at one point been
the young star detective in the local police department. That was before a
series of gaffes, and before she became antagonistic with the new Chief of
police. Now, she was on suspension for various rule violations, and wondering if
her police career was over before the age of 30. She still felt like a cop of
course; she still kept her 380 ACP personal handgun in her purse, and she felt
she could handle any problem. However, her worries overtaking her on the
mainland, she had come to the Vineyard to clear her mind. All she discovered was
that her worries and concerns had followed her to the island.

As she stood looking in the mirror with a healthy dose of self-loathing, she
heard the familiar ring of her Blackberry. Running to the bedroom, she saw her
friend Rae's number pop up on the screen. Elissa, in no mood to talk, hit the
button to send the call to voicemail, and once more lay down on the bed.

Just as she started to doze off again, Elissa heard a paper being slid under the
door. Walking over to the door, she saw a small card that appeared to be an
advertisement. The card read as follows:

"Relaxation and beauty are around the corner! Come to Escape Salon and escape
all your troubles. We're located at 5 Pine Road in Menemsha."

Elissa stared at the card for a moment. Relaxation. Escape. Those words spoke to
her in a way she could not explain. A massage would feel amazing, she thought.
Although she wasn't usually a fan of manicures and pedicures (she chewed her
fingernails so they were woefully short, and she usually painted her own
toenails), she had heard they were quite relaxing. Plus, Menemsha was on a
remote part of the island, an area she had not yet seen. 

Putting on a black polo shirt, khaki shorts, and black flip flops, Elissa
grabbed her purse and started for the door to head towards Menemsha.

Unfortunately, Elissa did not yet realize that, with relaxation, could come
great stress...

As Elissa rode through the island, turning down dirt roads towards the nail
salon, she felt at peace. Today was going to be a good day, she told herself,
and it would start with this little bit of pampering.

The roads turned to a somewhat remote point in Menemsha, hidden away amongst
trees near the beach. A large part of Elissa wondered how a salon could survive
in such a deserted area - Menemsha was an area known for large homes, a get away
for the wealthy, but it really did not have much commerce. In fact, as she
looked around, the only signs of life in the area were the long driveways
leading to the beach compounds owned by the New England elite.

Elissa came upon the address on the flyer, and was greeted by a neat white
cottage with a wooden sign hanging from a pole in front of the house. The sign
read "Escape Salon. Get away from it all, and come back beautiful!"

"Well, that's a cheesy tagline," Elissa thought to herself. However, this place
wasn't a marketing shop, but a beauty shop. Just because the slogan was weak
didn't mean that the place didn't have merit. Grabbing her purse, Elissa parked
her bicycle at the rack out front, and walked into the shop.

The salon may have looked quaint on the outside, but inside it looked like any
other salon. There were chairs to wait, a table with assorted magazines, and a
front desk. Just behind the front desk were red curtains which apparently led to
the salon area in the back. Elissa went to the desk, rain the bell, and sat down
to browse through e-mails on her Blackberry. There was a message that Rae was on
the island visiting family, but Elissa really didn't want to deal with anyone.

"I can tell you're a city girl," came a voice from the curtains, adding "You
city girls are always on your cell phones." As Elissa looked up she saw a
middle-aged woman walking out. The woman was quite beautiful, obviously tanned
from time on the beach, with the requisite blond hair and perfect features. She
had well-toned arms and legs, and it was clear she spent much time on the beach,
at the gym, and at the salon.

"Sorry," said Elissa sheepishly, putting the phone back in her purse. "It's a
bad habit. Anyway, I got your flyer and thought I would come for a mani pedi."

"Well that's a great idea," said the woman, smiling. "My name is Kimberly and
I'd be happy to help you. We're slow today so I can take you right now. And,"
she added, taking Elissa's hands in her own hands, "it looks like it's not a
moment too soon."

Elissa gave a slight giggle and pulled her hands back. "I'm in a business where
I don't exactly take good care of my nails, so I know they're in rough shape."

"That's fine," said Kimberly. "Come on back and we'll take good care of you."

The women walked back and through the curtains, and Elissa saw a standard salon
area with chairs and tables for manicures. She sat down at one of the seats and
dropped her purse. In so doing, her handgun slid towards the front of the bag.
Kimberly looked down with a bit of surprise, seeing the edge of the gun.

"Excuse me, but can I ask why you have a gun?" asked Kimberly. "I mean, it's a
cute pink one, but should I know something?"

Elissa looked down and smiled. "Well, I'm a detective, so I keep a gun on me.
It's a custom piece, they made it pink just for me because it's my favorite
color."

"Ooh, a detective, how exciting," said Kimberly. "Well, it looks like you've had
a long ride, would you like something to drink? A lemonade maybe? I make the
best on the island."

Elissa, in total relaxation, nodded her head, and within a couple of minutes
Kimberly came back with a tall glass. Elissa took it and took a large drink, the
cool liquid feeling good as it moved down her throat.

Within moments, Elissa realized that not all was right. Her focus became foggy,
and she started to feel a slight headache coming on. As she looked at Kimberly,
she could see her smile turning into a sneer.

"What's....going on..." Elissa slurred, as she felt her whole body begin to
tire.

"Not feeling well my dear," said Kimberly, her eyes narrowing. "That's too bad."

Elissa immediately realized something was wrong, and glanced at her purse and
her gun. She went to grab the purse, but her hands felt clumsy and simply
knocked the purse over, spilling out the contents. Her gun skittered away, and
she made a clumsy dive for the weapon. As she flopped to the ground she started
to make a desperate crawl for the weapon, stretching out her arms. Just as her
right arm strained close enough to it, her fingers spread and straining for the
pink handle, she saw Kimberly bend over and pick it up.

"Now now, not quite the tough detective without your trusty gun," she said,
looking it over. "We'll just have to figure something out for you."

The last thing Elissa remembered before going to sleep was the evil smile on
Kimberly's face, and the last look at her weapon as it was in Kimberly's hand,
hopelessly out of reach.