On the Run

The truth was, my life had been a series of disappointments, a nonstop succession of rejections and missed opportunities. An only child, my parents had divorced when I was young, and I had never been close to either of them. A loner as a boy, I made no lasting friendships, and my associates at work had either ignored me or been downright offensive. My successes with women were sadly limited, and even the girlfriend who made me over on Halloween had spent most of the evening flirting with another guy, making me feel ridiculous as I sat by myself in her clothing.

All that was about to change, whether I liked it or not. Eighteen hundred miles away in Chicago, the FBI was undoubtedly hard at work. They would have gotten nowhere trying to glean information about my whereabouts from my co-workers or neighbors, but by now they must have inventoried the meager possessions in my studio apartment, and gotten their hands on my laptop computer.

Without my password, my computer would normally have been impregnable, but it was only a matter of time before their specialists would have access to my files. And in particular, to the record of my acquisition of an Arizona driver’s license in the name of Victoria Ross. When they put that together with the last use of my credit card, to purchase a ticket to Phoenix on Southwest Airlines, the trail would get very hot indeed.

I loaded a blade into the heavy metal razor and took the plunge. I had never used an old-fashioned razor like this before, but my body was covered with thick, course hair, and I knew that my regular disposable razors would be no match for it. After the first painful nicks, I slowed to a deliberate pace, changing blades occasionally as I methodically worked my way up my calves. It was hard work, and by the time I was done shaving my legs, the water was full of clumps of hair, tinged a light pink from several painful cuts. I had better luck on my chest and arms, and as I worked my way up to my underarms, I was able to maneuver the razor around the awkward curves without further injury.