Having inhaled half a bag of potato chips, my late night cravings finally took their leave as I peered out into one God awful, cold and rainy night.
Ever since getting the Mac, it seemed I'd become a "shut in" and a web surfing fiend. I wasn't sure why I was in this mode, but this lack of social contact
couldn't
be healthy. I didn't want to end up sitting around in my underwear, cleaning a gun, with tin foil on my windows. Just then a point of light floating on an adjacent rooftop caught my eye; in the shadows someone barely discernible was smoking. Shortly, the light arched into the night, the roof door opened, and a silhouette of a woman disappeared inside...
The next day a woman with a giant black cat is on the same roof... Well, just for grins, I put up the sign: '
Got Milk?'
It was ignored. Then I hoisted: '
Free Delivery!'
still no reaction. Ok, now I'm done.
Trolling the web later, an instant messenger box appears. That's odd I thought, I never use... I accepted and the message read:
"
Got Milk?
" It was her! How did she?
"Yes," I responded.
"
Got Milk?
" It shot back.
Again I replied, "Yes."
"
Got Milk?
"
"Yes, but it's about to turn."
"
Got Milk?
"
I typed in "Free Delivery." It was the only thing I could think of...
Bingo! "
Deadkitty.com,
" shot back. I entered the name and waited for the page to load...Whoa! A pair of yellow cat eyes faded in, while eerie music crept from my speakers. A login box popped up and I typed : "Got Milk?" My screen flashed to inside a stone tunnel. In the distance I could see a door; my view floated towards it. As I drew closer the door opened onto a large chamber, and there on a marble slab
laid...a woman.
A female voice crackled from my speakers:
"
Welcome, please forgive me for not standing. I'm not well you see, in fact, I am...dead. You, however, can resurrect me if you unravel the mystery of my demise. You have all you need to accomplish this, but only two days in which to succeed. I pray you will..."
Two days! Give me two hours! Baby! I found that I was able to pan, zoom in and out, and bring up a dialog box. A quick tour of the tomb revealed nothing. I then turned my attention to the woman. She was clothed in a very sheer, flowing black dress; her naked body visible underneath. She was an attractive woman, with soft features and straight black hair. Around her neck was an ornate necklace of symbols, stars, and half moons. I studied this image for awhile thinking-- this may
not
be a easy as I thought.
How did she die, or was she killed? Shot, strangled, stabbed, poisoned, electrocuted, any number of diseases...shit!
I had to assume she was killed. I zoomed in on the lady and looked for clues. I saw nothing in the way of bruises, gunshot, or knife wounds. Having ruled out everything that only an autopsy would reveal, I was left with, well...er...jack.
I zoomed in on the necklace and inspected the assembled pieces. I'd seen this type of art-work...somewhere...
Then it hit me! I quickly launched another window and did a search, picking one of the sites, I hopped over. As I read, goose bumps tracked my arms and then...I smiled.
There was just one more thing to check. I killed the second window and returned to the dungeon. I zoomed in on the necklace as close as I could and...there it was!
I double clicked and the dialog box appeared, and I typed...
Suddenly the image of the woman rose and floated upright towards me. She almost reached me when the page went black. What the...?! That's it? I wondered, staring at a empty screen.
A day passed; no sightings, no messages, nothing. I began to think...maybe I was wrong.
So, I'm back to my usual web surfing when...
"
Tonight 10pm, apt. # 407.
" Pops up in an IM.
"Yessss!!"...but then I thought...dude, do you know what you're getting into? I had no clue, but I would sure find out...
"Come on in, the door is open."
I entered into a cavernous loft that must have taken up half the building.
"Make yourself at home. Can I get you something to drink?"
From the direction of the voice, I saw a woman standing in a kitchen area.
"Sure, a beer would be good." She made her way over and ...oh my...dressed comfortably in jeans and t-shirt this raven-haired beauty was
smoking
hot
.
"Is this ok?" she asked.
"This is fine, thanks."
"Come, tell me about your week."
She lead me to a cozy seating area that could have been a den if it had walls.
"Well, I encountered two women recently. One walking a small '
panther'
on a roof top and one...well, just a little bit dead."
"You really need to get out more often. Tell me about the dead woman."
"She was beheaded."
"Really? How tragic."
"Very. Yet, you couldn't tell at first glance that she had been, since her head was still attached...sort of."
"So what clued you?"
"It was the necklace. It reminded me of a Islamic art exhibit I saw. So, I checked a Middle Eastern web sight and voila! The Middle East is one of the few places beheadings are still capital punishment. Checking the necklace closely I saw, through gaps, the hairline cut around her neck. So, what's new with you?"
"Well, the other day I'm walking my cat on the roof and this guy across the way puts up a 'Got Milk?' sign in his window. So I thought, hmm...not very original, but cute. Then I see a 'Free Delivery!' sign. Ha! Ok, so now I'm piqued. And the
game
is on"
"How did you get my IM tag?"
"Simple. From your window I have your apartment and from the lobby directory I have your name. Name, address, Internet, and as a programmer with contacts...well, the rest was easy." She points to small area crammed with computer gear.
"Did you just assume I was online?"
"No, that night it rained; up on the roof having a smoke,
I saw you, and your Mac."
"I'm impressed."
"Likewise. I didn't expect you to solve my little online murder mystery at all, let alone one night--are you hungry?"
"I sure am--by the way what kind of cat is that? It's huge!"
"Ya know, I'm not sure, it was an orphan. I always had a thing for exotica, ever since I was a child. My parents owned an import/export business in Alexandria."
"Alexandria? where is that?"
"Egypt--hey, didn't we say we were hungry."
"We sure did."
" Well, feel free to roam while I fix something. Do you like fish?"
"I love fish."
"Great...what's in the bag?"
"Got Milk?" I replied.
I explored while the cat-walker busied herself in the kitchen. The loft was L shaped with two partitions. One partially closing off her bedroom and the other formed the kitchen area. For its size, it was sparsely furnished, making it seem even larger. I noticed some art pieces, a picture of her and another woman, and a few plants scattered about.
