Page 1 of The Perfect Deception
CHAPTER ONE
Six Weeks Ago
Ash Pierce hadn’t killed anyone in days.
As she leaned back on the poolside chaise lounge chair on the Fiesta Cruise Line’s megaship, Jamboree, she noted that technically, it had been two days since she committed murder.That was when she had butchered Camille Overton, the woman whose identity she was currently using.
A waiter came by Ash’s lounge chair.“Would you like some coffee, ma’am?”
“That would be lovely,” she said, not looking up at him.
With her sunglasses and Camille’s broad-brimmed sun hat, it would be nearly impossible for the waiter to see her face, but she wasn’t taking any chances.In fact, this was the first time she’d been outside of her—or rather, Camille’s stateroom—since boarding the ship in Ensenada.
And she was only doing it now because it was 7 A.M.on the last morning of the cruise and the pool deck was mostly empty.In just over an hour, she anticipated being on dry land at the Port of Long Beach.From there she could go anywhere, and she knew where she was going.
Relaxing on the deck of a cruise ship was a far cry from how she’d spent most of the last five weeks.After escaping from the L.A.County Courthouse on the eve of her trial for multiple murders, Ash had managed to sneak across the border into Mexico, where she’d hidden on a cargo ship all the way to Guayaquil, Ecuador.
She spent several weeks there, holing up in a grimy hostel while she formulated her mission and her plan to achieve it.The mission was simple.She was going to kill private detective Kat Gentry first, then bratty teenager Hannah Dorsey, and finally Hannah’s step-sister, LAPD criminal profiler Jessie Hunt.The three of them had essentially ruined her life.
Prior to taking on the assignment to torture and kill Kat and Hannah last summer, her life had been pretty great.Afterformerly serving as a Marine's Special Operations element leader and later, as a CIA asset who conducted covert assassinations, she eventually transitioned into work as a hitwoman for hire.
To look at her, one would never guess what she did for a living.Pierce, 34 years old, had a tiny frame, short black hair, and pale skin, all of which together suggested someone fragile.But Ash wasn’t fragile.She was deadly.As a result of her skill set, she made great money and was generally able to keep a low profile, other than when she was killing people of course.It was a pretty good life.
But then it all fell apart.Everything seemed okay until that June day last year.She had kidnapped Kat Gentry and brought her to the desert to torture her, but hadn’t realized that Hannah Dorsey had followed them.The teenager got the jump on her.Ash was arrested and incarcerated for months before she eventually busted out.So there was unfinished business with both of those two.
But Guayaquil was a long way from Los Angeles, so she had to bide her time.She also had to find a way to get back to L.A.without getting caught.Then she had to determine how best to eliminate all three women, preferably without being re-captured.
She hadn’t solved the second part of that equation but she’d almost completed the first.She left Ecuador in a cargo shipping container, where she lived for two weeks.During that time she was dependent on the crew member she’d paid off to secretly bring her food and water and periodically dump her bedpan overboard.
When the boat arrived at the Port of Ensenada in Baja Mexico, the crew member came for his final payment and to help her leave the boat.She thanked him profusely before slitting his throat with a switchblade, zipping him up in her sleeping bag, and locking the shipping container.It was located deep in the bowels of the ship and wasn’t scheduled to be offloaded until it reached San Franciso, so it would be several more weeks before anyone tried to open it.
Once in Ensenada, Ash went to the cruise ship debarkation point and waited patiently for Camille Overton to appear.It had taken Ash lots of research, including hacking the cruise line’s database, to find someone who met her needs.That was Camille.
A single 33-year-old accountant from Santa Clarita, an hour north of L.A., Camille was traveling alone.She was taking her first vacation in three years and had booked a shopping excursion for the day in Ensenada.
Unfortunately for Camille, she and Ash were about the same age and had similar builds and skin coloring.Ash had black hair, which she’d dyed blonde to disguise herself.But she had recently purchased a wig to match Camille’s brown hair.
Once Ash saw Camille, she followed her to a local open-air market and eventually introduced herself.She quickly won the woman over and convinced her to bail on the official excursion with its stops at overpriced stores, promising to show her shops with real bargains.They became fast friends, eating and shopping together for several hours.
After she was sure that she had Camille’s trust, she mentioned a jewelry shop she’d discovered the last time she was in Ensenada that had amazing deals.
“It’s a little off the beaten path on a quiet side street, which might be why the prices are more reasonable than these tourist traps in the main market.Do you want to see if we can find it?”
“For sure.”Camill smiled broadly.“I’m always up for a good deal.”
So Ash led her off the main road and into the alley she’s chosen earlier that morning.“I remember now.This is a shortcut to get there.”
Once they were in the center-most part of the alley, where it wasn’t visible from either adjacent street, Ash stopped.
“I need to fix my shoe.I think there’s pebble in it.”
She knelt down and saw that the two giant plastic garbage bags and burlap sack were still where she’d left them earlier, resting beside the brown wig and a hunting knife, all of which were under a tattered cardboard box.After making sure everything was in place, she stood back up.
“You know I think we’re only a block from the water.”She nodded down one end of the alley.“Can you see it from here?”
Camille looked in that direction.Ash made quick work of the accountant, who never saw it coming, grabbing her head and twisting it in one sharp brutal motion that snapped her neck.Ash then eased her lifeless body to the ground.
She didn’t see any reason for Camille to suffer.The woman was collateral damage but she hadn’t done anything wrong.She was just lonely and friendless, which made her easy pickings.
