The Lipstick Killer

Rose scrolled through the headlines of the rumored serial killer on her phone. Her eyes were glued to the screen, as she was chewing on her hot pink fingernails.

I tried not to show my impatience as I reached out to touch Rose’s arm. She flinched and then hid her face from embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Dani. I…I’m just so scared.”

“Scared of what you think is a serial killer?”

Rose shoved the phone in my face. I was about to protest, but her angry blue eyes gazed into me like a knife getting plunged into my skin.

“Read it. I’m telling you Dani, this is real.”

I gently shoved the phone away. I didn’t dare show my frustration with her, because I didn’t want people in the Ulta Beauty store staring at us like we were a pair of lunatics. I placed my hands on Rose’s shoulders.

“Listen to me, Rose. This is all in your head. Who’s to say this wasn’t, I don’t know, a disagreement between friends? These murders happened in an apartment, where a party was held. Anyone could have killed them.”

“Who would kill those two girls in such an awful way? They were strangled to death. I’m telling you, Rose. This is the start of a serial killer,” she whispered loudly.

A random woman in the aisle across from us gave me a strange look. I gave her a fake smile, and she quickly walked away from us. I sighed.

“Can’t you just let this go, Rose? I just want to shop in peace. Aren’t we here to buy some makeup? For your date night on Saturday?”

Rose scowled.

“That’s your concern right now? After what I just told you? Dani, don’t you watch the news? The police thought it was strange how both girls had their lipstick smeared across their faces…like the killer purposely did that. It was so weird. The cops think it’s like a fetish thing.”

I rolled my eyes.

“What is your obsession with this kind of stuff, Rose? I will never understand.”

Rose swung her hair over her shoulder. It was so graceful, something I always loved about her. She was a natural beauty, something she got from her mother.

“My parents taught me to be wary of any danger. From now on, I’m going to avoid putting on lipstick anymore. I don’t care if you think I’m crazy. I truly believe that this is a sick bastard that kills women that wear…lipstick.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Social media is calling this killer the Lipstick Killer.”

“Oh. That’s kind of stupid.”

Rose glared at me and didn’t say anything to me during the rest of the time that we were there at the store. We didn’t speak until we reached her car. Rose threw a shopping bag into the backseat as I stood there watching her.

She finally turned back to acknowledge me, hurt in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been acting like such a bitch back there.”

I raised my hands in a gesture of peace.

“It’s alright. I shouldn’t judge you harshly over your paranoia. It’s a scary world out there.”

Rose smiled and threw her arms around my neck. She kissed me on the cheek before climbing back into her car. She rolled down her window.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want a ride back? It’s already pretty late.”

“I’ll be alright. I’m going to call a Lyft in a bit. I kind of want to walk around the plaza a bit more before I leave. And I’m craving an ice cream.”

Rose giggled.

“You’ve always been a sweet person your whole life. Those sweets make you fat, you know.”

I did a quick spin, making her laugh.

“Funny, I don’t see any fat on me.”

“You’ll get there eventually if you keep it up, Dani!”

I tilted my head and blinked my eyes in a sexy way like the women do in movies to seduce hot men.

“Maybe I like it that way,” I said.

Rose stuck out her tongue before leaving the parking lot. We waved to each other from a distance, and then I watched her drive down the road; heading back home.

I took off down the street, crossing over into the crowds of people exploring the plaza, searching for an ice cream mini-shop. I accidentally bumped into a woman, and I mumbled an apology.

The woman smiled, brushing her hair away from her face. She was beautiful, the kind of woman you would see in a fashion magazine. She wore a cherry pink lipstick. It was the only makeup she had on her face.

“It’s alright, ma’am,” she said with a laugh.

Then she quickly headed over to the bathroom. I looked around, making sure there was no one heading in her direction. I followed her.

The woman walked into a stall. I took a peek at the other stalls, noticing no one else was inside. I took out several items from my coat pocket. I put on a pair of black gloves and then retrieved the wire.

I slowly walked over to the woman’s stall, trying to not make a sound. I waited patiently, looking over my shoulder to make sure no other woman would enter the bathroom. The stall door opened. I lunged at her.

I wrapped the wire around her neck, squeezing as tightly as I could. The woman made a strange gurgling sound, and she swung her fists at me, trying to break free. I was too strong for her.

I watched the life fade from her eyes. She went limp, and I placed her gently on the floor of the stall. She looked so peaceful.

I reached out to place a thumb on her face and smeared her lipstick. A shudder went through my body. I stuffed the wire in my pocket and left the bathroom as quickly as I could.

No one suspected a thing, as I mingled back into society. I spotted two women walking away from a bookstore.

Their lips were painted a dark shade of red.

I smiled in their direction, but they didn’t notice me.

I fingered the wire in my coat pocket and began to follow them.

I’m not sure if this is a fetish thing for me as Dani says, or why I like going after women with only lipstick.

I don’t really know. I don’t really care.

Who knows?

Maybe that was the way I liked it.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn