Seldom in life do we get a second chance. So, when I got a phone call from an ex-girlfriend that had dumped me 3 years ago and wanted to get a drink, I accepted. What did I have to lose? I had just lost my job, the rent was 3 months overdue and my 99 Camry was pretty much on it’s last leg, just like me. “I’ve got a proposition for you, Sam,” she said. “How would you like to make $1200 for a half hour of your time?”

When I first met Sandy I was running with a rough crowd, and she was looking for someone to keep her amused, which wasn’t easy. Sandy’s idea of entertainment was shoplifting clothes from Bloomingdale’s and then leaving them in a box in the back seat of her unlocked car. Then she would wait for someone to steal the box, and then follow them until she got a chance to take it back. Another one of her “fun ideas” was to sit in a bar and let someone buy her a couple of drinks. When she found a guy that had a nice amount of cash in his wallet, she would say that she lived nearby and suggest they go for a walk. I would be waiting for them, and we would rob him.

Sandy looked pretty good. She had lost some weight and was wearing what looked like expensive clothes and jewelry. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here, Sam. I’ve got a problem, and I think that you can help me.” I should have known better, this isn’t a second chance to get back together; she wanted someone to do her dirty work for her. If I weren’t in such a bad way, I would have turned around and walked away. But, I needed the money, and, to be honest, my life has been pretty boring lately. “Who do I have to kill?” I joked, but she wasn’t laughing. “Let’s go for a walk,” she said, “so we can talk.” I have to admit that while walking to her house I kept expecting someone to jump me.

Sandy’s apartment was the size of small ballroom! “How can you afford this place? “It must cost a fortune!” She winked at me, and said, “Let’s just say my boyfriend likes to keep me comfortable, at least he did.” Before she turned her head, I saw a tear in her eye. This can’t be the Sandy that I knew! Sandy would drop a boyfriend like a bad habit if he did something to piss her off. What in the hell was going on here? “So, are you serious about the $1500?” I asked. She smiled and said, “It was $1200, and yes, I’m serious.”

Sandy told me that her boyfriend was a Wall Street broker and was taking care of her living expenses until he got divorced. That was the story he’d told her. Things changed when his wife found out about the affair and threatened to take him for everything he had, if he didn’t break it off right away! So, Walter told her that she had 24 hours to clear out of his life, at least until he got his wife calmed down. But Sandy had a different plan. She wanted to kill “the wife.” Well, she wanted me to kill her.

Second Chance 2.