As she looks up at his hand
She pays no attention to the veins on his forearm
Or the sweat that drips down the flat nose
There are tears in his eyes
But the red colour is definitely from a drug
He screams incomprehensibly
Something about betrayal
And African values
But she does not hear him as the killer blow nears
In fact she does not see his hand anymore
She is looking past his silhouette
Past the clothes on the floor
She no longer sees the red bottomed heels
The aluminium foil packet glares at her but she ignores it
She looks at his still, still warm body
Face upturned, eyes closed
But the sinner’s smile comforts her as it had done earlier that night
They break down the door
Hit him and handcuff him before he can protest
The girl follows them in and nods her head
She avoids eye contact with him
The dad comforts her, but the hand on her shoulder is heavy
He has had his cake and has eaten it too.
She’s pregnant and they believe he’s the culprit
Statutory rape, incarceration pending
The judge barely listens to him
He fits the profile
The same attributes that have the girls in the jury blushing
Fallen victim to his own face
His grin has been his undoing
He possesses the gift and curse of the sinner’s smile.
A rap at the door
Then an envelope slips under it
He picks it up and reads the single note inside
“FOR THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE”
He shakes his head and he can guess who it is from
He remembers the night vividly
About a year ago
The interlocked limbs
How they fit like interlocked seams
Hey there Delilah on the radio
Talia cooing on the powerful system
His mouth starts to part to reveal that killer beam
He reminisces but his memory is cut short
There’s a wail outside his door
He opens it swiftly and hurriedly
A toothless grin looks up at him
But he barely sees it
All he can read is what is on the shawl
“AND YOUR SINNER’S SMILE”
The Divine Bandit™ 