Read Online Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery by Eric Webster - Free Book Online

He grabbed the large brass door handle and proceeded in. The office was brightly lit for the time of night, lamps ablaze in every corner. Across the room a high-back office chair was facing away from him towards the dark windows. Above the chair, the air was filled with cigar smoke and a few faint rings of it were beginning to dissipate.
    “Well, it certainly took you long enough to get here. I am assuming things didn’t go as planned.”
    Charles hated talking to someone’s back. It really infuriated him. “Of course things didn’t go as planned. You said you were certain nobody would be at home. Things went wrong because the details were wrong.” He knew this last sentence would push some buttons and it had the desired effect.
    The chair swung around abruptly and Angela glared at him, first with a quick hint of disbelief and then with eyes the devil would have been proud of. “You’re always willing to push the envelope, aren’t you, dear?” she said very harshly. “Why don’t you tell me all about it?”
    He took a seat and began to explain the details of the heist. Something about her reaction to the whole thing seemed just a little off. Angela, although very passionate, liked to maintain tight control over a situation and never looked surprised. She always gave you the impression that everything had gone exactly as she planned it. He never doubted her.  In the mob, a racket normally run by men, only a very strong woman could maintain control, one with great confidence and leadership, one who executed plans flawlessly time and time again. Yet a few times during his story so far, he could swear she momentarily had shown slight signs of astonishment, very subtle facial expressions or gestures. She had put out her cigar and was listening intently to his every word. The rage in her eyes had been replaced by a look of curiosity.
    As Charles got to the part about Bill shooting him, he had second thoughts about telling the truth… I’m not quite sure how much of this to tell. After all it didn’t really happen, or did it?   And if I can’t make sense of it, how can I explain it to Angela?   No, it couldn’t really have happened. His right palm began to tingle and then burn slightly.
    Sensing his hesitation, Angela began to speak.  “Where’s Bill, and what about the loot?  I don’t care if he shot a china man. It was his bad luck—he got in the way!”
    Charles decided to err on the side of caution and change the story to fit his needs. “Bill drew a gun on me just as I finished opening the safe. I pulled my gun, and as luck would have it, he missed and I didn’t. As for the money, this job was not as lucrative as you made it out to be,” he said angrily.
    Reaching down to the floor he picked up his bag and placed it on the oversized mahogany desk. A memory of better days spent with Angela on top of this desk passed briefly through his mind. Damn, she is beautiful, especially when she is angry. She had a thin face with perfect skin and beautifully shaped lips always decorated in a bright red lipstick. Her dark brown hair was straight and flawless and hung down past her shoulders. She always looked incredibly sensuous, especially the way she puffed on those White Orchid Cigars.
    Sifting through the bag, she pulled out several stacks of money and fingered at some jewels as well. “There should have been close to a hundred thousand dollars in that safe. This looks at best to be about twenty thousand. The jewels are nice, but they are a far cry from making up the difference.”
    “Look, I can only bring you what was there. I would have preferred it to be more. I was looking forward to a much bigger cut.”
    Sitting back, she opened a beautiful wood humidor on her desk and lit up another cigar. It was small and gave off a rather sweet smell. “Well, Charles, you can only do what you can do. I’ll be honest with you; I was looking for one last really big score before scaling back the operation some. The