Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
A strange phone call has Vinnie and Ethan wondering what in the world is going on. The list of suspects is growing, but none of them make sense. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once…”
Momentarily at a loss for words, I made no response
but listened as instructed by the mysterious voice.
“You should have died in Florida. You should have
become gator chow, but you got lucky somehow. Your luck won’t hold forever,
though, Delarosa. You can’t outrun Fate. Someday you’ll get what’s coming to
you.” Almost as an afterthought, the caller added, “Beware the Ides of March,”
before hanging up.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? My brain
was trying to make sense of the insane message but not doing a great job of it.
“Vinnie, who was that?” Ethan nudged me out of my
temporary stupor.
“What? Oh, wrong number,” I mumbled automatically.
If the caller had intended to scare me, their cryptic words had had the
opposite effect—I was angry. But I was afraid if I said anything, I might
frighten Sarah and Benny, and I saw no sense in doing that.
I rose from the rocking chair and stretched,
pretending a nonchalance I was far from feeling. “I think I’m going to hit the
men’s room before we go.” I shot Ethan a significant look. Of course he picked
up on it an immediately and sprang to his feet as well.
“Good idea, me too. Be right back.”
That was intended for his sister and uncle, of
course. As we turned our steps away from the others, I could hear Sarah call
out something that sounded like “have fun” but I wasn’t really listening.
Once inside the men’s room, I told Ethan what the
mysterious caller had said. I think he was more frightened than I was. And angry.
He requested to look at my phone so I surrendered it, even as I told him, “I
didn’t recognize either the number or the voice. I just thought it was a
telemarketer or something.” Although why I would answer such a call I don’t
know. Perhaps because it was so unexpected, and I was feeling good about things
at that moment, whereas normally I would have been more skeptical.
“I’m sure it was just a prank,” I tried to reassure
Ethan, but he didn’t seem to be buying what I was selling. I couldn’t blame
him. The wording had been too oddly specific for it not to have been aimed at
me. How many other people had almost died in Florida recently, raise your
hands? That would be me.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Ethan said. “I’m going to
call that number back and see who answers.” But no one did. Not even when Ethan
switched to his own phone, in case the caller recognized my number. Still no
response.
“We have to tell Anderson,” Ethan said.
I couldn’t help but frown at the idea of involving
our boss. At least not until we had something more concrete to tell him. One
that involved something more than a mere phone call. Maybe I was afraid he
would split us up for some reason. Just me being my usual paranoid self.
“Vinnie, I don’t think it was a joke. At least, we
can’t treat it that way until we know more about what is going on. Anderson can
trace the number. Plus he can check on you know who and see who he’s been in
contact with. Visitors or correspondents, you know?”
I knew what he meant. I also knew that, according to
people at the prison where he was currently being held without bail prior to
his trial, good ol’ Chip was receiving a decent amount of fan mail from the
outside world. No accounting for taste.
I reluctantly nodded my agreement, and Ethan made
the phone call. He quickly apprised Anderson on what had happened, and our boss
told him he’d get back to us as soon as possible. In the meantime, he said,
carry one and just be careful. Ethan agreed and hung up.
“Vin, don’t worry,” Ethan said. “We’ll get to the
bottom of this. Between the two of us, we can handle the situation, I have no
doubt.”
When he said it like that, how could I doubt him?
Even so…
“We can’t tell your sister,” I said. “Or your
uncle.” I didn’t want to worry them. Benny had enough on his mind with the upcoming
trial. And Sarah’s plate was full as well, what with baby daddy drama and
possibly making a fresh start. I saw no reason to agitate either one.
“Agreed,” Ethan said. He pulled me in for a hug, and for just a
moment I let myself relax in his warmth.
“At first I thought it was that looney tunes
actress, but now…” Nothing was making sense. The clues were all over the map.
And then there was the attempt on Benny’s life at the hotel. What did any of it
mean?
“I suspect everyone,” Ethan said. He kissed me
softly and we hurried back to rejoin the others.
to be continued
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