The Art of Deception Page 9

  The scar that ran across his face began to irritate him as he moved stealthily against the wall. He had gotten to a point where the moonlight was bound to reveal his identity to the trio. So, he walked cautiously into the walkway and cleared his throat. “We’ve been waiting for you boys for far too long now.”

  Mark stood and looked at him intently, “You’re that guy that I saw in Linda’s apartment. You know where Karen is…” Rage filled his body as he ran towards Ringo, ready to make a feeble attempt at tackling him. Miguel and Eddie grabbed him before he could make that ludicrous mistake. Before anything more could happen, they heard footsteps coming from the staircase. Lots of footsteps. Ringo smiled. “Looks like you have nowhere to run to, boys.”

  Eddie peered over the wall to gauge how far they would fall if they decided to jump. He estimated that they were about 20 feet from the ground, too far to jump safely. Ringo was right; they didn’t have anywhere to go. In a split second, Eddie sprang into action. He used as much of his strength as possible to charge into Ringo’s abdomen. Ringo barely moved an inch. He took his right hand and hit Eddie hard in the head, rendering him unconscious.

  The footsteps were coming closer. Mark looked at Miguel as he contemplated the next best move to make. Ringo smiled. “There’s no way out,” he said. That’s when Mark noticed a small trap door on the opposite end of the roof. He needed a distraction so that he and Mark could get Eddie and head over there. At that moment, three men emerged from the staircase armed with powerful rifles. They clearly weren’t who Ringo was expecting because the smug look was quickly wiped off his face. Twiggy was in the lead and he was clearly pissed. “Yo Ringo! We did the job now we want the dough,” he said as he pointed his rifle at Ringo. Ringo angrily responded, “Look little boy. How dare you talk to me like that? The job isn’t done until I say it’s done.” Big mistake. Twiggy and the other men started shooting.

  Mark saw this as his opportunity. He grabbed Miguel’s hand and brought him over to Eddie who had started to regain consciousness. Gunshots began to fill the still night sky once again as they pulled Eddie to his feet. One of the bullets barely touched Miguel’s shoulder as they struggled with Eddie to the trap door.

  Thankfully, there wasn’t a lock on the door so Mark opened it with ease. Light was flickering down what seemed to be a long passageway. Eddie was now fully conscious, but was a little wobbly on his feet. Mark went down the small ladder and held his hands out to assist Eddie. Miguel followed behind and ensured that the trap door was locked before he descended the ladder. He barely made it through the door; two of the men were there, ready to grab him.

  They heard the men pounding and scraping the door. “That won’t hold them for very long,” said Mark.

  “Let’s go down this hallway and see where it leads,” Miguel replied. They followed his suggestion and walked down the hallway that was flanked by lit torches. The glow of the torches made their hairs stand on end. It felt more like a dungeon than anything else. The passage took them into a circular room that had five doors. “Great, now we have to make a choice,” Miguel said.

  “Look at that door,” Mark said, “It’s different from the others.” All of the doors were wooden but this particular door was heavy and made from rich oak. It seemed more finely made than the others.

  Miguel walked towards the door and gave it a firm push. It didn’t budge. “Can you manage to help us push the door open?” Miguel asked Eddie, who didn’t look really good. A huge bump had formed on his forehead and his skin was pale.

  “I’ll try,” he said. The trio braced their weight against the door. It budged an inch. They pushed again and the door flew open. Again there was another flight of stairs, but these stairs were more modern and less stifling than the previous two.

  Mark went down the stairs first. “Hey, there’s another door with a keypad on it,” he said.

  “Why can’t they just make this easy?” Eddie asked.

  “The better question to ask is what a door like that is doing in a place like this,” Mark said.

  “I think I can figure out the passcode based on the fingerprint pattern,” Miguel said as he pulled out a soft cloth from his back pocket.

  “Really? How’re you going to figure out the order of the keys?” Eddie asked.

  “Trust me. I had a life before you met me.”

  Mark and Eddie stood in silence as they watched Miguel decipher the code. Mark hoped that what they found behind the door would be worth the effort.

  Chapter Twelve

  They sat on the muddy floor and stared at each other. Ginger, Carlton and Roger had been bound together with coarse rope. Karen sat with her back against the wall and her feet outstretched. She had stopped eating the rotten food they were giving her about three days before, so she was weak. Her hair was a mess and her skin was filthy.

  Ginger was trying to wriggle her arms free from the rope, but the motion was only causing her to irritate her skin. “It doesn’t make sense Ginger. There’s no way out. We’re trapped here,” Karen said.

  “Well, Karen, I have no intention of sitting here and doing nothing. I really don’t want to end up looking like you. You’re a hot mess.”

  A smirk formed on Roger’s face. “Wipe that ridiculous smile off your face dumbass. You’re the reason I’m down here,” Ginger said.

  “Stop the bickering,” Carlton said, “Karen is right. Even if we’re able to loosen the rope, the only way out is through that door. We don’t know the combination for the lock.”

  Ginger scowled at him. She began to look around the room for something that could be used as a weapon. There were four of them and only one Ringo. She felt that they could overpower him when he came through the door. If only she could get her hands free from the rope. “Hey, do you hear that?” Roger asked. Ginger listened closely and heard mumbling coming from the other side of the door. Someone was coming.

  Within seconds the door opened and everyone in the room was staring at Mark, Miguel, and Eddie. “I was wondering when you guys would get here,” Ginger said.

  “Nice to see you too Ging,” Miguel said with a slight smile. He ran over and began loosening her rope. Mark stood still with his mouth wide open. His eyes connected with Karen’s. They were eyes that he had been longing to see again for so long. Tears began to form in her eyes as he ran and held her in his arms.

  “Ah, I’m sorry to break up this little moment, but we need to get out of here before that scary guy comes back,” Ginger said.

  “What should we do with these two?” Miguel asked.

  “Leave them there. They are a bunch of criminals,” Ginger said.

  “Let them go, Ginger,” Karen said softly. “They deserve a second chance.”

  Mark, Eddie, and Miguel exchanged glances. The decision was made. Miguel cut Carlton and Roger’s ropes. “You better not make me regret this,” he said. With everyone free of their restraints, it was time for them to leave. Mark and Karen led the way and were halfway up the staircase when Ringo appeared.

  Bruises were all over his face and blood was oozing from a wound on his arm. Angella was standing behind him. “I wonder where they think they’re going,” she said. Ringo was furious and there was no way that any of them were leaving unscathed. He pushed Mark and Karen back into the room. Angella followed him in and closed the door. “This is such a happy reunion. I can kill so many birds with one stone,” she said. Ringo picked up the pieces of rope that Miguel had cut and began to bind each of their captive’s hands. During Angella’s short speech, Miguel reached for his gun. When Ringo finally got to Miguel, Miguel fired a shot directly at his knee. Ringo keeled over in unbearable pain.

  Just as swiftly, Angella took out her tiny pistol from her stocking and fired a random shot which connected with Karen’s abdomen. “No!” Mark screamed as he caught Karen in his arms. Eddie tackled Angella and they were now struggling for her gun. They were wrestling on the floor when the gun went off, leaving Angella clutching her arm.

  “C�
�mon, let’s go!” he shouted.

  “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie look,” Miguel said as he pointed in Mark’s direction. Karen was losing a lot of blood and what little colour she had left was draining from her face. Mark was in tears. Eddie knew that they needed to get out of there quickly before they lost their advantage. “Mark, pick her up and let’s go. We have to get her to the hospital.” Mark did as instructed and they all ran up the stairs.

  “The exit is this way,” Carlton shouted as he opened the door to the left in the circular room. By the time they reached outside, Karen was gasping for air. Mark lay her on the ground, took off his shirt, and applied further pressure to the wound. Miguel dialed 911. They could hear sirens in the distance. “That must be the backup I called for earlier,” Eddie said.

  “Listen, I’m not going to get in trouble with the police. So, I think I’m going to go..” Roger said as he started to back away.

  Miguel grabbed his arm and said, “You aren’t going anywhere.”

  Karen had stopped gasping for air and was now wavering in and out of consciousness. “Stay with me baby, please. I can’t lose you,” Mark said.

  In one of her moments of consciousness, she pulled him closer to her and whispered in his ear, “I love you Marki-boy,” before she breathed her last breath.

  “No!!!” Mark screamed out in pain. Sounds of sorrow rose from his lungs. He caressed her hair and kissed her forehead. There was nothing that could be said in this moment. She was the love of his life and in an instant, she was gone. Mark’s heart was torn apart.

  Everyone around him stood in silence as they watched Mark’s pain. Ginger knelt beside him and placed her arm around his shoulders, hoping that she could offer some comfort. Tears were streaming down her face and, when she looked up, she realized that everyone was crying. The heart wrenching moment was interrupted by the sound of cars approaching. About three police vehicles had arrived with an ambulance following closely behind.

  Ringo emerged from the fortress limping on his damaged foot. Angella had taken off her heels and was holding her damaged shoulder tightly. The police were now approaching and the paramedics were running quickly to attend to Angella and Ringo. The police approached the group and began taking statements.

  Just when everyone thought that the drama was over, Angella got up and started to run towards the back of the fortress. Two of the policemen bolted after her. Miguel, Carlton and Eddie followed suit. When they got to the back of the fortress, Angella was standing at the edge of the cliff. There was a strong tide coming in; water lapped violently against the rocks below. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll jump,” she said.

  “M’am, we know you don’t want to do that. Why don’t you come over here and talk to us,” one of the officers asked.

  “There’s nothing for me to say, nothing for me to live for,” she responded while taking a step back towards the cliff’s edge.

  “C’mon Angella. It isn’t worth it,” Carlton said. He took a step towards her and that was it. She took the final step and fell into the water. Everyone stood in shock.

  “Does anyone else have a death wish?” Eddie asked jokingly. No one laughed.

  “Very classy, Eddie,” Miguel said. He looked sadly at his friends. “This sure has been one crazy ride.”

  “It sure has been,” Eddie replied.

  They all made their way back to rejoin the group. The police took Carlton, Roger and Ringo into custody. The coroner arrived to take Karen’s body. Everyone watched solemnly as her body was placed in a body bag and she was wheeled into the van. They all held hands and walked towards Mark and Miguel’s vehicles. They hadn’t gotten the outcome they desired, but one thing was certain; their friendship was destined to last a lifetime.

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later

  There is nothing pleasant about a funeral. What makes them even more unpleasant is when the loved one has been taken away too soon. The past two weeks had been the hardest period of Mark’s life. Instead of planning a beautiful wedding, he had planned a funeral. Instead of preparing to have Karen move in with him permanently, he had sorted through her things to determine what to give away.

  Several secrets had also been brought to light since Karen’s death. Mark finally met Karen’s eldest sister, Katherine, who explained Angella’s connection to Karen. The Society was untouchable, so Ringo, Roger and Carlton were quickly released after someone in the Society pulled a few strings. Carlton was forced to abandon his post as mayor, however, because Mark’s article was finally published and his secret was exposed.

  All of Mark’s friends were at the funeral. An adorable relationship had blossomed between Ginger and Eddie. They were sitting beside him, holding hands. Toya, Miguel and their beautiful daughter were sitting behind him. Toya told Miguel during the past week that she was pregnant. Miguel was beyond excited.

  Mark was extremely happy for all of his friends and he was glad that they were with him on this very sad day. Karen’s picture sat on an easel beside her coffin and the church had been adorned with her favorite orchids. By the end of the funeral, Mark was exhausted. Miguel and Toya had offered to let him stay at their house for as long as he wanted. He thought about taking that offer up today because he didn’t feel like being alone. Not on a day like this.

  ___________________________________________________________

  She had managed to conceal herself well throughout the funeral. Despite the distance she had created between herself and Karen, the sisterly love she had for Karen would always remain. Her huge sunglasses and wide-rimmed hat hid her face perfectly. The scar on her right shoulder bothered her occasionally but she viewed it as her punishment for all the wrong she had done. She watched the faces of those who were closest to Karen as they sipped champagne during the gathering after the funeral. Oh how she envied them, envied how simple their lives were. Even when she chose her own death, that choice was taken from her. A man in a fishing boat had seen her drop into the water and had rescued her. Her injuries were not as severe as they could have been, so he was able to nurse her back to health quickly. She vowed to turn over a new leaf- to make some positive changes to her life. Then Patrick Grandison found her and she was forced back into the life she so desperately wanted to leave behind.

  Her cell phone began vibrating in her purse. She took it out and saw Grandison’s name flash across the screen. She answered his call and he told her to meet him in the limo outside. As she strutted towards the limo, she held her head high and convinced herself that this was the woman she was- a powerful murderer who was feared by many. The power was her drug and only time would tell if she would ever be able to break free from it.

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