The Affliction of Praha: A gripping murder mystery set in 1920s Czechoslovakia

by Simon Gillard

  A chill ran straight down Juraj’s spine. Who is this person, this abomination?

  ‘He was my brother, Anita. He would have died for me, as I would for him. He would have gotten over you eventually, and if you loved me as much as you claim to, we would have found a way to exist outside the campus and shrine of the Teralov name. How could you dare to take it so far?’ Juraj coughed and spluttered now, a liquid filling his lungs—an unknown offer summed from depths he failed to fathom.

  ‘Once I found out Peter was dead and your mother had called for the Soviet detective to investigate, I knew I had to act, Juraj, to preserve our love. Don’t you see? I did everything to save us, to keep us close together.’

  Juraj felt the panic and realisation of his past actions overwhelm him. He was as much as responsible for the fate of Edgar and Milos’ deaths now as the very people who finalized their doom.

  ‘I lied to protect you, Anita,’ he started, struggling for every word and breath. ‘The note you had the porter write to me, warning me of Edgar, you knew he would find out it was you eventually, he would have exposed you. I didn’t know what I was protecting you from then, but I lied to him, I feigned that I did not know from whom the note was written. Although I did not recognize the writing at first, the meaning of the message was clear to me after a while of thinking. But it is only now I truly understand and follow what you meant by protecting us.’

  Anita smiled. ‘Yes, Juraj… finally, you understand. I had to warn you of the Soviet’s intentions because sooner or later, he may have found out what I had done, and, of course, that would have meant we would no longer be together. An unacceptable outcome. I had to warn you—it was important for you to not trust him.’

  ‘But I did trust him, Anita…’ He struggled now for air, fighting for every last inhalation. The dizziness and suffocation creeping further within himself. ‘He was good to me.’

  ‘He almost ruined everything—I had sent Milos to Bratislava as a decoy. It was so easy. He was a good friend of Peter’s. You know this. It was strikingly obvious he would go to identify the body, and as the police had been instructed to not move it,’ she ran her fingers through her hair as she spoke, smiling at Juraj brightly, awaiting his approval and delight in her well-executed plan, ‘I knew exactly where to find him. Slipping a note into a man’s pocket who is stricken with grief is a simple task.’ She smiled more and held Juraj’s hand, looking into his eyes with promise and wonder. ‘Everything went exactly as I had planned. Milos was ripe to take the fall for us, for our freedom and future. But Edgar was smarter than I expected. My brother knew exactly what to do if he suspected Edgar ever found out too much.’

  Retrieving the brooch from his pocket, he revealed it to Anita, placing it within her hands. ‘For the one I love,’ he spoke.

  Smiling with pride, Anita was beaming.

  ‘Yes, Juraj, this was… is my gift to you.’

  Juraj began to feel more than just physically sick. Bile began to rise from his stomach and his mind was screaming for him to run, to strike her—anything to escape and imprison this beast, yet he could not muster himself to move.

  ‘Anita,’ he murmured, the energy starting to drain from his being. ‘Why did you do this?’ He quivered, feeling lifeless and lost as hope started to drain from his soul.

  ‘I love you, Juraj,’ she gleamed with full cheer and awe. Grasping at him, she kissed him softly on his cheek as his vision started to fade into blackness. A distant hum lingered nearer as the world settled downward, a switch flicking and panting: where is he going?

  ‘Anita…,’ he gasped, stretching for breath, fighting hopelessly in the dark.

  He collapsed into her arms, his body spent and broken. Unwillingly, he had become a prisoner of his own physique, shackled still in time, frozen with disbelief and bewilderment. His thoughts lingered on the cup he had drunk from not two hours earlier—tea, with his mother. Anita...surely not?

  ‘Say you love me, Juraj, and I’ll make it all go away,’ she whispered gently into his ear.

  Juraj opened his mouth to whisper and then the world fell silently around him, darkness unveiling itself, the final grand drape falling from the proscenium.

  Note from the Author:

  Thank you so much for taking a chance on me and purchasing my first ever novel. It is my sincere hope that you enjoyed the book, and it left you questioning and wondering who the killer throughout the story may have been.

  I cannot express my gratitude enough to you for reading my work.

  As a new author, it is difficult to break out and be heard amongst the many other fantastic books that are available for sale—I am so glad you have managed to find mine. There is one final ask I would like to request from you.

  The reality is, most readers will not consider purchasing a book if there are not enough reviews to satisfy their individual requirements—it is a selection criterion, as much as the cover and description must appeal to the reader, so too should the amount and quality of a book review.

  If you could find a few minutes to write an honest review of this book on Amazon, even two or three words with your rating, it would do a wonder of good for this book’s chances of reaching more readers.

  I would love to write more books and writing a review is the single best way you can help me, beyond your already generous act of buying my book: so, dear reader—thank you.

  Simon Gillard is an author with a passion for mystery novels and history alike. He works as a Network Engineer in the IT industry and he also spent two years in Slovakia, which inspired him to craft The Affliction of Praha and use the nation’s rich history as its setting. When not writing, Simon enjoys reading, motorbikes, skiing, and music. He currently lives in London with his beautiful wife and their young daughter.

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