by Lance Morcan
“If you lie to me, you die. Understand, madame?” Nine whispered in French into Isabelle’s ear. She nodded fearfully. Nine listened for any sounds within the apartment. There were none. “You live alone?” Isabelle nodded. “Good. Open the door.”
Isabelle’s hand shook. She slowly unlocked the door. As soon as it opened, Nine shoved her inside. He followed her into the spacious lounge of her well-appointed apartment, closing the door behind him. Having recovered from her initial surprise, Isabelle opened her mouth to scream for help. Nine punched her in the stomach, effectively silencing her. Winded, she fell to the floor, gasping for air.
Unconcerned about her welfare, Nine stood astride her. As before, he questioned her in French. “Why did you photograph me?” Breathless, Isabelle was unable to respond. Nine bent down and slapped her face. “Answer me!” He slapped her face again, harder this time. The impact raised a red welt under one eye.
“I was only taking pictures!”
Refusing to entertain excuses and determined to find out who she was working for, Nine knelt and stuck his menacing face close to Isabelle's. He jammed his pistol against her cheek and removed the safety with an audible click.
Isabelle became desperate. “Please! Don't kill me! I'm just a photographer!”
Nine remained unconvinced. “But why photograph me?”
“Look around you,” Isabelle implored, pointing at the near wall of her lounge.
Nine looked up and noticed scores of photos – not only on the near wall but on the far wall too. They were mostly portraits. Realizing she was actually the innocent photographer she claimed to be, Nine shook his head unapologetically and stood up, turning to study the photos more closely. As he did, the airline ticket he’d purchased earlier fell from his trouser pocket and landed on Isabelle. Nine didn’t immediately notice.
Despite her distress, Isabelle grabbed the ticket. Her eyes locked onto the destination beside the Air Tahiti logo. It read: Les îles Marquises en Polynésie Française.
Nine looked back down at Isabelle. Damn it, he inwardly cursed. Alarmed to see she had his airline ticket, he snatched it back and stared hard at her. Thinking carefully, he knew he now had a difficult decision to make. The same feeling of dread he’d experienced earlier returned. He resumed studying the photos on the walls.
The Frenchwoman remained on the floor. She was in shock and began to sob. Seemingly unconcerned, Nine went to the fridge and removed some ice-cubes. Wrapping them in a tea-towel, he returned and placed the tea-towel in Isabelle’s hand. He raised her hand so the ice pressed against her swollen face.
Isabelle could feel his eyes on her and avoided his gaze. Nine was momentarily mesmerized by her beauty as he took in her exotic features. There was something fragile yet strong about her. Her slender limbs reminded him of a gazelle. Yet her dark eyes flashed anger. Nine forced himself to look away. Scanning a nearby bookshelf, he noticed The Catcher in the Rye among the titles. He turned back to Isabelle. “Keep that ice against your skin. You'll be fine.”
Isabelle looked up into his austere, African face and glared disdainfully at him. Taking that as his cue to leave, Nine grabbed her digital camera and left. Isabelle struggled to her feet, stumbled to her phone and dialed 112, the number for the French emergency service. Gendarmes arrived minutes later, but Isabelle’s black assailant was long gone.
The Orphan Trilogy on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/
The Orphan Trilogy on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BGGM05U/
The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC
The Orphan Conspiracies on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4MPFT6/
Table of Contents
Copyright
WORLD ODYSSEY
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
Epilogue
Fiji
Part One SHORES OF CONFLICT
Part Two THE LAND OF RED RAIN
Epilogue
Other novels published by Sterling Gate Books…
Excerpt from THE ORPHAN TRILOGY
