One by one, they began lowering each of Pop’s victims onto a wheel chair or wheeled bed and took them inside. A small crowd had gathered nearby to see the plume of smoke.
A security guard leaned out of the truck and said, “Excuse me, sir. I thought you said there was a female on board with blood on her shirt.”
Mark went to the truck and peered in. He saw only Pop’s cart against the wall and Janne’s water bucket. Morana had vanished. Mark’s eye scoured the truck’s bed until he saw the open partition that divided the truck’s cab from the bed.
“She’s gone,” Mark said. The guards shrugged.
“She’s gone!” Janne yelled. “Check the patients! Check the hospital grounds—she can’t be far!” The security guards spread out to the lawn and parking lot, but Mark knew there was little hope that they would find and capture Morana.
He slumped onto the rear bumper of the truck. He stared at the plume of smoke and let his eyes lose focus. Janne returned to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
He nodded.
“You know I’ll help you in any way I can,” she said.
He nodded again. They heard new sirens—not fading off in the direction of the Nest—but nearing.
Mark’s phone beeped. It was a text message. “No hard feelings. Thanks for ending it. Morana.”
Epilogue
1 month later
MARK ENTERED BONFIGLIO Café a little after 9:00 p.m. Only four patrons remained at the counter. One was Todd Felsom who had eagerly anticipated this meeting all day.
Henry was wiping glasses when he saw Mark standing in the doorway. He yelled, “Heyyy! There he is!” and threw his towel so high that it hit the ceiling. Todd jumped from his seat and said, “Hey buddy, welcome to freedom!” He patted Mark on the back while Henry came around the counter.
Althea ran out from the rear of the café. She and Henry both hugged Mark at the same time. He didn’t recognize the four patrons, but they seemed to have been prepped for his arrival because they stood and clapped for him.
“I have all your mail,” Todd said. He pointed to the counter where a thick stack of envelopes sat, bound with rubber bands.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“I’m sure you know what I have for you,” Althea said.
Mark pretended not to know and looked up and around the room. Althea slid a foil-wrapped casserole dish out from under the counter and slid it to Mark. He lifted the corner of the foil to see it, though it was unnecessary; the unmistakable aroma of Mark’s Macaroni Madness filled the air.
Mark sat and talked with the Bonfiglios and Todd for over two hours detailing the excruciating sluggishness of his exoneration despite having video evidence that would be any cyber-forensic detective’s dream.
“You coming home?” Todd asked.
“I haven’t decided yet. I think you’ll understand if I choose to move.”
“Aw c’mon, buddy. I won’t raise the rent on you,” Todd said, and then laughed.
“We’ll see. I have a room right on the sand tonight. I’m going to stay there and lay low for a while.”
After he thanked them all and said his good-byes, Mark returned to his hotel room.
He sat at the small corner table resting his head against the wall. He reached into his pocket. Since being released from custody, he kept the TellTale adapter with him. He took it out and placed it on the table. It brought him comfort as it had been so vital in enabling escape from the Nest. He wished Carlos could have seen how well it had performed.
Shortly after their escape, Mark had explained to Janne Prophet how he had used the TellTale. She urged Mark to accept her financial backing for further development. He told her he would consider it, and for the first time since Carlos’s death, he actually did. But he was still reluctant to proceed without his friend, the TellTale’s inventor.
He picked up his stack of letters and began sorting them. Most were overdue bills with “Past Due” or “Last Notice” stamped on the outside. A hand-written envelope caught his eye.
Messy handwriting in the return address read:
Leonardo Hakkins
Third Street Promenade, 4th bench north of Broadway St.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Mark tore the letter open.
Dear Mark Denny,
It took me a while to know who you was from the TV because of our first meeting being brief and all. I met you on the Promenade after you got beat up for pretending to want to help that fellow with the gasoline.
I went to that soft landing shelter a short while back. They told me you was looking for me. I stopped going there but now I might pick up again since they said that witch is gone and they don’t know where she went.
Well, I’m writing to tell you that I have been looking at you on the tv and I sure am proud of what you done to stop the evil that was going on in this town. Things are better, but I’m starting to notice folk showing up on the street like they was before. I also seen you on the news jumping and saving that fellow on the roof. I don’t know if you remember my talk to you about favors. I can still see them even tho I was sick for a while. I want you to know that you are dragging quite a train of ripe favors now. I seen them around you right through the TV. You are rich. You should spend some.
Well, maybe I’ll see you around sometime.
Uncle Leon
Mark picked up the TellTale adapter, tossed it up and caught it a few times. He spun it on the table, and then called Jim Kourokina.
“Hello?” Jim said.
Mark heard Walkie and Talkie barking in the background. “Jim. This is Mark—Mark Denny—don’t hang up.”
“I’m not hanging up. You owe me big time.”
“I know. I’m sorry, man. I really am.”
“You’re lucky things worked out, but I’m still pissed off at you.”
“I can’t blame you. Listen, I think I know a way to pay you back. But first I’m going to need a favor.”
“You gotta be kidding! Forget it—last time you said that—”
“Hold on, I know, but this will be different—I swear. Do this favor for me and it’s gonna be really big—trust me...”
Thank you for reading Dire Means. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, even if it's only a line or two. It would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated. Amazon
Other books by Geoffrey Neil: Human Resources and Wanton Regard.
Acknowledgements
I want to emphasize that Soft Landing Shelter House resembles none of the wonderful charities that provide aid to homeless people in Santa Monica. I have personal experience with several shelters in the Los Angeles area, including the great downtown Union Rescue Mission. My wife and I have also been involved with Santa Monica’s OPCC (Ocean Park Community Center). Its wide range of services, professionalism and the hands-on altruism of its caring staff is impressive. These organizations employ love instead of fear to help our impoverished citizens, and do so with effectiveness that would dumbfound “Pop”. A portion of each sale of this book will go to support organizations such as these.
Also, Neva Boyston represents the antithesis of any person you’ll find working for shelters, churches or other assistance agencies in Santa Monica. Creating a character who is a corrupt shelter director appealed to me only because the concept was so bizarre.
Christina Dominguez – although I thanked you at the beginning of the book, I plan to thank you repeatedly until I believe that you feel the depth of my gratitude. Your love and support help me do everything.
Richard Neil – Dad, I didn’t expect you to hand me a stack of suggestion notes after reading the first draft. I liked your ideas and integrated many of them (except the 9.7 earthquake at the end—it just didn’t play out). Your approval and the pride you shared with me about my having completed this project give me priceless satisfaction.
Judy Proffer – Thank you for giving me m
y first opportunity to be published and the first paycheck I ever earned for writing. I appreciate all you’ve done for me.
Dr. Jim Eguchi – your literary feedback, suggestions and encouragement have meant more than you know. Lorna Lynch – you are the “goodest” editor a bloated manuscript could hope to find. Thank you for using your magic to reduce the obesity of this story so dramatically while preserving everything I wanted to say. Any errors in this book are the author’s fault.
Google – thank you. You know what you did.
Acknowledgements continued in random order:
Karen Davidson, Julie Harreld, Kari Pacheco, Sue Meltzer, Becky Dominguez, Mona Romero, Larry Rosen, Jeff Edwards, Michelle Stroup, Marc Goldfinger, Brenda Freiberg, Jackie Rankin, Dawn Iozzo, Marcia Bedney, Kim Dortch, Craig Wilson, Shanna Gray, Stephanie Sterba, Millie Burns and Sue Meltzer.
About the Author
Geoffrey Neil writes noir fiction laced with a social conscience. He graduated from Cal State San Bernardino with a B.A. in Communication and then spent years in an outside-sales-induced haze of professional confusion. Life’s predictable challenges drove him to the keyboard where torrid personal-journal entries, pounded out late at night, led to a therapeutic obsession with writing.
In 2009 he completed his first novel, Dire Means. His second novel, Human Resources, published in 2012, has been optioned for screen adaptation by Mace Neufeld productions, producers of Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, The Omen, The Sum of All Fears and many other titles. Geoffrey Neil’s third novel, Wanton Regard, was released in May of 2014.
More information is available at geoffreyneil.com.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Priorities Intact Publishing
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3550 Barron Way, #8B, Reno, NV 89511
Text copyright 2009, by Geoffrey Neil
Cover art by Geoffrey Neil
Edited by Lorna Lynch and Christina Dominguez
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any manner, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
2 1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009937533
ISBN-13: 978-0-615-29249-6
ISBN-10: 0615292496
Table of Contents
Title page
Dedication
Quote
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Thank you
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Copyright info
Table of Contents
Title page
Dedication
Quote
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Thank you
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Copyright info
Dire Means Page 40
