“So, you and Sam are responsible for the murders and for Claudia floating in that damn fountain? What kind of sick…”
“Hey, I’ll take credit for that, thank you. I’m the star in this production,” she boasted. “He knows nothing about that. I’ll do anything to stay in control, anything. If anyone gets between Sam and me, or the operation I’ve built, you bet your sweet ass I’ll take them down. I’m in charge, not him. Poor guy; he’s got his hands full with you.”
I felt my stomach heave again and steadied myself against the wall.
“Get it straight,” Phyllis ranted on. “This operation is bigger than your miniature mind can imagine. I’ve got an organization in Europe that’s twice the size of what I have here…in this one horse town. Trust me, I’m big,” she gloated, shaking like a leaf. Perspiration ran down the side of her face, and she wiped it away with the sleeve of her Indian print tunic.
“Welcome to Crazyland,” Jackie mumbled.
“Phyllis, you’re a Cowl! You can’t be serious. You don’t need money; you’re loaded. You’ve got connections, an important family…a noted blood line. You’ve got necklines named after you, for crying out loud.”
“It’s not just the money,” she moaned, rolling her eyes. “It’s the excitement; I haven’t felt this alive in years! The power of running such a massive secretive operation is irresistible, so naughty and delicious.” She licked her lips. “Then there’s Sam,” she purred like a cat. “What a thrill it was to steal him away…right from under your Nose Job. Ha! That part was easy.”
“You had your nose done?” Jackie studied my face.
Phyllis rolled her eyes and poured another scotch. She downed it with one loud gulp. “It’s the excitement,” she babbled on. “It’s so damn boring in this stupid town. As a matter of fact, my whole life has been pretty frigging boring; all mapped out for me by my pathetic family, that pack of scarecrows. Pleeeeeze, I need adventure and intrigue.”
“What about Frank? Is he involved too?”
“Don’t make me laugh,” she sputtered. “That meatball; I just used him for his warehouses and all those goons he has working for him. Those guys answer to me; he’s nothing. He has no idea…such a bonehead”
“Frank, that poor lug,” Jackie said, shaking her head.
“He’s a meatball,” Phyllis ranted.
Jackie looked kind of grey. “Um, about that drink…?”
“You can’t keep us here forever, Phyllis,” I snapped. “Look, you can have Sam and your massive operation. Just let us out of here. We don’t care what you do or what you’ve done. We won’t mention a word to anyone. You can trust us…right, Jackie?”
“Um, there’s a bottle of Pinot Grigio on the bar. If I could just…”
“You must take me for a real fool.” Phyllis laughed and wiped her bright red lipstick off with the back of her hand, leaving a crimson streak across her face. Her tunic was soaked with sweat, her bottom lip was quivering, and red blotches were popping up all over her face and neck.
Phyllis was a hot mess.
Suddenly, a moaning sound emanated from the back room, distracting Phyllis.
Jackie and I seized the moment.
We jumped up and charged Phyllis with everything we had.
It didn’t work. As soon as we popped up, she shoved a large revolver at us.
“Whoa, whoa…calm down. Let’s not get crazy, Phyllis!”
“Yeah, just take a freaking cleansing breath, you fruit loop…be logical,” shouted Jackie. “Put the gun down, Phyllis!” Jackie took my hand, and we backed away slowly.
“Not a chance! One wrong move and I’ll blast a nice big hole in the two of you. Now get moving; in the corner.” She waved the gun over her head. “I have to tie you two up, so I can get the hell out of here.”
“Use your head; Phyllis. I think you’ve come undone…like that nut Saffron. Snap out of it!”
“Ha! Saffron is on my payroll, you idiot. You should have listened to her, Pen. You should have taken her warning more seriously. I tried to spare you…tried to get you to leave on your own. Now it’s too late. I have to deal with you myself. My work is never done,” she fumed.
“You’ve lost it Phyllis.”
“I’m in total control,” she shrieked, waving the revolver.
I tried to steady my breath and bit my lip. I prayed for Brilliant to come swooping in and save us, but that seemed unlikely at this point.
“Look, we can see how, um, powerful you are. We don’t want to get in your way. Isn’t that right, Jackie?” I turned to Jackie for a response, but her eyes were locked on the bottle of Pinot Grigio. “Um, look, people are going to be looking for us. They’ll…”
“Shut up. By the time anyone realizes you two tummy-tucked air heads are missing, I’ll be long gone.”
Jackie cut her off. “Phyllis, get a grip. Pen’s right…we’re friends; we want to help you, not turn you in.” She darted her eyes over to me. “You don’t give us enough credit, right Pen?”
“Er, of course.” I pulled on my collar. “We like a good time, too. Did you ever think that maybe…”
Phyllis laughed. “What do you take me for? I’m done with the both of you. I only befriended you pack of suburban hags so I could keep an eye on you…throw you off track. That’s why I spent so much time with you, Pen. What a giant yawn. At first it made Sam nervous, but he agreed in the end. I have him wrapped around my little finger,” she smirked. “What a cake walk…you were all so stupid. You fell for my act right from the get go.”
“Phyllis, we’ve been friends for a while now. You mean to tell me you’ve been seeing Sam that long?” I shook my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this.”
“Yes, right from the beginning. How stupid are you?” she snorted. “It was torture, spending hours with you pack of dingbats, listening to you babble on about useless crap - charity balls, shopping sprees, pedicures. Please, it was all I could do not to gag.”
“Do you honestly think Sam’s going to leave Pen for you?” Jackie spewed. “He hasn’t yet.”
“Well he is; that’s the plan. We can’t wait to get away from this rat’s hole. We were biding our time, waiting until we had enough cash. News flash - Sam’s on the verge of bankruptcy. I bet you didn’t know that, did you?”
“What…that’s impossible,” I stammered.
“It’s a fact…he’s been trying like hell to get a hold of your money. You lucked out there. Evidently, your stepfather’s a smart cookie. He’s got everything set up in your favor. Sam can’t touch your dough.”
“But…you’re rich, Phyllis,” I blurted out. “Your family is loaded.”
“Yes, well they’ve disowned me. I’ve gone through my Trust, and my last husband went through my money like it was growing on trees. I’ve been living off what Frank hauls in from his oil business, that big cannoli. It’s not nearly enough! You see, that’s why Sam and I started selling drugs. I couldn’t believe how easy it was,” she cackled. “What a gold mine. All the blowup dolls in this town couldn’t get enough of the stuff. They were willing to spend every dime they had on it. Ha! The bigger they are, the harder they fall…”
“You’ll never get away with it, Phyllis.”
“Enough! Time is running out.” She pointed the revolver at us. “I need to get rid of you two….then I’ll deal with Claudia, that straight-laced ice queen.”
Little beads of perspiration were forming on my forehead, and I was starting to believe we wouldn’t get out of this horrific nightmare with crazy Phyllis. I thought about Brilliant and his speech about inner strength. “Seek God’s guidance.”
I have nothing to lose, I thought, and started to pray. Please God, hear my prayer and take charge of this situation. Please fill crazy Phyllis…um, I mean poor Phyllis…with love. She’s deranged. Sorry, I mean, she’s unstable. Please help us! I’m not ready to die…Brilliant is right. I have so much to do, so much ahead of me. I want to enjoy my beautiful children, listen to their laughter,
and watch them grow. I want to experience more, love more, sing, dance, and feel more. Yes, I really do need to dance more. I realize now that I am worthy. I’m so lucky to be who I am! I promise not to shop so much; I’ll cut up my credit cards. I’ll be more charitable. I’ll give my clothes away, live off the land. Oh, I choose to live, live, live!
Jackie murmured, jarring me back. She squeezed my hand hard, and I looked up.
My eyes widened at the sight before me.
Creeping up behind Phyllis, like a cat ready to pounce, was none other than Selena Clinton, dressed from head to toe in shiny black leather. She had a giant black whip in her hand.
Unaware, Phyllis waved her revolver at us again. “Ok, let’s move it,” she sputtered.
Suddenly, and with one loud crack, Selena had Phyllis up in the air and then flat on her back, tied up like a calf for branding.
It was nothing short of amazing.
Jackie jumped up and grabbed the gun as it fell from Phyllis’ hand, and I ran for the phone. I quickly dialed 911.
“It’s a miracle,” Jackie shouted, grabbing the bottle of Pinot Grigio.
Phyllis looked dazed as Selena pressed the spike of her shiny black boot into her throat.
“Ay, you dunt know what yur deal’n with. How dare you try and hurt mi amigas! You cow. Pewww,” she spat in Phyllis’ face.
“Wow, Selena. What, how…what are you doing here?” I held my heart.
“Ay, I come to ask Mrs. Jackie to paint my portrait for Jake - a Christmas present for my beautiful Jakey. Ay, my car, she broke down, si? Your decorator gives me the ride. You know, how you say…Brilliante?”
“Huh?”
“Si…I am delivered,” she blinked.
“But…”
“Si...when I get here, I look in wingdow. I see you and Mrs. Jackie and this cow with a gung in her hangd. I break it - the back wingdow - and find this whip in Senora Jackie’s art studio.” She grinned.
I shot Jackie a look.
“Hey, it came in handy…didn’t it?” she giggled, taking a swig of Pinot Grigio.
“I’m not even going to ask…”
We could hear sirens approaching.
Selena leaned down close to Phyllis and whispered in her ear, “Ay, your karma, she is cooked.”
WELCOME BACK
The sand felt warm and tingly under my toes, and the smell of the reeds stung my nose. The ocean roared, and salt from the spray clung to my skin, shimmering like tiny sequins. I warmed my hands by the fire we built in the sand and looked up into his eyes. The blue matched the sea behind him, and my heart jumped in my chest. “I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you more,” he said softly and kissed me tenderly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and breathed him in. He smelled the same – like sunshine and sea air.
I heard the girls giggling down by the water’s edge. They were busy collecting sea shells in their little pink pails and waved when they saw me watching.
“Look, Mommy, we’ve got a bunch. We can make a shell box for you and one for you too, Logan,” they squealed.
I looked up at the sky and remembered Brilliant’s words, “Anything is possible.” Now I finally understood what he meant. Logan wrapped himself around me and whispered, “It’s about time we got us back.” As I gazed at him, I couldn’t help but see a resemblance to Brilliant, like he was there watching through Logan’s eyes, rejoicing in our embrace of life, love, and hope. I thought I could hear Brilliant’s voice whispering, “Anything is possible, with a little faith.”
~ The End ~
A Note from the Author:
Thank you for reading A Brilliant Ride. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did enjoy it, please consider writing a positive review at your point of purchase. Thank you.
Much love,
Lisa J. Mitchell @lisamitchell29
I tweet back xoxo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa J. Mitchell is an American writer, residing on the East Coast with her husband, two sons, and her Shih-Poo. She's worked in Advertising, Fashion, and Sales...but writing is her absolute passion. When she's not tapping away at the keyboard, she can be found in the kitchen whipping up a new exotic recipe, enjoying time with her family, or having a laugh with dear friends.
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