Amara sneaked through the tunnels and waited in a dark corner of an In-Betweeners’ street. She kept herself in the shadows.
There he was; she could see her secret lover. He moved towards her, but instinctively she knew something was wrong. Why was he rushing? The blue lights began to flash a bright white. He roughly dragged her away. She tripped and fell with a crack to her head. The whole world seemed to tilt in her dizziness.
‘It’s you,’ she screamed. ‘I don’t understand. Something’s happened to Blueglow City,’ she choked out. ‘I need to get to my Father...’
‘You can’t. The city’s under attack,’ he informed her. ‘Your meeting with me was arranged by your Father, to get you out on the outside.’
‘No, no,’ she sobbed hysterically. Not only had her secret love let her down, her Father had tricked her as well.
Then she felt the pain. She looked down. The knife was deep. The blood gushed.
‘Why?’ she asked, confused.
‘I work for the other side. Your Father was stupid enough to hire me to save you, but in reality he was killing you. I’m your slayer.’
~~~
Amara opened her eyes. Her head thrummed with a deep rhythmic ache. She couldn’t move. Her arms were tied in a white jacket.
‘Not again,’ she shouted. ‘Tell my Father I’m not mad.’
The warden opened a small window in her door. He looked at her with pity. Amara would never leave the asylum, just like her Father.
The blue lights flashed; another patient, another situation.
Jaime and Raechel Faulkner are a husband and wife team who write fiction, including novels and short stories, although they specialize in flash fiction / short-shorts (i.e. really short stories), and modern, fun poetry.
Jaime is originally from the United Kingdom, but moved to the USA several years ago where he now lives with his wife Raechel and their dogs, Gizmo (Black Lab), Gizmo (Jack Russell Terrier), Frenchie (French Bull Dog), and their youngest doggie additions, Sunny (Yellow Lab) and Midnight (Black Lab).
BAKER’S DOZEN
Jaime & Raechel Faulkner
Ralph picked up the morning paper and read the headline: “12th Dead Body Found in 12 Days.”
Perusing the article, he noticed there were still no clues to indicate foul play — all the victims had just collapsed from what appeared to be sudden heart attacks, and because they’d all been elderly, murder had not even been considered.
But he knew differently — he’d done his research.
The report closed with the question: “Will there be a thirteenth death tonight, on Halloween?”
Ralph glanced at the kitchen clock, put the paper down, and left his coffee cup to soak in the sink. He collected his badge, handcuffs and gun from the dresser in the hall, then grabbed his keys and a small cardboard box as he headed toward the front door.
~~~
He drove straight to a small bakery on the other side of town, ignoring several calls on his phone en route.
Having parked a few yards up the street, he got out of his car, walked around the other side to reach in through the open window to pick up the box, and went inside.
“We’re not open yet,” the man behind the counter said.
“You are for me,” he said, as he flashed his badge and lay it casually on the counter.
“Oh, okay. What can I do for you? I assume you’re not just here for some donuts?” The man laughed, nervously.
A wave of annoyance flashed across Ralph’s face. “I don’t think you’ll find this quite so funny in a moment.”
He was amused to see the smile turn to a frown, and a look of panic appear in the man’s eyes.
“I take it you’re aware of all the unexplained deaths lately?”
Before he gave the man time to answer, he continued, “Well, it turns out that all 12 of them were customers of yours.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve done my homework.” After a menacing pause: “It was very clever of you to poison their food to make it look like a heart attack.”
“But…”
“But nothing,” Ralph interrupted. “Do you deny you sold cakes to all these people?” He pushed a sheet of paper containing a dozen photos across the counter.
“No, but I didn’t poison them — honestly I didn’t! Besides, other customers bought the same products, and they’re still alive.” The man reached behind him to grab a cupcake. “Look, why don’t you try one? Then you’ll see they’re perfectly okay.”
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to let myself be the 13th victim?” He swapped the sheet of photos for the cardboard box. “Recognize this box?”
“Yes, it’s one of mine.”
“So why not try one of your own products?”
“No problem, if it will convince you I’m innocent.” He took a cake from the box.
~~~
The man behind the counter was gasping for breath and clutching his chest.
“And that makes 13,” said Ralph Baker, as he retrieved the box containing the remaining poisoned cakes and his fake detective’s badge before returning to his car.
We hope you enjoyed this collection of stories. You can find more works by our authors at the following locations:
Lynne Cantwell
hearth-myth.blogspot.com
amazon.com/Lynne-Cantwell/e/B005JTP5NE
Alesha Cary
facebook.com/AleshaCaryBooks
amazon.com/Alesha-Cary/e/B00ASCIV10
Jaime & Raechel Faulkner
randmpublishing.com/authors/jaime-and-raechel-faulkner/
amazon.com/Jaime-Faulkner/e/B009NK73GC
Daniel Fogg
nightfirepublications.com/about-us/daniel-foggs-autobiography/
www.amazon.com/Daniel-Fogg/e/B0074GY49Q
Shawn Inmon
shawninmon.com
facebook.com/shawninmonwriter
Joseph Picard
ozero.ca
amazon.com/Joseph-Picard/e/B002LPT7VA/
Carla Sarett
carlasarett.blogspot.com
amazon.com/Carla-Sarett/e/B00ANVZPXI/
Terry Schott
terryschott.com
amazon.com/Terry-Schott/e/B009YBXDZK
Alan Seeger
alanseeger.net
amazon.com/Alan-Seeger/e/B00B73RKIO
Catherine L. Vickers
onewomansquestuk.blogspot.co.uk/
facebook.com/catherinelvickers
13 Bites Volume I (13 Bites Anthology Series) Page 17
