The FALL - The Final Part

The FALL

Final Part

And then that last image replayed itself again.  Clarice hadn’t moved to catch me nor had she acted surprised as I crashed into the water.  And then I remembered.  Randall’s other hand had been cupping my wife’s fanny.  My best friend, the man who I entrusted with so many pieces of my life, was holding firmly and decidedly onto my wife’s rear end.

Clarice, my loving wife, held something in her hand.  What was that in my wife’s hand?  The image within my head focused on something white which her hand wrapped around, like a ball, its whiteness marred by a fresh mark of redness which marked its round image. It was the cue ball from the pool table on one of the lower decks of my yacht.  We had spent hours playing pool as my yacht wandered the world, Randall would often play pool till late at night with Clarice while I slept.  Or if I was getting ready for a webcast from my office on the yacht I would often here the two of them banging away at the balls on the deck below mine. But looking at the image now I knew instantly what the red substance was, it was my blood. 

The whiteness of the ball intensified, hiding the blood.  The whiteness turned into a bright light, I could feel myself fading.  My arms and legs moved automatically, trying to get to that light, my instincts the only thing giving power to my limbs.  I knew what that light represented; the freedom from the betrayal that I felt in my heart.  It would be a warm embrace, welcoming and refreshing for the betrayal that I felt in my heart. 

She had hit me on the head.  How could she have done that?   She had tried to kill me, and now she would succeed. My wife and best friend had betrayed me and now I was doomed and free.   Doomed because I was a dead man, but free of her and Randall’s treacherous behavior.  Free to live in Heaven, away from the evil that had penetrated my house.  My poor mother, she was right.  It was true, mothers were always right.

My hand reached out for the light.  With my last bit of strength I reached out towards the light, embracing the freedom and doom.  I felt the Angel of Death grab my hand and pull me towards the light.  I was finally going to be released from this prison.

My head crested above the surface of the water. I took in a breath of fresh air, and began to cough.

“I got him, Detective,” a voice said as I felt strong male hands grab me from under my arms. “He’ll live.”  With a sudden pull I was yanked from the water, coughing and hacking up my insides.  I was on my knees and palms, water cascading down from my body as I began to feel the hot summer sun shine down on me.  And life. 

But what life would it be without Clarice, and knowing that the two people I trusted the most had betrayed me and almost gotten away for it.  Looking around I could see the nearby piers stretching back towards the land.  My yacht had docked the night before, snugged in behind some of the large cruisers along Miami Harbor.    The Passport Office sat higher than the rest of the piers, surround by the palm trees decorating the dock areas.   Behind me West Island Park blocked the horizon, giving me a view of the park.  My yacht sat on the edge of the pier, the perfect spot for me to be dumped into the water.  The bulk of the yacht hid their plotted murder scene from the shore and the lack of traffic during this early in the day prevented any possible witnesses.

“How?” I struggled to get out as I continued to cough and hack at the water still within me.  “How did you know?”  More coughing caused me to spit.

“Seems your mama must have heard them talking about it,”  The one officer said as he put the handcuffs onto Clarice.  “Seems this one has some type of liking to talking dirty on the phone and left a rather detailed message on your mama’s answering machine when she butt called her yesterday.” 

“Yeah,” said a third officer as he handcuffed Randall.  “They were doing A LOT of talking,”  the officer winked.  “If you know what I mean?” 

“Can it rockie.” The first officer said. “Seems it was a turn on to off ya,” the first officer said as he patted me on my back. “Sorry buddy, but at least your mama reached out to us and somebody down at the station finally believed her.”

“More like they got tired of her screaming and threatening them over the phone,”  the officer who had handcuffed Clarice said. 

“Nothing worse than an irate mom,” The first officer said as he helped me to sit along the lounge chair on the forward deck.  “She said she would do things to the Desk Sargent that I haven’t heard a longshoreman say to his worst enemy.”  

The FALL (part 2)

THE FALL (PART 2)

Click to read the first part of THE FALL

She loved me so much that when my mother told me that Clarice was nothing but a cold blooded gold-digger who only wanted my money.  I stopped talking to my mother for a month.  And when I finally did start talking to her again, I told her that if she ever said anything bad about Clarice that my mother would never – ever hear or see me again and that she would not get a dime of my money.

That was the end of it because my mother told me that she could never stomach seeing a gold-digger like Clarice rob me, ruin me and destroy me.  She told me that it just wasn’t in her to witness such a tragedy.  That was the last time I told to my mother.  Which was a shame because I knew that my mother and Clarice had talked over the phone and that Clarice had always come out of her room after talking to my mother with the largest smile on her face.  So, maybe there was room for forgiveness in my mother, maybe there was hope. 

I knew my mother was talking to her because in secret I was checking my wife’s phone records.  I knew it was wrong of me.  After all didn’t I trust my wife?  But my mother’s comments had sparked something inside me, after all, she was my mother and still held a powerful sway over my thinking. 

Boy, was I glad when I saw that the only people that my wife was talking to me was Randall and me.  And didn’t you know it, I found that just yesterday my mother had gotten a call from Clarice, that was when she had come from her private cabin, with that big smile on her face.  It must have been because she was trying to cook up a surprise reunion for my mother and me. 

Poor Randall.  It was Randall who had not been having any luck with the woman.  True, he would bring them around, but they seemed more like showpieces to help assuage his ego, allow the fiction of thinking he was still “getting the girl”. We never chided him, nor made him feel inadequate. In fact we praised him for it.  Clarice had just told him the other day that she was glad that he had not just any woman.  That all the girls he had brought home were nothing more than trollops and skanks, not worthy of dating such a “fine man” as he. 

Here I am in the water, slipping further into unconsciousness, my life flashing before me.  Thinking of all the mistakes I had made, the regrets, the hopelessly lost moments I would want to retrieve and redo.  All of this, while darkness began to overcome my vision.  My mind drifting back to those last few moments before I feel back.  Poor Randall, I thought again.

And then that last image replayed itself again.  Clarice hadn’t moved to catch me nor had she acted surprised as I crashed into the water.  And then I remembered.  Randall’s other hand ...

Part 4: The Final Installment of A FELLOW OTHELLO

PART 4:  The Final Installment of 

A FELLOW OTHELLO

Sitting in Mr. Fuddle’s office was not a good way to end any day.  Mr. Fuddle held up his mirror and looked at himself once more.  The room was packed with Rachel, Gale, Cassie, Tommy and Jimmy.  Mr. Braker had just left the office, after explaining what he had witnessed. 

“So who wants to start,” Mr.Fuddle asked. “I have the rest of the day since I already suspended Jenny for what she did.”

“It’s all my fault,” Rachel said.  “I trusted a boy who I thought was good.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Mr. Fuddle said.  “Would you care to elaborate?”

“That jerk,” Rachel said pointing towards Tommy. “He gave me his mother’s necklace, or something that he claimed was his mother’s necklace.”  Her anger was sharp, if it was a movie flames would have be coming from her eyes.  “Then the jerk stole it back and gave it to her.”  Rachel pointed at Cassie.

Understanding dawned on Jimmy’s face.

“That’s not the way I think it happened,” Jimmy said after a moment.  It wasn’t long before Jimmy explained what he had seen Gale do on the bus, unraveling her sordid plan of deception. 

“Well young lady,” Mr. Fuddle said.  “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“I want to call my mom,” was all Gale would say, her face was drawn and pointed down at her feet.  She had been caught and there was no way out.  She had screwed up, and it was all that jerk Jimmy’s fault.  If he had just gotten off the bus and not stayed looking at her.  Then my plan would have worked. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, that middle school brain began to spin as she thought that Jimmy had stayed on the bus waiting for her.  Did he like her?  Did she like him?  Did he want to dump Jenny and date me now?  All those thoughts hovered.  And then she remembered where she was sitting.  

“I bet you do,” Mr. Fuddle said as he dismissed the rest of the students, promising to give out their punishments after he had finished with Gale.

Manic Monday!!

Introducing Manic Monday: 

Since our restart I have seen a noticeable increase in the amount of traffic coming to my site.  I really appreciate the increased support and confidence in my fans, friends and associates.  I know it can be difficult in our fast paced world to find the time to check out my site, read my musings and my short stories as well as spread the good word among your own friends, family and associates.  I wanted to show you my appreciation for all your help and support so I decided to go the extra step and create a MANIC MONDAY.   I know your question - and here's your answer.  On every Monday I will be posting a link for you to download a free book of mine from the kindle store.  Each week the book will be different.  As new books become available I will include them into the rotation as feasible.  

I offer this humble Thank you to all of you!  

Jim Baldini 

Our First Offering:

Storm Story: Triumphant: A book that I wrote during and after Super storm Sandy hit the Northeast and crippled most of New Jersey, New York and surrounding areas.  My family and I didn't struggle as much as others closer to the shore, but we still spent nearly a week without power but were fortunate to have family who did have power and let us stay at their house during the storm.  Thanks Connie and Fred!  I remember vividly looking at our situation and wondering what my children would do if stuck in Sandy without parents, friends or family to help out.  Many of my stories that aren't Science Fiction revolve around the simple concept of Bad Things Happen to Good People, and how they react.  This was one of those stories.