Choke On Your Lies Part 29

So it was me and an obviously shaken Pamela, the papers in her hand flapping uncontrollably until she threw them on the desk with a loud grunt. Stared at the floor while her nostrils flared in and out. And then she realized someone was watching. Lifted her head and saw me.

"What, Mick?"

I said, "Um, like, thanks, you know? For all you did for me."

She let out a breath and looked away. "You didn't do anything. To be honest with you, I was hoping you had."

If that's how she wanted to play it, then so would I. Nasty insult, where are you? Cutting wit, come back to me, please. But I barely got wind in me to speak when she said, "f.u.c.k off out of here, Mick."

I nodded. Sure, I could do that. And I did.

Jennings was waiting for me in the hall while Octavia spoke to Jack Hardly, one of the Senior Partners, who obviously enjoyed Octavia's company as they seemed very at ease talking. He was a man in his sixties who looked forty. He owned three of Octavia's favorite restaurants, and he sometimes rented Octavia's secret Duluth cabin for weekend trysts no one else needed to know about. So if she wanted Pamela fired, it was a no-brainer.

Jennings whispered to me, "Didn't see it coming?"

"How long have you-"

"Octavia figured it out while they were booking her for the marijuana, when the first complaint came in. Soon as she posted bond, she had me check with a couple of sources."

"You guys have police sources?"

"Well, I used to date him. Bad break-up, but we're good now."

"But what about the stocks?"

He smiled. "Are you sure you don't want her to explain it to you?"

"The gist."

Jennings nodded at Octavia as she pa.s.sed along a signal that she was ready. We went to hold the elevators as Hardly walked Octavia to the front door. "The people who made the complaints forgot who they were more afraid of. Until we reminded them of course."

Once in the elevator, just the three of us, I curled into a ball on the ground.

"Get up, Mick. You're embarra.s.sing me," Octavia said.

But I didn't. Not until we were near the ground floor. Not until I could laugh about it. I picked myself up, giggled my way out into the lobby.

"What's so funny?"

"She was right, you know. All you had to do was let Pamela squash the deed."

Octavia hit me in the arm with her cane. I could feel the bruise on impact, reached for it. She took her sungla.s.ses out of her handbag and snugged them on, done with tears and on to crus.h.i.+ng the weak again.

She said, "I told you we would punish the b.i.t.c.h didn't I?"

I stood speechless, rubbing my arm, as she and Jennings made their way to the front door, people all around staring at them as if she were some sort of wretched queen, able to curse them with a single glance. I mumbled under my breath, "Mirror, mirror on the wall..."

Octavia stopped, turned, and shouted, "Dinner at Manny's to celebrate? Move your a.s.s, Mick,"

I followed after them and sighed, knowing I would be a few steps behind.

Anthony Neil Smith is currently the Director of Creative Writing at Southwest Minnesota State University. He earned a Ph.D in English from the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for Writers in 2002.

His first novel, Psychosomatic, was published by PointBlank Press in 2005, and was later translated into Swedish. It is also now available on Kindle and other e-formats. His second novel, The Drummer, was published by Two Dollar Radio in 2006. His third, Yellow Medicine, was published in 2008 by Bleak House Books. Yellow Medicine was one of January Magazine's Top Crime Novels for 2007. The sequel, Hogd.o.g.g.i.n', was published in June of 2009. Smith has published over forty short stories in venues such as Murdaland, Exquisite Corpse, Bellevue Literary Review, Thug Lit, Natural Bridge, Crime Factory, Beat to a Pulp, Needle, Connecticut Review, and many others.

Dr. Smith is co-creator and editor of the internet noir zine Plots with Guns, which attracts a wide audience from both the crime fiction and literary arenas. Stories from PWG have been featured in Best American Mystery Stories, and one was nominated for an Anthony Award in 2003 You can find him at:.

anthonyneilsmith.typepad.com.

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