THE COMMUNITY

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

The automobile smashed and bounced along the uneven earth. It was a great feeling to watch as the asshole and his car dove fifty feet to the rugged, uneven ground before hitting the bottom of the coulee. No one would miss him immediately. This opportunity couldn't have worked out any better. While the lookout point was a great addition to this community, Drake didn't expect any sightseers would come this way for a while, as the weather was getting colder and the tourist season was far off. He hoped for a huge snowfall to cover the remodeled '69 Mustang that the slimeball had called his pride and joy. If, by chance, the fall hadn't killed him, the weather and wild animals would do the trick. Drake envisioned the coyotes and maggots feeding on the idiot's remains.

The asshole, he thought, was a liar. He told everyone he had no money, but he was richer than anyone in this area. Another problem resolved and 'nough of the drama for now. Drake craved some weed and a good swig of Crown Royal on the rocks to calm his nerves.

Drake breathed in and slowly exhaled as he tried to relieve the pent-up tension in his body. After one last look in the direction of the coulee that now contained a not-so-permanent fixture lying fifty feet below, he turned away from the embankment and walked to his Harley that was parked a few paces away. He lifted a long, lanky leg over the seat and started up the beast, revving the engine to hear the roar of life and feel the vibration of the machine. He was ready to return to Drumheller and relax.

He decided to cool it, as a nosy neighbor lived not too far away. Then he remembered she was in town for the day helping out at the old folks' home. She had a nice ass and a set of tits, but it was too bad the rest of her was a mess; otherwise, he wouldn't mind having a piece of it. Knowing she wouldn't appreciate such a fine stud in her presence, he shook those thoughts out of his head and convinced himself that she wouldn't be able to handle him, yeah.

Now that the asshole was out of the way, he would get paid for a job well done. It was time to get his reward. In a few days, he would head back to Calgary.

Chapter Two

He reached for his sunglasses to protect his eyes from the wind that would attack him on the ride to where he was staying. He put on the glasses, lifted his legs off the ground, and let the bike soar to life.

He approached the main graveled road from the exit of the lookout point and checked for traffic both ways. He turned left and headed to his friend's house where he was going to party that night. In twenty minutes, he would be there.

Man, it feels great being on this bike, he thought as he enjoyed the freedom of the beast. He was fortunate to have a friend who knew how to get great deals on this mode of transportation. Winters sucked, but the summer was just fine with the freedom to ride his bike through towns and villages.

Drake eased down the hill to head toward his destination. He wouldn't be alone much longer, as the big guy would come in from the north. Well, at least he would get paid, although he preferred being by himself without the boss hanging around. Drake didn't like that man, but the money was just fine. He hoped the boss wouldn't be staying long.

Drake drove into the farmyard and up the short, graveled, and bumpy driveway. He pulled up in front of the garage, got off the bike, and turned off the engine. He pushed down the kickstand, lifted his leg over the seat, and walked toward the front door of the house. No need to lock the doors in this neighborhood, which never had any crime—until today. Not really a crime, it was more like getting rid of the garbage. Oops, it was disposed of in the wrong place. Time would take care of the remains.

The house had three big bedrooms, a bathroom, an oversized combination kitchen-dining room, and a large, square living room. The kitchen cabinets were almond-stained oak. The flooring was dark brown linoleum that extended from the kitchen to all of the rooms in the house.

The closest neighbors were approximately two miles away on either side of the house. Drake loved the quiet. Everyone in this neighborhood was friendly, but most kept to themselves just the way he liked it—except for the nosy woman who lived about five miles away. He just ignored her.

Opening the front door, he took the steps two at a time and entered the kitchen. Drake shed his leather jacket and removed his sunglasses. He draped his jacket over the kitchen chair so he could easily grab it on the way out. He sat on that chair and admired his Harley Davidson boots that had been acquired not so long ago. He had friends in low places.

Man, after a job well done, I need to celebrate. Instead of the whiskey, a cold one sounded about right. Getting out of the chair, he made his way to the fridge and reached for his prize of leftover pizza and a cold one. He grabbed a paper towel on the way to the living room so he could watch TV while he relaxed. Without the satellite, he would have had a choice of only three channels that were fuzzy most of the time—man, that would be a drag.

He set his paper towel, the pizza, and his beer on the end table next to the recliner. Grabbing the remote, he turned on the TV and channel surfed until he came to the directory to select a sports channel to watch while he ate.

Yawning after wolfing down his snack and drink, he placed the bottle on the coffee table and stretched out in the recliner. The game was boring, but he wasn't interested in watching anything else. As his eyes began to close, he thought, This is the life, no one to hassle me and I can enjoy my free time. Man, I've had a hard day.

Chapter Three

Another strike of aqua lightning steadily advanced. As he continued to ride into the oncoming storm, the clouds sank into the horizon. He heard a roar of thunder as if it warned of the danger that surrounded him. A couple of seconds elapsed, and more lightning appeared—only this time it was electric blue. The lightning shifted and changed colors with every bolt that occurred. He moved forward as the next strike flashed neon green, and the clouds continually disappeared into the earth. The sky was becoming increasingly darker. He drove toward the light show and saw a yellow flash as the clouds sank further. The thunder roared to life above his head like the sound of the king of the jungle announcing his mating call. A flash of vivid orange struck just twenty feet away from him as the clouds continued to drop. He tried to stop the brute from its journey, but the power of the road pulled him along. Five feet closer to the spot where the last strike hit, he saw the sky open up and the lightning came at him. This time, it burned bright red—the color of blood that dripped from a deep cut.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up."

Drake suddenly jerked awake just before the lightning strike hit him. He looked around; his eyes were blurry from his deep sleep. The boss stared at him and hit Drake's foot to wake him from his snooze in the recliner.

Just over six feet tall, the boss stood before Drake with a smirk on his face and peered at him with his piercing blue eyes; his blond, almost white, hair was spiked. His usually pale features indicated he had spent some time in the sun recently. He still had that innocent boy-next-door look, but he was anything but innocent.

"What? I thought you weren't going to be here until later tonight."

"What time do you think it is? By the way, the sleep didn't improve your looks any. You are still as ugly as the last time I saw you."

"Thanks." Sitting up in the recliner, Drake rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to further wake from the nap. The boss stood in the living room shaking his head. Drake looked at his watch and realized it was 6:00 p.m. "You're still early."

"I wanted to find out if you finished the job I gave you and if there were any problems. What about the other job we talked about?"

"Yeah, I finished the job without any problems. I got rid of the garbage like you asked. That's why they call me Mr. Reliable. I'm waiting to hear about something that I had arranged. Now where's my cash?"

"You are in such a rush to get paid. I don't have the cash on me tonight. I will get it for you tomorrow. Anyway, I thought we could celebrate tonight. I brought some Crown Royal, dinner, and something special if you're interested."

"How come you're in such a good mood?"

"Not in a good mood, just wanted to say thanks for all your hard work. We need to talk about some other things. And before you ask, I will pay you half up front and the other half when you are done, I know the drill."

"Before we get started, I need to clear my head." Drake stood up and stretched and yawned, still groggy from the nap. Man, I really zonked out, he thought. As he wondered what the dream meant, it faded as dreams tend to do. The aroma of Chinese food made him realize he was hungry.

He walked into the kitchen, grabbed some plates and glasses from the cupboard, and set them on the table. After grabbing two sets of knives, forks, and extra spoons, he reached for the bag of ice from the freezer. With one hand, he dropped a couple of ice cubes in two glasses and grabbed the fresh bottle of Crown Royal in the other hand and poured the liquor into the glasses. He took a swig. It burned all the way down but felt good. He picked up the other drink and started to make his way into the living room. The boss stood in the doorway that led from the kitchen to the living room, staring off into space.

"Here you go," Drake said as he handed the drink to the boss and added, "Thanks for the food and the drinks. I'm hungry, let's dig in." Sitting opposite one another, Drake removed the cartons from the generic brown bag and placed the food between them. They helped themselves and ate in silence.

Once they had finished eating, the boss asked, "So how have things been?"

"Things are fine; I missed your pleasant arrogance."

"Now look who's being sarcastic. So do you want to hear about my trip?"

"You won't be boring me with all the gory details, will you?" The boss man frowned at Drake, who quickly added, "All right, go ahead."

"The trip was productive. I met some new contacts. They might head out this way for a visit to see what the customers are like."

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Why not?"

"People in the community might get suspicious when they see new faces," Drake replied knowingly. "People like to gossip and are curious to know what's going on and who the people are, especially that bitch who doesn't live too far away."

"We won't meet them here but maybe in Edmonton or Calgary. I don't want to let anyone know where we're staying. By the way, I'm not sure if you'll be involved in this meeting."

"What's up with that?" Drake asked. "You're the one who reminds me of appearances and you always want me to tag along. You don't trust me?"

"This has nothing to do with trust. I have something else for you to do."

Chapter Four

"Sure."

Drake turned from the table and walked to the counter for more whiskey. "Thanks again for the dinner, it was rather tasty since I didn't have to pay."

"No problem. Has anything new happened since I've been gone?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I wanted to find out about the neighbors, especially the nosy one."

"No issues with anyone, and I haven't seen her for a couple of days. Why are you so interested in that neighbor, does she get you hot and bothered?" Drake asked.

The man didn't answer the question, but asked, "Don't you like the way she looks?"

"I wasn't the one asking about her."

"She's good to look at and has a decent body. I wonder what she would be like in the sack."

Drake finished pouring the drink, turned, and handed the glass back to the boss. "Down the hatch," he said and gulped his drink in two long swallows. He looked at the man. "Why don't you go find out?"

The boss looked at Drake with a grin on his face. As Drake turned back to the counter and poured himself another drink, the boss replied with a laugh, "You just never know. I might do that."

Drake shook his head. The man must have read my mind. Earlier in the day, I thought the same thing but wouldn't admit it. He downed the drink in his hand. This time, the burning sensation was a little less painful. "You really want to get laid that badly?"

"Not really. I wanted to see your reaction. I didn't know you cared who I slept with."

"I don't. I wouldn't want to mess with that woman. You know she's the type of person that will cause trouble for us."

"I know. I'm just pulling your leg, not to worry. Do you think I would waste my time and effort on her? There are other women more appealing to me. Do you remember the redhead that used to live not too far from here? She lived with her aunt and uncle and a twin sister. The twin was quiet and a little on the chunky side, her name was Mary. Krisi, yeah, that was the other twin's name. Man, she was hot. The sisters moved to Calgary for awhile until Krisi moved to the United States with a hoodlum, who just happened to be an enemy of mine. I had first dibs, though. She returned to Calgary and stayed with Mary for awhile."

Drake poured himself another drink. Each drink seemed a lot smoother to swallow. Can't let this booze go to waste. "I remember, what happened to her?"

"Last I heard she was a cold case. No body was found."

"Why have you brought this up now?"

"Well, this is part of what I need you to do for me," Drake's boss replied. "Frighten Mary so she will move back to this neck of the woods. I need something from her."

"We talked about this plan previously and it is in motion ahead of schedule," Drake responded.

"I like having you around. You know what to do before I ask."

"That's what they call me Mr. Reliable." Drake raised his glass, nodded, and said, "Cheers." He finished his drink while the boss sipped his. "Damn, this is good. Do you want another?"

"I'm good, but you go ahead."

"Don't mind if I do."

Chapter Five

Mary had quite a day. Some people can be so stupid. Why do people have to drive like maniacs or not pay attention? She should have known better than to travel Deerfoot Trail, which was also known as lead-foot lane. The city was doing road construction, which slowed the traffic to a crawl.

A driver talking on his cell phone didn't watch where he was going. The moron almost ran into her. Another driver, a woman this time, pulled over on the side of the road and suddenly decided to pull out without paying attention to what was beside her. The bimbo almost caused an accident, she thought. It was a good thing no one was in the other lane, which allowed Mary to change lanes quickly to avoid getting hit.

Mary parked her Hyundai Tucson in the stall and turned off the ignition. She lowered her head to the steering wheel and took a deep breath and slowly released the air. She did this a second time—glad she had made it back safely and could forget about the loser drivers for now. She was glad her son, Jordie, hadn't been in the SUV with her. After she calmed down, she lifted her head and grabbed her keys, purse, and the bags that had accumulated from her shopping trip.

After she got out of the SUV and locked the doors with the fob that controlled the automatic door locks, she headed to the front door where the mailbox hung on the left. She lifted the mailbox lid and checked inside. She quickly went through the envelopes to see what treasures awaited her—lovely bills, a discount card for glasses from Shopper's Optical, and a letter from a lawyer's office in Three Hills. She placed this envelope on top and would take a closer look at it when she got in the house. She reached for the doorknob but noticed the door was ajar. Before she left to do her errands, she had closed and locked the door. She nudged the door open with her right foot. "What the ...."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from THE COMMUNITYby Jean Spenst Copyright © 2011 by Jean Spenst. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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