“I miss Kim,” Sam Bennett said. Tiny sparkling tears forming in the corners of Sam’s eyes reminded Ruby Arenas of little diamonds unearthed from an underground mine. “We’ll get her back, Sam,” Ruby said. “Where did she go?” “Deep inside herself,” Ruby said. “So who is Becky?” “Becky is a figment of Kim’s imagination […]
When Becky answered Kim’s cell phone on the first ring the Russian accent on the line surprised her. The only two Russians she knew no longer existed. The world breathed easier in their absence. Rest in pieces, comrades, she thought. “We have problem,” said the man with a tone colder than a vodka bottle in […]
Stretched out on a blue-and-white striped cushioned lounge chair on the top deck of Borys Popov’s Sunseeker 75 Yacht, Kim Phillips stared at the glistening Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil spread thick on her thighs. With the cold gaze of a fresh corpse, she stared through catatonic green eyes that recognized nothing and heard no one. […]
“We got Little Miss Goody Two Shoes now,” Shannon said. Tara’s distinctive Irish brogue shrieked in response. “Where’d you hide our wannabe Clearwater Beach realtor of the year?” Shannon’s equally shrill voice sounded like an empty whisky bottle smashing against moss-covered rocks along a litter-strewn shore. “Like I’m gonna tell you, you floppy old floozy.” […]
Nervous and tearing up, Ruby handed RayRay the letter. After unfolding and reading the single paragraph Ruby printed out on white copy paper RayRay teared too. Words with the best intentions can still hurt. “Thank you for being my friend and the best boss ever,” Ruby’s letter said. “Because of the continuing threat of Covid-19 […]
