RED UMBRELLA: A TIME TO REAP (PART ONE) – YOUR BEST MYSTERY SHORT STORIES
“Good day Martha Stein,” my lawyer Rosa roused me from an unrecalled slumber. “I was beginning to fear you were dead.”
“Wait!” I cleared my throat, struggling to regain my vision, yet too enfeebled to stand.
“Yes I know” Rosa intercepted. “You find yourself halfway across the world,….I would be bothered too.”
“Halfway across the world?” I repeated, attempting to remove the drip from my hand but she revealed a group of injections within an aluminum case.
“You instructed me to retain this for your use, should they apprehend you” she said, handing me the syringes.
“You took your sweet time,” I chided, tapping her shoulder. “These injections were meant for me if I was ever going to confess. Those detestable interrogators nearly broke me but I guess they failed” I admitted.
“They failed of course,” Rosa replied with a laugh. “I ensured Baldwin met his demise with a jab to the throat, but your partner succumbed to a hail of bullets.”
“Ramsey is dead?” I cried out, panic-stricken.
“Yes,” Rosa affirmed, unmoved. “It wasn’t my fault Laine sought vengeance for her partner.”
“You cunning thing. How dare you use Ramsey as your scapegoat?”, I accused.
Rosa’s eyes flashed with anger, “Listen well Martha, had you heeded my counsel and remained silent, your partner would still draw breath. Yet you betrayed yourself and suddenly grew a conscience. How…professional, Martha Stein.”
“Shut it!” I exclaimed, delivering a resounding slap to her face. “Know who you’re talking to. I abandoned this life of bloodshed to find solace. Did you presume I revelled in slaughtering families and corrupt agents all for the sake of secret service?”
“That’s crap” Rosa retorted, her cheeks aflame. “Was having your brain cells shattered by your spouse part of your grand plan? He afflicted you with amnesia and you deem this existence superior to our former life?”
“How…how did you know this?” I stammered, recoiling onto the bed in shock.
“Martha,” Rosa began, her gaze piercing, “I witnessed your blackout. We nearly succumbed to capture while fleeing the facility.”
“Forgive me,” I whispered, overcame with remorse.
“Witnessing my own daughter’s gruesome murder Rosa, it broke me. Sarah perished before my eyes and I…I was powerless. How could I be sane after that?”
“And what of Grace?” she asked, her tone measured.
“Who is Grace?”, my mind raced to recall.
Her expression turned incredulous, “Are you really hallucinating or is this amnesia, in truth, dementia?” “Tell me”, I barked. “Who the hell is Grace?”
She scoffed before she began. “As Lydia Benson, you bore two girls. Grace followed in your footsteps becoming a skilled forensic expert while Sarah commenced her collegiate journey. How could you forget this?”
“Do not lie to me,” I pleaded, collecting my thoughts. “How can I forget my own daughter?”
“Well she’s kidnapped now”, Rosa stood in akimbo. “Your beloved daughter was at the crime scene of your husband’s murder and somehow your fried brain cells didn’t recall. Please tell me you know you remember your husband’s affiliation with this agency?” she implored.
“Impossible!” I rose once more but Rosa restrained me, her hands grasping mine.
“I have always regarded you as my sister Martha,” she said, her voice filled with affection. “I cautioned you about him from the onset but you insisted Benson was the right choice. Now he has fallen prey to the very ‘S’ brothers who kidnapped your daughter right before she figured that the government framed her sister as the murderer.”
“Who?” I repeated, my eyes blazing with indignation.
“Oh the ‘S’ brothers”, she rolled her eyes. “They are just one of our numerous adversaries Martha. The agency’s survival hangs in the balance threatened by the government and those seeking to vanquish our mode of justice from within. It’s just the way it is.”
“Then in that case I need to reclaim my identity as Lydia Benson”, I whispered. “I’ve got to find Grace but to achieve this, I must surrender to the authorities for now.”
“Do not even think of it,” Rosa countered immediately. “Laine will slaughter you before the sun sets on your first day.”
“No, she won’t,” I chuckled, a calculating glint in my eye. “Because I shall require your substitute – a decoy.”
Rosa’s smile spread, anticipating my plan. “So why would you want my dead head in your hands?…… for what purpose?”
“The government will negotiate when I deliver you to their doorstep,” I declared with unwavering confidence etched on my face.
Rosa’s applause suddenly resonated through the room.
“And?” she prompted, her eyes sparkling.
“And I shall once again embody confusion and heroism,” I stated, crossing my legs with an air of triumph. “That way Laine would have no choice than to shake the very hand of the woman who caused the death of her partner.”
