A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama by John Mathews Read Free Book Online

to
finally get way ahead in life financially, and she couldn’t wait to brag about
it.
    And
of course they would do the right thing and leave nothing that could be used as
evidence against them or even raise suspicions. Tammy was overjoyed when Tom
agreed to go along with the plan to murder Stephen, and she confided in him
completely. After all, she was going to give him twenty percent of her half of
the more than twenty million dollar inheritance, and so he would never have to
worry about his previous violation and suspension again. Tom was a risk-taker
much like herself, she thought, and would make the perfect partner in crime.
    So
under the new will which was set up, Tammy would inherit a fortune, with a
trust fund set up for Maria for which Tom would be the executor. And Maria
wouldn’t have access to anything until she turned 18 which was many years off
from now, and who knows what might happen to her in the meantime. As long as
Tammy got all the money, fortune, and impending fame that she richly desired,
the rest of her life was all set. She was just too young to be tied down to any
man and living the family life. Tammy was feeling giddy knowing that she was
going to pull off such a heist and smirked at the thought of the new fame and lavish
lifestyle that awaited her.
    ***
    Maria stood in front of the
cabin, almost knee-deep in the thick, fluffy snow. The reflection of the sun’s
rays against the snow covered road ahead was practically blinding. She walked
to the edge of the road and checked to her right and left. There was no sign of
any traffic, and the road looked totally unsafe for driving on anyway. Then she
crossed the road, hopped over the guard rail, and made her way close to the
edge of the cliff.
    Maria
gazed off through the snow glare into the bright blue sky. She peered down to
try and see how far the drop was from the top. The side of the cliff was mostly
jagged rock that was not as covered with snow. Maria estimated the drop to be
at least twenty stories. The thought of someone driving off the top of this
cliff sent tingles down her spine. Then, just before she was about to turn
around and head back, she saw something shiny. On a small ledge of rock, about
ten feet below the top of the cliff, there was a paper bag. It was torn open
and something inside it glistened under the sun. Maria took a couple of steps
closer to the edge of the cliff, and bent down on her knees. Then she squinted
to try and see what was inside the bag better. It looked like a metal tool of
some kind. She turned around, wondering if the bag had fallen out of someone’s
car, and decided to go back inside the cabin to keep warm. Being outside, alone
in the snow, just didn’t seem like that much fun anymore.
    ***
    Tammy made her way over to
the fireplace. Poker in hand, she reached inside and again tried to push open
the damper, this time with more force. It was really stuck. She grunted and
ground her teeth together while shoving the poker up into the chimney flue as
hard as she possibly could. Finally the damper moved, and a big cinder block
fell down into the fireplace with a loud crashing sound. Well what the hell? Could that have fallen down the chimney? That
prospect seemed very unlikely, she thought, since the concrete block was very
heavy and cumbersome.
    Tammy
wanted to know what was going on. She went into the kitchen and moved a chair
closer to a window. Then she got up on the chair, stood facing the window, and
opened it. A thick layer of snow had been pressing against the glass. She moved
the snow back as best she could so that she could see the rooftop better. Then
she stood on her tiptoes, with her arms stretched out the window, and leaned
forward. She was able to get a decent view of the chimney.
    There
was nothing but snow around the base of the chimney and no signs of any cinder
blocks. Her hands trembled and she felt a lump in the back of her throat. Someone had to carry that cinder block on
top of the roof and