Private Deceptions by Roy Glenn Read Free Book Online Page B

staying for dinner. I didn’t care; I was having fun with this. And besides; I was hungry and everything did smell delicious. Ben rolled his eyes and went to call the children to dinner.
     
    Everything was wonderful; I made a complete pig of myself. She really was a good cook. Ben was pretty quiet during the meal, as one might expect for a man in his position. But his wife was a very entertaining conversationalist. I’m a sucker for a good conversation. Ben had a nice family, two very polite kids. After dinner, they excused themselves. His wife got up and cleared the table. "Ben always has a brandy after dinner. Would you like one, Mr. Mitchell? I mean Patrick."
    "Thank you, that would be nice."
    "What you think you doin’?" Ben whispered.
    "Having a brandy after dinner, — with Ben." As soon as his wife and the children were out of eye and earshot, I took out my gun. "You go get those pictures. I’ll be in the kitchen with your wife."
    Ben got up and walked away, while I joined her in the kitchen. "I just wanted to thank you for twisting my arm and having me to dinner, Mrs. Josephs."
    "Please, call me Renée."
    "Well, Renée, everything was wonderful. Where did you learn to cook like that?"
    "I’m a country girl. My grandmother taught me. Didn’t you know, all us country girls can cook like this?"
    "Where you from?"
    "Flowery Branch, Georgia. I know you never heard of it."
    "No, I can’t say that I have." I laughed, as Ben returned with an envelope. He handed it to me and I opened it and looked inside to verify the contents. I thought Ben was gonna faint. "Well, people, I really do have to go now, but, Ben, Renée, thank you very much for having me to dinner."
    "It was our pleasure havin’ you." Renée said, leading me by the arm to the front door. "Anytime that you’re in the neighborhood, promise me that you’ll stop by."
    "I don’t get out to Brooklyn much, but I won’t hesitate to stop by if the need arises. Right, Ben?"
    "Right," Ben said, as he walked out the house.
    "Pleasure meetin’ you, Renée." I smiled seductively, her left eyebrow went up, and she blushed.
    Once we reached the sidewalk, I stopped and turned to Ben. "That’s a real nice family you have there, Ben."
    "Thank you. You got what you came for, now get out of here," Ben said looking away. Tryin’ to sound tough.
    "Renée seems like a good wife. Too nice for you to be cheatin’ on her and blackmailing women."
    "Yeah, sure."
    I took out my gun again and pointed it at his head. It was dark and besides, I got what I came for so I really didn’t care who saw me now. "Don’t act tough, Ben. You deserve to die for what you’ve done, and I will come back here and kill you if I hear that you’ve even called Mrs. Childers again. Get me?"
    "You won’t."
    "When were you supposed to see her again?"
    "Tonight."
    "Where and when?"
    "Ten o’clock at Halcyon ."
    And with that I walked to the train station.
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Chapter Seven
    Halcyon, on Smith St. in Brooklyn. I got there a little before ten and went inside. I looked around for Mrs. Childers, but she was nowhere to be found, so I took a seat in the back of the room so I could see the entrance. It was about eleven twenty before she finally showed up. She was wearing a powder blue dress that showed off her legs. Mrs. Childers had a seat at the bar, looking around for Ben. She ordered. For the next half hour I sat and watched her. I wanted to be sure that Ben didn’t have a change of heart and show up. During that time I watched as she dismissed man after man who approached her. The list was long. Knowing I wouldn’t fall prey to the same fate, I got up and approached her. I tapped her on the shoulder. "Mrs. Childers." She turned quickly and smiled when she realized who I was.
    "Nick. What are you doin’ here?" Mrs. Childers asked.
    "I stopped in for a drink. Mind if I join you?" I asked quickly before she asked why I was in Brooklyn.
    "Well." She scanned the room again. "I was supposed to be