Cold Blood by Alexandra Littler (essential reading .TXT) 📕

gestures at me and then at a small parcel on the floor. I look at him quizzically and he points at me again then at the parcel and then he mimes opening it.
I nod and he walks away.


I carefully pick it up and make my way slowly to the kitchen closing the front door on my way. Years later I realise how stupid I was, this could have been my last moments on earth but at the time I didn’t stop to think of the alternatives.


I set the packet carefully down on the table and then I take a small pocket knife and split the paper along the side, then I peel back the paper and examine the contents. Inside is a beautiful wooden box with carvings on. It’s small but heavy in my hand and as I open the lid I almost drop it but I manage to get it open and then I look inside.

In the box is the most perfect collection of priceless gemstones I have ever seen. Underneath is an envelope with my name on. I carefully pull out and open it.
The letter says:
Dear Mindy,
It has been a year since I last saw you, remember the MacDonalds job you did for me? Well I need your help again.
One of my employers thinks I’m incapable of being manager of my own firm!
Everyone knows this is a lie but if he doesn’t stop some of my younger employees may start to follow him.
So these gems are your reward for taking care of him for me.
Also if you accept I have another commission for you as well.
That however will have a separate payment.


Yours Truly
Samuel


Well that’s interesting I have never had a private commission before.
Im looking forward to it.
I wonder what this second assignment will be. Knowing Samuel
It’s probably quite difficult.
I examine the box, it looks ok but I have to be sure he could have tampered with it in some way.


QUARTER OF AN HOUR LATER


I find what Im looking for. A tiny bug. Silently I ease it away from the wood. Then I throw it out of the window. Samuel can listen to the traffic outside not me.


I scoop up the gems and place them in a small brown drawstring pouch. I put the pouch in my pocket, call ice and walk out of the door.
I walk to a jewellery dealer. It’s an over the counter store. Untraceable, I mean there aren’t even cameras. It’s just too easy.
I walk in leaving ice on the step. She won’t let anyone in, its just me and the dealer.


I always carry a small revolver but today I have also brought my .45 calibre. Just in case of trouble.
I press the small bell on the counter and wait. The dealer comes out and says the usual, what could such a pretty girl want in a place like this. It gets quite boring after a while, reluctantly I resist the urge to just shoot him and just take all the money in his safe.


I tell him I’m here to sell my dead grandma’s jewellery. I pull out the pouch and take out a single Sapphire. He eyes it greedily. I know he wants to trick me out of a lot of money.
He makes me an offer of three hundred pounds. No, that won’t do it for me.
I tell him I know how much it’s worth. I don’t but I don’t want him to know that.
His offer immediately shoots up to six thousand.


That’s more like it. I say tell him that I’m happy with that and he writes me a check. However I tear it up and throw it back at him. The message is clear, cash only.


He goes into the back room and comes back three minutes later with a wad of cash. He tells me to hand over the sapphire, so I do. Then he tosses me the cash. He can’t affords to annoy me because I know what he is doing is wrong, like smuggling guns into the country illegally. I thank him and exit the shop.


There are three other dealers in town. I think they should all lose a bit of money and gain a gem, the most perfect gem.


Chapter Four
Bush Baby


SIX O’CLOCK


I’m up by about two million and I’ve still got thirty two gems left.
Basically I have my own little gold mine. I take one gem out of the bag and put it in my purse, just in case in case I ever get into trouble and cant get home.


I pull back the carpet and force up a single floorboard. Underneath is a built in safe. I put in the combination and pull back the handle. The hydraulic locking system squeaks as I pull the small door upwards.
Inside are ridiculous amounts of cash, the deeds to the house and a picture of mum.


I put the bag in the safe along with all but about three hundred pounds of the money. Then I lock the safe.


I go to my wardrobe and get out my back pack. Then I get hold of my desk and pull it to the side of the room. There is a handle in the floor. I pull it up and a panel shoots up bearing enough guns to start a war with. At head height my gun sits in its little rack.
I pick it up and give it a little polish. I then place it carefully into my backpack.
I then replace everything and my weapons store is hidden again.


I go to my book case and pull out the biggest book. The dictionary. I open the front cover and as I expected it is hollow. In side is a huge collection of different sized bullets.
I pull out a box of my favourite .45 calibre. I also place these in my backpack and replace the book.


I go back to my wardrobe and pull out my stab proof vest and bullet proof jacket. I swap my jumper for a t-shirt and then pull on my vest and jacket.
Its time to under go my private commission. I sling my bag over my back and whistle, Ice comes running.


I kneel down in front of her. I tell her to guard the house and that I’ll be back as soon as I can. I don’t know if she got the second bit but I’m sure she got the first. My Ice is a ferocious warrior, she won’t let me down.


I walk over to the target’s house it looks like their out. There is a huge bush outside, I walk up the path and force my way into the heart of the bush.
I pull out my gun and screw the silencer on, and then I reach into my pocket and pull out my little box of bullets. I load six bullets and then put the box away.


THREE HOURS LATER


I’m still here and I am so bored.
Hang on he’s coming. He opens the creaky gate which I’ve vaulted so as not to alarm anyone. I level my gun and one…two…three squeeze the trigger.
He falls. I squeeze out of the bush and walk over to him I say one word, goodbye; I shoot him again in the head once.
I jump over the gate and start walking home.


With my backpack on my back and my gun in my pocket I feel invincible. It’s exactly the feeling you get before a fall. Oh, how I wish I knew how bad it was going to get because if I did I would have been much more careful.
But how would I have known.


TEN MINUTES LATER
I’m home. I dump my bag and call for Ice. She bounds towards me and jumps up.
I pull out a bag of treats that I bought on my way home and give ice one she gobbles it up greedily.
I tell her once again to guard the house. I then go for a stroll into the woods.


HALF AN HOUR LATER
It’s getting dark now.
I’ll start heading home in a minute or two because I need to check my email.
I turn around to head back then I feel a long, thin object connect with the back of my head.


SEVERAL HOURS LATER
I wake in a dark room im sitting on the floor propped against a wall and my hands are chained to the floor. My head feels ok if you count ok as in total agony. I can’t hear anything but then I’ve just been hit over the head by, well that’s just it, I don’t know what, why or more importantly who. It’s a complete mystery.


All I remember is thud, and then I blacked out.


I hear a click as the door opens and a man of about forty two walks in.
He unlocks the chains that hold my hands and pulls me up. He wraps his arm around my neck and drags me out of the room.


We arrive in a white room that hurts my eyes in contrast to the room I was locked in before. He releases me and pushes me towards a chair in the middle of the room.
He makes as if to go out of the door but then seems to think better of it and ties my arms to the chair. He then goes out of the door.


I struggle against the ropes. I don’t know why I’m here but I don’t want to stick around to find out. I manage to get one hand out, now, just one more.
Oh, oh! The door.


I hurriedly stick my hand back through the loop. Next time they’ll tie the rope much tighter and I won’t stand a chance of escape.
Three people come in: A man, a women and a small child. With them is the other man, the first one I saw.
They start talking amongst themselves and every now and then they throw a glance in my direction.


The kid scares me, he’s what six years old but he creeps me out. I mean, e has jet black hair and blue eyes. They seem to come to a decision and the kid turns to stare at me.


I drop my gaze and start to shake. Something about all this is scaring me. Proper fear is a rare thing amongst people these days but for me it’s burning through my body like a fire, but my heart has frozen over.


The women comes over to me and grabs my chin. I resist the temptation to just bite her and just look over her shoulder. She releases me and walks over to the man she came in with.
They talk again.


I am released and the first man takes me to a car.