Flying Too Close to the Sun by George Jehn (novels for beginners .txt) 📕

“Don’t give me that,” Christina immediately shot back.

“Go to hell.”

“The three of us are probably going to wind up there anyway.” Christina suddenly felt a throbbing headache, which could be an aura. She immediately called crew scheduling, said she felt ill and they replaced her. Erik was livid. She hauled him into this mess, was probably trying to cheat him out of his share and now left him to stew, alone.

After spending the rest of the day in bed her headache abated enough to drive. She wore loose-fitting jeans with a matching light blue top; nothing sexy, because she felt anything but and drove using Juni’s precautions. Erik wasn’t certain if she would show but decided to go anyway, if for no other reason than to confront Juni.

After Christina arrived at Pepi’s, Erik followed a few moments later. Juni was already there, wearing hurt on his sleeve like a neon sign. Sitting at the same secluded table, Erik looked at a different person; a pale, perhaps even smaller man. They ordered pizza and beer accompanied by an awkward silence, easy to recognize but difficult to define.

Screw the pizza. Erik was hungry for information. The tension between them was thick, like prize fighters in the ring just before the opening bell. Erik had tough questions and would demand hard answers and threw the first jab. Trying to ignore Juni’s physical condition, he said, “Are you two trying to cut me out?”

Juni’s features hardened and his raspy reply came. “Cut you out? I was the one who got beat. I wanna discover who got our money.” He paused. “We can waste time if you want, but the guy who hit me was ugly and bearded, about forty-five, maybe five-ten, stocky, built like a weightlifter, but with a fatter midsection. He had thinning blond hair and a blotchy complexion with a birthmark, a brownish colored mole on the left cheek.” Juni pointed to the area on his own cheek. “He probably shaved off the beard by now. Does this match anyone you know?”

Christina didn’t utter a word, but the word weightlifter got her attention. Did this mystery person work out, maybe with David?

There was no reply. “If you guys still don’t believe me there was a local kid named Tony Conte who found me. His family’s boat’s docked there. If you want, I’ll track him down and get his phone number so you can speak to him. You have to accept what I’m saying as the truth ‘cause it’s the first important step in getting our money back.”

Erik figured the truth might be here, somewhere, but not knowing who he could trust. “I don’t wanna go on a walk down some bullshit memory lane with you about some kid. If you were whacked so hard, how come you’re here? Why aren’t you in the hospital? I’ve got two sickies on my hands. This one called in sick today and left me with rage as my only companion,” he said pointing to Christina.

“I was, was under the weather, you ungrateful little—” Christina started to say, but Juni interrupted.

“I probably have a concussion. But I’m not a doctor and I’m not goin’ to one.”

“Oh? Why not?” Christina chimed in.

“Whaddaya crazy? The first thing a doc would ask is what happened and if I try to bullshit the guy, he might call the cops. I’ll take my chances.”

“Why don’t you show me where this mystery man supposedly whacked you,” Erik said.

Juni wheeled around, took Erik’s hand and gingerly placed it on the back of his head. “You believe me now?”

Erik immediately pulled his hand away from the bandaged swelling in Juni’s skull, still damp from oozing. Juni’s eyebrows came together, creating creases across his forehead.

Erik wondered if that created pain from pulling on the wound.

Juni pleaded. “Now it’s my turn. You have to be a hundred percent honest with me. None of this makes sense, ‘cause the guy left the keys in the trunk lock. For some reason he wanted me to get outta there. Why?” Juni whispered. “Something is very wrong here. Did either of you slip, disclose our plan to someone? Anyone? Mistakes can be undone. Wrongs righted.”

“I didn’t say shit,” Erik insisted, but then recalled the night he had begun to relate the story to Carol, but stopped. Was it enough for her to relay what was said to someone else and could that person have passed it on? Carol wouldn’t harm him but someone else might. His mind raced. What would he do now? He was right back in the same predicament. He started to speak, “If your story’s true…”

“It’s the truth! How much goddamn proof you need? C’mon, put it all on the table. You still don’t trust me, do you?” Looking from Erik to Christina and back, Juni curled his hands into tight fists and held them in front of him as if trying to pull apart a rope. “Suspicion can eat away at people like acid, so for your information I did not take our money.” Something, maybe resentment thumped in his temples and tears involuntarily ran down his cheeks, which he quickly wiped away. Not relishing bringing up the ghosts of the past he informed them with redness of embarrassment on his cheeks, “You wanna know the truth? This was unchartered waters for me. But it wasn’t the first time somethin’ like this happened. I had a good, legit job at a bank and was set for life until the day some money was missing. Guess who was the guinea who got blamed? I always used an ethical knife with a very sharp blade at the bank, but when some private dicks they hired discovered I had been suspected of straying while in high school it was enough. Suddenly a chill came over my fellow workers. Then corporate amnesia set in and all my skilled work was conveniently forgotten. People I knew for years, the same ones I worked with and called