Simple Simon (28 page)
Authors: Ryne Douglas Pearson
When the moment came that Simon was back in the minivan, Anne walked back to Art, her eyes cast upon the ground. When she reached him, though, they came up to his.
“I think I understand this,” she said. “I think. So you will explain it to me someday.”
“I will.”
“Otherwise, I’ll beat you silly.”
Art had the urge to hug her, almost felt his arms reach for her. She knew that he would want to and leaned against the hood of the Volvo, her head easing onto his shoulder. They stood together and watched as the minivan’s lights came on and as it drove away and disappeared down the lane.
Anne sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before looking to the sky. “A pretty night.”
Art let his own gaze drift to the heavens, to the wide field of stars arrayed above from horizon to horizon. “You know, my grandma used to say that on the eighth day God put the twinkle in the stars.”
Anne looked up from where her head lay on Art’s shoulder and said, “Your grandma was a brilliant lady.”
* * *
The man slunk out of the shed behind the Iowa farmhouse just before midnight, the suitcase Craig Dean had described to him safely in hand, his future secure.
But not the one he had envisioned.
“Hold it,” Darrell Dean said as the stranger emerged from his clinking and clanking around in the shed. He held a double-barreled shotgun, which was pointed at the stranger’s chest, and when he saw what the man had in one hand he was mighty glad he’d grabbed the old duck gun before coming to investigate.
The man nearly tripped over himself with surprise, the sight of those wide side-by-side barrels bringing the hair on his neck to attention. He had a gun, of course, but it was in a pocket, and he dared not venture for it just yet. Talk first. Reasoning.
“I suppose you’re wondering—”
“Put it down,” Darrell said, motioning to the ground with the muzzle.
The man complied.
“Keep your hands up and step over there,” Darrell ordered in a low, less than pleasant voice, its edges serrated with a nasal twang.
He raised his hands, just as the petty criminals did in grade B westerns, and side stepped away from the shed, away from the suitcase.
“Right there,” Darrell Dean said, already knowing how this little dilemma would be solved. He’d caught himself a thief, all right, red handed, mind you. But he could no more call Sheriff Jackson to turn this old bird in than he could tell him what it was he was stealing. This was
the
money. The money his brother, Craig, had…acquired.
Poor old bugger
, Darrell Dean thought, then gave the thief both barrels in the gut, tossing him back into the dirt.
He replaced the suitcase of money where it had been hidden successfully for years. Then he dragged the thief’s body into one of his fields and, after digging a good sized hole with the backhoe, rolled G. Nicholas Kudrow in and covered him up.
In short order he’d plant corn over the spot.
If you enjoyed
Simple Simon
, all the books in the Art Jefferson Thriller Series are available from Amazon at the following links.
Ryne Pearson is the author of several novels, including
Cloudburst
,
October’s Ghost
,
Capitol Punishment
,
Simple Simon
,
Top Ten
,
The Donzerly Light
,
All For One
, and
Confessions
. He is also author of the short story collection,
Dark and Darker
. His novel
Simple Simon
was made into the film
Mercury Rising
. As a screenwriter he has worked on numerous films. The film
Knowing
, based on his original script, was released in 2009 and opened #1 at the box office, going on to gross more than $180 million worldwide.
He lives in California with his wife, children, a Doberman Shepherd and a Beagle Vizsla.
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