A Foreboding Felony by Constance Barker

Author:Constance Barker [Barker, Constance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Constance Barker
Published: 2019-02-19T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

The Money Lender

A cool breeze caressing her face got Charli’s attention. She opened her eyes and found herself standing on a mesa, facing a spectacular view of the valley floor below. Hearing the clink of metal she turned to see a tall, thin man sitting at a wooden table counting large, copper-colored coins. He had stacks of them arranged on a red tablecloth that covered the table. He looked up at Charli with watery eyes. “How much do you need?” he asked.

“Need?” she was puzzled. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He fingered a stack of coins, lifting the top ones and dropping them again so that they made a clinking sound. “Money? How much do you need?”

“I don’t need any money,” she told him.

“Everyone needs money,” the man said. “Absolutely everyone. I know this better than most. I’m a moneylender and in my experience, the decisions are only how much they need and if they can repay it.” He pointed to two men standing near the edge of the mesa. They faced each other with grim expressions. “Those two, for instance. They both need, or at least want more money than they can repay.”

A woman stood to the side watching the men. “Neither of them truly need money,” she said. “Their fight is not about money. It’s about love.”

“I see no love there,” the man with the coins sneered.

The woman put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You know it is about her. They both wish her love and they use money as tokens in that battle.”

“Who is this woman?” Charli asked.

“She isn’t here, even though they fight over her. She does want money; she is greedy enough for both of them,” the moneylender said.

“Even you think that’s wrong,” the woman said, her tone sharp.

“Nonsense,” he laughed. “Of course I don’t think it’s wrong, bruja. Even if I disapproved of their greed, who am I to condemn it? I facilitate this. And after all, when you examine this world, at what point does desire become greed? It’s natural that the woman has wants and expectations and these men each wish to be the one to fulfill them.”

“Even if they are taking from someone else?” the woman asked.

The moneylender smiled. “There is only so much wealth to be had, bruja. It has to come from somewhere, just as your power comes from somewhere and has a price.”

Charli heard threatening noises now and as she turned to look at the men, they came together in a clinch, each grabbing the other by the throat in an attempt to choke the other. Although they turned and twisted, neither one could gain an advantage. Their movements brought them toward the edge of the cliff, to the sheer drop to the canyon below. Suddenly one lost his footing and fell backward, his body thrust out past the edge. He let go of his opponent and his arms flailed. Rather than let go, the other man clung grimly to his throat as his body sagged down over the edge.

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