Bender by Brian Pinkerton

Author:Brian Pinkerton [Pinkerton, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

She approached the sprawling Brock estate in the dark, school books hugged to her chest, evening breeze stirring her hair, feeling pangs of anxiety. The plan was not complicated but the consequences of failure were something she did not want to contemplate.

Her father was in serious trouble and if tonight’s plot unraveled, she would join him there.

Lesley had told her mother she was going to the library to study with friends — a lie that sounded awkward and false in her mouth, but arose no suspicion. She wasn’t very experienced in the fibbing department.

She had parked her mother’s SUV in the street, requiring her to walk the long driveway to the house, a recommendation from Dad. “You don’t want to get blocked in if someone comes home early,” he had said, followed by “I highly doubt that will happen,” when he saw the look of terror on her face.

Lesley stepped out of the shadows and into the path of a flood lamp that illuminated the front porch like the visitor’s chair in an interrogation room. She pressed a small buzzer, heard nothing, and waited.

When Scott Brock answered the door, he was undeniably handsome, until he smiled, and then his features grew devilish. His eyes narrowed, the bridge of his nose wrinkled, and the corners of his mouth tightened, like he could barely hold back some kind of sinister glee.

He wore a black T-shirt, jeans, and no shoes and socks. His hair was combed, pushed cleanly to one side, and she caught a powerful whiff of cologne.

“Hey, Lez,” he said, an awkward attempt to shorten her name, as if they were cozy, old friends.

“Lesley,” she said.

“Yeah.” He snickered through his nose. “Lez kind of sounds like lesbian.”

She thought, He is a laugh riot. Scott invited her inside, and Lesley entered the belly of the beast.

The house was beautiful and immaculate with large spaces that seemed to serve no other purpose than to showcase antiques and exotica from global travels.

“You want something to eat?” he asked. “Drink?”

“No thanks. I’m good.”

He pointed. “You brought your books?”

“Yes.” She swallowed back a sarcastic reply. Wasn’t that the purpose of her visit?

“Let’s go to my room,” he said. “Follow me.”

The house was big enough that she truly needed him to guide the way. They moved past an extended living room and den before climbing a broad staircase with an elegant, polished rail. Compared to her own family’s cramped headquarters, the Brocks occupied a grand hotel.

They reached the second story and Scott led her down a hallway. “This is my pad,” he said, pushing open one of the many doors and flicking a light.

Scott’s bedroom was a big, teenage mess, clearly exempt from the tidy order of the rest of the house. A feeble attempt had been made to push things into piles in corners of the room. He had a workstation with a PC, but the desk and chair were overloaded with clutter.

He jumped onto the bed, the one clean surface in the room.

“We can study here.

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