Borderlands 5 by Elizabeth Monteleone (epub)

Author:Elizabeth Monteleone (epub)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Horror
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2014-06-18T04:00:00+00:00

Smooth Operator

DOMINICK CANCILLA

Rich Chizmar, and his Cemetery Dance Publications, has been nurturing the career of Dominick Cancilla. However, if we had been able to get this volume into print when originally scheduled, we could have laid claim to yet another new writer. The story which follows is a clear indication of the talent we recognized all those years ago.

For the eighth fruitless day in a row, Clarissa sat on a bench in the open-air mall and waited for Charles, her one true love. Through dark lenses she stared across the promenade toward the Surfside Café, a popular eatery with both indoor and patio seating. It was a casual but romantic place, the kind of place where a man, holding a woman’s hand in his own across the table, could speak the words which would make her every wish come true. Charles wanted to meet Clarissa there for just that purpose—she knew it without him even having to tell her. His every thought, his every word, his every motion was an open book to her, such was the depth of their love.

Clarissa wore the yellow flower-print sun dress he had bought for her, just as she had each day prior, and plain white gloves. Very elegant. Although the summer sun was still high in the sky, she found a scarf necessary to warm her head and he had been kind enough, thoughtful enough, to provide her with one.

She wondered where he was.

Every few minutes Clarissa glanced up and down the promenade, looking for his handsome face, his familiar smile. It was not like Charles to be late.

The hours passed slowly. Ten o’clock.

Eleven. Eleven thirty.

With nervous fingers Clarissa twisted her beautiful new silver and diamond ring through the thin fabric of her ill-fitting gloves. It was not an engagement ring—at least not yet—but more of a pre-engagement gift, a symbol of their undying love, and Clarissa was more than satisfied with that for the time being. Keeping the diamond in slow orbit about her finger brought Clarissa great comfort, even though the skin beneath the ring was slowly being rubbed raw.

Noon.

One o’clock.

Clarissa was not sure that Charles would be meeting her for lunch, just as she had not been sure if a champagne brunch had been his intention. By half past one she felt confident that it was a romantic dinner that he had in mind.

Two o’clock. Three.

Children played in the water of the fountain between Clarissa and the restaurant, and she caught herself wondering how her own children would one day look. She searched for her and Charles’ features in their smiling faces.

Three thirty.

By four she began to worry.

It was silly to begin fretting about such an odd hour, of course. Too late for lunch, too early for dinner and all that. Why would he show up at such an inconvenient time? No reason. Still, Clarissa didn’t move from her seat—just in case.

Five.

The sun hung low, staring into Clarissa’s eyes. Deep in her heart she knew that he was not going to show up, and she knew where to lay the blame.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.