Phoenix Fire by Chitwood Billy

Author:Chitwood, Billy [Chitwood, Billy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-06-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Carlton was not at all sleepy. In fact, he was keyed up, alert and abuzz with Jack Daniels.

The knowledge of his considerable poker losses for the evening had found a convenient and obscure depth in his consciousness. Money for Carlton was merely a necessary commodity to have, to do the things he wished to do. Money, or the lack of it, however, was not something that intimidated him. At the moment of losing there was some distress, but, with the lapse of a relatively short span of time, he could void his mind of worry. He did not agonize on his loss of money because he could always manage and manipulate to get more.

For Carlton there was a certain antipathy regarding money, precious little in the way of respect for it. Money had come to him too easily in life. Maybe his aversion to money was psychological and subliminal. In any event it appeared to be a paradox of his nature, like, in some grotesque way, but not totally, the man who must climb a mountain, swim the English Channel, wrestle a grizzly bear, or surf a fifty foot wave on the north shore of Hawaii. He wanted to win the big poker hand, his mountain, but it could never bother him too much if he lost. A paradox, and, unlike the lofty and noble aspiration of a Sir Edmund Hillary, Carlton's motives were rooted in some maniacal, self-annihilation crusade.

The poker game and the money losses were not on his mind as he tried to locate his car, having forgotten where he had parked it. While he felt alert and keyed up, the Jack Daniels had fogged his memory banks. The bourbon had also affected his motor skills. He was aware that there was some imbalance in his walking, but he knew where he was and what he wanted to do. He was sitting for hours. That fact and the bourbon would naturally make him feel a little out of sync, if not a whole lot out of sync.

He finally remembered where he parked the car. It sat all alone on the near deserted street. An occasional car passed, tire rubber slapping the pavement in an eerie reverberating beat.

Behind the steering wheel he contemplated his course of action. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. The epiphany had come at the small bar in the gambling suite. Now, though, he was losing some of his resolve. Looking for the car had wearied him. His quick transition of moods did not surprise him. He could understand, rationalize, how and why his mood had changed. He was without rest and sleep for too long the past several days. Mood shifts came easily to an abused body.

Still at the curb, key in the ignition, he leaned his head back against the headrest for a moment and closed his eyes. He thought of Jenny Mason and his brother. He knew what he had wanted to do tonight. His foggy mind was playing

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.