The Past Never Ends by Jackson Burnett

Author:Jackson Burnett [Burnett, Jackson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The answering machine sat on Chester Morgan's desk.

"Watch this," Marylin said. She pressed the rewind button and the tiny cassette spun its tape. It stopped. She pressed the play button.

Silence.

The tape wound at regular speed.

Silence.

"I see, but..." Morgan said. He knew she must have a reason.

"Remember when we thought we lost the Echohawk brief you dictated, but we really hadn't?" she asked. "I've had to make machines work for me my entire career." She pressed the rewind button and allowed the tape to spin back. She took it out of the machine, played with the recording head, and placed the tape back in the small black box. "Listen," she said as she jiggled the play button and pressed it down.

"Tanya. Hope this will be a peaceful day for you. Call me when you are able," the male voice said. Then, the talking recorder: "Thursday. September Third. Ten twenty-three a.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

"Tanya. I know you're there." The same deep voice in embarrassing sing-song. "Please call me." Click. "Thursday. September Third. Eleven forty-six a.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

"Babe, pick up the receiver and talk to me. I just want to chat with you. Just want to hear your voice. It wouldn't hurt to talk for a minute, would it? You know what the number is." Same voice, pleading, resigned. Click. "Thursday. September Third. Twelve o-four p.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

"I have to talk with you. I really have to talk with you! Come on! I I really do!" Again the voice, this time panicked, desperate. "Pick up the phone............Call me then or come see me. You know where I am, where I always am. We have to talk -- both of us." Click "Thursday. September Third. Two-thirteen p.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

"Stop playing games! Be an adult and pick up the phone. I said pick it up." The bass voice squeaked to tenor in anger. "This is childish! Work your dumb little blond broad charade on your sleazy dumb tricks but not me. That's due me! You're a woman. Have some character, or are you afraid? I'll make you have talk to me!" Click. "Thursday. September Third. Two-fifty-two p.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

"TANYA! STAR! TANYA! I don't want to do this. I don't! Tanya, I was the pestle that put life into your vessel, made you more than the shell you were before. It all came together in you, for you. Should I kiss your cheek? And you -- you -- you --" Click. "Thursday. September Third. Three-o-one p.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

"You little slut." A female voice, raspy with too much cigarette smoke and nightclub air. "Make sure your fat little cheeks are at the Lodge tonight. Ten-thirty. You got business there tonight. Important business." Click. "Thursday. September Third. Three-o-six p.m."

Beeeeeeeeep.

Marylin pushed the stop button. "Nothing else for that day except a couple of hang-ups. By the next, Tanya was dead."

Morgan stared at his framed diplomas and certificates on the wall, but he wasn't looking at black-and-white words.

"Chester, you always say a good trial attorney should be able to get kicked hard and never have it show by the look on his face," Marylin said.

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.