The Face in the Shadows by Delia Dobbs

Author:Delia Dobbs [Dobbs, Delia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
Publisher: Yap Kee Chong
Published: 2016-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

The street, still not yet come to life, had seen better days. The row of antiquated brownstones had long since lost the charm I knew they once had. Each house had a set of steps going up to the main living quarters and another set of steps heading down to a small basement apartment. I could tell it once was a very beautiful neighborhood but now it had not only aged but also slipped into years of disrepair.

An old decrepit factory stood tall at the end of the street; probably a bastion of better days. I stared at the old building, and wondered what purpose it once had. Obviously a business that had thrived for a time, it had to have been quite successful in order to grow up to its size. The painted sign on the side of it had long since faded and you could only guess what had been written there.

I walked the street looking for signs of life anywhere but other than the transient, still slumped over by the side of the road, there was nothing. More than likely, the street had been buttoned down tight early in the evening of the night before and wouldn’t spring to life again for a few hours. A lone truck turned the corner and drove past me. I watched it as it slumbered to a halt about a block away in front of a small corner market. A third man came out to greet the truck and together they started to unload its contents.

I looked around to see if anyone else was around and still, there was no life on the street. I decided to walk over and try to speak with the storeowner but I didn’t like my angle. It was always best to approach from the front rather than coming from behind. Psychologically, people were less likely to view you as a threat that way. But I approached anyway.

I crossed the street and started to approach the men who were clearly concentrating on getting the truck unloaded in a hurry.

“Hello,” I said as softly as I could. Before I knew it I heard the distinctive sound of a shotgun being cocked. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned slowly in the direction of the sound. There was a fourth man standing between the buildings that I had not noticed.

“It’s okay,” I tried to sound as unthreatening as possible. By now, all four men had their eyes beaded on me. “I’m not a threat,” I said with a little nervous laughter. “I just wanted to ask some questions. I’m looking for someone.” I kept my head down, trying not to make eye contact. “I was hoping you could help me.” Still no one answered. The fourth man just kept his gun trained on me. I fell silent.

It was probably a full minute that passed before one of the men gave a slight nod of the head and the gunman relaxed his tension. Still keeping it aimed in my direction, he relaxed his position just enough to allow me to relax.

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.