The Malice Code by Ava Strong

Author:Ava Strong [Strong, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ava Strong
Published: 2021-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Finally.

The Last Convert had begun to lose patience. He had despaired of ever getting Professor Lawrence Winkler alone. The man seemed to be friends with half of Italy. Every night, every lunch break, he had one or more companions. The Last Convert had begun to make plans to kill him in front of a witness, and then kill the witness.

Thank God he didn’t have to go through with such a risky move. Just as he had begun to lose hope, Professor Winkler had left the library at closing time as usual, took a solo walk through busy evening streets, and then dined alone at a small restaurant.

The Last Convert had dined with him, two tables away.

And now Professor Winkler was walking off his dinner with a stroll through the smaller streets at the edge of town, breathing in the fresh air away from the clutter and noise of downtown.

Like many of the smaller cities of Europe, Ravenna was very compact and had few to no suburbs. The Last Convert knew that Professor Winkler was heading through a neighborhood that would suddenly stop, the apartment buildings and shops replaced from one street to the next by open farmers’ fields.

Perfect. After all those social afternoons and evenings with friends, Professor Winkler wanted a quiet night in the countryside.

He’d get anything but.

The Last Convert trailed him from half a block behind as the professor strolled past the last built-up block and followed a country lane between two fields. He did not look around him, only up at the brilliant night sky now that the lights were dwindling behind him and the stars shone more brightly on a moonless night. The Last Convert increased his pace, closing the gap between them.

He got within twenty yards of Professor Winkler before the man heard him and looked over his shoulder.

“Buona serata,” the professor said. “Good evening.”

The Last Convert only nodded in response. He did not want to reply and give away the fact that he spoke Italian with an American accent.

Professor Winkler looked ahead of him once more and continued walking.

Trying to move more silently, the Last Convert increased his pace even more in order to close the final gap, keeping his hands in his pockets, one grasping the garotte. This time he managed to get within ten yards before Professor Winkler looked around again. The academic stepped to the side, either to let the stranger pass or out of a sense of rising caution. The Last Convert tried to look casual as he continued straight, appearing intent on passing the scholar.

Professor Winkler moved a little further to the side and nodded a greeting again. The Last Convert pointed beyond him and said, “Look!”

The oldest trick in the book; but used on a soft, unsuspecting man who had never known violence, it worked every time. Professor Winkler looked away from him, out across the darkened field.

With a motion practiced to perfection in front of a mirror for hours on end, the Last Convert pulled out the garotte, grasped it with both hands, and rushed at the professor.

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.