“Pay up!” Big Vinny said with a crooked smile from the other side of the table. He picked up his cigar and wedged it in the side of his mouth. I looked down at my very meager stack of cash, trying to figure a way out of this. Big Vinny, a large man with more chins than a Chinese phone book, motioned with his hand for me to pay.

“I can’t pay you right now,” I said, looking at him with a stiff upper lip.

He chuckled as he looked at his thinner pal Jeremy next to him at the table, then turned back toward me and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Give me a break,” I said. “Times have been tough.” Jeremy pretended to play an invisible violin.

“Pay now or else,” Big Vinny said.

“Or else what?”

Big Vinny gestured with his right index finger toward his fat neck and moved it horizontally while saying, “kkkcckk.” Big Vinny and Jeremy snickered wildly. I fell back in my chair, flashing back to how a bright man wound up in financial peril and in debt to the dim-witted Big Vinny. It had to be luck. Real bad luck…

I learned long ago that the key to financial success was through real estate. My goal was simple: economic domination. Back in the day when a dollar could actually buy something, I gathered up all the cash that I had to purchase my first piece of property. It was in a poor part of town near the railroad tracks. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

I wasn’t about to stop there. In addition to earning a steady paycheck from a bank, I traveled around in my car looking for good real estate at fair prices. I shrewdly purchased some unimproved property at a bargain price. This land, which resided in an upscale neighborhood, was cheaper than expected since it was next door to a large water plant. Undaunted, I spent much of my savings, building a luxurious house on the property.

What seemed like a risk, paid off big time. I rented out the house to travelers who were willing to pay high daily rates. I used the steady cash flow from this rental to finance several other property purchases. I was truly on a roll and life simply couldn’t have been better. Every chance I took was paying off. But, my luck was about to change.

I was thrown in jail on trumped up charges that I still don’t understand. Without a steady paycheck while in jail, money started to get tight. Then, real estate and luxury taxes obliterated my savings.

By the time I got out of jail, I was forced to sell several properties, including the very first property that I had purchased. Not nearly ready to give up, I took several trips looking for good property to buy. Unfortunately, most properties were no longer for sale and my costs mounted, as I had to pay big dollars for a night’s stay at several motels. Finally, I was forced to sell my cash cow, the property near the water plant. I was now without savings and I was living from $200 paycheck to $200 paycheck.

My last and fatal mistake was when I pulled my car up to Big Vinny’s house, located in a ritzy area along the waterfront.

“So you’re going to pay up or not?” Big Vinny asked, breaking my flashback. “Well?”

I sighed heavily before shaking my head.

Big Vinny smiled and said, “If you can’t pay for your stroll on my Boardwalk, that means that it’s the end for you. You lose.” Jeremy mockingly waved goodbye.

I stood up from the table and looked at my watch. “Fine,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air before silently vowing never to spend four hours playing Monopoly again.

Pay Up is one of ten stories in the book Murder in a Country Town and other stories. To purchase this book at Amazon.com, please click here.

I yawned as I fastened my checkered robe and headed downstairs, looking forward to my morning coffee. I stopped suddenly as I reached the bottom of the stairs when I saw a stranger in my living room.

“Whoah! Who are you?”

The old man, who was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine, slowly stood up. “I’m Pete. I live just down the street.”

“Um… you mind explaining how you got in my house.”

“Oh, your wife Sara let me in.”

“Where is she?” I asked.

“She just left to pick up some eggs at the market. She’ll be back in a minute.” I walked over to Pete, who had a white mustache and beard. He looked at me and snickered, “Nice robe.”

“Hey,” I said, wagging my finger at him. “I’m a married man with both kids away at college. I come downstairs expecting my wife. You’re lucky I have any clothes on at all.”

Pete laughed. “I saw your wife outside and she invited me over for breakfast. I’m new in the neighborhood and I like to know my neighbors.” Pete paused for a moment. “I have a question I’d like to ask to get to know people better. It’s a little strange though. Do you mind?”

I sat down in a chair near Pete. “Go right ahead.”

“If you could have breakfast with four people in the world from any time in history, who would it be?”

“Ooh… that’s a good one,” I said, looking at the ceiling to think. “Well, my Dad for sure. He died three years ago. Jackie Robinson. I’m a huge baseball fan. Lucille Ball. She’d keep the conversation light.”

“That’s sounds like a great group,” Pete said with a smile. “You have one more.”

“My wife Sara, no question.”

“What? You can have breakfast with your wife anytime. This is a special, once in a life time breakfast.”

I shook my head. “Sara is the love of my life. She’s the one that would make the breakfast special.”

Pete frowned and he paused to think. “Let’s say you couldn’t invite her.”

“Then I would just have those three,” I said, tiring of the question. I got up and walked over to the window. It was beautiful, sunny day. “How long ago did Sara leave for the market?” There was no response. I turned around to look at Pete. “Did you hear me?”

“I did,” Pete said, scratching his head. I must confess I haven’t been completely honest with you. You won’t be seeing Sara. Not for a very long time.”

“What?” I said as my heart started to race. “What have you done with her?”

“I promise you that she is fine.”

I rushed over to the sofa and leaped on top of the old man. I pressed my forearm up against his neck. I was much stronger than him. “Game time is over. You tell me where my wife is and you tell me now!”

“Okay, I will tell you everything, but please get off me,” Pete said, straining to speak.

I released the pressure I was putting on Pete’s neck, but I still had him pinned on the sofa. “I’m not letting you go until you tell me what is going on,” I said.

“I know this is tough for you. That’s why I arranged a little surprise in the dining room. Breakfast is ready.”

“I don’t care about breakfast. Where’s my wife?” I said, exerting pressure again, but this time on his shoulder.

“You don’t understand. Your dream breakfast guests are all here. Your dad, Jackie Robinson, and Lucille Ball.”

I released the pressure on his shoulder and stared at Pete for a moment. “Did you escape from some insane asylum?”

“I’m serious. I have arranged it all. They’re in your dining room right now. Go look.”

I glared at Pete, figuring this was some kind of trick. I grabbed him by the arm and forcefully led him down the hallway toward the dining room. As we approached the dining room, I stopped suddenly. My heartbeat quickened and my eyes widened. I heard Lucille Ball’s distinctive voice. She said something which triggered my Dad’s signature laugh. A laugh I have not heard in three years. My dad was alive!

I released my hold on Pete and stared at him. “You can bring people back from the dead?”

“No,” Pete said, shaking his head. “No one has the power to do that.”

“But… then how?”

Pete smiled and said, “Welcome to heaven.”

The Stranger is one of nine stories in the book Murder in a Coastal Town and other stories. To purchase this book at Amazon.com, please click here.

“Ow!” I said silently to myself as I clutched my stomach. The pain was intense and I paused for a moment as I dropped to one knee. It felt like ten sharp needles were being rammed into my upper stomach just below my left ribs. After about five seconds, the pain subsided to a manageable level and I got up. I slowly made my way up the hill toward my high school. I squinted up at the overcast skies, which prevented any noticeable sunshine. I zipped up my jacket to protect myself from the early morning breeze and momentarily regretted my long-standing insistence on walking to school.

I’m seventeen years old and stand five feet eight inches with a body that one wouldn’t call imposing. Everyone at my school knows that I’m not an athlete with my skinny frame. But, what only a handful of people know is that I’m suffering from leukemia. This disease has been with me just about my whole life, but it has seemingly gotten worse as of late resulting in sudden weakness and unbearable stomach pains.

“We all have to play the cards that we’re dealt. It’s whether you make the most out of those cards that counts,” my dad once told me. And that’s what I try to remember every day. So I’m through the stage of feeling sorry for myself. I simply try to make each day the best day of my life- even if the day begins with intense stomach pains on a gloomy, chilly Monday morning.

At 8:20 in the morning, ten minutes before first period begins, I walked onto the noisy high school campus. The hallways were filled with students. The chattering of fellow students and the sounds of lockers being slammed shut bombarded my ears. I still held my aching stomach as I walked to my first period class before stopping abruptly. Just ten feet away was Jennifer Wright. Just the sight of her ravishingly good-looking body made me stop in my tracks.

Her perfect facial features complemented her beautiful black hair, which seductively dropped down to her shoulders. She was wearing that smile that used to melt my heart and caused my palms to get all sweaty and my mouth dry.

Jennifer was talking to her longtime boyfriend Max Reed, which reminds me that it has been two years since she asked me to the school dance. I was so happy I could barely sleep the night before the dance. Jennifer was my first love and she knew it. But, as it turned out, she had no intention of ever going with me. She was just using me to make Max jealous and left me at the entrance of the dance at the first sight of Max. I was crushed. I felt manipulated, betrayed, and completely dismissed. Somehow, my palms still get sweaty at the sight of her.

I must have been staring at her awhile as the memories of that dance flashed through my mind. Her pretty brown eyes met mine and she appeared offended that I was looking at her. As if to send me a message, she stood up on her tiptoes to give Max a long, sensuous kiss.

Max, being the school’s star running back, was a tall, muscular guy. With big, broad shoulders and near perfect physique, Max fit the image around school as the ultimate tough guy. Depending upon on whether you ask the girls or the teachers at our high school, Max was either a hunk or a punk. I side with the latter.

I think he felt it was his duty to pick on me. He loved to push me around in front of his buddies while calling me “wimp” and “sissy”. About a month ago when I was walking across the football field after school, Max fired the ball at me with all of his might. He claimed he wanted to see how well I could catch. The point of the football hit the pit of my weakened stomach. I rolled on the ground in pain as Max laughed with his buddies.

This morning, he was wearing his red football jersey and faded blue jeans. I had often wondered whether those were the only clothes he owned. Jennifer finally released her lips from Max. She immediately glanced over at me wickedly. Max playfully ran his hands through her hair and then took off down the hallway never seeing me.

I continued toward my class before Jennifer stepped in my path to say, “So what were you lookin’ at?”

“Nothin’,” I answered, stepping around her. As I passed her, I muttered to myself, “Actually two nothings.”

As I sat down for my first period class, the pain in my stomach eased because I was bent at the waist. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned around in my chair. It was Susan Tolliver, the girl who sits right behind me in class. Susan had curly, brown hair that helped shape her round face. Now, I like to think I get along with most people. But, I disliked Susan. No, change that. I hated her.

“Robert,” Susan said, pretending to be sincere. And I think that’s what I really don’t like about her. She pretends to be sincere. But, she’s not. She lives for half-winged gossip and couldn’t care less who she hurts with it. And she has hurt me many times. Once she spread it all around school that I was trying to steal Jennifer away from Max, provoking Max to beat me to a bloody pulp.

“So Robert, did you hear Mark Davidson didn’t get into Berkeley or Stanford?” Susan asked in a whisper. “I hear that’s the only schools he applied for.” I simply stared dumbfounded at her as she smiled. She then giggled saying, “He’ll probably have to go to some community college.”

I looked over at Mark who sat four rows over. Called “cute” by some girls, Mark had a boyish face and short blond hair. Mark was our high school’s resident genius, according to Mark. He had an SAT score of 1560, but at age eighteen had yet to learn how to swim.

I have known Mark since grade school, but we never were what you would call “friends”. For some reason, we always seemed to be competing against each other- from elementary school spelling bees to high school class elections. But, over the last couple of years, the rivalry seemed to become less friendly. About two years ago, because his mother worked as a nurse at my hospital, Mark found out that I had leukemia. Unlike Susan, it wasn’t Mark’s style to go telling everyone at school. Instead, he liked throwing it back in my face by sometimes ruthlessly calling me “Luke” rather than Robert. When you have leukemia, you never forget it. But every time Mark called me “Luke”, it would give me a deep, spine chilling fear which can only come from having a fatal disease.

“So, are you hanging out with your girlfriend Jennifer on Catalina Island?” Susan sarcastically asked, breaking my concentration on Mark. She smiled broadly and started to giggle again.

Susan was referring to senior “ditch day” where the entire senior class got this Friday off to take a large chartered boat twenty-six miles to spend the day on Catalina Island. I turned around, and muttered, “She’s not my girlfriend” under my breath as the school bell rang.

When I got home that day, the pain in my stomach got worse. I also felt a milder pain in the joints in my ankles and hip. Finally, my parents rushed me down to the emergency room at the hospital where I saw my doctor. After what seemed like hours of X-rays, testing, and waiting, the doctor and my parents came into the room. The good news is the doctor was able to give me a shot earlier that greatly reduced the pain in my stomach. But, by the look of the three as they entered, some bad news was on the horizon. My mother’s face appeared overwhelmed with grief. She wiped off a tear with a tissue that she pulled out of her purse. Alternatively eyeing my mother and then the floor, my dad was clearly having trouble looking at me.

“What’s wrong?” The room was filled with silence. “If there is something wrong, I want to know.”

My father nodded to the doctor, who turned and looked at me. “The tests that we have run have shown that the leukemia is not going into remission. The pain that you feel is from your spleen which is greatly swollen. And your other symptoms are consistent with what the X-rays...”

“Doc,” I said, closing my eyes as I could hear my heart beat quicken. “What’s the bottom line?”

The doctor looked back at my father who nodded again. The doctor cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses as if to stall for time. Finally, he said, “I don’t think you will live much more than a couple of months, and that’s assuming you take it easy.”

I was in shock and preoccupied with the phrase “couple of months to live”. I asked to be left alone with my thoughts. The most prevalent thoughts were “Why me? And what did I do to deserve to die so young?” Of course, the answer was nothing. Some people live to be a hundred. Others die during childbirth. It’s not fair. It’s not right. It’s life.

For my seventeen years, I always tried to do the right thing and live by the golden rule. Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you. And for the most part, it brought me love, happiness and respect from others. The glaring exception was four classmates: Jennifer, Max, Susan, and Mark.

Over the last four years, those four, in their own way, regularly belittled and disrespected me. Sometimes even making me feel less than human, like I didn’t matter. I thought that if I was just nice to them that they would eventually be at least cordial in return, but four years of “turning the other cheek” had only given me a badly bruised face.

The thought that I would be dead soon and these other four would be able to continue living the next eighty years being mean and self absorbed left me angry. It actually infuriated me, so much so that I wanted to do something about it. I knew I couldn’t convince them to change. They wouldn’t listen to me. The only thing that I could do to stop them from behaving badly was to stop them from living.

If I was going to die young, they should go too. I knew this wasn’t the right thing to do. But, sometime around three in the morning as I sat alone in the hospital room, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I had made my decision. I was going to live before I died.

I had all Monday night and all Tuesday morning to plan the murders of Jennifer, Max, Susan, and Mark. I didn’t want to spend my last days in jail on murder charges. So, I knew I would have to do it in some secluded area with all of my adversaries present at the same time. I realistically felt this was impossible until I remembered the high school’s Catalina trip this Friday.

The tradition is that the school rents a large boat to take all of the seniors to Catalina for a day of fun. My dad had a small cruise boat that I knew he’d let me use. If I offered my adversaries a boat ride to Catalina, they would almost certainly decline. But, I thought of a scheme to have all four of them miss the school boat. And guess who would happen to be there to take them to Catalina free of charge. Once on the boat far away from shore, I could then kill all four of them very quietly.

I didn’t go to school again that week. My parents thought I stayed home to rest following doctor’s orders. But, I was really home perfecting my plan. Late Thursday night, my dad and I locked up the boat at the dock. “I really don’t think that you should be going out with your friends on the boat, it could be exhausting. Remember what the doctor said.”

I took a deep breath and put my hand on his shoulder. “Dad, I’ve been dealt some bad cards. But, I don’t want to sit around and pout about it. I want to go out and have some fun. I’m trying to make the most of those cards. Isn’t that what counts?”

My dad nodded his head before giving me a long hug.

My dad left later that night and I slept in the boat. At the front of the room is what I called the Captain’s room. There was no furniture in the Captain’s room other than a stool for the Captain to sit on. There was a counter just to the right of the ship’s control. Behind the Captain’s room were two cabins.

I woke up in the big cabin at seven o’clock in the morning to an absolutely beautiful day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As I stood outside on the deck, I looked out at the calm ocean. As the rising sun shone on the back of my neck, even my usually ailing body felt good. I was ready to live.

Everything went perfectly according to plan. The students began arriving at the main port at seven thirty for the eight o’clock departing time. At about 7:45, I put my plan into effect. I had gotten access to a small building near the port that didn’t open until nine a.m. One by one, I called Jennifer, Max, Mark, and Susan over the loud speaker stating that each had an urgent phone call in building B. Once they arrived at Building B, I greeted them in full disguise wearing heavy makeup, hat, glasses, mustache, and beard. None of them recognized me. I led them each to separate room and pointed inside where there was a phone off the hook. Once they went inside, I locked the door behind them.

With the 400 students in the senior class boarding the large boat, those four were never missed. And at 8:05, the boat took off leaving the four behind. I went back to the boat and changed clothes in addition to putting on some tight-fitting gloves. I threw my hat, glasses, mustache, and beard into the drawer by my revolver in the Captain’s room underneath the counter. I then went back to Building B and quietly unlocked each of the doors. I then ran back toward the dock and awaited for someone to come out of the building. As I waited, I was breathing hard from the run and I reminded myself that I needed to conserve my energy.

Shortly thereafter, all four of them figured out their doors were unlocked and came out of the building. Max started swearing up a storm when he realized that the boat had left. Jennifer was trying to calm Max down. Susan appeared in near tears and Mark seemed to be in deep thought trying to figure out what happened.

“It’s show time,” I said to myself. I walked over to the four and asked if they saw one of my closest friends from school. “I’ve got my dad’s cruise boat and we were going to Catalina in it.” The four fell for my bait- hook, line, and sinker. Max thought he “forced” me to take them to Catalina. Susan and Mark thought they had talked me into it. And Jennifer had the arrogance to think the love I felt for her two years ago did the trick.

After everyone boarded, I wasted no time in untying the rope, which docked the boat. Catalina was about a two-hour boat ride. I waited until we were almost an hour into our journey to call everyone into the Captain’s room. I pulled out a cake, paper plates, a butcher’s knife, a bottle of wine, and five wine glasses and placed them all on the counter next to the ships controls.

“What’s all this?” Jennifer asked.

“A celebration,” I replied.

“This is stupid,” Mark said in his usual belittling tone. “You’re offering us cake and wine at nine o’clock in the morning. You can be such an idiot.”

“What’s with the sissy gloves?” Max asked, his arm wrapped around Jennifer.

“It’s to keep my hands from getting dirty,” I responded, before asking Mark to cut the cake.

“Cut the cake with this?” Mark asked, picking up the 12-inch butcher’s knife.

“Sorry. That’s all I have.”

Mark shook his head and began to cut the cake, mumbling, “It figures, Luke.”

“Luke?” Susan asked, as a sharp chill went down my spine.

“It’s a nickname,” Mark said, looking at me with a sinister smile. I responded to Mark with a hateful glare.

“How did he get that nickname?” Susan asked, cozying up to Mark. “I gotta know.”

“It’s not important,” I said, handing Susan the wine bottle while keeping one eye on the sea.

“Someone’s a little sensitive about their nickname,” Susan said in a teasing tone. “Aren’t you, Luke?”

“Just pour please,” I said to Susan.

“Tell me later,” Susan whispered to Mark as she poured the wine into the five glasses. What she did not know was that one of the glasses already had a lethal amount of arsenic. I chipped that glass at its base so I could identify it.

Max took his arm off Jennifer and approached me. “All you have is wine!” Max blurted out, shoving me to make sure he had my attention. I fell back, banging my left hip against the counter. I winced. “Don’t you have any beer?” Max asked, upset. I answered by shaking my head. “Nice going, sissy boy.”

All of the times that Max had physically hurt me flashed through my mind. Despite the pain in my hip, I managed to smile. “Please, try the wine,” I said, handing Max the chipped glass. Everyone else took a glass but Mark, who put his hands up saying, “I’m not having any of your stupid wine.”

“Hold it for the toast,” I said to him. Mark relented and I began the toast saying, “Let’s not kid ourselves. I haven’t really been a close friend with any of you. In fact, if you hadn’t missed the school’s boat, none of you would even be here. But, I think in life, everything happens for a reason. And right now, right here, we are all together. And that…”

“Can you get on with it?” Jennifer asked, rolling her eyes.

I calmly nodded my head, but boiled inside, angry that she interrupted my big moment. I looked at everyone else’s eyes. It was clear that no one wanted to listen to me talk. I raised my glass and succinctly said, “May we all lead happy, long lives after we graduate.” With that, everyone besides Mark drank. Max, finishing his drink all in one shot, complained again about the lack of beer, blinked his eyes disillusioned and then dropped to the floor.

“Oh my God,” Jennifer said, reaching down to check on Max. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t feels so good,” Max mumbled to Jennifer.

“He’s drunk,” I said softly to Mark and Susan. I took a moment to admire the big, tough football player knocked out on the ground because of me.

“Never heard of anyone getting drunk on one glass of wine,” Mark said with assurance.

My hands started to shake. I suddenly felt dizzy and weak. This sudden stress was exactly what I didn’t need. “Uh, you never know how much he had before he came,” I muttered. With that, Mark and Jennifer helped a dying Max into the small cabin. “One down three to go,” I said to myself.

I continued to direct the boat from the Captain’s room waiting to hear the news that Max was dead. I was rehearsing my reaction and response. My mood was mixed. On one hand, I felt a sense of achievement, conquering my most physically intimidating adversary. On the other hand, I had already begun to feel tired and for the first time today, I felt a slight pain in my stomach.

As I sat down on the stool, I tried to recuperate. For a moment, I was able to appreciate the beauty of the sea and soak in the warmth of the sunshine. The ocean was calm today and there wasn’t another boat in sight on this early weekday morning.

“Robert,” Mark said, entering the Captain’s room. “I was just with Jennifer and Max. Something is seriously wrong with him. Maybe we should turn back.”

“We’ll be at Catalina soon,” I responded. “We’ll get him help there.” I knew I had to free myself from directing the boat and I felt I could trick Mark into taking over. “You know,” I began. “It’s pretty hard driving this thing. But, I learned it pretty quickly.”

“Can’t be that hard. And if you can do it, I certainly can.” Mark pushed me over. “Show me how!” I showed him the controls and he caught on quickly. “Ah, this is a piece of cake,” Mark said smugly. “I can handle this by myself.”

I acted concerned, but I let him talk me into it. I slowly walked toward the back of the boat where Susan was staring out at the ocean. “Hey Susan,” I whispered. “I think I know what happened to Max.” When she leaned close to me, I knew I had her full attention. “I think Mark tried to poison Max,” I whispered. “You know those two never really got along. And remember, Mark was the only one who refused to drink any wine.”

“That’s right,” Susan said in agreement. Her eyes lit up, thinking she was privy to some inside information. I enjoyed duping Susan with of all things- gossip!

“I think I have a cell phone around here somewhere. I want you to keep an eye on Mark in the Captain’s room. I’m going to try to reach a hospital in Catalina.” As Susan walked to the Captain’s room, I pretended that I was going in the big cabin. But, as soon as Susan entered the Captain’s room, I sneaked out and headed to the small cabin.

When I opened the door, I was surprised at what I saw. Sitting on the bed, Jennifer was in tears as she held Max. “He’s dead!” Jennifer said, trying to wipe away the tears that were smearing her makeup. I had to admit I felt bad. Not that I killed Max, but that I had made Jennifer cry. I didn’t enjoy seeing her so sad. I slowly walked up to her thinking that I had to take her out of her misery. “Just get the hell out of here!” Jennifer cried, burying her head into Max’s large shoulders.

I closed my eyes. I remembered how I felt the night of the dance two years ago as I reached into my coat pocket for a syringe full of arsenic. “It’ll all be over soon,” I said as I sat down on the edge of the bed beside Jennifer who was still clinging to a lifeless Max. I took a deep breath and quickly covered Jennifer’s mouth with my left hand and jammed the syringe into her left arm. I held her tightly for the next couple of minutes. As I held her, I closed my eyes and pretended we were dancing. I think she owed me a dance. I then looked at her pale, yet attractive face and then into her beautiful, brown eyes. She was pretty. In fact, drop dead gorgeous, I snickered to myself. I finally let go of her lifeless body and let her fall into Max’s arm. After all, that’s where she always wanted to be.

I then left the room closing the door behind me. I’m not sure if it was the physical or emotional toll of killing Jennifer, but I suddenly felt very tired. With all of my activity, the joints in my knees and ankles had become sore. I wanted to lie down and rest, but I knew I still had work to do. I gingerly walked to the back of the boat and began to pour a gallon of water into the boat’s gas tank, which I knew would stall the boat. I then slowly walked to the Captain’s room where Susan and Mark were chatting away. “No luck! I can’t find my cell phone,” I announced. I then turned to Mark and explained, “I was going to call a hospital on Catalina so an ambulance can meet us when we arrive.”

“That’s Catalina Island straight ahead,” Susan said pointing. “We can’t be more than 45 minutes away.”

“I’ll speed up and make that 30 minutes,” Mark said, still controlling the ship. As Mark tried to speed up, the engine began to stall. Apparently, the water was beginning to have an effect on the engine. The boat jerked a little, then slowly came to halt. “What’s going on?” Mark asked frantically.

“I don’t know,” I said lying. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Mark replied. “This boat’s a piece of crap.” I pushed Mark out of the way and pretended to try to restart the boat. As I tried, I sat down on the stool feeling physically exhausted. I started to feel increasing pain in my stomach.

“Oh my gosh! If the ship won’t start, how will we get Max help?” Susan turned toward me and asked, “How’s he doing?”

I had to pause a moment to clear my mind. The joints in my ankle, knee, and hip all ached, but I had to forget my physical ailments and refocus on my task. “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve been looking for my cell phone in the other cabin.”

“I’ll check on Max,” Mark said, before running out of the Captain’s room.

“Why can’t you get it started?” Susan asked with a concerned look on her face.

“I think someone has made sure I can’t,” I said, giving Susan a serious look.

“What do you mean? Who?”

“Well, who was the last one working these controls?”

“Mark,” Susan said softly in deep thought.

At that moment, Mark rushed back in the Captain’s room saying, “What the hell is going on here?”

“What?” I asked.

“It’s Max,” Mark replied. “He’s dead too.”

“What do you mean too?” Susan asked immediately.

“Jennifer is dead,” Mark said with his eyes darting from Susan back to me. I could tell that Mark’s mind was racing. But, I didn’t think he had figured anything out, at least not yet.

Susan raced out of the room, apparently headed to check on Jennifer. That left Mark and me alone in the Captain’s room. “Did you kill Jennifer?” Mark asked bluntly.

“Of course not, don’t be silly,” I said, reaching for the cake and the butcher’s knife. As I held the knife in my right hand, Mark jumped back in fright. “Oh give me a break,” I said, trying to laugh despite the intense pain in my stomach. I couldn’t have killed a guarded Mark even if I wanted to. I simply didn’t have the strength. Besides, he was much stronger than me even if I didn’t feel physically sick. “I’m going to lock this up. It could be used as a weapon,” I said before slowly walking out of the Captain’s room and into the vacant small cabin. I wanted to finish my original mission, but I needed to rest. I set the cake and knife on the nightstand and collapsed on the bed. I curled up in the fetal position, which helped ease the pain in my stomach. I laid on the bed with my eyes open. I feared if I closed them and fell asleep, I’d never wake up.

I rested for what seemed like three minutes when Susan raced in the cabin and locked the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief as if the weight of the world was released from her shoulders. But when Susan turned around, her relief disappeared because she could tell that I was in pain. “Oh my gosh!” she said dropping down to one knee to get a closer look at me. “What’s wrong?”

“My stomach, it hurts,” I said, actually telling the truth.

Susan spotted the butcher’s knife and cake and looked at me. “Tell me you didn’t eat any of the cake recently.” I quickly realized where Susan’s mind was going, so I decided to play along. I nodded my head. “How could you be so stupid?”

At that moment, someone began knocking hard on the door. Then, Mark’s voice shouted, “Susan open this door! For all of our safety, we have to stay together!”

“Forget it!” Susan yelled back. “I’ll be safe locked in here.”

“Is Robert in there?!” Mark asked, still yelling.

“Yes, he is,” Susan responded.

“Then, you better get out of there!” Mark screamed as he pounded on the door. “Open the door!”

“Listen!” Susan shouted, standing up and turning toward the door. “There is no way I’m opening this door. So, just forget it!”

It was clear Susan was convinced Mark was the killer and I was harmless. In fact, I think she thought I was dying. And she may have been right because I felt worse than had ever had in my life. I had lost almost all of my energy. Worse yet, my legs were getting numb. It had felt the leukemia had simply taken over my entire body.

“Fine, screw you!” Mark said, apparently walking away from the door.

“You said that there was a cell phone in this room,” Susan said, facing me. We have to find it so we can call for help.” So that’s her plan, I thought. Too bad it wasn’t going to work because there never was a cell phone on the boat. I had made it up.

Susan began frantically looking in the drawers of the nightstand. As she looked, I tried to get my mind to focus back on my mission. How was I going to kill Susan and Mark? Both were stronger than me, especially Mark. I knew the easiest and possibly only way was to get to the revolver. But that was all the way back in a drawer in the Captain’s room. And that seemed way too far to travel now. I massaged my numb legs. I was unsure whether I could get up if I tried. And I didn’t want to try.

“It’s not in here,” Susan finally said, slamming one of the nightstand’s drawers shut. She then walked over to me. When I didn’t move, Susan grabbed and pulled me off the bed allowing me to fall to my knees leaning up against the nightstand. I then slumped to the ground as my right hand rested on the nightstand.

“I don’t know about you. But I’m not going to die on this God forsaken boat,” Susan said, frantically walking back over to the bed. I desperately fought the temptation to close my eyes, like a child who was fighting to stay awake to see the late show on television. At that point, my hand brushed up against a soft, gooey substance on the nightstand. What was that? Oh, I know. It was the icing on the cake. “Hey, you ever take your girlfriend Jennifer out on this boat before?” Susan asked, now on top of the bed, which was up against the wall. She was feeling on the other side of the bed to see if the phone had fallen into that crevasse.

I boiled in anger blurting out, “She was not my girlfriend!” A flash quickly came to me. If my hands were close to the cake, the butcher’s knife must be close by. A shot of energy manifested in anger and hatred spread through my body. I tilted my head up and looked at the top of the nightstand and immediately spotted the knife.

“Huh?” Susan said, not understanding me and not even turning around. If she had, she would have seen me grab the knife and stumble towards her. With rage as my only energy left, I plunged the knife into Susan’s back. She let out a slight scream and fell on the bed, and I fell to the floor.

It took me over five minutes to gather the strength to get up. In those five minutes, I didn’t hear anything from Susan. When I struggled to my feet, I could see Susan lying face down on the bed with the knife still implanted in her back. I chuckled at the symbolism. Only one left, I thought. Then, I could rest forever. I had to get to the revolver in the Captain’s room. I wondered whether I could get to it with Mark somewhere on the boat. But, I knew I had nothing to lose. I had to try. My legs were now very numb and I found it difficult to stand. But as I did stand upright, a searing pain ran through my stomach. I struggled to walk to the door of the cabin. As I stumbled toward the door, I bent over in an attempt to lessen the pain in my stomach. I quietly unlocked the door and slowly walked out.

As soon as I stepped out of the cabin, I was grabbed and thrown up against the side of the boat. I cried out in agony as pain ripped through my stomach. “You slimeball!” Mark yelled. With nostrils flaring, his face turned beet red with anger. “Look what I found!” he said, showing me the revolver. I closed my eyes in frustration. Mark pressed the gun up against the side of my head. “Wait, there’s more. Look what else I found.” Still holding the revolver to my head with his right hand, he yanked out of his jacket pocket with his left hand my disguise- my beard and glasses. “It was you in that building! You planned for us to miss the school boat so that you can lure us onto this boat!” He angrily threw the disguise down and grabbed my shirt near my chest with his left land and twisted. “You were probably planning to kill all of us! But, I’m too smart for you. You got that Luke! I’m too damn smart for you!” Mark screamed, shoving me back against the outside wall of the cabin. He looked into my eyes, feeling powerful and in control.

“Susan!” Mark shouted. “Get out here! I’ve got our murderer.” There was a dead silence. “Susan!” Mark screamed again. Then, Mark looked back at me. I was in too much pain to smile, but I did raise my eyebrows, which conveyed the message. “You didn’t,” Mark said, dragging me back into the cabin to see Susan’s corpse still laying on the bed with a knife in her back.

Mark didn’t take long to mourn Susan’s death. He quickly dragged me back to the Captain’s room. Once in the room, he violently threw me on the floor busting my lip open.

“You always had a temper when things didn’t go your way,” I muttered.

“Shut up!” Mark ordered. He patted me down to see if I had any weapons. When he felt a relatively large bulge in my jacket, he pulled out the syringe that killed Jennifer. “Look what we have here.” He put the syringe in the top drawer.

As I lay there on the floor, I was ready to give up. Mark had won. I guess he was right. He was smarter than me. “Okay,” Mark said, aiming the revolver at me. “I know there is a way to send a distress signal. Either tell me or I’ll shoot you now.”

“You think death scares me,” I mumbled, tasting my own blood from my busted lip.

“Who said I was going to kill you,” Mark said, holding the gun now with both hands. “I’ll make you suffer. I’ll shoot you in one leg, then in an arm, then in your crotch.”

“Okay, you win,” I said, too exhausted to get up. “On the control board, the top row, third button from the left, the button marked ‘distress’. It sends out a distress signal. The Coast Guard should be here in less than twenty five minutes.”

Mark pushed the button and then leaned back against the counter with the revolver still pointing at me. What he didn’t know was that was unnecessary. I didn’t have the strength to get up. “You know, you’re a real sicko!” Mark said, glaring at me. “You get us on the boat. Then, you act like nothing is wrong, offering us wine and cake. You have me cutting the cake for God sakes. You’re making toasts...

“That’s right, you were the one who cut the cake,” I said, somehow finding the strength to giggle.

“What’s so funny? Mark asked, dropping the revolver down to his side. “So I cut the cake, so what?”

“Nothin’,” I said, still chuckling. I realized I had finished my mission. I had lived before I died. The only thing left now was to die.

“You’re a psycho!” Mark looked back out for the Coast Guard for a moment, then his eyes fixed back on me.

I slowly and deliberately took my gloves off. Mark did see me, but he didn’t see any harm in it. I then reached into my pocket and pulled out my small vial of arsenic that I used to kill Max. There wasn’t much left. I hoped it would be enough. When Mark looked away, I quickly downed the remaining arsenic. Now, it was just a matter of minutes before I was dead. I put the empty vial in one of the gloves, rolled both gloves into a ball and then threw them through the open door to the Captain’s room and out to sea.

“What the hell was that?!” Mark spun around, aiming the gun at me.

“Wanna know why I’s did it?” I muttered, ignoring Mark’s question. I shook my head in a vain attempt to clear my mind.

“No!” Mark replied, dropping the gun back down to his side.

“Revenge,” I mumbled anyway.

“Well, you didn’t get revenge against me,” Mark said, strongly pointing the revolver back at me.

“Life in prisin for killin fo peoples revenge enough,” I mumbled in slurred speech.

“What?” Mark said perplexed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I didn’t bother to explain. I’m not sure if it was the leukemia or the arsenic, but I was unable to talk. I felt my eyes blink uncontrollably, and my heart rate soar. But my mind was serene, and my final thoughts were of Mark, who in the end was not smart enough to realize that the only fingerprints on the butcher’s knife and the syringe would be his...

I Will Live Before I Die is one of the nine stories in the book Murder in a Snow Covered Town and other stories. To purchase this book at Amazon.com, please click here.