Back in 2010, when Black Earth: End of the Innocence - Book 1 in my Black Earth series - was released, I also released five separate flash fiction stories that I inconspicuously hid on my website for fans to find. Since close to nobody knew what the Black Earth series was even about, I didn't have much success getting the stories read.Now that I've dug them out of the vault, here is the fourth in the series, following Daisy Pierce and a mysterious meeting.
Smoking Kills -
Daisy leaned against the library pillar, growing steadily impatient with the woman’s tardiness. She glanced down at her watch and realized she had already been waiting forty-five minutes…too long. She started down the steps toward the parking lot.
“Going so soon?”
She stopped and turned around. Anya Truth was standing at the top of the stairs, where Daisy had just been, beating a pack of cigarettes against her palm.
“Why are you so flippin’ late?”
The woman, dressed in a short skirt and white blouse, smiled arrogantly. “Does it matter? I have the information you requested.”
“It does matter! I’ve been waiting here for almost an hour now.”
“Last I knew, you didn’t have anything better to do. Besides, I had some dry cleaning to pick up.”
Daisy started up the steps, but the woman motioned for her to stop.
“Stay there. Second hand smoke kills, if you hadn’t heard.” She lit up a cigarette and took a long drag off it. “I will make this brief. The last person that Daniel was seen with before his disappearance was Clyde Fulsom.”
“Who is he?”
Anya shrugged. “Not sure. I can’t find any information on him besides that he lives in Arizona…somewhere. And that he’s male.”
“What good does this do me if I can’t find the guy?”
“I was hired by you to unearth any information I can on Daniel’s disappearance. That’s what I’m doing. I don’t have all of the answers, Daisy, but I will give you what I find.” She took another puff off the cigarette, blowing the smoke into the shape of a ring.
This was turning into a ridiculous charade.
Anya came a few steps down, closer to Daisy. “I’m sorry for your loss, I really am. There’s no guarantee that you’re going to like what you find at the end of this road and my advice to you at this point is to let it go.”
“Let it go? Are you serious? He’s been missing for months now and you want me to let it go?”
“Daisy, dear, take some advice from someone who is a bit older and more experienced in life. I assure you that he is off somewhere on a beach with another dame, okay? You really should move on with your life. You have a wonderful family. Your brother is graduating in a couple weeks, right? Weren’t you telling me you might want to move to New York? That would be great for you! See, these are positive things to dwell on. Your missing slash runaway love is not.”
“Find me proof that he’s alive and I’ll drop this. Until then, you can go back to doing the job I’m paying you to do. How does that sound?”
Anya took a final drag off the cigarette and then dropped it to the steps, crushing it with her heel. “Okay. I’m just looking out for your well being, that’s all. Well, trying to, but you aren’t making it easy.”
“Try dealing with the disappearance of your fiancé and then you can lecture me on easy.”
“A pleasure as always, young Daisy. I will be in touch.”
Copyright © 2010 David N. Alderman
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