By Stephanie Scissom
Lightning flashed across an angry purple sky, and thunder shook the building as the automatic doors of the Mega-Mart slid open. I hurried inside as the first drops of rain pelted my back.
A woman in a red Mega-Mart vest shook a shopping cart free from the stack and shoved it toward me.
“Welcome to Mega-Mart.” Her bloodshot gaze had already drifted to something over my shoulder.
A dazzling flash of lightning lit the darkened parking lot like a nuclear blast, and I heard a loud pop before the rumble of thunder drowned everything else out. The store lights flickered and died.
I hesitated with my hand on the cart. As the security lights winked on, I watched a gray-haired woman in a strangely bulging raincoat try to slip out. The greeter stepped in front of the doors.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but the security system is electric. I can’t let you leave until the lights come back on.”
“You can’t keep me here!” The old woman sputtered. “Why, I have a… a roast in the oven!”
“Sorry, Ma’am. It’s store policy.” The greeter looked tired, overworked. And she was definitely a cop. The way she stood, the way she talked…
Ah, Vinnie, I thought with amusement. All this for me?
A poster of Vinnie hung on the wall next to the doors. He looked serious and slightly ridiculous in a black fedora framed by the words:
Morelli Family Secrets: Shocking Tales of America’s Most Violent Mob Family by Frankie Morelli’s Right Hand Man Vincent Bagoli
Book Signing Today!
The fact the little weasel had profited from dishing dirt on my family still galled me. Nobody crossed the Morellis. Pops was dead and my brothers Tony and Viggo were in the joint. It was up to me, Sal Morelli, to get revenge for my family. After I’d sent word to Vinnie that I’d get him myself, Vinnie had disappeared, knowing Sal Morelli was a man of his word.
The feds had been looking for me for five years. They must be getting desperate to dangle Vinnie out in front of me like a carrot.
I claimed a cart and threw my satchel inside. Then I joined the other shoppers browsing shadowy aisles lit only by security lights. Didn’t want to look too suspicious by running right up to Vinnie, even though I wasn’t worried they’d crack my disguise.
After selecting a few items, I casually made my way to the book section. There sat Vinnie. He still looked like a hood, though his clothes were better now. He was flanked by two cops dressed in gangster garb. I was probably the only civilian in the place who knew the pieces they carried were real.
Nice.
I got in line behind a teenage boy and the old dame in the topcoat who’d tried to sneak out. The officers were really checking her out. The teenager got his autograph and turned to leave, jostling her.
A can fell from beneath her coat, sounding like a shotgun blast when it hit the floor. Vinnie jumped three feet in the air and both guards and the cashier at register eight reached for their pieces.
Security rushed in to grab her and quickly pull her away. My heart sank because Vinnie was on his feet, arguing with his detail. That old shoplifting bird might have cost me my best opportunity.
They must’ve appeased the little rat, because he sat back down. Next in line, I finally stood before him, the man who’d betrayed my family. The cops eyeballed me as I lay my satchel on the table. One of them motioned for Vinnie to move.
“Let me get that for you.” He ran some device over it and then opened it. He needn’t have worried. Vinnie wasn’t worth blowing myself up over. Besides, explosives were my brother Tony’s bag, not mine.
Lifting my eyebrows, I reached inside for my copy of Vinnie’s book. I opened it to the front cover where my pen was already stuck inside.
As expected, Vinnie picked up my expensive pen. It was a Parker, and a pretty snazzy one, at that.
“Sorry about that.” He shrugged. “Security guys. Who do I make this out to?”
“Cecile,” I said.
Vinnie frowned and for a moment, I was afraid I’d said too much. Cecile was my mother’s name, but Vinnie knew her as Cee-Cee.
“C-e-c-“ he paused, giving me a perplexed look.
“i-l-e,” I replied, doing a mental eye roll. Fame hadn’t made him any smarter.
He signed it with a flourish, handed me back my book and pocketed the pen.
Geez, the guy raked in three mil on the tell-all and he still stole pens.
I thanked him, replaced the book in my satchel and snapped it shut. As I walked away, I spared a backwards glance at Vinnie.
Dead man walking.
The lights flickered back on.
Although I’d have loved to stick around and see the show, I figured I’d better get out of there. In about five minutes, Vinnie would feel the effects of the parathion poison I’d coated the pen with. Probably the cops would think he was having a heart attack, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I wondered if the sweating had started yet, or the dizziness.
Easy enough, I thought, as I stood in line at the register.
Vinnie and the cops had never seen me coming. A lot of things had changed in the last five years.
I paid for my pantyhose and adjusted the plastic rain bonnet over my auburn hair. I nodded at the greeter/cop before stepping out into the rain-soaked afternoon.
Sal Morelli was a changed man. These days, I went by Sally.
Good thing Vinnie hadn’t known all the family secrets.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I loved your hook & the poison on the pen is a fun & novel idea!
The ending of this story was what got me. I didn’t see it coming at all. Fun!
Definitely changes the meaning of having a poison pen. Great story!
Nice twist. I figured he had a good disguise but that was the best.
Very gripping and clever! I did not see that twist at the end.
*see that twist _coming_ at the end, haha