《The Good Fugitives》


 Chapter one

    The doorbell rang over and over. I woke up and looked at the alarm clock and saw it was three thirty in the morning. I put the pillow over my head and tried to block out the noise. I figured whoever it was would leave the front porch in a moment. The doorbell kept ringing to the point I realized the ringer had no intentions of leaving. I was surprised my parents had not gone to the door yet.


    Finally I¡¯d had enough and got out of bed. I went down stairs and saw my parents heading to the door too. As I reached the last step My father held his hand up for me to stop but I followed anyways. My father looked through peep-hole in the door to see who was ringing the doorbell.


    ¡°That looks like¡­¡± he stopped before he finished the sentence and opened the door.


    ¡°Frank?¡± asked my father looking at the figure in the doorway.


    ¡°Hello brother.¡± was all the figure said. He shook my father¡¯s hand and came inside.


    My father and the figure went into the kitchen and me and my mother stood still looking at each other. I didn¡¯t understand what uncle Frank was doing here but I knew it was nothing good. Finally my mom put her arm around me and we went into the kitchen with dad and uncle Frank.


    ¡°Sherman!¡± said uncle Frank as I came into the room. ¡°How have you been, my boy?¡±


    ¡°The past 931 day sense the last time I saw you were quite good¡­ although today isn¡¯t going so well.¡±


    ¡°Haha! You always did have a wicked sense of humor.¡± said uncle Frank as if he found what I said funny. ¡°Let¡¯s see how old are you¡­ twelve?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thirteen.¡± I answered. I left my mother''s side and sat down at the table where my father and uncle were sitting.


    ¡°And when¡¯s your birthday?¡±


    ¡°In three days.¡± I answered. ¡°Why do you care?¡±


    Uncle Frank ignored my question. ¡°Oh yes so your birthday is September 13th? And you¡¯re going to turn fourteen. The age you are when you receive the money your grandmother¡­ also known as my mother, left you. I¡¯m so happy I can be here for your special day.¡±


    ¡°Two things! One, I¡¯d prefer if you weren¡¯t here on my birthday and two I don¡¯t give a fig about the money grandma left me.¡±


    There was then about a minute of awkward silence. My uncle was quiet because he wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to my comeback and my parents were quiet from the odd tension between me and my uncle.


    ¡°Would you like tea, Frank?¡± asked my mother breaking the silence.


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer wine, but yes tea would be fine.¡±


    ¡°So Frank,¡± started dad. ¡°What brings you to Florida?¡±


    ¡°Just thought I¡¯d stop for a visit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah we¡¯re always happy to see a wicked family member at three thirty in the morning¡­¡± I said under my breath but uncle Frank heard me.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± asked uncle Frank.


    ¡°I said uh¡­ that life without you has been very boring¡­¡±. I¡¯d tried to come up with something more believable but that was the best I could come up with on the spot.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your tea,¡± said my mom.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Thanks, Carol.¡± said uncle Frank.


    ¡°It was my pleasure. How long do you plan to visit?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t need to stay for long. I¡¯ll just be here till after Sherman¡¯s birthday.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you won¡¯t ¡®need¡¯ to be here for long?¡± I asked.


    Uncle Frank ignored my question and continued. ¡°I realized how long it had been since I saw you all a few days ago so I bought plane tickets and came down here. I made hotel reservations but after my plane landed and I got to the hotel there was a mix up or something and they didn¡¯t have it listed that I had reservations. I had to come here because I had no other place to stay.¡±


    ¡°I know somebody I can call who would be glad to take you in.¡± I said with a small smile.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The police, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d gladly take you back to jail.¡±


    ¡°Sherman, a word in the hall, please.¡± said my father.


    I stood up and gave my uncle a stare with cold dead eyes that made my uncle trimble shake and tremble. It was a look my friend Shifra had taught me to use on my enemies. I followed my dad into the hallway.


    ¡°You need to stop.¡± he told. The hallway was still dark because it was still night and so I couldn¡¯t even see him but I could tell from his voice he was right in front of me.


    ¡°Stop what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Being rude!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not being rude. I¡¯m simply stating the facts to my uncle.¡±


    ¡°You are being rude! You¡¯re uncle is our guests and regardless of how you see the man, I taught you to treat your guests kindly. So I want you to go back in there, an apology to your uncle and I don¡¯t want to hear you call him ¡®butt head¡¯ or ¡®fart face¡¯ or any other names again!¡±


    ¡°One, I¡¯m not apologizing to any man who went to jail, and two, nobody calls anybody ¡®fart face¡¯ and ¡®butt head¡¯, but if they did there¡¯s no better person to be called that than uncle Frank!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re uncle is a good man!¡±


    ¡°He went to jail for five years!¡±


    ¡°And he has told us many times he¡¯s a different man now.¡±


    ¡°He tried to kill Shifra!¡±


    ¡°For the last time, no he didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°He poured her a glass of tea and we both saw him pull out a bottle some deadly chemical in her cup!¡±


    ¡°How do you know it was deadly?¡±


    ¡°Because he tried to hide the fact he put it in the drink and it just looked deadly!¡±


    ¡°¡®It just looked deadly¡¯ is not a valid reason.¡±


    ¡°But the fact he tried to hide it is a valid reason to believe he¡¯s evil.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was sugar?¡±


    ¡°Why would he try to hide the fact he put sugar in her drink?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Sherman! I do know that my brother is no killer!¡±


    ¡°Oh then uh tell me this, what did he go to jail for five years for?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    ¡°Well let¡¯s make this agreement, I don¡¯t apologize to him, until I know what he went to jail for.¡± I said marking the end of the conversation. I went back into the kitchen.


    ¡°Your mother tells me that your friend Shifra has moved to Tennessee.¡± Said my uncle as soon as I came into the kitchen. ¡°She was a kind girl, I bet you miss her.¡±.


    ¡°Oh yes very much.¡± I said. I didn¡¯t agree with my dad that I¡¯d been rude to my uncle but he was talking to me about someone I cared about and if I wasn¡¯t about to be sarcastic about a friend.


    ¡°Where did she move again?¡±


    ¡°Frankly, Uncle Frank, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s your business.¡±As I said this my father looked at me. His eyes were telling me not to be rude.


    ¡°She moved to Tennessee,¡± said my father. I was so mad that I wanted to charge my father down. My father wasn¡¯t a bad man but he like everyone else had weaknesses. His weakness was that he didn¡¯t want anyone thinking anyone in his family was a failure, let down, or simply put a bad person. This was a true problem because everyone is a bad person and the people who don¡¯t believe they are a bad person are the worst people of all of them. So when I continued to not give my uncle what he wanted because I did not trust him he punished me by doing exactly what I didn¡¯t want my uncle to know. I had no idea what at the time uncle Frank had against Shifra but he¡¯d tried to kill her once and I had a feeling he wasn¡¯t done trying till he had finished the job.


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Yelled my father. I groaned and walked out of the room.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± my mother called after me.


    ¡°Back to bed!¡± I yelled.


    I went upstairs and jumped into my bed putting my head in my pillow and screamed into it. I looked at a picture on my bed of me, my parents, my grandmother, and uncle Frank. I looked hard at my uncle in the picture. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked quietly.

 Chapter two

    I waited to act until my parents went back to bed and my uncle went into the guest bedroom to go to sleep. I brought a dagger with me that I kept tucked in my belt loop just in case I needed it. Most importantly I had in my pocket a tape recorder and I pressed play so the following conversation would be recorded. I went down the hall and knocked on the guest¡¯s door.


    ¡°Sherman?¡± asked my uncle opening the door. He wasn¡¯t sure it was me because it was so dark for the sun was still not risen. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I think you can.¡± he said stepping into the room. ¡°You can not kill my parents.¡±.


    ¡°I¡­¡± my uncle started but then shut the bedroom door so Sherman¡¯s parents wouldn¡¯t hear them. ¡°Why would I kill your parents, Sherman?¡± he said. He sounded nice but on the inside he was a dark twisted man.


    ¡°To get hold of my money.¡±


    ¡°What money?¡±


    ¡°Quit the act, you brute! Grandmother¡¯s money!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Oh so you just showed three days before my birthday when I¡¯m supposed to receive the money.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You can fool my dad all you want but I know what you are!¡± I said stepping closer to him.


    ¡°What am I then?¡±


    ¡°A thief, a liar, a fraud, and most importantly undeserving of grandmother¡¯s fortune!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is. Even grandma knew it. That¡¯s why she gave me the money instead of her oldest child, you! She didn¡¯t want to give her money to a murderer!¡¯


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Murderer?¡± laughed my uncle. He too stepped closer to me. ¡°Who told you I was a murderer?¡±


    ¡°I know you are. You tried to kill Shifra!¡±


    My uncles eyes got wide and he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. After a minute he finally said ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°We saw the bottle of poison.¡±


    My uncle ran at me and grabbed me by the throat. ¡°Listen you brat!¡± He said losing his fake kind voice. ¡°I was going to wait to kill your parents after your birthday so you could spend your special day with them, because I¡¯m that nice. But for bringing up my failed attempt at murdering your friend I¡¯m going to kill them today!¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡± was all I said.


    ¡°And how do you plan to stop me? You¡¯ll be at school all day. You won¡¯t be in my way.¡±.


    ¡°Oh¡­ well I guess you¡¯ve got me then.¡± I lied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right I do.¡± he said. He let go of me. ¡°Now go to bed!¡±


    I walked out of the room and uncle Frank shut the door behind me. I went back into my own room and pressed stop on the tape recorder. I smiled. I had my uncle¡¯s confession to his plan recorded and now I could save my parents.


    My uncle¡¯s plan was quite simple actually. He was my only living relative I had so if at any point my parents died I¡¯d be sent to live with him. Once I lived under his roof he¡¯d also have control of my money. I didn¡¯t know what exactly my uncle wanted with my money other than wine and a large wealthy life but something told me he had a good plan for what he needed that money for and it most likely was a wicked idea.


    After the conversation I had just had with uncle Frank I did have one question. What was he going to do with me after this? I assumed after he had custody of me he¡¯d just kill me too and the money would be his but now I wasn¡¯t so sure. When I brought up Shifra he seemed to not be over his failed murder. Now I thought he would probably want me to give him her address so he could kill her.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter what he wants.¡± I told myself. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll show my parents the recording and his scheme will be over.¡± I said trying to put my mind at ease so I could go back to bed.


    I woke up at three thirty just about an hour and a half after going back to sleep. I¡¯d heard a noise like a drawer shutting. I sat up quickly and looked around with weak tired eyes. Everything seemed blury and I could hardly see my hand infront of my face. One reason for this was my eyes were tired and for another I wasn''t really paying attention. I was too sleepy to care what the noise had been. If I¡¯d been more awake and alert I would have gotten out my flashlight and gone to check it out but I was only half awake so I fell back onto my pillow. The rest of the night I felt like eyes were watching.

 Chapter Three

    My eyes opened. I smelt the eggs and toast. My parents were up and were making breakfast. I jumped out of bed rushing around my room to get ready for the day. I threw my clothes on while hoped my uncle wasn¡¯t awake yet so I heard a clear shot to show my parents the recording from early that morning. Finally I went to the drawer where I¡¯d put my tape recorder and grabbed it. I ran out of my room and grabbed my jacket hanging on the doorknob.


    ¡°Mom! Dad!¡± I said as I slid into the room. ¡°I¡¯ve got to show you something.¡±


    ¡°Can you show us later?¡± asked my father. ¡°You need to eat your breakfast. You¡¯re running late for school.¡±


    ¡°Forget about school!¡± I yelled. ¡°I need you to listen to this!¡± I said with anxious excitement. I handed my father the tape recorder.


    My father pressed play. One of my music tapes started playing. ¡°I¡¯ve heard this one before. I got it for you last christmas.¡±


    I looked at my parents with wide eyes. I¡¯d used a new tape during the conversation last night. Someone had changed out the tapes. ¡°I... uh¡­ never mind!¡±. I ran out of the kitchen.


    ¡°What about breakfast?¡± my mom called after me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry!¡± I called back. Actually I was starving but I did have time to eat. I ran to the guest bedroom and banged on the door.


    ¡°Sherman! Good morning!¡± said my uncle opening the bedroom door.


    ¡°Cut the crud!¡± I yelled. ¡°Where¡¯s my tape?¡±


    ¡°What tape?¡± asked my uncle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this! The tape you stole!¡±


    ¡°Oh you mean that tape of our secret conversation last night that you thought you were going to show your parents this morning. That tape?¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Yes that tape, you idiot! Give it to me!¡±


    ¡°And why would I do that?¡±


    I ignored the question and continued ¡°How did you even know about my tape recorder?¡±


    ¡°I saw it last night when I ran at you.¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s my personal property! I thought you told us you were a different man. Yet here you are stealing from a family member and trying to murder your only brother and his wife!¡±


    ¡°Keep your voice down!¡± said my uncle throwing me into his room. ¡°If your bloody parents heard you I¡¯ll have to kill them right now!¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to kill anyone!¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, my dear nephew, you''d parents are going to die today. You and I are the only ones who are going to know they died at my hand though. If you try to tell anyone I can always kill you too. See if you and your parents were to die then I would be the only living descendant over your grandmother so I would get the fortune. It is out of the goodness of my heart that I am keeping you alive.¡±


    I almost laughed. ¡°That¡¯s not why you¡¯re keeping me alive. You¡¯re keeping me alive because you think I¡¯ll tell you where Shifra is so you can kill her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where my leverage comes in.¡± said my uncle with a wicked twinkle in his eye. ¡°For all you know I already know where Shifra lives. I could even have one of my murderer buddies watching her at this moment and if you don¡¯t do as I say I could have him kill her.¡±


    I froze with fear. I was so shocked that my uncle had really out witted me. I didn¡¯t necessarly believe that he knew where Shifra lived but there was always the chance that he did and I wasn¡¯t going to risk it. ¡°...ok¡­¡±.


    ¡°Good. Now I¡¯d get to school or your going to be late. Oh but one more thing before you go. I wouldn¡¯t try asking anyone at school for help either. If you¡¯ll come look out the window I can show you why.¡± he led me to the window in the bedroom. I looked out and saw a man looking at my house. ¡°That¡¯s a friend of mine from prison. He¡¯s going to keep an eye on you at school today. If you try anything he¡¯ll report back to me and the man watching Shifra. Both your friend and your parents will die.¡±.


    I nodded to scared to speak. This whole time he was holding my wrist but now he let go. I ran out of the bedroom and out of the house. I jumped on my bike and saw my uncle¡¯s friend getting in a car. My uncle wasn¡¯t kidding. Tears came down my face because I knew there was nothing I could do about my parents. I road away and my uncle¡¯s friend stayed behind me in his car. I was knee deep in crud.