Mystery : Cozy Mystery: Murder on Board the Macedonia (mystery, thriller, cozy, shocking, short stories) (short reads, detective, murder, suspense) (11 page)

“You didn’t just build the thing; you used it.”

“Yes sir, just tried it this morning.” Dr. Greene responded firmly, trying as much as possible not to show anyone that he was scared. But from the look of things, he was as timid as a little girl in the dark.

“And, why didn’t you tell me all about it huh?”

“Because the last time I did something like that, you and your inexperienced scientists laughed at my inventions. And that is why I wanted to make sure it is working right.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you don’t have to. All you need to do is step…”

But even before Dr. Greene finished his statement, Richardson was all over him, punching and kicking the life out of him without any shred of mercy. And to be honest, it was one helluva beat down to the point that Dr. Greene was screaming while covering his head, trying as much as possible not to end up in pulp.

At some point, Dr. Greene wanted to say something and Richardson stepped on his head, almost knocking the words out of his mouth, literally. And for a moment, Dr. Greene didn’t know where the heck he was. All he knew was that the pain was way too much for him to bear and at that time, he got angry.

Chapter 4:

-Wrong place, wrong time-

“Hey Greene, are you home?”

Everyone stood stock still, giving Dr. Greene a break from the kicking and punching. He was bleeding all over the place, and it was apparent that he wasn’t going to last that long if at all the assailants were going to keep up with the beating. As a matter of fact, it seemed as though the most important thing at that time would have been to just ensure that nothing is left once Dr. Greene was done.

But from the look of things, a new twist had just happened. A beautiful girl had just decided to show up and that was a matter of interest since Richardson had absolutely no idea that his long term friend cum traitor could actually approach a woman and make her come see him at home. As far as he was concerned, Dr. Greene was some kind of geek who was only good for his computers and nothing else.

Too bad he didn’t have the chance to stay focused at any given moment since he had been beaten to a pulp or else she could have shouted and warned Tori to go away. But he just couldn’t.

The moment he opened his mouth, blood just kept coming out to the point that Dr. Greene almost chocked out. It was too darn serious assault that at one point, Dr. Greene thought that he was going to die.

He had literally lost all hope for life and that was until he heard Tori knocking at his door. She was clearly very concerned when she hadn’t seen him for a while and since his phone wasn’t going through, Tori decided to take it upon herself to make sure that she had gone to check him out and find out just what was up with him.

“Well, well, well… what do we have here? Man, I have to admit, I never thought you were the kind of guy to do something like this. But now, goddamn, I think you just managed to convert me into a believer. She sure is pretty.”

For the umpteenth time, Dr. Greene attempted to talk, but this time round, it seemed as though the stubbing pain had shut his jaws together to the point that his lips couldn’t move. Thankfully, Richardson and his hooligans stopped beating him and were thinking about the best way in which they were going to get this girl.

They knew jolly too well that if she wasn’t going to get a response, then she was most definitely going to get the police, something that Richardson didn’t want. And in as much as he had no plans of hurting anyone else since beating his friend senseless was too much of a burden for him to bear, it seemed as though he wasn’t prepared to have to do it again.

“Let me take care of this. The rest of you, I need all of you to stay put. I don’t want anyone kicking this man since if he makes a noise, then we are all doomed.”

“We got you, boss.”

And with that, Richardson made a point of leaving for the front door, trying to clean his fists which were all stained in blood as a result of having been used to smash into Dr. Greene’s face. Dr. Greene on the other hand, was struggling to get his strength back. But after about twenty minutes of thorough beating, he just couldn’t get himself to the point where he could do as he pleased.

And that said, all that he could do at the time was to kick back and having to watch as his once best employer try to mess his life up. But there was still an anger boiling inside him as he lay in a heap on the floor. Richardson was an ungrateful son of a bitch. How on earth was he going to do something like that and yet Dr. Greene had been a dominant force that made sure he was a billionaire in his own right? This was just bullshit. And it went without saying that they were going to pay for every damn did that they were responsible for.

Upstairs, Richardson took a deep breath and made a point of opening the door right before plastering his face with one hell of a fake smile. But either way, it didn’t appear to bother him at all. Tori wasn’t sure he trusted him and also she wasn’t sure that she knew him as well. And so Richardson introduced himself as politely as he could.

“Hello. I am Greene’s boss, and I have come up here to check on how you are doing. Is everything doing ok with you?”

“I am fine… are you?”

“I am great… what makes you think otherwise?”

“The blood on your shirt sir,” Tori responded, pointing at his collar.

*** 

“Now look at what you have made me do!!! Truthfully, I wasn’t planning on making this hard on anyone. But from the look of things, I just had to. I don’t want any problems with the police. And that said, the bitch comes in as well.”

As soon as Tori had pointed out the blood stain on Richardson, it seemed as though the next thing that was going to happen would have been to ensure that every single loose ends were tied up. So he quickly reached out for her and knocked her unconscious before checking out if anyone witnessed and once Richardson was sure that it wasn’t the case, he quickly made a point of dragging her unconscious body over the floor all the way to the basement where the inquest was taking place.

At the end of the day, it also seemed as though things were starting to get a little bit complicated and for a moment, Richardson looked as though he was a little bit confused.

Truth be told, he had blundered big time, something most definitely needed to be done if at all they were to do things without having to leave the witnesses all over the place. And that said, Richardson didn’t have to explain whatever the heck that was needed to be done in order for them to be on top of their game at the time. His bodyguards already knew whatever was supposed to be done as it was written all over his facial expression.

But still, one of them had to ask if that was what the boss wanted them to do. With Richardson you just never could be sure unless you heard the instructions from the horses’ mouth. He just could be looking forward to testing you and once you put someone on the ground because he looked like he wanted to, then it would be your own fault.

“I understand you want to kill them, but I am not done with them. But when I do, I will have the pleasure of doing it my damn self. You got that?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Good.”

And with that, Richardson begun pacing up and down the place, looking like he wanted to kill someone already. But before he could have that luxury, it appeared as though Richardson needed to know how the time travel machine worked. At the end of the day, it seemed as though the only thing that would make some sense at that point would have been to kick back and making sure that everything was all sorted.

Dr. Greene knew what Richardson wanted because it was that one thing that had kept him alive for that long. And for a moment, it appeared as though the only way that they could stay focused at all times would have been to keep up with the good work. And the good work was to pretty much ensure that he kept his mouth shut for as long as possible as he devised a way that Tori could get the heck out of that place. 

At that point, Tori was still unconscious, and nothing could have been done to wake her up. Thankfully, Dr. Greene was starting to feel the pain in his mouth as he jaws unlocked and he could speak again. But still he was under tremendous amount of pain, and that said, the only thing that would have helped him would be to wait for the right time. Until then, Dr. Greene was secretly devising a plan to eliminate the threat once and for all.

Time for diplomacy had already passed, and the only thing that they could have done would be none other than making sure that they were fighting for whatever it was that they believed in without any fear.

“So, how does this thing work? You realize that for you to save your lovely woman, you need to tell me how it works. And as soon as you do so, who knows, I can give you enough money for you to disappear instead of killing you.”

At first, Dr. Greene had to pretend that he was thinking about it. But the truth of the matter was that he had a very dangerous idea cooking up in his head. And once he had that golden opportunity to unleash it, then everyone was going to find themselves in a heap of trouble.

“You want it? Take it.”

“And how would I know that it works?”

“It’s simple. Firstly, get the syringe and inject yourself with the mercury.” Dr. Greene said, pointing at the freezer before finishing. “and please, make sure that you let the girl go. She isn’t by any means a part of this.”

Richardson didn’t care to respond to him. He instead dashed to the freezer and took the mercury and without wasting any time, asked for the amount that he had to inject himself. Richardson had always wanted to go back in time and beat up those people responsible for making his life a living hell. And if he was going to granted that opportunity, then he wasn’t going to think twice about it.

He injected himself as well as his thugs and asked for the instructions. But they didn’t live long enough to get into their time traveling machine. It just occurred to them that they were already dead by the time they had the mercury in their system. The truth is, Dr. Greene hadn’t calibrated the mercury, and so it was still in its most lethal form.

And he didn’t even have any regrets as far as their deaths were concerned.

Chapter 5:

-The bitter truth-

The bitter truth was and remained that people weren’t ready for that kind of technology. And Dr. Greene knew that from the exact time that idea popped into his head years ago. But from the look of things, it did seem as though his ambition had blinded him in such a way that he couldn’t get himself unhooked from it.

And even though he pioneered in something that other smart scientists thought was literally impossible, it appeared as though he didn’t even want any recognition as far as life was concerned. It was just too bad that after everything that had happened, the only important thing he kept everything a secret so that when humans weren’t blinded by greed and were ready to share technology, maybe that would be the best time for them to unleash that kind of technology to the world. But until then, humans just had to live with some of these things being viewed as technology.

Richardson and his thugs had done a number on him, and it took him about two weeks before he could talk. He recorded a statement with the police and made sure that everything was all sorted out before he could go back home. 

Once Dr. Greene got back home, the first thing that he had to do was check in laboratory. Thankfully, Tori had done a brilliant job in messing up the time machine. That way, there was no way that anyone could come and try reconstructing it. The only person who could get to do that as perfectly as possible was no one other than Dr. Greene himself. And at that point, he was done.

He had already experienced the adverse effects of possessing such kind of a machine first hand, and he wouldn’t wish an experience like that on anyone at all.

But still, one of them had to ask if that was what the boss wanted them to do. With Richardson you just never could be sure unless you heard the instructions from the horses’ mouth. He just could be looking forward to testing you, and once you put someone on the ground because he looked like he wanted to, then it would be your fault.

“I understand you want to kill them, but I am not done with them. But when I do, I will have the pleasure of doing it my damn self. You got that?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Good.”

And with that, Richardson began pacing up and down the place, looking like he wanted to kill someone already. But before he could have that luxury, it appeared as though Richardson needed to know how the time travel machine worked. At the end of the day, it looked as though the only thing that would make some sense at that point would have been to kick back and to make sure that everything was all sorted.