Best Served Cold III


Phil Dwyer trembled as the scalding water fell over his head, a shower the only reprieve he had in weeks. Someone or something had been fucking with his head.

His wife, Renee, turned into a royal bitch when fear was a constant companion in her life. She only added to all the bullshit he had to deal with as of late.

How he once thought she was the perfect match was beyond him at that point. At the first sign of trouble, she was ready to confess and end their way of life.

He refused to believe in ghosts, but someone was trying to make him believe in the supernatural. There'd been stories, heard a few over the years from other con artists and grifters. How some of their past victims had come to haunt them.

Bella wouldn't have had the balls. Often opinionated but timid girl, she kept it contained for her mother, whom she believed loved her. But in other areas, she'd been much too observant. It wasn't long before she figured out his plans when he insisted they look for life insurance policies shortly after getting married to her mother.

However, the stupid girl thought he had intended to have her mother killed to collect the money until her mother had supposedly joked that they should have Bella killed so she could get new tits.

Bella had nervously laughed it off at the time.

After that little slip from Renee, it hadn't taken long for his wife to consider their options. To help those thoughts along, he'd emphasized how big the bills were in comparison to how much he made. He'd hand over the want ads with possible places for Renee to work, something she hadn't wanted. Considering she quit her job weeks before their wedding day, he knew eventually Renee would ask an important question.

Can we get away with it?

It was then that he told her that they could and how he'd done it before. It hadn't been as big of an insurance policy as Bella's but it could be done. They planned for months and all the while, Bella had known something was wrong.

She picked and picked at him, invoking his anger and he never wanted to hit a girl so badly. The girl had been damn lucky he hadn't acted on the urge, especially after the first attempt failed.

It didn't matter anymore. They succeeded in executing her death, picked up the paycheck, and started a whole new life.

Not even Bella's gun-toting father would be able to find them.

Yet, someone had.

No one from their old life knew where they'd settle other than Greg, who handled the paperwork they needed to start a new life. He wondered if Greg had caved to Charlie, or the police, or wanted more money for his part in all of it. Phil had little choice in the matter, he'd have to call the asshole and find out if he'd been scared into talking or if he was intending to blackmail them.

Either way, he was a loose end he'd have to take care of soon. Renee could earn her part, use in her feminine whiles and gorgeous new tits to get Greg comfortable and then poison him. Or lure him into a dark alley where he'd finish the job.

The money they had wouldn't last forever, she would have to play roles soon enough and she had to learn anyway. Why not start now?

He finished his shower, startling when he heard a strange squeak coming from outside the sleek glass enclosure. Listening for a moment longer, the squeaking was consistent.

"Renee?"

When she didn't answer, he cursed his overactive imagination. He refused to cower and hide like his wife had done since the "haunting" started. Ignoring the instinct to flee, he opened the shower door and looked around the steam-filled bathroom.

Nothing out of the ordinary, until the crunch of something breaking, made him look up and across the room at the mirror. The words "Hello, Phil" were written on the fogged-up surface. The dot in the eye a small semicircle of cracks.

He swallowed as a cold breeze shot passed him, another squeak accompanied the sudden appearance of another letter in the mirror. No, not a letter, but a heart. Soon after, as cold breezes swept throughout the room, the name Bella appeared.

"Renee!"

He heard his wife running toward the room then nothing but a loud grunt as if something stopped her.

Another crunch of the mirror breaking made him look again, the message clear.

Hello, Phil.

Love, Bella

P.S. Not even she can help you.

He scrambled with a towel and ran toward the exit, something from the outside preventing him from escaping the bathroom. The doorknob wouldn't even turn in his hand.

Something, growled in his ear, "You're next." Male, not Bella's usually pleasant, soft voice.

And another added, more like Bella's but smoother. "Unless you do the right thing."

"Phil!" Renee's pounding of the door lasted only a second and it suddenly swung open. She looked shocked and scared, and on an edge, he stared with her. "Greg has gone missing!"

"Why did you come running then stopped when I called for you?" He was in her face, forcing her to take several steps back into their master bedroom.

"I saw the paper you left on the bed." She held up the paper, and on the front page from a local paper from back home was a picture of his old college buddy, an up and coming criminal attorney, the headline left little to the imagination.

"I didn't put that there." He grabbed the paper from her, scanning the article and cursed. "It's all making sense. First, for some reason, your ex-husband, suddenly backs off, giving us a chance to find a way to leave. Then some of our friends on the force, and at the crash scene, are put on administrative leave pending an investigation. Then before we leave home for good, the insurance starts calling, they have questions for us about Bella and her truck."

"Everyone involved, or helped us in any way, are suddenly facing trouble or…" Renee pointed at the paper, or have gone missing, but she didn't need to say the words aloud.

"Call your husband now?"

Renee's lips curled into a snarl. "I'm looking at him."

"You know what I mean. Call Charlie and find out what he's up to. You always said you had him wrapped around your little finger, now use that to get us the information we need. Use a burner phone, we may have to leave."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Phil pointed to the mirror and said he didn't want any more messages like that.

"What message?"

He turned to find the mirror with no fear-inducing words written in the fogged-up surface, no cracks and fissures he swore he'd seen appear before his eyes. It looked perfectly normal.

"Call him now, Renee."


AN: I didn't forget about these! Honestly, I'd like to finish the rest of the multi-chapter ones before waiting again for October. Sorry for the day, all mistakes are mine since this is not beta'ed. This one should conclude in two more chapters, next will likely be the next chapter for The Dark Hallway. Life has been pretty crazy, and some of you may not know unless you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, but my baby (16 yr son) got his girlfriend pregnant. *facepalm* So guess who has a couple of more mouths to feed and help? My husband and me are stressed as fuck.

Anyway, my grandson is due any day now and we're so not ready!