"Matter of Life and Death"

Matter of Life and Death
WC: 296

He walked into my office and pulled out his revolver.  “Where is she?”

I slowly raised my hands and told him the truth, “I have no idea.”

His hand was shaking.  “Don’t lie to me, Remy!”  His voice broken nervously.  “You have to know, it’s a matter of life or death!”  His voice raised an octave at the end.

“Oh Christ, Oh Christ,” Mr. Thompson said, collapsing in a bal at my feet.  “They’re going to kill me, kill me.”

I leaned down and whispered, “I’ll call the marshals.  They’ll have her here in an hour.”  He looked up at me and smiled.


She sat nervously in my inner office.  I didn’t recognize her at first: Witness Protection did a good job in creating her a new appearance.  If it weren’t for the target tattoo on her left wrist I wouldn’t have known it was her. 

“Mr. Charron, why are we here?” the assigned marshal asked, a radio receiver in his left ear.  “You’ve wasted enough of our time, and have placed Miss Williams in great danger.”

I didn’t mince words, “Someone wants to speak with her.” 

“Hello, Catherine,” Mr. Thompson said calmly.  The marshal leaped to the older man’s side and began to search him.

“I took care of that,” I informed him.  He stopped.

She tried to speak but the words were caught in her throat.  She could only stare.

“Thought they killed me?” he asked, the sarcasm not lost on any of us.

“Yes,” she meekly answered.

“I disappeared, too.  On my own, but they found me.  They want the money.”

She looked up and was going to answer, to lie.  “We know you have the money,” I interrupted. 

She looked at the assigned marshal.  He nodded.  “It’s at my mother’s,” she whispered.