UPDATE: The author for the last part of SteemShort #4 has been chosen (2018-Mar-06)
There were 3 valid summaries submitted to the jury.
And the jury chose the summary submitted by @vanessahampton.
Congratulations, @vanessahampton
Here is the summary:
Nicky jerked awake in the hospital. She turned her head and saw a distraught Jeremy by her bedside. He lurched forward and dragged her to the door. Jeremy explains his full name is Jeremy Branston. His cousin, Zigger was right behind and will kill them. Jeremy tells Nicky they have to run. She refuses. He explains his family planted Richard, paid him to kill Anna and hire her as his lawyer. Nicky is stunned. It explained why Richard insisted she represented him, but not why he agreed. Nicky gets into the car. The Branston family owned the oil company, BDG Petroleum, the defendants in a suit filed by a Mr Henry. Nicky recalled the case well. She’d hired a private investigator who uncovered damning evidence against BDG Petroleum. The investigation showed they dumped chemical waste in a river in the village where Mr Henry resided with his family. He eventually lost his family of four to cancer. The Branston family sent Jeremy to get the file and kill Nicky. Jeremy drives her to the airport. She convinces him there’s another way. They rush back to her office and leak the file online.
SteemShort #4 - Post 3: Request for the Last Part of the Story
SteemShort are short stories written collaboratively by three differents authors and illustrated by an artist/photographer.
The process to create a SteemShort is described in this post. The rules to select the authors and illustrators have been modified in this post.
The first two parts have been written by @catalincernat (Cătălin Cernat) and @tin-tin. They can be found below.
This is the request for the last part of the fourth SteemShort.
Authors that want to write this last part should send 0.001 STEEM or SBD to the @steemshorts account, with their proposed summary in a memo starting with the character '#'.
This summary must be between 100 to 200 words. Any proposed summary that is shorter than 100 words or longer than 200 words will not be considered.
It is important that the memo starts with the character '#': that makes this memo readable only by the author and the @steemshorts account.
Example of the beginning of a valid memo:
# It was a dark and stormy night ...
There can be only one proposed summary per author. The proposed summaries must be received in less than 3 days after thist post.
After sending their summary, authors should tell in a comment that they have sent their summary, so that they can receive confirmation that their summary is valid.
After 3 days, all the valid summaries will be communicated anonymously to the 3 members of the SteemShorts jury, and they will decide which author will be chosen.
The chosen author will then be instructed how to submit their full contribution. The full contribution need to be between 500 and 1,500 words.
Once the full contribution of the chosen author will be received, another post with the full story will request proposals for an illustration for the story.
All authors need to agree for a "Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike" (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode).
No title for the short story should be suggested. When the full text of the full story will be known, the three different authors will propose a title.
So, writers, send your summary proposals with 0.001 STEEM or SBD to the @steemshorts account.
Here are the first two parts written by @catalincernat (Cătălin Cernat) and @tin-tin:
Nicky was looking down at the dotted landscape from the busy crossroads in Brooklyn on 5th Avenue between 4th and 12th streets. Colorful umbrellas floating around aimlessly. Yellow cabs honking at pedestrians and street lights flickering under the heavy rain. A stray sun ray pierced the heavy clouds, making its providential approach onto a nearby park bench where a beggar was sleeping under some rags, making it look like he was chosen for something. Nicky always loved to let herself prey to these diurnal reveries, where she tried to make some sense out of this broken world by replacing it with funny anecdotes. The air in the room was smelly. Sweaty. She had been there for fifteen straight hours. Richard, her client, was sitting in a not so formal posture on a chair in the corner of the room.
Are we done..? I am starving.
Nicky smirked.Done? In six hours he have the first hearing. You are charged with murder, Richard. Murder!
Richard mumbled something in an anemic try to reply.
What's that? Nicky asked in a patronizing way.
We've been over this for the last God knows how many hours, Nicky! I love her... I loved her!
Richard started to sob.
- Oh, please...listen to me, you...Tell me again! From the beginning!
Nicky turned her back to Richard in a quick move, like in a tango dance, retreating to the windows again.
"You can start whenever you like, Richard", she continued while biting one of her nails that she had already broken while slamming the desk in one of her previous cases. She had defended a mother accused of mistreating her child.
Richard was wiping off his nose with the end of his cheap shirt. He started to tell the story. Their story. His and Anna's. He remembered again all those details that when put together in a coherent way would mean nothing else than love, in his opinion.
- A sick love, if you ask me. Nicky felt the need to intervene.
Richard was 38 years old. He was working 8 to 5 every day of the week. There was nothing special about him. He had that bland emotional structure, bovine-like. His body geometry was in the same common parameters. Nothing added, nothing taken. Deadpan.
- Tell me what happened after you showed Anna the matrimonial bedroom...tell me how the scene unfolded.
Anna was blue blood. Royal one. At least Richard saw her like that. She was an art student. He asked himself many times how and why Anna picked him, out of all the men in her circle of readers, philosophers, artists. Why him, a casual looking, emotionally bland, commuter? One day Anna asked why he liked her, and while he struggled to find a metaphorical reply, to show that he also has some artistic whims, the only words that came of his mouth were "Because you are beautiful!". Anna would laugh and pat him on the back, giving him an almost polite kiss on his cheek. Little did she know that in that word, "beautiful", Richard packed a lot of passion that hardly could be described by words.
- Richard, you boy, you killed Anna with a hammer. You smashed her head with...
Nicky stopped as her phone was ringing. She took a glimpse at the dialer number and quickly dispatched him. Then she pulled her skirt up and started scratching her inner thigh whispering something about a damn rash that wouldn't go away.
- Where was I, she continued while scratching her leg. Oh, yes, you smashed her head with a hammer. The same hammer that you told me you used to repair that beautiful old oak cabinet that would have been la piece de resistance in your matrimonial room. Understand that this is our best chance to get you alive out of this. You are insane. Maddened by Anna's rejection, you lost control over your mind and killed her.
Richard had an apartment. He and Anna spent time there, dreaming, laughing, killing time. They made plans. He was thinking of that place in terms of a nest. He always said to Anna that he would rebuild that place, and make a sparrow nest for her. To raise their kids and to live there as happy as humanly possible. He didn't translate Anna's innocent laughter as being, in fact, a rejection, a laugh at him, not with him. Not that Anna was that sinister. She was just young and beautiful. Nothing is intentional when you're young and in love. All seems to be permitted. So he started to buy new furniture, to restore an old oak cabinet, with beautiful insertions and models on it, given by his grandmother. He was coming back from his job and started working again. On his nest. Her nest. Anna's nest. The girl with the blue blood, the artist in his deadpan life. One day he asked her to cover her eyes and introduced her to their matrimonial bedroom. He also bought one of those huge beds with curtains on each side, looking like a King's bed.
- And what she said to you! Tell what she said after?! Why did you kill her?! Richard, please. I need to know. You are not a bad man.
We don't know what Anna said or could have said to Richard, but shortly after he went down to the local shop and asked for some bleach that could remove the blood stains. He calmly got back in the apartment and washed the sheets. Richard placed Anna's bloody head very softly leaning it on one of the flower pots on the balcony. Wild flowers. Caged, but wild. He placed her on a chair that he used for sitting on when he smoked during the hot, torrid summer nights. Then he felled asleep for an hour or two while watching a boring TV show. After he woke up he went on the balcony, sat down near her chair and phoned the police department.
It is something you don't understand, Nicky. And never will.
Why, Richard? Because I don't kill innocent girls whose life has just begun? Because my face is more than a rock with eyes and breathing apparatus, like yours?
What love is to you, Nicky?
Oh, c'mon...really? You are facing first degree murder charges and ask me about love? Tell me what she said to you! She said she was cheating on you, right? And all of your work and love and...blah blah gone right down the drain and you snapped, right? We can pull for a lost of reason and maybe get you out of the life without parole sentence.
But I do want to spend the rest of my life in prison without parole.
Then WHY DID YOU AGREE TO WORK WITH ME?! Why? How can I help you? Why didn't you defend yourself?!
Because when you entered in that room, at the police department, you presented yourself in a way that reminds me of myself, at work.
What? How's that?
You said "Hi, I'm Nicky, I was dispatched to your case. I work as legal aid." And at my work, a little bit different than yours regarding the field in which we operate, I say to every customer "Hi, I'm Richard and I am your guide today!".
What..?
I think we are very much alike, Nicky. You are in love, isn't it? You are also a mechanical thing wandering through this life with a soul that has much more to offer than what currently is. Like me. And you still can't figure it out what Anna said to me.
Richard, you are going to be convicted. I... I tried. I really did. I cannot do more for you. Today, at the hearing, I will plead you guilty as... as I don't know what...
Nicky's phone rung again. She took the call and went away in a corner, whispering. She giggled and pulled a stray strand of hair between her fingers.
Ok, Richard! I will see you in 6 hours. I need to get some sleep and put my plea in order. The officer outside will take you directly to the courtroom. Get some sleep, as you will need it.
I am going to get plenty of sleep, Nicky. Don't worry.
Nicky left the building in a hurry. The streets were filled with a never ending background noise of the Big City. Across the street a black stray dog was biting the beggar resting on the bench while some pedestrians were filming it with their phones. The pristine sun ray was gone. The clouds grew heavier, splashing around grey tones over that corner of the world. Nicky tried to escape in her own world, but she kept thinking about Richard and his words. She twisted her ankle in a failed attempt to jump over a puddle. She cursed and moved on with a slight limp. Then she started to smile thinking that soon she would be in his arms, resting for a couple of hours in her cocoon of love. Nicky was going home. It was eight in the morning.
Before heading over to the home of her lover, Nicky decided to stop by a shop to pick up some wine for her and her love to enjoy. She knew this little place off of the main roads of the city, hidden between an antique store and an Italian bistro that served the excellent pasta.
‘He’ loved the red wine that was sold there, expensive but good stuff. Just thinking about how his thin lips would tilt up in a familiar smirk, her heart rate sped up, anticipation filling her with glee. Her steps sped up despite the limp that she sustained, ignoring the pain that stabbed her foot.
She could almost sense his arms around her, surrounding her body with his warmth. Theirs was a forbidden, secret affair, hidden from the eyes of society. Not that they cared about what others thought, they just enjoyed the thrill of sneaking about, thumbing their noses at the judgemental snobs that littered their particular professions.
Their fiery, illicit relationship had Nicky drowning in a sea of emotion, making her feel alive for the first time in so many years. He caught her, and she caught him, both acting as predator and prey.
He had pursued her with an intensity that left her breathless, unable to deny him but at the same time had filled her with the desire to tease him. She ran, and he followed, like a beast stalking his meal after a period of hunger. But she also tied herself to him, acting as the pursuer whenever it seemed like he would take a step back.
It was a dance in which both tried to lead and be led. And they both revelled in it, each movement sparking off their desires and fantasies of each other.
In paper, their personalities were a clash of opposites, hers was open in its nature, mocking the world around with a gleam of cold amusement and disdain, not bothering to hide the fact that she found her own clients as toys to play with as she helped them in court. His was subtle, hiding its ruthless nature behind a gentleman’s charming smirk, always ready to give helpful advice and a ‘caring’ hand when needed to.
Nobody would have suspected them to be together, not only were they wildly unlike each other, their status dividing them, their façade was perfect, presenting them as they were but at the same time not.
But they both had some things in common, mainly their craving for the forbidden, and to each other, they were.
Nicky grinned as she thought about how they’ve been fooling the eyes of people. Her walk slowed down as she caught sight of the wine shop, its front hiding its extravagant interior.
Bells tinkled in greeting as she opened the door, breaking the still silence that permeated the atmosphere of the dim room. It was empty of the normal furniture that one would see from a shop. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a faint yellowish tinge over the place, the subdued light falling on the sumptuous red carpet and leather sofa that was placed beneath a painting that showed a young girl in repose.
“What can I do for you?” A man in a black suit appeared from behind a door that led deeper into the building, smiling at her as he ushered her in and motioned for her to take a seat.
She sat down, leaning against the cool leather as she thought about the wines choices. After a period of contemplation, she said, “A bottle of 2008 Kapcsandy State Lane Cabernet California.”
The man gave a slight bow. “An excellent pick. Please wait for a moment, I’ll have it packed right away. Is it for a gift or for your personal consumption?”
“Personal.”
“Well then, normal packaging it is then.”
After a short time the man appeared with a wooden box placed in a plain paper bag. He handed it over to her. “Charged to the same account I presume?”
“Yes.” Was the only world Nicky left as she headed for the door, the newly acquired wine in hand.
Cold air greeted her outside, and she shivered, cursing her decision to wear a short coat. Nicky flagged down a taxi, impatience getting the best of her in such weather. She was lucky that the first one that came by was passenger-free, and the warmth of the car enveloped her as she settled inside for the short trip to ‘his’ apartment.
Her phone suddenly rang just as the taxi moved, and it her haste to answer she knocked the case of wine to the floor. “What the--!!” She grabbed the wine in one hand and her phone in another, the words spilling from her mouth a stream of curses.
“Nicky. Darling, don’t swear too much.” The deep voice on the other end of the phone sent delicious chills down Nicky’s spine. Unconsciously her mouth settled into a coquettish smile as she placed the wooden case in her lap.
“Jeremy, you’re being a gentleman, which is sweet but not necessary. Not when you’re talking to me.”
Laughs came out of the phone’s speakers. “Nicky, don’t joke around. I’m not a gentleman, especially when it comes to you.”
Nicky giggled, her thoughts descending into the depths of naughtiness when—
Crash!!!
In a split second the world suddenly seemed to explode around her in chaos, pain piercing Nicky’s body all over as her mind tried to understand what happened. She felt like she was being shaken like a pair of maracas. She screamed with no idea about what was happening, her physical suffering going beyond the bounds of her tolerance. The torture, the inexplicable predicament that she found herself in seemed to go on and on.
Then suddenly it stopped when everything went blank as Nicky fainted.
The phone that had been clutched in Nicky’s hand fell from it, and the connection that had been on throughout the entire event finally broke.
On the other end of the phone, Jeremy stared in horror at the device in his hand. He looked at the angelic, smiling face of the man in front of him. Dropping the, he phone grabbed the other by his neck and shook him violently. “What have you done?!”
Laughter left the other man’s mouth, cool and eerie despite the physical abuse he was suffering. “Cousin, you care that much about such a vulgar woman? Really? When had your taste deteriorated so much?” The man forcibly detached Jeremy’s hands from his neck, ignoring the look of despair in his face.
“You--! What did you do? Did they order you to do it? I told you I was close enough to getting it from her. There’s no need to hurt her!”
“Jeremy, Jeremy. Just a few months away from the family and you’ve become so soft, and the reason being the pawn that should have sacrificed earlier.”
“I already told you I could get what we need from her! Just a few more days.”
“But you’ve been telling us that same reason for the past few weeks.” The other man sneered at him, mocking. “That’s all you would say, ‘Just a few more days’. And still no results. Do you take us for idiots?”
“No! I—“
“Have you forgotten? She has to die! You have to kill her.” The cold and menacing words were directed at the now-silent, but still enraged man. “We manipulated Richard into being a diversion, to draw her attention away from things that she might notice. But you didn’t take advantage of the opportunity!”
Jeremy gritted his teeth, unable to say a word in defense. He was supposed to kill Nicky after he got what the family wanted from her. But he couldn’t, after he fell for the bundle of contradictions that was Nicky.
While his family and the rest of the world saw her as a crude and tawdry woman, he liked that side of her, the side that was distinctly flawed with human depravity, the one that enjoyed the emotional and mental suffering of others. It drew him to her, she was vulnerable to him but untouchable in her malice to others.
He had taken the job his family gave him, expecting to finish it quickly and efficiently. But he stumbled when he met Nicky, and now he had to choose.
His cousin smiled coldly as he stood by the door of Jeremy’s apartment. “What’s it to be my dear cousin? You do realize that Richard’s crime is also a warning and a reminder for you. After all, in our family runs blood tainted with madness, madness spurred on by love. Our obsession, our passion, for those we yearn for turns us into monsters.”
The words of his cousin froze Jeremy. He knew it, could feel the insidious whispers that came out of nowhere, telling him to that the only way to tie Nicky to him was through death, an eternity together in its cold jaws.
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