The Newell Murder serialization continues 7
“It’s not my first. I was always
seeing this place and I eventually checked it out. I’ve been in three, four
times before.” She looked at him directly in the eyes. “Are you like connected
to this place? Is that why you are familiar?”
“Well,” Lauren informed her
grandly, “this is the watering hole of media people and yours humbly is guilty
as charged.”
She pondered for a bit. “I still
can’t place your name, but it’s hanging somewhere at the tip of my mind.”
Lauren helped her further. “Do
you read the Horizon?”
She scratched the top of the
wooden bar with her nail but she didn’t let the nail break or chip. “Don’t like
the Horizon
much,” she declared, “but I read one about a couple of weeks ago.”
“Pity,” Lauren rejoined.
Her JD came and she produced a
cigar case out of her Chanel bag and lit one. She pushed the case toward him.
“Care for one?”
Lauren shook his head. “No. I
don’t smoke that.”
Maybe the way he said it, and
without any thanks, miffed her, because, raising her voice a little, she said
tauntingly, even though she couldn’t believe it, “Probably cuz you can’t afford
them.”
Lauren didn’t bother to reply.
She was deliberately baiting him so there was no point allowing her claws into
him by responding in an affronted manner. She grabbed her glass, downed its
content in one chug and immediately asked for another. It came, went the way of
the first and she signaled still another one.
“You’ve been drinking that
since,” she jeered. “If you can’t afford another, maybe I should just order for
you?”
Lauren suddenly became angry.
“What’s your problem?” he flared. “Get this. I don’t need you to pay for my
drinks. I can even pay for whatever you take till the place closes.”
She snorted, but in a nice
ladylike way. “My, my, so we’re worked up now, are we? Look, anger gets people
into trouble. You don’t want that to happen to you, do you? You know, not be
able to buy gas for your car tomorrow because you’ve spent the money here
vainly tonight? Well, okay, it’s your problem. I’ll take you up on that, but it
won’t be fair on you, so only if you’re ready to match me drink for drink.”
The whole thing, from a simple
two people meeting for the first time, and seeming like it might be a romantic
call, was spiraling out of control, and Lauren didn’t want it, but knew he
couldn’t back out of it either. Should he just apologise? Or get out of it by
ignoring it with disdain?
But it was obvious disdain wouldn’t
work with her since she had purposefully goaded him to this point and he had
aided her and now was the moment of truth. If he slipped out of it, she would
be justified to snigger. She might even begin stalking him at the bar and keep
calling him out.
Note: This is the seventh page of the Oseyiza Oogbodo book, The Newell Murder. More excerpts to
follow on this blog. Its weekly serialization began some weeks ago but began
again due to some hitches. It's also available digitally on Amazon and many
other online stores through the links below. Other Oogbodo books available on
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Dang Dang and other stores are Short Story Galore, and The
Good Life and some other titles exclusive to Amazon for now.
www.amazon.com/dp/B07DMNYVS8
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DMNYVS8
www.amazon.de/dp/B07DMNYVS8
www.amazon.fr/dp/B07DMNYVS8
www.amazon.es/dp/B07DMNYVS8
www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07DMNYVS8
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