Illusion of Luck
Illusion of Luck
Robert Burton Robinson
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2007 Robert Burton Robinson.
Cover background:
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Greg Tenorly Suspense Series
Bicycle Shop Murder
Hideaway Hospital Murders
Illusion of Luck
Fly the Rain
Discover other titles by Robert Burton
Robinson at:
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Synopsis
As Greg Tenorly was about to marry the woman
of his dreams, he figured he was the luckiest man in the world.
Until he got an anonymous phone call warning him about his bride’s
shady past.
Larry had been lucky all his life. He had
everything he could possibly want. Except a publishing contract.
So, the fact that his first six mystery novels had been rejected
did not dissuade him from starting on book seven. Ironically, he
finally found success when he began to publish an online account of
his own downward spiral into depravity and murder.
Is luck real? Or is it just an illusion?
Some people have to find out the hard way.
Chapter
1
Greg Tenorly was the
luckiest man in the world. The woman of his wildest dreams was
standing beside him—at their
wedding
rehearsal
. He knew he didn’t deserve
her. Anybody could see that. He saw himself as a balding,
average-looking 35-year-old. Cynthia was a strikingly beautiful
30-year-old redhead. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Cupid
himself had flown in to break up the crazy mismatch.
But Cynthia saw something in
Greg she couldn’t resist. Something she should have looked for in
the eyes of her
first
groom. Troy was a rugged,
handsome man. Nothing wrong with that. But he was also an abuser.
And all the love he’d ever given her meant nothing after that first
brutal slap across the face. Then came the boozing and hitting and
steady barrage of obscenities.
So, this time around Cynthia
was looking for something different. Greg was kind and thoughtful
and funny. And regardless of what Greg thought, she
did
find him
attractive—even on their first meeting. And the more she got to
know him, the more attractive he became. She wasn’t marrying him
just because he was a nice guy. She truly had the hots for
him.
It was Thursday night, 6:20 PM. Greg and
Cynthia were finishing up a run-through of the ceremony at First
Baptist Church, Coreyville, where Greg was part-time music
director. They were well on their way to happily ever after.
Everything was perfect.
Until the phone call.
Cynthia’s mother, Beverly, was serving as
her Maid of Honor. She had girlfriends her age at First State Bank
where she was a vice president. But her mom was her closest friend.
It might have seemed a little odd to some people—no mother sitting
on the second pew, crying. No father to walk her down the aisle and
give her away. She wished so much he was still alive to share in
the joy.
“
And then, Greg, I will
invite you to kiss your bride,” said Dr. Huff, pastor of the
church.
“
What if she doesn’t
want
to be kissed?”
said Sandy Vockelman, Greg’s Best Man. Sandy had a habit of
cracking jokes at inappropriate times.
Dr. Huff shot him a stern,
over the top of the glasses, stare that said,
Sir, this is a holy place of worship—not a comedy
club.
Cynthia turned to Greg and
smiled. “Oh, I’ll
definitely
want to be
kissed.”
Dr. Huff went on. “And then I will present
you to the congregation as Mr. and Mrs. Greg Tenorly and the
organist will play the Wedding March as you make your grand
departure.”
“
Great job, Greg,” said
Sandy as he slapped him on the back.
“
Now we’ll take a ten minute
break and then do a second run-through,” said Dr. Huff.
Sandy leaned in to Greg and whispered, “He’s
kidding, right? I’m starving.”
Dr. Huff checked his watch. “So, let’s all
be back in our places at 6:34.”
Sandy decided to make a point of being back
in his place at exactly 6:35. Even as a college music professor he
was still somewhat rebellious. He put his arm around Greg as they
walked down from the platform. “I hope this Italian restaurant
you’ve been bragging about is worth the wait.”
“
It’s fantastic. Believe
me—you’ve got nothing in Dallas that can beat it.”
“
Well, that’s a little hard
to believe.”
“
I’m telling you, Man. Their
bread is better than Lugio’s.”
“
Whoa. Now you’re getting
sacrilegious. Nobody’s bread is better than Lugio’s.”
“
We ate a ton of that
stuff.”
“
We
had
to. I couldn’t make it
through my music theory homework without that bread.”
“
Yeah, me either. And my
music history, music literature…even math,” said Greg.
“
It was a wonder I didn’t
gain all my weight back, eating like that.”
“
You
were pumping iron every
day.
I’m
the
one who gained weight.”
“
That’s true. But it looks
like you’ve managed to trim down since the last time I saw
you.”
“
Thanks. I’ve been jogging
with Cynthia.”
“
That woman’s good for you,
Buddy. Seriously—she’s amazing. Congratulations.”
Cynthia and her mom had gone to the ladies
room, and were checking their hair and makeup.
“
Sweetie, I’ve got to say
that I’ve never seen you more happy,” said Beverly.
“
He’s wonderful, Mom. He’s
everything I need and want in a life-long partner. And I know he
feels the same way.”
“
Greg’s a very lucky
man.”
“
Yes. I’d agree with that.”
She smiled at herself in the mirror. “And I am a very lucky
woman.”
“
Y’all are like a couple of
teenagers when you’re together. So you should have a ball at Disney
World.”
“
You really
could
have come with
us, Mom.”
“
Nope. Three’s definitely a
crowd when it comes to honeymoons. And besides, I’m gonna have a
great time on the cruise with my church group.”
“
But it’s going to be hard
to stay in touch with you while we’re in Orlando and you’re out at
sea.”
“
You don’t
need
to stay in
touch with me. It’s your honeymoon. I don’t want to hear from you
until you get back. And that’s an order, Young Lady.”
“
Okay, okay. So, I guess I
shouldn’t worry about you.”
“
Of course not. Just enjoy
yourself. We can share our stories when we all get back
home.”
Beverly had moved into her daughter’s house
a few months earlier. There was some concern, especially on Greg’s
part, that she would interfere with their lives. But Cynthia had
reassured him that her mother would respect their privacy. And so
far, she had. Except for a couple of times when she accidentally
caught them making out on the couch.
When Sandy went into the men’s room, Greg
walked down to his office to get the gift for his Best Man. It was
a music engraving pen, stamped with the letters ‘SUV.’ Sandy was a
composer who still preferred writing manuscripts the old fashioned
way rather than using music software and a printer. He said he felt
more connected to Bach, Beethoven and Verdi when he wrote out the
music notation by hand.
Greg had used one of those pens a few times.
And he wondered how many shirts his buddy had ruined over the
years. If you got a single drop of that black Indian ink on your
clothes, you could forget about the washing machine or the dry
cleaners. That pair of pants or shirt was going straight to the
trash can.
‘
SUV’ was a nickname Sandy
had picked it up as a ninth grader, at six-foot-two, 285 pounds. It
was just too hard to resist when some kid realized Sandy’s middle
name was Uriah. Sandy Uriah Vockelman—‘SUV.’
Sandy quickly corrected the boy. His first
name was Alexander—Sandy was just a nickname. So, his initials
were really ‘AUV.’ And you can’t create a nickname from another
nickname. But it was too late. ‘SUV’ stuck. And he hated it. Maybe
he would have liked it if he had been a offensive lineman. But he
was no football player. His thing was choir and piano and music
theory.
So, he began to work out with weights and
trim down. By his senior year, he didn’t mind being called ‘SUV’
anymore because he was a slim, buffed-up guy. All of the choir
girls wanted to go out with him—even some of those with
boyfriends.
Greg sat down at his desk and pulled open a
drawer and took out Sandy’s gift. His cell phone rang. He checked
the caller id. It was anonymous.
“
Hello?”
“
Hey, Greg. How’s it
going?”
Greg didn’t recognize the man’s voice.
“Uh…fine.”
“
Cynthia’s going to look
stunning in her wedding dress.”
“
That’s for sure.” Greg
still didn’t know who the caller was, but it seemed like he
was
supposed
to know.
“
There’s something I need to
tell you about, though.”
“
What’s that?” Greg waited
for the punch line.
“
Are you sure you can trust
her?”
“
What do mean? Who is
this?”
“
I’m afraid there are some
things she hasn’t told you.”
“
This is a joke, right? Who
is this?”
“
She’ll rip your heart out,
Man.”
“
This is not funny. Now,
stop it. Who is this? Sandy?”
Greg heard a click. “Hello?”
The caller was gone.
If that was Sandy, Greg thought, I’m gonna
kill him. He put the gift box in his jacket pocket and walked down
the hallway. Sandy was standing outside the restroom, drinking from
the water fountain.
“
That wasn’t funny,
Sandy.”
“
Huh? Oh, you mean that
wisecrack about Cynthia not wanting to kiss you?” He chuckled.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Couldn’t resist.”
“
No. I’m talking about you
calling me and pretending to be somebody else.”
“
What? When?”
“
Just now, while I was in my
office.”
“
Well, that wasn’t me, Man.
Must have been some
other
weird friend of
yours.”
“
Are you serious? You didn’t
just call me?”
“
No. I really didn’t. Why?
What did the guy say to you? Whatever it was, it sure got you
upset.”
“
No, it was nothing. Just
somebody clowning around, I guess.”
“
Then I’m sure he’ll take
credit for it later. Probably at the rehearsal dinner. Hey—maybe it
was the pastor. He seems like a real jokester.”
“
Yeah, right.”
Sandy laughed.
Greg looked around to make sure Dr. Huff
wasn’t within earshot. Then he laughed along with his old
buddy.
But as he and Sandy walked back toward the
auditorium for the second run-through, Greg couldn’t shake off the
uneasiness. The man on the phone didn’t sound like he was joking.
But who would call him two days before the wedding and malign
Cynthia’s character? Even though they had been together for less
than a year, he felt he knew her well. And he wasn’t about to let
some stranger or prankster rattle his faith in her.
Chapter
2
It took Erin an hour and forty-five minutes
to drive from their half-million dollar home in Plano to the small
rented cabin at Lake Texoma, near the Oklahoma state line. It was
Thursday night, and she could have been in their backyard, sitting
by the pool in an ultra-skimpy bikini, drinking and laughing with
her friends. Like every other night.