Love Lies Dying (70 page)
Authors: Steve Gerlach
Oh Jesus…
“Goodbye, Helen,” he whispered.
He turned away and hurriedly clambered from the wreckage that was once the gazebo.
A place where I couldn’t even save myself.
Or Helen…
His feet sloshed down onto the clay of the court once more and he walked back past the tractor.
Lightning flashed and a reflection in the clay caught his eye.
He stopped, turned and bent down to it.
Sitting in a small puddle was Zoe’s belly button ring and diamond.
A small piece of bloodied stomach flesh was still attached to it.
Must have come out when we fought…
He reached out to pick it up.
Stopped.
Then changed his mind.
He stood once more and smiled at Sherrie.
She smiled weakly back.
John stepped forward, crushing the diamond under his foot, pushing it deeper and deeper into the wet clay.
It all ends here.
He walked back to Sherrie as thunder rolled in the distance.
The rain had eased more, coming down now as a fine mist.
He put his arm around her and hugged her tight.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
She looked up at him with a worried expression on her face.
He smiled, bent forward and kissed her.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s all over now.”
They walked from the tennis court with their arms around each other. The silence around them was almost unnatural. With no rain and no thunder, it was as if the whole world had suddenly stopped.
And in that silence, John heard the jangle of his key ring on his right hip.
They stopped on the path while they still had the lights shining around them.
He reached down and unhooked the key ring from his belt. He smiled at her as she watched him. He pried the keys apart and took one from the ring. Then he hooked the key ring onto his left hip.
He reached around her with his left arm and hugged her once more, ignoring the pain in his arm.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too,” she replied as she rested her head on his shoulder.
It hurt his shoulder wound to have her lean on him like that, but he didn’t care.
Not any more.
In his right hand he held the red key.
The red key to freedom.
John smiled into the night as the security lights from the tennis court turned themselves off, throwing the area back into darkness. Only the chugging of the tractor engine was left.
He gripped the red key between his fingers and then flicked it into the forest.
Freedom.
Finally, they were free…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Gerlach is one of Australia's few thriller writers. Born and bred in Australia, Gerlach's fast-paced, cut-to-the-bone style is a refreshing voice in the dry, barren Australian literary scene.
Steve's background includes many varied roles. He has worked as an editor for a book publisher; as the editor-in-chief of an Australian motorcycle magazine; editor and publisher of an international crime magazine, Probable Cause; a researcher and columnist for a major Australian daily newspaper; a Technical Publications Officer in the security industry; marketing executive for an international telecommunications software company; a writer for Australian Defence training and software producers; and currently works in the field of major infrastructure procurement and delivery.
He was also the Historical Advisor on the Australian film, Let's Get Skase.
Steve Gerlach lives in Melbourne, where he is currently working on a new novel or two, and a podcast or three.
For the latest news:
www.stevegerlach.com
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Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
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Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
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Thirty
Thirty-one
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Thirty-seven
Thirty-eight
Thirty-nine
Forty
Forty-one
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Forty-seven
Forty-eight
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Fifty
Fifty-one
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Fifty-four
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Fifty-six
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Fifty-eight
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Sixty
Sixty-one
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Seventy
Seventy-one
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Seventy-three
Seventy-four
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Seventy-seven
ABOUT THE AUTHOR