Stairway to the Bottom - a Mick Murphy Key West Mystery (34 page)

“I won’t.”

“You kill in cold blood, you will.”

Did he hear that from the angels?

“There are things I have to do, Padre Thomas, and prayers won’t change that.”

“I pray they do.”

“Don’t waste your prayers on me then.”

“Prayers are never wasted. Tita sent me because she can’t cross back.
‘Let it go, Mick.’
” It sounded like Tita’s voice.

I sat up in bed, startled. Padre Thomas wasn’t there. I lay in a dark room and stared toward an empty hall. I had dreamt the visit, but it seemed so real. Her voice sounded so real. I drank from my cup of water and looked around. The dreams were coming.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to what I couldn’t see. “I need to do this. Don’t waste your prayers but please forgive me.”

I felt foolish speaking to ghosts and wondered if my dream was the same kind Padre Thomas had when he talked to the angels. I lay awake in the dark room, hearing the beeping from the monitor that assured me my heart was working, and focused on my revenge so I wouldn’t have to think of Tita or turning into what I hated. I should have died with her on the
Fenian Bastard
because living was a lot harder than dying.

About the Author

M
ichael Haskins lives in Key West, Florida and is working on the sequel to “Stairway to the Bottom” and rewriting the third, and last, of his ‘lost manuscripts.’ He is on the board of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America and a member of the International Thriller Writers.

To find out more about the manuscripts and the author, check out
www.michaelhaskins.net
.