The Heirs

I wasn’t a cold-blooded killer but I had a job to do.

The sky was overcast, the grey suiting my mood. It was around seven o’clock, according to my iPhone which I switched off at the top of the property. I didn’t want it buzzing during the next fifteen minutes, shattering my concentration and alerting the target. Many people would be having their dinner or cleaning up after dinner so I expected few neighbours to be on the street at this time. I moved down the steps silently, sneakers being the way to go for a job like this. I’ll need to ditch them afterwards so that no evidence is around. But it’s no great loss, I have another pair, my only good pair.

The side entrance was where I had been told it would be, hidden by large flower-bearing bushes. The person ordering this hit knew the front door would be locked but also knew enough about the occupant to expect the side door to be unlocked. I took gloves from the back pocket of my jeans and pulled them onto my hands. I took a deep breath. I tried the door. It opened easily. I slid inside and noticed I was in the kitchen. It was a modern kitchen with all the gadgets of well-to-do folk. And why not? The man who lived here was loaded. He was richer than I could ever imagine. But I didn’t come here to rob him. I moved slowly wondering where the old man was. I had thought of ways to kill the guy. I had speculated last night, visualizing an effective kill with a variety of techniques.

A knife was silent and quick but it was messy and I hated the sight of blood in real life. It was okay in films but I was squeamish when it came to actual blood. I recalled being present when my wife gave birth and I nearly threw up. She was my ex-wife now. A gun with a silencer was another possibility but it left bullets as evidence and I was instructed to make the hit look like natural causes. It was best not to draw attention to murder. But this was difficult. Even strangling would leave enough damage to the body to indicate intention. Drowning was best. There was a pool at the rear of the house I was informed and I could hold the man down long enough for him to expire. I was strong. I worked out at home every day. I wasn’t financial enough to throw money away on gyms but I had weights and I ran ten kilometres daily.

Moving forward I could see through the kitchen and dining area and out to the ocean. Twilight here, in this fabulous Manly residence, near the ocean, would be riveting. One could sit and stare for hours or for whatever time it took for the sun to fade into darkness, just watching. I’m no weather man so I don’t know how long twilight lasts. All I know is that it’s beautiful. But I’m here for a purpose. To do a job, a job commissioned by one of the man’s loving kids. And who thought children were wonderful. If they’re not causing mischief, they’re wanting something. Luckily, I got out of my marriage to Mona early enough, well before our kid, a girl named Amber, was old enough to demand things.

I looked carefully before stepping into the living room which was empty. Where was the guy? Did he go out? My source told me he was always home as he found it hard to go out at night. He needed help because he was partially blind and found movement difficult. The living room was spacious with a sofa against each of two solid walls and an armchair against the large glass exit onto the balcony. The view was breath taking. A large television screen featured between the exit to the balcony and another exit to a deck on the left-hand side looking out to sea. I walked to the deck and saw that it was a level above the swimming pool. And the old man was sitting by the pool looking out towards the ocean. He was not daunted by clouds now rolling over to cover the last rays of light. Soon it would be dark and he was in a perfect position for my plan. I almost smiled.

The layout of the place was explained to me. I walked to the spiral stone stairs which led to a lower level. The bedrooms were on the level above but the lowest floor was where parties were held, being open to the outside. As I made my way down I saw how fitting this was. The area was huge with some comfortable seats spread around the room but spacious enough to house tables for buffets or catered affairs.

“Who’s there?”

I moved towards the voice and witnessed a sad, lonely-looking, old man who didn’t have the energy to turn around. He had unruly white bushy hair and he seemed to be overweight. “Hi there,” I said, “I’m a friend of the family.”

“Oh yeah, take a seat,” he said pointing to a chair.

I did as requested. “Hello Bart. How are you today?” I thought there was no harm in being pleasant. It didn’t look like he could put up much of a fight.

“What’s your name? I seem to remember you at one of our family gatherings.”

“Ed. I was married to Mona, your niece.”

“Mona, of course. I haven’t seen her in years.”

“She lives in Canberra these days. With a daughter, Amber.”

“You split with her. Why?”

“I didn’t come here to talk about me,” I said, “are you by yourself?” I needed to confirm he was alone, with nobody upstairs to help him with dinner.

“Yes, I like to watch the sunset but there’s not much to see tonight. In fact, it may storm.”

“That might be spectacular. To see the lightning and hard rain descend.”

“Sounds like you’re keen on nature too.”

I had no intention of making small talk. It would distract me from my purpose. “I see the pool is clean? Do you look after it?”

“No, the pool man comes in once a week.”

The pool was rectangular and sufficiently long to allow for a decent swim. I wondered whether it had been used recently. It was a shame that nobody got any regular use from it. “Do you still swim?”

“No, I can’t really manage anymore. Muscles have gone numb. But I can stand in the shallow part and thrash about. Still feels good.”

I looked at both ends and worked out that the deep end was closer to the ocean. The distant waves pounded the shore and it was a calming sound. At least to me, as I imagined it would be wonderful to sleep with the constant crashing of water against rock. But then I’d never experience living in a house near the beach. I only possessed debt. I imagined it must be great to have no financial worries. Mona had made fun of me when I was unemployed. She didn’t understand that without skills it was difficult to get a job. She always assumed I was too lazy to go out and find work. But I had few marketable skills coming from Poland and growing up in a family which couldn’t send me to a good school. And university was out of the question. And as soon as Mona had a kid she wanted to stay home and have me provide for them. I tried but it ended in disaster. The arguing which followed made me decide to leave.

“Let’s go for a swim Bart. I can help you.”

“Are you nuts? It’s nearly dark.”

“Put the lights on then.”

“Why are you here Ed? I don’t know you and I don’t particularly want to know you,” Bart said facing me for the first time. “As far as I recall you were bad news for Mona. You’re a waste of space, a useless husband and father.”

“So, you’ve taken the bitch’s side, have you?” Killing him was going to be fun. I was going to enjoy making him swallow his fucking pool.

“I know what goes on. I have my sources. I also know what my children think of me as well as my nieces and nephews. Some confide in me and some don’t.”

“So, what do they think of you, old man?”

Bart laughed. “They’re no different than the bulk of humanity. I’m rich so they want what I can give them. In fact, each one would like all my wealth for themselves. Do you think I came down in the last shower?”

“Of course not Bart. And how did you make your money? Cheating, cutting corners on your building projects, isn’t that how you got rich?”

“You can think what you like. I’m a businessman like other business people, doing their best to earn a decent living. You’re envious because you’re desperate. Don’t think I don’t know about you. Can’t hold down a job. Always fighting. You probably even take drugs, you loser.”

I felt my cheeks flush. I was so angry I almost smashed his face with my fist and then I would keep beating him until he died. But I held back. This was not part of my plan. I would only get paid if I did the job properly. And I didn’t want to end up in prison. I knew that my hirer would probably sell me out if I were caught. I sat back and took a deep breath. “You asked why I’m here. And for your information I don’t do drugs, hate the sight of them. So, do you want to know?”

“Go on.”

“I’m here to kill you.”

I watched his reaction. It was quaint. He didn’t flinch. His face didn’t register fear. He laughed. “Good,” he said eventually, “You’d be doing me a favour. I don’t really want to live like this. Alone with the occasional visit from family only waiting for me to die. Each wanting to do what they need to court favour. Thinking they stood to gain more if they played nice.”

“I see,” I said, “So you’re going to make it easy for me.”

“And what do you stand to gain?”

“I’ll be paid.”

“How much?”

“Enough to pay off my gambling debts.”

“Ok, how much?”

He was persistent. What did it matter if I told a dying man what I stood to gain? All the kids would inherit wealth and no doubt it would be a lot more than I would make. In that instant, I wondered why I was asked to carry out the job. Couldn’t one of them have easier access? But perhaps they needed alibis and that’s where I came in. I said, “Twenty grand.”

Bart laughed so hard he almost fell out of his recliner deck chair. “Shit mate, you are a fool. Do you know what I’m worth?”

“No idea.”

“Over two hundred million dollars according to my accountants. In fact, that’s probably a conservative estimate because I haven’t seen my latest balance sheet. I only have a copy of last year’s accounts. And this year was spectacular in terms of profit.”

All I could do was whistle. “Jesus, no wonder you’re wanted dead.”

“Exactly. What did I tell you about human nature? It’s the same everywhere.”

“But haven’t you shared your wealth with your family?”

“Yes, but what I have given them has been squandered or used in businesses which haven’t worked. And I’ve decided not to do it anymore. They need to learn to stand on their own feet.”

I didn’t know what to say. It seemed that for a mere $20,000, from the information I now possessed, I had the dirty job while they would all share in a huge fortune.

“So Ed, what are you going to do?”

“Good question. I could use a drink.”

“Go upstairs and you’ll see a liquor cabinet. Get me a whisky and get whatever you want.”

I did as directed. Then, sitting facing each other on the recliner chairs, we clinked glasses. The Scotch whisky went down a treat. We drank and drank and time went by.

Then, after numerous shots of Scotch, for the first time that night Bart actually looked like he was having fun. “This is good stuff. Very expensive but then I can afford it.” He laughed, a real belly laugh.

I was feeling pretty relaxed too. I no longer had the desire to kill him. But I still had gambling debts.

As the night wore on, it began to rain and we went inside. Soon thunder sounded and then it poured, the rain combined with hail smashing against the wooden deck floor. We continued drinking and Bart phoned for pizza.

Pizzas arrived and Bart tipped the young man a hundred dollars.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I can,” he said, “I’m not going to use all my money by the time I die. And that might happen later tonight, right.” He laughed again. He was having a wow of a time.

We ate pizza which smelled great and tasted even better. Then Bart walked away and, minutes later, came back and sat next to me. He handed me an envelope. “This is for you. Open it once you’ve gone from here.”

“Ok.” I didn’t have a clue what it was. I crunched the envelope into my jeans pocket. I hoped it wasn’t a note telling me to get fucked.

After the large Supreme pizza had been devoured, I stood up. “I’ll have to be off. Thanks for your hospitality.”

“No worries Ed. And you know what’s really funny?”

“What?”

“I’ve made out a new will only last week and none of my family gets a cent.” With that he shook my hand and I left.