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Ron Miller's DARK CORRIDORS VOL. 8, No. 35 |
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HAROLD MELLIN, M.D.  THE LIEUTENANT STRIKES CHAPTER THREE FROM "VOW OF VENGEANCE" By Ray Dreyfack and Harold Mellin, M.D. |
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DARK CORRIDORS is proud to present a sample chapter from VOW OF VENGEANCE, the new medical suspense novel written by our regular contributor RAY DREYFACK with co-author DR. HAROLD MELLIN. In this thriller, a group of physicians and their associates are gathering evidence of abuses and malfeasance by some of the nation's most powerful HMO's. In this chapter, the head of Square Deal Health Options, most virulent of all HMO's, has decided to eliminate one of the leaders of the fact-finding committee. He has sent his most trusted aide, a twisted ex-cop known as The Lieutenant, to do the necessary dirty work. |
for TheColumnists.com
It was a dark gray
night. A rolling mist had gathered on Route 17’s approach
to the Wurtsboro Hills on the outskirts of Monticello, New York.
The Lieutenant kept the black Lincoln’s windows open for
better visibility. The air was heavy, acrid, and turning chilly.
Road conditions had been announced as hazardous. So much the
better, he thought.
The Lincoln, “borrowed” for the gig from a midtown
parking lot, paced the green late model Mercedes 50 yards ahead
at a steady 58 miles per hour. For now, except for the two cars,
the road was deserted. The Lieutenant was in no hurry. He was
never in a hurry. He waited patiently for exactly the right time
and place.
Up ahead in the Mercedes heart surgeon and cardiologist Dr. Arthur
Edelstein was bone tired. The doctor and his family–wife
Ruth and their girls eight and eleven–were off for a long
weekend to a Catskill resort. With a heavy O.R. schedule, four
days was the best he could manage. Next year he’d cut down.
Or so he had announced to his brother-in-law David who said he’d
believe it when he saw it.
“Are we almost there, Daddy?”
“Soon, baby, soon.”
It must have been the tenth time the eight-year-old had mewled
out that question
“She’s such a pest,” the eleven-year-old observed.
“Hush,” Ruth Edelstein scolded. “Don’t be
mean to your sister.”
“She’s mean to me.”
An exasperated long-suffering sigh.
“Daddeeee – "
“All right, that’s enough.”
A groaning, grumbling milk truck lumbered by in the opposite
direction. The sound died to a whisper in the distance and the
two cars were once again alone on the road. The air smelled smoky
and damp.
The Lieutenant suddenly spotted a small scruffy-looking dog frozen
in terror in the glare of the headlights. It suddenly darted
out of harm’s way, but the Lieutenant was faster. With a
twist of the wheel he felt the thud of the hit and heard the
squealing death yelp of the animal. “Gotcha!” he chuckled.
He came alert now as familiar road signs caught his attention.
He had traveled this route before. The exact stretch of road
he sought was clear in his mind. His hands tightened on the wheel
as the adrenalin began to pump. He could feel his blood rushing.
The Lincoln hugged the road like a tank.
The Lieutenant loved the heavy car the way a professional sniper
loves his telescopically fitted rifle. Lincolns and Caddys were
his favorite weapons of choice. They could be picked up at will
and were easy to dispose of when a gig was done.
Soon now. It was almost time to accelerate. To make sure of the
timing he had done the trip the day before. The spot selected
was no more than a mile or so up ahead. He pressed down harder
on the gas pedal. Tough about the kids, he mused fleetingly.
He had nothing against kids. But as the lawyers say, time was
of the essence. Edelstein, after having broken his contract with
Square Deal, was slated to perform yet another tricky high priced
valve replacement on Tuesday. Square Deal had its own list of
competent heart men. But for this specialized procedure the patient’s
doctor had recommended Edelstein, sure to generate even more
adverse publicity for the company. More important, the recklessly
heroic surgeon was slated within weeks to testify at a Senate
Hearing against Square Deal. That couldn’t be permitted
to happen.
The man was a thorn in the Company’s side. Unless treated
it could become an infection. An example had to be set. This
gig should serve two purposes, the Lieutenant thought. It would
not only get Edelstein out of their hair, but send a message
to his fucking crusading brother-in-law David Green. That should
keep McIntyre happy. “I want the busybody buttinskys boys
dealt with,” he had said, “and I want it done before
they make more trouble for us. I don’t want to know how
it gets done; I just want it done.”
The Lieutenant had snapped him a smart military salute.
He felt a fine spray on his face. The mist was turning to rain.
Weather conditions couldn’t have been more favorable for
the job. The Lieutenant chuckled aloud. The Lord blesses sinners
and perverts. He flashed a quick look behind him. Not another
car in sight. The road was curving. Ah, there it was up ahead.
The spot he had in mind. A deep rocky gorge on the right.
He turned on his brights as he edged the Lincoln closer to the
Mercedes. The two cars were now almost abreast. He could see
Edelstein’s and the kids’ heads turn in alarm as he
pressed down hard on the horn. The big Lincoln moved closer.
Closer, and closer still. Edelstein was twisting his head in
an effort to see him but the brights blinded him. That was part
of the plan. The Lincoln’s bumper, angled steadily to the
right, a slanting battering ram. Bump, scrape, bump. The Mercedes
was being forced to within inches of the guard rail. Closer.
Closer still.
“Arthur!” His wife’s face was the shade of his
grandmother’s white hair.
Sweat dripped from Edelstein’s forehead and was running
down his back. Was the bastard trying to kill them? There was
no escape to his left. “Oh my God!” he thought, as
the insight suddenly hit him. The words Square Deal flashed through
his mind.
Now, the Lieutenant thought. He turned the wheel sharply.
Ruth and the children were screaming. Their muffled screams pierced
the night then faded into oblivion as the Mercedes plunged over
the guardrail and down the steep rocky incline below.
The Lieutenant slowed up and glanced back. The smoke was already
starting to mushroom.
A half mile ahead the Lieutenant found a break in the road. He
made a U turn and headed back to the city, feeling a twinge of
regret. He had nothing personal against Edelstein or his meddling
brother-in-law David Green for that matter. But the fool had
been warned to keep his nose out of their business. The dumb
bastard didn’t know enough to listen. As His Fucking Highness
always said, the business of business is business. Sometimes
running a business is like running a war, and war has its casualties.
The Lieutenant sighed, his sole concession to remorse.
He’d park the Lincoln on a street in The Bronx, and hop
a cab to Scarsdale. Another job professionally accomplished.
The hit had gone smoothly enough. There wasn’t a thing in
the world that could connect him to Edelstein. Not a thing.
A fat bonus would be owed him for this one. It would more than
pay for the deck on the house. Plus another bundle to salt away.
In a year or two he could afford to retire. Enough was enough.
The Lieutenant believed in the death penalty, even if he had
to inflict it himself. But he was getting too old for this kind
of shit.
He set the cruise control at 65. He and the Lincoln worked together
like the crack professional team they were. They had one thing
in common. The Lieutenant smiled at the thought. They were both
killing machines.
"Vow of Vengeance"
by Ray Dreyfack and Harold Mellin, MD, can most easily be ordered
from Amazon.com, Iuniverse.com, or directly from the author (xraydrey@aol.com).
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Ray Dreyfack. To send an email, click here and don't forget to mention Ray's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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