Read Dead Man's Bluff for Free Online Page B

because the next time he opened his eye there was a man
standing before him, and not just any man, it was Clyde the owner of the bar
he’d frequented when he was in his twenties.
     
    Clyde
was wearing a black denim button up that puckered along the ridge of his fat belly,
occasionally one could get a glimpse of wiry hair through the cracks between
each button. A Bolo Tie was strung around his thick neck: a leather lanyard
with silver tips and a silver buckle. Sometimes he wore a cowboy hat to hide
his balding head, but in the vision, or nightmare, he was holding the hat. His double
chin swung above the snug tie as he whistled through his teeth, “Fine mess
you’ve gotten yourself in, Mack. I always told your evil dealings would be like
a bad stench that finally caught up with you. I never could quite figure it out:
you were either one confused socially inept man or hell bent on ending up
alone.”
     
    Mackenzie
swayed a fraction and snarled, “Don’t tell you’ve given up bartending to play
“The Ghost of Christmas Past”?
     
    “Hey,
if you pay attention…you might finally learn what you’ve been doing wrong all
these years.”
     
    Mackenzie
snorted, his head bobbing around on his shoulders.
     
    “Well,
are you ready?”
     
    “It
all depends… exactly where am I going?”
     
    “To
the biggest mistake you’ve ever made of course.”
     
    “Is
it okay if I sit right here for the show? Don’t think I’m up to strolling down
memory lane in my inebriated state.”
     
    “Suit
yourself.”
     
    There
was suddenly the sound of sobbing echoing off the tall ceilings of the
apartment: a female crying mixed with a small child’s over by the front door.
Mackenzie’s swung his head in that direction seeing a much younger version of
himself: tall, dark and dangerous. His stomach dropped and his jaw started
grinding.
     
    “You
promised he wouldn’t be here when I came to get my things, John! You swore!” His
first wife Clarissa sniffed. Her hands clutched at the small boy clinging to
her left leg.
     
    “And
who am I supposed to leave him with? He doesn’t have a mother anymore.”
     
    “He
has a mother… I’m his mother,” she hissed. She kneeled in front the small boy
rubbing her hands along his thin arms, pasting a fake smile on her face. “Shh,
it’s okay, don’t cry, Drew. Daddy and I had a little disagreement, that’s all.”
     
    Mackenzie
added, “Mommy’s leaving us for her new lover, son.” His fingers dug into Drew’s
boney shoulder as he peeled the five year old off his mother’s leg and directed
him towards the bedroom.
     
    Drew
glanced back at his mother one last time sucking in air with each sniffle,
before he was propelled inside the room. His father’s large hands slid under
his arm pits as he lifted him, tossing him up on the bed. “Here, read a book.”
A book from the nearby dresser landed on the motorcycle bedspread Clarissa had
purchased to go with the dusty blue wall color.
     
    Decorating
Drew’s room—one of the last sane things the woman ever did. 
     
    The
five year old version of Drew blinked, confusion bunching his brows. “I don’t
know how to read yet.”
     
    “Then
just look at the pictures or take a nap.” Mackenzie unbuckled his belt buckle.
The leather made a ‘swish’ sound as he jerked it from the waist of his pants.
“You see this belt? You take one step out of this room without my permission to
do so and I’ll turn you backside blood red…do you understand?”
     
    Drew
nodded.
     
    Clarissa
took a couple of steps back as Mackenzie stalked furiously towards her. She
fought for courage as she muttered, “The lover remark was uncalled for…you
didn’t have to tell him that! He’s just a child!”
     
    Mackenzie’s
hand sprung out grabbing the length of her hair, forcibly angling her head back
so he could sneer down at her, while he forced her to look him in the eyes. “I
walked in on my wife screwing another man! Do you have any idea