An elderly widow conned out of her life savings hires a private eye for payback, but their trap snaps shut with a deadly twist.
PI Ernie Tompkins leaned forward, his hands clasped together resting on his desk, listening to 75-year-old Edith Watkins.
“Mr. Tompkins, I don’t know what I was thinking. I let myself be sweet-talked by a man forty years younger than me. Before I knew it, he was as much a part of my life as my late Harold. Only Davin didn’t really love me; he wanted my money. I put his name on my checking and savings accounts. Now they’re empty. That’s more than $200,000, and it’s all legal because I was such a fool. Burn him, Mr. Tompkins. Burn him.”
“I don’t do revenge killings, Edith, but perhaps we can do a reverse sting. I have an idea…”
Ernie leaned in closer, his voice dropping an octave. “A guy like Davin is addicted to easy scores. If he thinks you’ve got an untapped offshore trust from Harold’s estate—something liquid, but tied up in bearer bonds requiring two signatures—he won’t run. He’ll come right back to the honey pot.”
Edith wiped a dry cheek, her eyes suddenly flint-hard. “He leaves the country on Friday.”
“Then we set the bait tonight,” Ernie said, pulling an antique velvet jewel case from his bottom drawer. “Spread the word you’re liquidating Harold’s safety deposit box to buy Davin a reconciliation gift. Make sure his favorite bartender hears it.”
By midnight, Ernie sat parked three doors down from Edith’s bungalow, the rain drumming against the windshield like nervous fingers. Footsteps splashed on the asphalt—a sleek trench coat moving briskly up the walk. A silhouette slipped through Edith’s front door without knocking.
Then, silence.
No raised voices. No signs of struggle.
Ten minutes later, the porch light flickered twice: the signal for Ernie to move in with the fake escrow contracts. But as Ernie stepped out of his sedan, a single, muffled gunshot cracked through the wet night air, followed by the sound of tires screeching in the back alley.
Where Does the Story Go Next?
Now it’s your turn to finish the tale. Which direction will you choose?
- Direction A (The Grifter’s Ruthlessness): Davin suspected the setup from the start. He returned not to fall for another con, but to silence Edith before vanishing with her fortune—and now Ernie must track down a killer who holds all the cards.
- Direction B (The Deeper Game): Edith was never the victim. The elderly widow pulled a double-cross of her own, luring Davin back to deliver her brand of final justice—and now Ernie finds himself an unwitting accomplice to murder.
Take the pen and decide how Ernie navigates the aftermath.
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