Chapter 44: The Unlit Cigarette

The dinner Max Landers had prepared for that Friday evening was just exquisite. The meat from the slow cooker just melted in everyone’s mouth like so much candy floss. It sent many a dribble of fat and gravy down the naked breasts and chests of everyone seated around that dining room table. No one minded in the least as those dribbles were soon joined by bits of home made apple pie and cream lavishly dished into everyone’s dessert bowls. All in all it was just another fantastic meal before what was going to be a fantastic evening of celebration on a massive scale back in the middle of town.

The moments following that meal became quite phrenetic for everyone as they all got cleaned up and ready to head back into town. The one feeling the tension of the moment the most was of course Vanessa. Tracey Manning was observing the girl and could easily see her nervousness, as could everyone else, but he could also tell that there something else on her mind.

When he asked her about it she just snapped back with, “No! I’m just fine. I just can’t find my phone charger anywhere. Have you seen it?”

“It’s above the refrigerator I think. I’ll go look for you if your like” said Tracey.

“No, that’s fine. I can get it myself” snapped back Vanessa again.

The way Vanessa was behaving was so out of character that Tracey knew without any doubt that she was troubled by more than just her speech and her missing phone charger. He quietly watched her agitated movements but left off any more questioning. She did have a lot to think about right now and Tracey could leave any questions until the morning. Very peacefully he helped her gather her stuff together then stacked and rinsed all the dishes before popping them in the dishwasher.

Tracey Manning was then the last one to exit the back door as Vanessa got into her own car and the rest of them got into Tracey’s car. Vanessa needed to go separately so she could meet up separately with the event’s organizers and her own class and to meet up with Janine Carlyle and make sure that she was still happy with everything too.

Both cars pulled out onto the road and headed off into town with no one in either of those cars seeing that lone car way down the far end of the street behind the bus stop shelter. The driver was wearing a dirty black t-shirt and had a look on his face that would have made the devil himself look like a happy little school boy. That single figure in that car had an unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth. It was unlit because the driver knew that lighting it would have sent him sky high from all the petrol fumes wafting through the car. Those fumes were coming from several five gallon gasoline canisters sitting in the boot.

The driver in the black t-shirt chewed on his cigarette impassively as he watched those two cars head off into town. Once they were gone Blake Benson very quietly and deliberately started his car up again and let it slowly crawl down towards the house where those other cars had just left from.

Once outside the house he turned his engine off again and just sat there muttering profanities to himself just under his breath. He sat like that for a good half hour at least without doing anything. Finally he put his hand to the door handle and clicked open the driver’s door. He put one foot out of the car and onto the ground as he began the execution of his wicked plan - a plan that would, in his mind, avenge all the perceived injustice done to him and destroy those who had caused all his suffering - and nothing would stop him this time - nothing!