It suddenly came to him in a flash, a complete insight, the whole plan, every detail, and
he saw that it would work. "The perfect crime!" he thought, "And there is no way
anyone can tie it to me. All I have to do is take care of one little detail first."
RULES:
1. Stories must touch on the topic in some way to qualify. DON'T FORGET to name your
story!
2. WORD COUNT. Short stories for today's contest must not exceed 1,000 words.
Short stories exceeding the word count will be disqualified.
Here's my entry -- which didn't win -- but it was fun writing it.
Agent Klein Discovers the Perfect Crime
853 words
Agent William Klein listened intently, the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck
standing at attention. He knew at that instant that he discovered the Perfect Crime.
Smiling, he nodded his head, and turned off the recorder. He heard enough. The Final
Detail clinched it.
Grabbing the phone, his heart palpitating in his chest, he took a deep breath and dialed
the number to the Home Office. "This is it, my big break," he thought, "The boys back
home have to take notice of me now. Yep, pretty soon, everyone will be talking about
Bill Klein and the Perfect Crime."
Lost in his reverie, he missed the instructions of the automatic greeter and waited for
them to start again, adding to his anxiety, his heart pounding harder. Was it 3 or 4 that
he wanted, he wasn't sure. "Damn." Out of frustration he hits "0" and hopes for the
best. When a human voice answers, he says, "This is Agent Bill Klein in Sacramento.
Get me the Big Guy. I found something. Something big."
"I'm sorry, he is in a meeting, would you like his voice mail?"
"No, I don't want his voice mail. I need to talk to him. I'm telling you this is big, real
big."
"Can I give you to his assistant?"
"No!" Slamming his fist on the desk, he takes a deep breath, and through clenched
teeth calmly says, "Listen to me carefully. I do not want his voice mail. I do not want
his assistant. I want him, now. I don't care who he is with, this is the biggest thing I
have ever encountered and I need him."
Within two hours, Agent Klein is on the next flight to L.A. After listening to only a
minute of the recording the Big Guy advised him that this was too big to deal with in
Sacramento, he and that recording were to get to L.A., pronto. As the Big Guy
promised, there was a car outside the office within the hour. There would be another
car waiting for him in L.A. to take him directly to the Home Office.
Agent Klein didn't have time to pack a bag. He called and left a message at home
telling his wife that he had to go to L.A. and would call with specifics later. That gave
him just enough time to grab a bowl of chili at the diner across the street -- the first
thing he ate all day.
The flight was short but uncomfortable. The stewardess stopped and asked him
twice if he was all right. "Yes, just fine thanks -- just a little heartburn." The chili was
sitting like a rock in his stomach, burning like lava. To make matters worse, what at
first was a little tension at uncovering the Perfect Crime, was now a full blown anxiety
attack. Just thinking about the publicity -- his name in the papers -- was making his
heart pound faster and his breathing shallower by the minute. The chili probably
wasn't a good idea.
As promised, Agent Whittaker met him with a car at LAX. The first thing he said, after
introducing himself was, "You got the recording."
A pat on his briefcase and a nod was the best that Agent Klein could muster in
response. The two sat quietly in the car for the 3/4 hour drive to the Home Office.
Agent Whittaker looked over at Agent Klein several times and watched him grow a
little greener each time.
Pulling into the Reserved space, Agent Whittaker asks, "Are you OK? Can you make it
upstairs?"
Haltingly, Agent Klein mutters, "Make it? --- You bet --- I'm gonna --- make it. I've ---
been waiting for this day --- my whole life --- Not gonna let a little--- heartburn --- stop
me."
Three months later:
Agent Whittaker picks up the L.A. Variety at the newsstand outside the Home Office of
the A-1 Talent Agency. His face beams as he reads the cover story --
The Perfect Crime Revealed
"New sensation, The Perfect Crime, hits #1 in record time with
their first release, The Last Detail. Discovered by Agent John
Whittaker of the A-1 Talent Agency, this all American boy band
is sure to be the BIGGEST thing ever out of Sacramento, CA ..."
"Discovered by John Whittaker, huh?" Agent Whittaker looks up over the paper at the
Big Guy, who asked the question. "Funny, I seem to recall a Bill Klein."
Agent Whittaker winked. "Poor Klein, couldn't take the pressure of big time L.A., had a
heart attack right before my eyes. Lucky for us, I got his briefcase with the recording
in it before the paramedics carted him off to the morgue."
The Big Guy returned the wink. "Lucky for us, indeed. I had him up here so fast, he
didn't even have time to go home and tell the wife about it. I guess no one will ever
know that Agent Klein had anything to do with The Perfect Crime."
© 2002 Bobbie Ann Pimm
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5