The Dead Man's Cash

We got out of the restaurant and when we glanced at Shelly's brother's car, a lunatic dude had left his motorbike behind the blue-Versa Sedan.

"No wonder someone wants to continue doing things that get on our nerves," Shelly complained.

A thin man merely rode away on it when we got into the Versa Sedan.

"Bloody enigmatic people and their cryptic decisions".

We were off, hitting severe high speed. 

"Where're we going?" I asked.

"Well, let's see," Shelly said in an enigmatic voice.

We were driving on a decently occupied motorway with dried grass on the sides. I used my jacket as a defensive barrier against the blistering sun's light.

"We're going to rob a mansion," Shelly replied to my question in a few seconds.

I and Edward exchanged skeptical looks. 

Shelly continued, "I'm not kidding, we should be severely serious about our financial situation." 

"We're broke doesn't mean we can rob the well-off."

"The owner of the mansion is a bloody corpse WHO LEFT HIS CASH AND WENT TO A DESTINATION NONE OTHER THAN HELL."

"How do you know he's dead?" Edward asked.

"Wait … How do you know about this mansion?"

"I was bored last weekend so I just went for a drive, I was speeding here and that's exactly when I saw an eccentric, drunk man walking from the house and faint in the middle of the motorway. I just went and checked it."

Soothing music commenced playing from my mobile.

"Switch off your mobiles please," Shelly ordered us.

Edward said, "But wait, we ain't ready for this."

"It's 'I ain't ready' not 'we ain't ready," I said.

"So, you're in?" Shelly asked

"I'm in," I confirmed in a deeper bold voice.

Shelly looked back and smirked at me as he veered the car to the right and it was halted.

I grabbed my five-year-old mobile and left it in silent mode in my dark blue denim pants pocket.

I got out of the car. I raised my head.

"So, this is it?" I asked.

"Yeah," Shelly confirmed.

I slammed the car door.

It was a dark grey stone-designed, outdated mansion with spires. There were a few black patches as the mansion was pretty old.

There was another slam. I and Shelly exchanged looks. We strode over the sand towards the door.

"Hey! Wait for me," Edward called.

We looked at him in the back and back at each other and smiled.

"Phone's off," I reminded, and we had nothing stopping us now.

"How're we breaking in now?" Edward asked.

"Knock it down," Shelly said.

"What … knock what down?"

"The door," I confirmed.

He was left in shock.

"Any ideas?" Shelly asked.

I kicked the black door. There was a booming thud, unnoticeable near the motorway for sure. The other two were staring at me, puzzled.

"What'd you expect, it's a century-old door," I sighed, "let's get in," I beckoned, walking in.

It was a roomy room with tan-colored walls. A classic chandelier with candles, unlit. The room leads to two other rooms with double stairs leading upstairs on the other side. We walked forward, looking in all directions, right below the chandelier. Everything was ancient but well-maintained unlike my bedroom strewn with cola cans. A large dining table in the room to the left and a bedroom to the right. 

There was an ominous gunshot noise from the next storey. Both of us looked up at once while Edward ran out. We looked at each other and read our alike, fascinated looks prior to exploring the next floor. I ran up, yanking the railing to get myself up quicker.

Who was there? Was this old, ridiculous mansion a serial killer's murder house? I can't predict any underworld activity in a mansion like this. Nothing more than this was on my mind while we pulled ourselves closer to, death maybe, or anything that was written in our fate.

It was a detective fiction film on the new 4K television. I merely slumped onto the enormous sofa. There was a painting of a breathtaking woman beside the TV screen. 

"Let's look for something useful c'mon," Shelly tried to cheer a pathetic dude.

"Lemme stay for a minute I'm tired."

He grabbed my hand and yanked it towards the TV. I fell to the ground and so did the sofa. When I got on my feet I saw Shelly down too. 

I tried to lift the heavy sofa … just then I saw something. I let go of the sofa which then landed on Shelly's oversized red sweatshirt. I was dreadfully elated and it was clearly seen on my triangular face. I strode behind the broken sofa.

"What's there?" Shelly asked.

I didn't finish staring at it. I couldn't believe what I saw. Shelly took a while to get the sofa off his sweatshirt and join me to see the attractive view.

"CASH," he screamed.

There were over a hundred bundles of notes.

"Time to start the escalating business that we've always dreamed of."

"Isn't it murky that someone would leave this much cash here?" Shelly asked.

"Let's grab all this and get outta here soon."

"That's not safe. The serial killer's gonna find us."

"What should we do then?"

"Get outta here as soon as possible."

"Get the car ready, I'll be down with the cash before someone else decide our fate."

I unknotted my leather jacket which was around my waist. I tucked my jacket and pulled the zip a few inches upwards. I gave up five bundles and looted the rest and carried them in my jacket. Dreaded, I walked down, trying to exit the dreaded mansion before I get a heart attack. I got into the car which had two of them waiting for me, and we merely started counting the cash. 

We heard a sinister Suzuki engine roar, but it just disappeared as we blinked.

"And that's four hundred thousand Dollars," Edward sighed.

"No more substandard products."

"LESSGO YEE HAW!"

"Sheer luck, sheer happiness," I said.

"A bit, not 'sheer' luck," Shelly corrected.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you know that the owner of the mansion's dead?" Edward veered the conversation. 

"That day, I went to check the mansion after the eccentric man passed. I sighted a shiny sword in the middle of the woods beyond the serene garden. I saw a white cloth hanging on a branch of a tree a few meters into the forest. It was a t-shirt with 'Half-hearted attempt' printed."

"It sounds kinda skeptical to me," Edward interrupted.

"Me too," I confirmed boldly.

"You should believe me if you want to remain assertive about everything."

It's been a while since we've left the city outskirts. The sky was getting drab and the buildings with vivid lights and led screen boards were a picturesque view. We had the tinted windows up as the traffic was more audible and so was the pedestrian chatter.

"Sheer luck, sheer happiness," I said.

"A bit, not 'sheer' luck," Shelly corrected.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you know that the owner of the mansion's dead?" Edward veered the conversation. 

"That day, I went to check the mansion after the eccentric man passed. I sighted a shiny sword in the middle of the woods beyond the serene garden. I saw a white cloth hanging on a branch of a tree a few metres into the forest. It was a t-shirt with 'Half-hearted attempt' printed."

"It sounds kinda skeptical to me," Edward interrupted.

"Me too," I confirmed boldly.

"You should believe me if you want to remain assertive about everything."

It's been a while since we've left the city outskirts. The sky was getting drab and the buildings with vivid lights and led screen boards were a picturesque view. We had the tinted windows up as the traffic was more audible and so was the pedestrian chatter.

Shelly continued, "I spotted a dead body that was murdered recently back then. The perfume was still fresh. His pure leather brown wallet was on the muddy floor, a few inches from his left trouser pocket. The driver's license had his name mentioned . . . 'Felix Thompson.'"

"And then the wooden nameplate beside the entrance said 'Felix Thompson'," I finished in a surprised tone.

Shelly parked the car right in front of a factory.

"Why're we here?" Edward asked, unable to digest whatever happened.

Shelly got out elegantly and replied, "Signing a contract".