I WAS IN PRISON for the whole of Wednesday. Prisoners were allowed newspapers and I speed-read the front page headline: ‘Wotta Lot o’ Lotto!’ Huh. Another undeserving lottery millionaire. Why couldn’t I get a look in? I often picked the winning numbers. One of these days I’d have to buy a ticket. I was seething. Then the name of the winner leaped out at me. I knew her! It was Bounteous Brenda from Bromley. My luck was turning. She owed me a favour. Four years back, I had helped her move. Getting her twenty-two-stone bulk into a wheelbarrow and pushing her all the way to Bromley was no mean feat. It certainly left my feet feeling mean. I remember her saying if there was anything I ever wanted, and she meant anything apparently, I could call on her anytime.
That night phantoms, doubt and fear assailed me in the prison cell. I failed to get to the exam room on time and my mother appeared except she looked like a skeleton and she pointed at me, laughing and cackling madly. With all that going on, it’s no surprise my cellmate and I got no sleep.
As expected, I was released the next day. But they gave me a caution: ‘The contents of takeaway apple pies might be hot.’
Eric Preet’s Week of Sins continues tomorrow!
BUY ‘Eric Preet’s Week of Sins And Other Short Stories’ NOW!
She features in the cartoon which will be revealed in its entirety on Sunday!
Really? I cannot wait. I loved this series. It’s a fun treat each day!
Bounteus Brenda from Bromley? Is that her given name? HA HA