© TJ Paris
Their equipment sat quietly on the beach next to a placid sea. There was no sign of danger, no storm clouds, no menacing fog, nothing to say that Brad’s and Cheryl’s disappearance was the result of foul play or misadventure.
The two kayaks, life jackets, and oars were left abandoned when they should have been the fruition of a vacation they’d planned together for years.
Carolina Beach Detective Philip Lewis was baffled. How the hell did the Conklins just vanish?
“I don’t get it, Lewis. Broad daylight. Calm seas. No signs of struggle. What happened here?”
“Who knows, Davis. Alien abduction maybe?”
Junior Detective Estella Davis blurt out a short laugh. “I wouldn’t put that in a police report. What now?”
“Do our due diligence. Maybe someone saw something. Assign some uniforms to canvas the area and start asking questions.”
By nightfall, Brad and Cheryl Conklin were thousands of miles away traveling separately under different identities. The money Cheryl embezzled would let them live like royalty when they met again in Belize.
I wrote this for the FFfAW Challenge for the week of 8-01-2017 hosted by Priceless Joy. The idea is to write a piece of flash fiction based on the photo prompt above of between 100 and 175 words, with 150 being the ideal. My word count is 172.
To read more stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
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A clever plan. They’d better hope Lewis or Davis don’t turn up anything and ruin it all.
Great story!
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It’ll take more than a couple of small town cops to blow their plan.
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Ending up in Belize after the ultimate crime. Great story
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Thanks, kiwi. Actually, I hear it’s a great place to retire.
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Smart guys. Different identities.Sounds like a perfect escape
Interesting take on the prompt 🙂
Click Here to see what Mrs. Dash Says
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Thanks again.
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Have you read the canoe mans wife? I am not sure if you are in the uk, but a guy tried to fake his death and was known as the “canoe man” in the media. I can find the link if you are interested.
C
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I’m in the US, specifically Idaho. Haven’t heard the story, but every so often I read news articles about someone who tries to fake their death.
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-My-Depth-Lies-consequences-ebook/dp/B01MAUL5VQ/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZGTQ116AZC11EKHGMQYY I found it a really interesting read 🙂
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Thanks. So many books, so little time.
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Good story. So long as they’ve covered up the money trail they stand a chance. ~I hope they embezzled the money from a greedy corporate bank or company and not some pension fund or charity!
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They may not be the nicest people in the world, but who knows, Iain.
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The prompt and your story reminded me about the U.K. case of Lord Lucan… I so nearly wrote about Lord Lucan for this prompt.
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I think my story made more than one person think of such real life events, Michael.
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Great mystery story, James! Sounds like they had a good plan but how sad to have to run and hide for the rest of your life!
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That’s what happens when you commit a felony.
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Very true!
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They are probably sitting back enjoying the use of all that money, but the bank will certainly be pushing for a thorough investigation and with luck, the case will be solved…hopefully, before they spend all of the money! I always think of the extended family they may have. Sooner or later they may contact them and perhaps a trail will be established leading to them. Great story and this kind of thing has been tried…who knows , how many times with some success I’m sure.
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Actually, we don’t know who she embezzled from. I was hoping for a clean getaway.
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Hope they bought themselves a nice little island in the Caribbean. Well done, James. Enjoyed this one.
Click to read about the last men on earth
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Actually, they were headed to Belize which I hear is a good place to retire.
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🙂 The root of all evil.
Ellespeth
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Actually, the quote from 1 Timothy 6:10 (NASB) says: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
The other question is whether this couple embezzled just to get rich and live it up, or did they need the money to escape something else?
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…and one day they will let down their guard and get caught.
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It’s possible. Occasionally, I hear news stories about fugitives who have been caught years, even decades after they disappeared. Thanks for reading.
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My pleasure. I do hate people getting away with defrauding others so it would be nice to catch them.
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