Lottery 1

    Shaniqua thought a little bit more about the situation. Christine was already dating the guy, maybe she could get some inside information from him. She looked at Christine, any kind of friend would not ask her to do this. If she was really Christine’s friend she would encourage her to leave the mobster.
    She took a deep breath and spoke, “How do you feel about snooping in people’s things?”
    Christine was a little uneasy at the question. “I feel unsure. How sure are you I wouldn’t get caught?”
    “That’s up to you.” Shaniqua sat back. “You are dating the guy. Couldn’t you just snoop around his apartment and maybe look for clues of where Lucy might be stashed away? I mean it’s not very likely he’s hiding her there at his apartment, but say if he went to the restroom and left his phone on the counter. You could pick it up and go through it and see if you find anything. Maybe you could spend the night at his apartment and send him out for takeout then look around and see if you find anything.”
    Christine felt anxious just at the very mention of it all. She was afraid, but she must think of poor Lucy and how afraid she felt right now. If it wasn’t for her and her husband, Lucy wouldn’t even be in this situation.
    Christine drew in a deep breath, “I’ll do it.”
    Shaniqua smiled and hoped they would be able to pull this off. Christine was her only hope. There was no way she would be able to break into the apartment herself, and it was impossible to sneak in.
    “You are sure you can do this?” Shaniqua questioned. “There’s no second chances if you get caught. Lucy will die, the money will be gone, it will all be for nothing.”
    “Yes.” Christine agreed, “And my children will have lost both their parents, instead of just one.”
    Shaniqua hadn’t thought about that. “If anything does happen, I will help take care of the kids. I’ll make sure they go to school and have money for college.” she assured Christine.
    “There’s more to life than money for school.” Christine looked on her phone at the photos of her kids smiling. She looked back up at Shaniqua, “But I can’t let an innocent woman die.”
    Shaniqua looked deep into Christine’s eyes and spoke confidently, “You can do this.”
    Christine nodded, “I can do this. I have to do this.”
    
    
    Lucy woke up in a strange hotel room. She could barely move her arms, anything below her waist was like deadweight. She heard strange music through the walls, or maybe it was a near by window. She couldn’t tell from the angle of the bed.
    What had she been thinking, cashing that ticket. Why did she do such a thing? She knew that ticket was cursed from the second it was handed to her. She knew.
    But the lure of the money, it was just too great.
    It was just so easy to cash in that tiny piece of paper, and all her dreams could come true. So easy, she had thought.
    She didn’t even know where in the world she was now. She was probably going to be killed for that little piece of paper. Why did this have to happen to her? She sighed deeply.
    Aston entered the room after hearing her. He said nothing to her. He picked her up and carried her to the restroom. He sat her on an elderly assisted seat, and walked out closing the door behind him.
    Lucy felt the hot tears silently stream down the corners of her eyes. How was she ever going to get out of this.