The Hit

By Jason Smith

  Tom Kelly had plenty of time to think about the anonymous person who had hired him to kill his brother Conor. When he was told that this anonymous person had asked for him specifically and the amount of money this person was prepared to pay him, he couldn’t turn it down. Most people would never dream of killing their own flesh and blood, but Tom doesn’t consider Conor his family anymore.

His father Henry Kelly had established the family firm in 1960. Two years ago he died in a freak automobile accident. He drove off a cliff and his car exploded. There wasn’t much of his body left to identify and it was ruled an accident.

 His son Conor took over and took steps to protect his image and make the family firm look legit. He manages to keep his business dealings under wraps and has several law enforcement and political individuals on his payroll to help him keep his image clean. He always tries his best to make the public think he is a businessman who invests in products and takes advantage of financial opportunities.

***

Three years ago Tom took his ex wife and son back home to meet his family, hoping everyone would get along. He hoped they would love it, he hadn’t realized how much everything and everyone had changed. 

His wife disliked his father and brother and she regularly clashed with Conor. Tom’s marriage, already strained, never recovered. A few weeks after they left Tom’s hometown his wife left him. He was away on a business trip and a restraining order was issued to him. His ex-wife and son now live in California.

Tom felt being back home after everything that had happened there felt surreal. As he drove around his hometown he thought it looked visibly dirtier and the people seemed as rundown as the buildings looked. Tom had already decided his first move.

Peter Murphy had worked for both Tom’s father and brother; Peter and Tom never got along. Peter considered Tom a spoiled brat who only held a high position in the firm because he was the boss’s son. Peter was stealing money from the firm and he was never caught because he covered his tracks. When Tom began stealing the money Peter normally stole, Peter couldn’t do anything about it. He told Tom he knew what he was doing but Tom knew that Peter was only upset because it affected his income.

  Tom wanted to send a sign to Conor. Something that will make him think that someone is coming for him.

Peter was alone in his office and the street was dark and deserted. Tom briefly watched Peter through his rifle scope and remembered how much he disliked him before taking a shot.

***

Conor knew it was too early to tell what had happened. He hoped the money in the safe was still there but no one knew the combination except Peter.

Conor’s men pulled Peter’s safe out of the wall. Within an hour the safe was in the back of a van on the way to a safecracker and the hole in the wall was filled in and made to look like nothing had ever been there. When the safe was opened, there was half a million dollars inside.

Peter’s body was dealt with as quickly as possible, the majority of his head had to be cleaned off the walls and all the glass in the window replaced. Under the circumstances Conor didn’t need the police or the press looking into this situation.

Later that night as Conor poured himself a drink, he looked at a picture of his parents. It had been two years since his father died, his mother died twenty years ago. He remembered when Tom was last here with his family. Tom was upset with Conor because he’d just had an argument with his wife about politics.

“I don’t agree with her, what am I supposed to do, lie?” asked Conor.

“Why are you even talking to her about politics? You already know she doesn’t agree with you.” Replied Tom.

The conversation soon degenerated into a shouting and shoving match in front of Tom’s son, their father had to intervene. Conor was still upset about that day. Shortly afterwards Tom and his family left without telling anyone they were leaving. He’d only come home because he’d been caught sleeping with his boss’s wife.

After Tom and his family left, Conor made sure that Tom’s wife found out about Tom’s infidelity.

He remembered after their mother died, Tom met a young woman named Erin, she worked in the casino his father owned, he seemed settled.

Conor and Henry both thought maybe Erin was good for him, but Tom quickly changed and became what Erin wanted him to be, he was always weak.

Two years later Erin disappeared and Tom went to work for another firm.

Peter’s murder was playing on Conor’s mind, something was going on, he could feel it. His phone rang.

“Hello,” said Conor.

“Hey boss, it’s Ryan. I’ve just been informed that your brother Tom was seen driving around downtown yesterday.”

“Tom’s here?” asked Conor.

“Yes and I was thinking about Peter.”

“Do you think Tom killed Peter?”

“Maybe, they never did get along. I also found out that Tom’s wife divorced him and took his kid away, she’s living in California. She issued Tom with a restraining order when she left him.”

“Okay Ryan, I need you to get everyone out and looking. Look in every bar, every hotel and every corner of the city, he’s hiding somewhere. I want him, alive or dead, but I want him. Understood?”

“Understood.” Ryan hung up.

***

Tom was watching Conor’s house, the house that his father built after his mother died. It was a huge property with a tall fence surrounding it. As soon as it was dark Tom climbed over the fence and dropped to the grass. He looked around and walked towards the house, he didn’t know he was being watched. He picked the lock of a door at the rear of the house and walked inside.

Tom walked down a hallway as flickering lights from a fire lit up a doorway he knew led into the living room. As he looked around a door frame he saw his brother sitting on a couch.

“Hello Tom. I’ve been waiting for you.” said Conor.

Tom walked around the couch to face his brother, pointing a gun at his face.

“Get up,” said Tom.

“Oh no, are you going to kill me?” Conor said in a mocking voice.

“Someone is paying me to kill you.”

“Oh yeah, who?”

 Before Tom could answer, a bullet hit him in his stomach. He collapsed to the floor. There was so much blood, it wasn’t a good sign. Another shot rang out and Conor’s body hit the floor, his dead eyes stared back at Tom.

Tom looked across the room, a man was staring at him, his gun pointing at Tom. There was something familiar about him.

“Tom, meet Michael, Michael meet your father.”  said Erin as she walked into the room.

Tom tried to talk as blood began pouring out his mouth, it was almost the end.

“The day I disappeared was just after I found out I was pregnant with your child. As soon as Micheal was born, I knew I would do anything I could for him. I didn’t want him growing up around you or your family. I know your wife left you and took your son away, not surprising Tom, you’re an awful person. When Micheal was eighteen, I had him reach out to Henry and Conor who welcomed him into your family with open arms. They trusted him immediately and never suspected it was Micheal who actually killed your father, everyone thought it was an accident. I’m the anonymous person who paid you to kill Conor and looking at you, you’ll be dead soon. Your father and brother made millions and now it all belongs to me and Micheal.”

Tom looked at Micheal until he died. Micheal looked at his mother. Erin poured herself a drink and smiled at her son.

---

Bio: Jason Smith writes out of the Pacific Northwest. He is married and the father of a special needs boy. He has been published by Short-Story.me, Mystery Tribune, and has the following stories on The Yard: Crime Blog.
“Automobile Psychosis“, “The Quarry“, “A Blast From The Past“, “House On The Cliff“, “The Art Studio in the Basement”