ben woestenburg
Bio
A blue-collar writer, I write stories to entertain myself. I have varied interests, and have a variety of stories. From dragons and dragonslayers, to saints, sinners and everything in between. But for now, I'm trying to build an audience...
Stories (104)
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JACK OF DIAMONDS
i Chernetsov stood on the upper floor of Marlborough Estate sipping a drink and looking down into the large foyer below. Two sets of stairs wound their way down from the balcony where a massive chandelier, hanging from a chain as thick as a man’s arm, was suspended. The chandelier was at least two hundred years old and was the first thing he’d wanted to get rid of when he bought the house. His wife, he remembered, had other ideas. He was glad she’d talked him out of replacing it. There was a large Turkey rug laying on the black and white tiled floor, with two potted urns placed under each of the winding staircases. It was a nuisance as far as he was concerned. Again, his wife had a different opinion, filling the urns with silken flowers crafted by local women.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
iii She ended up twisting her ankle and cried out in pain as she fell out of sight into the tall grass. They’d been playing a make-shift game of tag, and she’d turned in an effort to avoid him. That was when she fell. Artie ran over to her—panting—looking down at her for a moment before dropping to on one knee and reaching for her foot. She tried pulling it back, and he looked at her sternly.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
Agatha stepped out into the bright afternoon light, looking up at the clear blue sky. She saw a lark floating lazily on the air thermals, and she found herself watching it; remembering Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, she began humming to herself . It was the piece she’d been learning on the violin, but that came to an end now that the violin had been stolen.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
jack of diamonds
i Nigel closed the Bentley’s door. “Are you serious! We have a suspect right in front of us—even if we don’t know what he’s guilty of, we know he’s guilty of something—not murder, but something—and we have to leave because he accuses you of smoking opium? Opium? The worst part is, you’ve been smoking it since I met you,” Sonia said, turning to face him. “And all you can say is that didn’t go the way you’d hoped it would? My one chance to make an impression on those smug bastards, and you—you do this?”
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
ii Reggie entered The Arrogant Frog, a small pub on the corner of Greek Street and Romily he knew as Charlie Sabini’s haunt of old, hoping he’d find him at his usual table. Sunlight slipped in through the drawn venetian blinds, where it scattered across a parquet floor through upturned chairs resting on tabletops. He could see dust motes floating in the bars of light as a barmaid swept the floor. The girl looked up briefly, hesitating at her chore, the broom almost stuttering before she turned, looking at the barman standing behind the counter who nodded briefly. The bottles and glasses lining the wall caught the light coming in through the blinds, reflecting diamonds of light that danced across the room. A lazy fan with one broken fin slowly spun in the shadowy depths of the timbered ceiling, a trail of cobwebs caught in its orbit as if part of the tail of a distant comet.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
i Reggie sat on the train holding the violin case as though his life depended on it; considering where he was bringing it, he thought, it could very well be true. Dressed in the only suit he owned, he hardly felt like the gentleman he was supposed to look like. Wearing a dark brown pinstripe, a colour which Claire said did nothing for him, he pulled his tie loose and looked out of the window at the slowly disappearing countryside. The lush, green rolling hills of Devon had given way to the stark industrial reality of what would soon be London. That was the moment he realized he hadn’t missed it. He shifted uneasily in his seat, his hip feeling sore because of the time he’d spent sitting in the one position.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
So someone pointed out--a good friend of mine--that they didn't know what order the story parts were in because they weren't posted in a proper sequence. So I thought I'd post this little sidebar of how the story reads. I put up the first paragraph or two for each post, to help in case there's some confusion.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
CHAPTER EIGHT ('ish)
Chap 8 - Pt 1 (BUT THEN TWO HOURS THERE BEFORE...) The ride out to the Lightninged Tree—as Richard preferred to call it—took a little more than fifteen minutes. The road was ragged by all appearances, rough in places where the potholes were deep; but most of the potholes were off on the sides of the road, enabling Sonia to make better time than Nigel would’ve thought possible in an automobile. He could see her smile when she caught him looking at the speedometer.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Criminal
