The Literary Musings Of The Artist

Welcome to the literary musings of the artist, starting with his most recent novel: “Thou Shalt Not Kill” An exciting around the world romp of no holds barred sex, intrigue and murder.

Below I’ve provided a short excerpt just to give you a taste of what’s to come, and below the excerpt you’ll find a link to the first four chapters.

ENJOY!

“Thou Shalt Not Kill”: An Excerpt

Joe quickly fell deep into thought over coffee amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy neighborhood market. “Who is that terrible little man? Could I be overreacting? What am I missing?” The questions kept rolling over and over in his mind but answers were nowhere to be found.

“This is getting me nowhere” he thought, and in frustration his gaze wondered distractedly over the hectic scene that confronted him. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye Joe caught a glimpse of furtive movement.

“Damn! That’s just not possible” He said to himself amazed, not quite believing what he was seeing.

Sliding quickly from his chair he crouched down and hobbled away frog style using the tables as cover. After swiftly rounding behind the cafeterias rudimentary kitchen he charged out through the back door and promptly flew head over heals in his haste, almost cracking his knees on the cobblestones. Now on all fours Joe glanced back to make sure he hadn’t been followed, then turned and dashed up the narrow lane to a compound fronted by high wooden doors. With some effort Joe pushed these aside, entered and grabbed the first thing he could find to jam the barricade shut.

The courtyard beyond was littered with scattered piles of rubble and Joe picked his way through as quickly as he could, then stumbled up the stairs to his garret flat and threw himself down onto its bare wooden floor, his back propped against the wall. Sweat beaded his forehead and he wiped it away roughly. “This made no sense” he thought, “none”, but that didn’t matter now. He was being followed by a mean spooky little bastard carrying a small arsenal and it was scaring the hell out of him.

All of a sudden a muffled crash echoed through the courtyard followed not long after by the thump, thump, thump of heavy boots on old stairs. At this Joe jumped up and searched feverishly for something he could use to defend himself but there was nothing. He remembered the rusty switch blade he carried for emergencies and desperately scrabbled around his pack, only to find it after hastily dumping the bags contents onto the floor. “Not exactly lethal” he thought but it was the best he could do. Joe readied himself. He had been in tight spots before but this was something else again and he had no idea what was coming next. Then the doorknob turned slowly.

“You son of a bitch, how the hell?” yelled Joe but he didn’t get a chance to finish. At that moment the door crashed in with terrible force and his attacker charged through. Joe dived but wasn’t fast enough and the truncheon connected with a dull crack throwing him hard to the dusty wooden floor.

His cheek soon warmed in the ever growing pool of his own blood but, with his last ounce of strength Joe forced his head up to look into the manic eyes that gazed down upon him. High above an arm was poised to deliver the final blow.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, almost in a whisper and his head dropped back to the hard wet floor.

Igor smiled then raised the truncheon up again to finish the job but stopped mid swing. “Na, you’re done mate, no point in being messy”. Igor was a cold calculating murderer but he had his standards. His mother always told him that cleanliness was next to godliness and he tried always to follow her advice, or that is until he knifed her in her sleep.

The contents of Joe’s bag where now strewn across the floor and Igor kneeled to examine what little there was, but found nothing. He then proceeded to methodically pick his way through the tiny flat, all the while being extremely careful not to leave any sign of his presence, other than Joe of course.

Igor was a professional and did his job well but the object of his search completely eluded him, he could do no more and made to leave. On his way out Igor glanced casually down at Joe, then stopped and nudged him with the tip of his boot while he shrugged and gave him a little grin as if to say “Ah well, better luck next time” and left.

It was time to make his report, but he was in no real hurray. Igor was after all nothing more than just another guy on vacation checking out the view, although nobody in this town had ever seen a tourist that looked quite like him. When he finally reached the phone box in the center of town Igor called in.

“Yes”. The voice on the other end of the line was very familiar and Igor replied without preamble.

“He didn’t have it”

“Are you sure” It was more of a statement than a question and tinged with slight disapproval, or disappointment, Igor couldn’t be sure. The voice didn’t wait for an answer.

“Get back here now, I need you for another job”

Igor knew what that meant, smiled and quickly left town to join his master.

Is that it for Joe? Has he seen the final curtain?

Click Here To Read The Next Four Chapters

But First, a word from the author:

Writing can be a very time consuming process and unfortunately time is money. Therefore, in an effort to offset my costs I have placed a “Donate” button below the first chapter on the next page.

Please consider donating whatever amount you’d like, be that 10 cents, 50 cents, one measly little dollar or, 100 dollars. I can assure you, your  assistance will be greatly appreciated and your participation will play a vital role in the creation of this work. Finally, I would like to sincerely thank you in advance for your kind generosity.

Thank You.

M.R.Hubick