Wild Fiction

Conrad had pulled out his truncheon and smacked it into his hand several times. Each thwack resounding firmly. The author was going through the man’s wallet.
‘His name is Retir W. Doog according to his driver’s license,’ the author said. He pulled out a white card and held it to the light. ‘SPCF - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fictionals,’ he said. ‘You have to be joking?’ he dropped the card on Retir’s head. ‘Is this real?’
‘No, I made it up,’ Retir said.
‘Why?’
‘I’m not a very good writer and I needed characters for my book. I thought it was a good idea to convince her to come over to my book and star in my story. I didn’t mean any harm by all this.’
‘How can you say you didn’t mean any harm when you were about to kill my wife with a metallic noose?’ the author shouted down at the man. The author’s fist shook above Retir’s head and he squeezed his eyes shut. The author pulled his hand back, turned around, and faced away from the foetal body of Retir W. Doog. ‘What will you do next?’ the author asked.
‘I’m not...’ Retir tried to say but did not get a chance to finish. The author turned around and kicked him in the stomach. He let out a cry and curled up into a ball, his face contorted in pain.
Conrad smacked the truncheon against the bonnet of the car a couple of times. ‘Shall I break a few of his ribs?’ he said as a particularly vicious blow echoed off the metal of the car.
Retir whimpered and Conrad struck the car again.
‘How did you know about the bonds?’ the author asked. His voice had lost its sadistic edge and had instead become controlled and interrogating.
‘I met two men who told me about them. They said that they’d got hold of one of them and then discovered that there were more. I put two and two together and worked out what had happened. I read the papers and know all about the insurance scam. I don’t know what I was going to do with the bonds. It was the girl that I wanted.’
Conrad slammed the truncheon down on the car’s bonnet again. The crack echoed in the darkness around them.
‘I promise,’ Retir whimpered. ‘That’s exactly how it happened.’