HERE’S LOOKIN’ AT YOU, KID

~ Iain Kelly

‘We’ve checked everywhere, Sam, it ain’t here,’ said Ruth.

I dropped the sledgehammer. ‘Alright Gutman, where is it?’

‘I told you. Ask Cairo. He knows, not me.’

‘Cairo’s dead. So’s Archer. You’re responsible. Now cough up the statue.’

‘Poor Mr. Spade. You’re nothing but a clueless gumshoe.’

‘The Falcon, where is it?’ I aimed the pistol at Gutman’s heart, if there was a heart beating in that emotionless cavern.

The only thing I knew for sure was it wasn’t behind the wall I’d just busted through.

Gutman gave a rumbling laugh,’It’s not as simple as that, Mr. Spade.’

It never is, I thought.

mikhaels-photo

Copyright Mikhael Sublett

Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).

It’s that time of year – the decorations are up, it’s cold outside, and it’s perfect weather to sit on the sofa and watch old movies. A lot go for Christmas films, but nothing says Christmas to me like the old classics, especially with Humphrey Bogart – Casablanca, Key Largo and The Maltese Falcon. This scene is my little tribute to that last of these, a classic noir novel and film.

To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

2 weeks until Christmas, still time to order either of my novels for the reader in your life! Perfect if you’re looking to discover a new action thriller book!
christmas 2019

A JUSTIFIED STATE: U.S.A. – AMAZON.COM  UNITEDKINGDOM  AUSTRALIA  CANADA INDIA BRAZIL MEXICO GERMANY FRANCE SPAIN ITALY NETHERLANDS JAPAN

STATE OF DENIAL: U.S.A. – AMAZON.COM UNITED KINGDOM  AUSTRALIA CANADA INDIA BRAZIL MEXICO GERMANY FRANCE SPAIN ITALY NETHERLANDS JAPAN

Published by Iain Kelly

39 year old writer, avid film viewer and book reader, employed in the media industry as a television editor.

68 thoughts on “HERE’S LOOKIN’ AT YOU, KID”

  5. A sampler of Indiana Jones, searching for a lost treasure – perhaps Sam Spade is out of his depth on this one. It is always a dilemma – it makes me laugh – when you level a gun at someone and say; ‘Tell me where it is or else.’
    Tell him and you might be shot – don’t tell and continue to live. It is a matter of literal trust, me thinks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I always forget how small his part in Casablanca is, and he gets written out halfway through that as well. One of the great supporting actors, always good value and often better than the films he was in.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  23. I once had a spate of binging on Bogart movies and reading Raymond Chandler / Dashiell Hammett books – still love those one liners and Bogart was the best. Great take on the prompt and loved the mash-up of the characters.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Love your wide-ranging collection of detective kitch, all in 100 words!

    The tough guy. The broad. The threat. The hunt. The low-level depression.

    What an homage to the genre! I can see it all–in black and white.

    And no one does it better than Bogart. Heres looking at you, kid!

    (My favorite holiday splurge is BBC’s Poirot, btw.)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.