One Mistake

How dare she reject him for that creep! They would both pay.

 A bomb. He was skilled in electronics; he could rig a detonator. No problem.

A Valentine’s gift sent to the creep’s office. He’d open it and it would blow up in his face, the aluminium squares packed with the explosive shrapnel to maim him.

As the girl’s ex-boyfriend, the police would obviously interview him. But he was clever. He had his own electronics workshop where he built the bomb, but he didn’t use any of his usual wires or components. He bought different ones. Nothing to connect him.

When the bomb blew and took off the creep’s face, he felt confident. But then some detective found the guillotine he’d used to cut the aluminium, its worn blade putting a unique microscopic pattern on each edge of each aluminium square.

 One mistake and 25 years for attempted murder.

©David George Clarke 2022