10 Short Stories Volume 1: 10 Short Stories, #1

By Martin Lundqvist

This Anthology contains the following short stories:

 

1. The Dinner at Darkwood Mansion
2. Keila halts the Terran drug smugglers in the year 2869.
3. Daydreaming in the shoe shop.
4. The Escargot Conspiracy.
5. How I met your mother (and almost got arrested for murder).
6. The Snailkeeper at Lupusserra.
7. The Cathedral Date.
8. The Clinic Murders.
9. The Golden Duck Dinner.  
10. The Escape from the Tang Emperor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martin Lundqvist
• Release date: Feb 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393233763

Martin Lundqvist

Martin's background Martin is a Swedish male born in 1985 He has lived in Australia since 2012, and has been with his partner Elaine Hidayat since 2013. Martin's writing history Martin wrote wrote his first book, the psychological crime thriller James Locker: The Duality of Fate back in 2013.  After that Martin had a break from book writing for a couple of years. In late 2016, Martin decided to take up book writing again and he finished his Science Fiction novel The Divine Dissimulation a year later. In July 2018 Martin finished his third book, The Divine Sedition. which constitutes the second book in The Divine Zetan trilogy. In 2018 Martin also wrote a short-story for children Matt's Amazing Week and a parody novella called Divine Space Gods: Abraham's Follies In January 2019 Martin finished writing Divine Space Gods II: Revolution for Dummies Martin's style Martin is a multi-genre writer who likes to mix up his works. So far he has released works in the crime, science fiction, humor and children genre, and he intend to write more genres in the future to mix up his repertoire and improve his writing.

Book preview

1: The Dinner at Darkwood Mansion.

Y ou have arrived at your destination.

I looked at my GPS and I concluded that I had reached the spooky Darkwood Mansion. The derelict mansion had been owned by a distant relative, at least according to the suspicious-looking email I received. Mr Orchard. Your distant relative Vlad Bogdan died and left you a manor in the Hunter Valley region. Please contact us for information on how to secure your inheritance. Best Regards F & Raud Lawyers

I know what you are thinking; what kind of idiot would fall for such an obvious scam? I am normally not that stupid, but on this occasion, the email enticed me to further investigate. I found out that Darkwood Mansion existed and that it was only a few hours away from Sydney, so it was a perfect road trip for the weekend.

I don’t like this place. Can we go back to our hotel? My partner Elaine whined.

No, I got to check it out. Let’s walk around the premises and see if we can find any clues. I replied. No, I don’t want to. Elaine stated.

You could have told me about that three hours ago. I said, exited the car, and walked to the front gate of the mansion.

As I walked to the door, I concluded that if I against the odds had inherited this mansion, I would sell it. The place was run-down, and the repairs would cost an absolute fortune.

A blood-stained pitchfork came into my view and interrupted me from thinking about my hypothetical finances. Nope, nope, nope.  I thought and turned around to walk back to my car.

I gasped in shock when I turned around and saw a creepy old man who held a lit oil lamp in front of my eyes. Welcome to the late Vlad Bogdan’s mansion, Mr Orchard. I am Igor, Vlad’s loyal servant. Igor greeted.

Hold on, how do you know my name? I asked.

We have been expecting you, Igor replied.

Igor’s statement reaffirmed the importance of leaving this place as soon as possible. Not only was the place creepy as hell, but the caretaker had also spied on me and knew about my identity.

Hmm, my partner told me she felt tired and needed to go back to our hotel. I said and walked towards the car.

Much to my dismay, I noticed that Elaine was conversing with an old lady next to the car. She approached me and spoke: Great news, Martin. Loretta has invited us to enjoy her authentic Romanian cuisine. Let’s join her inside.

But you wanted to go back to our hotel five minutes ago. I protested and held back my impulse to pull my hair in frustration that we yet again clashed about something.

Yes, but have you ever tried authentic Romanian cuisine before? This will be great. Elaine enthused.

I stared in disbelief at Elaine. Like a certain cartoon dog, she forgot about danger as soon as there was a promise of food. I grudgingly agreed to come with Elaine to the dining hall of the mansion. I would have described the dining hall as north-facing and rustic, with an aura of bygone times if I was a real estate agent. I am not, so I’d describe it as creepy and gloomy.

During our dining experience at Darkwood Mansion, Igor and Loretta served us Romanian blood sausage, blood pudding and red wine. I would rate the meal one out of five. Not only did the iron content of the food overpower all the other flavours, but the meal was also spiked with sedatives.

After finishing a few bites of the rancid meal, I passed out and everything turned black.

GOOD MORNING, MASTER Orchard. I have some great news. You passed the trial, and you are now the proprietor of Darkwood Mansion. A suit-wearing man told me.

I stared at the blurry man and slurred: Who are you? What is going on?

"I am Frank Raud from F & Raud Lawyers. I have been