Be•guiled: A Love Story With A Twist Of Life

By Alonzo Strange

Platy Multimedia and Publishing presents the release of Beguiled on July 16, 2021. New York's

own, Alonzo Strange, invites you to experience a suspenseful roller coaster thriller that will keep

you on the edge of your seat as the storyline unfolds.

Deception, betrayal, and manipulation are just a few of the words th

• Language: English
• Publisher: PlaTy Multimedia & Publishing
• Release date: Sep 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781087979274

Book preview

BEGUILED

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, andincidents are either the products of the author’simagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance toactual persons living or dead, events, or locales isentirelycoincidental.

Copyright©2021byPlatyMultimedia& Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may bereproduced or used in any manner without writtenpermission of the copyright owner except for the use ofquotations in a book review. For more information,address:[e-mail]

First paperback edition: July 2021CoverGraphicDesignbyWalterThomas

Editing by Glynna and Ed SieglerISBN978-1-7369686-7-3(paperback)

www.platymm.com@platymmp@[e-mail]@a.l.strangeinstragram

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As always, I must give praise and glory to God.I would not be who I am or have the talent to write thewayIdo withouthishandson me.

I want to give thanks to my beautiful wife,Marshai Strange, for supporting and keeping mefocused. Without you, I would not have been able tofinishthis book.

To my family for standing by me and forsupporting me throughout this amazing journey. To myson, Devin Michael Bice, and daughter, Myah Ann Bice,I am so proud of both of you. You both have grown intointelligent, strong adults. I thank God for giving me theopportunityto be your father.

To my close circle of friends that I have calledmy second family, Shundrick Cleveland, my brotherfrom another mother to Terrance Frazier Boy, TazoFrazier,Julian,Mymentor andfriendHoward,andlast but not least Tyrell TY Plair; you are not only mybusinesspartner,butsomeone thatIcall family.Iwantto say thank you for keeping it real with me. We all needgood people in our corner that will tell us the truth (evenwhen it is tough to speak) and hold us accountable, andyouare those peopleforme.

To my Platy Multimedia and Publishing family,TyrellPlair CEO,JulianHowardDirectorofBusiness

Operations, Elizabeth Johnson Marketing Specialist,James Scales Graphic Designer, Alan Little Director ofTalent Acquisition Mr. North Carolina, Paul LandryMarketing Assistant, Glynna and Ed Siegler ChiefEditors, Andrika Ruiz our new author and SummerLevin our editing intern- the people who make it happenbehind the scenes. I would like to say thank you all foryourhardworkand latenights.Itistrulyappreciated.

To all of those that I have not mentioned oracknowledged,please knowthatyou areinmy thoughts.

Now, to the ones that have decidedto give this book a try, The Readers, Iwant to say thankyou forchoosing thisbook and for giving me the opportunityto entertain your imagination. It hasbeen a minute since I have been in thisposition, but I don’t plan on letting upanytimesoon.Everybookafterthiswilldefinitelybebetterthanthelast.

That’sapromise!

PROLOGUEJULY25, 1975, 8:30am

Bang was the sound of a 380 Lugar as itexpelled a loud cry while a phone simultaneouslyrang inside an apartment only blocks away. Ohshit! Oh God! were the words the panicked shooterspoke.

Hello?wastheresponseofAngelaasshegrabbedthe phone’s receiver.

Why couldn’t you just give me the damnedmoney, Oldman? The shooter screamed. Afterstaring at Mr. Pete’s lifeless body, he screamed,Mr. Pete! I’m sorry. Then, the shooter ran out oftheconvenient store andbumped into anothercustomer.

He should have been back by now.Heonly went to the store, so what could possibly betaking him so long? she asked herself.Now shewasconcerned.Hewasusuallyprettygoodaboutcoming straight home. Her mind was starting tothinkthe worst.

Mr. Pete…what’s going on? Is anybodyhere? The customer yelled. Mr. Pete, are you in theback? As he entered the front, he noticed brokenglass and blood on the counter. He stepped aroundthecounterandwas shockedby what hesaw….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter1

July 27,1975 8:30 a.m.

Hey baby, you need anything else from thestore besides what’s already on the list? Tyroneshoutedfrom thekitchen.

Umm,no, ohhold onaminute!Ido needabout two of those fresh tomatoes for ourhamburgers tomorrow night, Angela yelled fromtheirbedroom.

Alright!I’mgone.Loveya!Tyronesaidasheheaded outthefront doorandto his car.

TyroneandAngelahadbeenlivingtogetherfor nearly four years before they moved toLansdowne, Pennsylvania from upstate New Yorkseven months ago. They graduated from NorthCountry Community College and were trying tomake a life together. He met Angela in high schoolas a junior, and they had been together ever since.With a promising life ahead of them, they decidedto move away from the confines of their currentenvironment. They wanted a more upward, mobileareatoenhancetheirquality of life.

After finding a job with a company inPhiladelphia,Tyronedecideditwastimeforheand

Angela to become serious. Angela, a very insecureyoung woman that really had not been anywhereotherthanNorwood, NewYork,wasnotsureaboutmoving away from where she had grown up withher family and friends. Reluctantly, she agreed tomovewith Tyroneto Pennsylvania.

Tyrone had always been an independent andconfident individual, but even he was hesitant aboutmoving them far away. His reasons were his and hisalone. In his heart, he knew that moving would bethe best thing to do for him to have peace of mind intheirrelationship.

As she heard Tyrone’s car pull out of thedriveway, Angela picked up the phone and calledher friend Sarah. When Sarah picked up on the thirdring,Angela greeted her,

Hey Sarah.What’supAngie?

You’llneverguesswhathappenedlastnight!Angela saidexcitedly.

If I did, I’d probably be wrong. I’ll let youtell me before you burst from the excitement,Sarahreplied.

Well, as you know, I’ve been practicallybegging Tyrone to put a ring on my finger. Lastnight, he asked me if I was ready to settle down andhave children. The excitement was unmistakable inAngela’svoice. Canyou believethat?

Oh my God! You mean to tell me youfinallygothimtopropose?Sarahasked.Yep!

Angela shouted. "Maybe I need to take lessons fromyouso Ican get Briantoaskme.You know,we

have been together for five years, and he still tellsmethatit’snottherighttimeyet,"Sarah explained.

Well, you just need to keep pressing himlike I did Tyrone. Sooner or later, he’ll come aroundand surprise you. Do you know what? I’ve beenhaving morning sickness and I’m assuming it’sbecause I’m pregnant. Angela told Sarah thepossiblepregnancynewsasif it was nobig thing.

What? Does Tyrone know? Sarah asked."Hellno!Itwouldbetoo muchforhimright

now. I’mwaitingtomakesurefirst."

Well,tellmewhenyoufindout,okaygirl?Ihaveto go. You know that I have to wake Brian’s lazyassup togo to work.I’lltalk toyou later.

Angela hung up and went to get dressedbefore Ty would return. She intended to pretendthat she was going to work for Tyrone’s eyes, but aslight case of nausea caused her to run to thebathroom."Damn! That’sthe secondtime this

morning."

Chapter2

July 27, 1975, 9:00a.m.

When Tyrone arrived at Mr. Pete’sconvenience store, he parked his car in front of ameter, jumped out, and put a quarter into the slot.As he entered the front door, another man wasleavinginahurrywithhisheaddownwhichcausedhimto run into Tyrone’s arm.

Excuseme!Tyronesaidtothestrangerasif it was his fault. The stranger did not stop orapologize.Hekeptwalkingandnever looked back.

When Tyrone walked inside the store, henoticed that there wasn’t anyone around to greet thecustomers, which was unusual. He thought nothingof it as he picked up the small hand basket that waspositionednext to the front door.

As he walked around the store, he noticedthatitwas justa littletooquiet.Hedecidedtocallout Mr. Pete’s name to make sure that he knewtherewas someonein thestore.

Hey Mr. Pete! Mr. Pete! Maybe he’s in theback, Tyrone said out loud to no one in particular.He walked towards the counter and noticed bloodsplattered against the back wall behind the cashregister.Tyroneleanedoverthecountercausingthecandyfilledglass jarstofallonthe floorand

shatter.HesawMr.Pete’sbodylaidoutonthefloorwithblood covering his chest.

Tyrone, a confident young black man thatstood 6’7" and weighed 250 lbs. with a solid build,wasoverwhelmedwithanxietyandfearashestoodstaringat Mr.Pete’s lifelessbody.

Oh my God! Mr. Pete! Mr. Pete! Tyronesaid aloud as he hurried towards Mr. Pete with theobjective of trying to revive him since he knewCPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).He checkedhis pulse and realized that he was too late.Hishandsandthecuffsofhisshirtweresoiledwiththebloodof thedeceased.

Tyrone was in complete shock when heheardcustomersapproaching thefrontdoor.

Immediately, he stood up and began to head for theexitatahurriedpace.Tyroneandthecustomershadreached the door at the same moment. Since thedooropenedtowardsthestreet,Tyronemanagednotto breakstrideasheheaded straightforhiscar.

Hey, watch it asshole! Amy said as shesteppedoutofhisway. Ishouldhavetripped hisblackass!

Did you see the front of his shirt? Was thatblood? another customer asked as they watchedTyrone jump into his car, pull out of the parking lot,andquickly mergeinto theearlymorning traffic.

Upon entering the convenience store, theynoticeditemssprawledalloverthefloorandapairofbloodyfootprintstrailing behindthecounter.

What the hell … Amy said. Hesitantly,shesteppedoverthebrokenglassonthefloorandbeganto screamfrantically, "OhMy God!No!

No!" There, she saw Mr. Pete lying on his backwitha bloody hole in his chest.

Chapter3

July 27, 1975, 9:42a.m.

Angela finally got dressed for her 10:30 amappointment. She had plenty of time to getprepared, since Tyrone was running late. As shewaited for him to come back, she thought aboutwhatexcuseshecouldcomeupwithtousethecar.

Shepracticeddifferentexcusesinthemirrorjust to make sure that she looked and soundedconvincing. After about fifteen minutes ofpracticing her lies, she wondered where Tyronewas.

He should have been back by now.Heonly went to the store, so what could possibly betaking him so long? she asked herself.Now shewas concerned. He was usually pretty good aboutcoming straight home. Her mind was starting tothink the worst. To calm herself down, she wentinto the bedroom and laid across the bed. She felthungry,but shecouldn’teatanything.Shefeared

that she would only throw it back up again; so, shedecided to distract her hunger pains with watchingtelevision. Before she had a chance to do so, thephone rang. Angela quickly jumped up to answer it,thinkingthat itmight beTyrone.Ontheotherend

of the receiver, she heard her friend Sarah huffingasif shehad just run amarathon.

Heygirl,what’swrongwithyou?Angelaasked disappointedly, because it wasn’t who shethoughtit wasgoing tobeon the phone.

Have you seen the news this morning?Sarahfinallyaskedafter catchingherbreath.

No, why? What’s wrong? Angelaquestionedin a concerned voice.

"Someonerobbed andmurderedMr.Pete!

It’salloverthenewsright now!"

What! Angela shouted as she tried tocomprehendexactlywhatSarahwastellingher.

"Yeah, when I turned on the T.V. all I heardwas, ‘Breaking News! A local store owner hasbeen found murdered inside his convenience storeon JFK Blvd, in downtown Philadelphia. He wasshot once in the chest with a .38 caliber handgun.’Thedescriptionofthesuspect resembledTyrone.

That’s why I called you guys. Is he home yet?"Sarahaskedasshewatchedthenewsforfurtherinformation.

Angela reached for the power button on thetelevision and then replied, No, he’s not home yet.I don’t know where he’s at Sarah! Oh my God! Ihopehewasn’tinvolved.Wh…Beforeshecouldfinish her thought, Angela dropped the phone andran to the bathroom to vomit for the third time thatmorning. Sarah heard the way Angela soundedbefore she hung up and rushed down the stairs toher apartment. She did not knock like she normallydid. She just opened the door, walked in, and calledforAngelawho wasstill in the bathroom.

Angela,youalright?

Whereishe?Sarah,whereis he?Angelacriedout overand overagain.

I’m sure he’s on his way back. Heprobably just got caught up in the entire melee andcouldn’t get away. He wasn’t involved, I’m sure,Sarah said trying to calm Angela down, butknowing damn well what she heard on the T.V.soundedalot likethey weretalking about Tyrone.

He went to Mr. Pete’s to get me somethings, but he should have been back already!Angela said as she continued to sob on Sarah’sshoulder.

Do you think it was him, Sarah? Do you?"No,no,itcouldn’tbe.Whywouldhedo

something like that anyway? He has no reason toharm Mr. Pete. He’ll be home any minute. You waitandsee."

Angela wasn’t convinced, and it seemed likeshe was only getting worse. Sarah offered to takeher to her doctor’s appointment in order to get hermind off things, but all Angela wanted to do waswatch the news to see if she could find out moreinformation about the murder. Reluctantly, sheagreed to go. Sarah went back to her apartment onlyafter she was able to calm Angela down. They weretomeetinfront oftheirapartment withinthehour.

Chapter4

July 27, 1975, 10:17a.m.

Only a half an hour had lapsed, but Tyronefelt like he had been driving for hours. Mr. Pete’sconvenience store was located downtown in thetight knit community of Lansdowne. He drove westto Levittown, a beautiful countryside of plush greengrass and tall oak trees that was complimented withanarray ofspring flowers andhealthy bushes.

Although it was a beautiful summer morning,Tyrone was suffering through what seemed like anemotional nightmare, and the beauty of the daycould not be recognized. He had never experiencedshortness of breath, extreme sweatiness of thepalms, armpits, or the forehead. He knew that hewas experiencing all those symptoms because ofanxiety.

Damn! What should I do? Okay, Mr. Petewas dead before I got there; I didn’t kill him. I havenothing to worry about, Tyrone said trying toconvincehimself andrightly so.

Shit! I know that lady from somewhere.She probably thinks that I killed him. Fuck! Hewas experiencing all the signs of anxiety and fear.Damn! What should I do? Oh my God! I neverheldadeadpersonbefore!Tyronesaid tohimself.

Amy, Amy that’s her name. She probably thinksthat Ikilled him. Oh man!

Tyrone found a secluded spot on the side ofthe road to park and got out of his car. He pacedabout thirty yards and ended with a sharpanticipated about face, as if he had learned thatmaneuverfromthemilitary orfromhis favorite

T.V. character, Gomer Pyle, USMC.Thepacingrelievedtheanxiety,

momentarily, but the reality was that he was in aworld of trouble and his mind was racing withfrantic thoughts. He had to think fast. He foundsome thick bushes to hide his car, a bright yellowMustang with a convertible black ragtop, thatscreamed for attention on any day. He was at adisadvantage, but he did the best he could with thecircumstances.Afterhecoveredhiscar,hewalkedabout 100 yards and sat down near the creek tocontemplatehis next move.

Chapter5

July 27, 1975, 10:25a.m.

Angela was consumed with thoughts ofTyronewhilesheandSarahdrovedowntowntryingto see iftheyspottedhiscar anywhere.Theynoticed that the police were still around the storewith yellow tape blocking off the front. Seeing this,Angela started to cry as Sarah tried to rush thempasstheareain hopes tokeephercalm.

Once they got to the doctor’s office, Sarahwent inside with Angela. She wanted her to have afamiliarfacearound.Angelatriedtoholdittogetherjust long enough to get the test done. They enteredthe reception area and were informed that the doctorwould be with her in a few minutes. She was givensome paperwork to sign, and they sat down to waitforthe doctor to call her.

Sincehereyeswereredfromcrying,Sarahgave Angela some tissue to dry them before shewent in to see the doctor. The receptionist noticedthat Angela was upset and assumed that it wasbecause she was pregnant. She offered her someadvice, trying to assure her that everything wouldbefine.

"Excuseme, Ms.Simmons.Ihopeyou’renotworriedaboutthedoctor.He’svery goodat

whathedoes.In fact,you’reinthebestofhands.

The procedures are simple and painless." Angela’smindwasn’treallyfocusedonthetest,butratheronthe possibility that Tyrone might be in some sort oftrouble. The doctor finally called for her to comeinto the examination room. She got up, leavingSarahin thewaiting area.

Dr. Smith greeted her and asked a series ofquestions. She answered them with no problems,but when he asked her when the last time was thatshe had her menstruation, Angela felt as if she hadlostallsenseoftime.Shetoldhimthatithadbeenabout three weeks, but she had been experiencingnausea and sharp pains that she assumed derivedfrombeing pregnant.

After the doctor finished the examination, hetold her to get dressed. He walked to the back roomto finish the test. When he returned, he saw thatAngela was visibly upset. Miss Simmons, I’ll haveyour results back in a couple of hours. If you wouldlike, I can call you at home when they do come in.He said the words hoping that it would relieve someofthenervousness that shewasdisplaying.

Okay, but can you give me a hint? Angelaaskedin a weak voice.

I don’t like to speculate. You’ll just have tobepatient.

AssoonassheandSarah wereinthecar,itallcamecrashing down onher.Thefact thatshe

may be pregnant with Tyrone’s baby and wonderingwhetherornothe mightbeintroublewasjustalittle too much for her to handle. She started to cryasthey drovebackto their apartmentcomplex.

Chapter6

July 27, 1975, 10:35a.m.

Meanwhile in Lansdowne, an APB (AllPoints Bulletin) was put on a 1965 yellow mustangconvertible. The narrow streets of Lansdowne werecongested with concerned spectators, noseyneighbors, and a barrage of police officers,paramedics,andinvestigators.Det.MichaelAugelli, the chief investigator, arrived at the sceneafterbeing called infrom thestation bySgt.

AnthonyHammond.

Good morning Det. Augelli. Sgt. AnthonyHammond said with an exacerbated expression onhisface.

Good morning, Sergeant. It’s that bad,huh? Hell of a way to start off the morning, Det.Augellisaid as hesurveyed the area.

Whatdoweknowsofar?

"Well, this morning an unidentified womancalled in and reported a possible robbery inprogress. We have an actual eyewitness who saidthatshesawthesuspectleavingthestore asshewascoming in. He was covered in blood, and his bloodyfootprintswerecomingfrombehindthecounter.

She said she knows him well. I believe, from thereport,thatthesuspectisayoungblackmalewho

moved south from New York with his girlfriend andsettledherein Lansdowne."

Det. Augelli listened intently while he rakedhis salt and pepper hair backward and massaged hisscalp at the same time. He walked around thecounter, pulled out a pair of latex gloves, and beganto make minor physical observations. It seems thattherobbery wentbad. Wasanymoney taken?

No. I’m assuming the suspect ran offbeforehehadtheopportunitytodososinceheheardsomeonecoming.

"So, the only thing taken here was the