(no subject)

[unforth]

He arrived at the funeral home at just the right time; his cousin had, as always, given him the pertinent information on todays mourners. Pulling out his book, he checked what he had written one last time; he couldn't afford any mistakes. Today's deceased was named Jeffrey Moses, and his widow, Alanna, was 74 years old. Jeffrey, 80 years old when he died, had served in World War II. Veterans' funerals were always the easiest to infiltrate, since so many people who might never have otherwise crossed paths met during the war. Today, he was going to call himself Alex Kelly, whose father, Willard Kelly, had served with Jeffrey. Reading about the funeral in the paper, so his story goes, he decided that he would stop by and pay his respects. As for his actual purpose, well, elderly widows were frequently lonely and in desperate need of an understanding ear. Who better than a kindly young man, with a connection to her past, and willing to give her the time she needed, no matter when she needed it? The scam didn't always work, but it worked often enough that he was able to live comfortably, and it was a game that he enjoyed. His only real vulnerability was the little book in which he kept his notes, on the several women that he was dealing with at any one time. Still, he made sure he kept it in a safe place, a hidden pocket, and he never pulled it out in the presence of his lady friends. He couldn't fail.