Stephen Leather's Blog, page 13

Jack Nightingale Short Story

Hodder and Stoughton are preparing a new Jack Nightingale short story which they will be releasing it as an eBook to help publicise the next Nightingale full-length novel. The short story is called Cursed and has Jack trying to help a copper who has been cursed by a gypsy. It's very topical and ties in with the Dale Farm clearances a few weeks ago. Anyway, here's the proposed cover of the short story.....

Fair Game Promotional Video

The mass market edition of Fair Game is out this month and Hodder have done a great promotional video for it that should be shown at mainline railway stations. I think it looks brilliant!

Fair Game Is An Amazon 2011 Favourite!

Amazon has just released it's list of favourite Kindle books for the year ending October 2011 - and Fair Game is in the Top 100, right next to Nick Spalding's Cornerstone.

The list is based on customer reviews and it's great to see Fair Game there as it's not a cheap book by any means. My self-published eBooks The Basement and Once Bitten have each sold almost ten times as many as Fair Game, but for most of 2011 they were on sale for the Amazon minimum.

I'm hard at work on the new Spider Shepherd book as we speak. I was supposed to finish it before autumn but I got held up doing the reseearch and now I'm aiming for the year end with publication due in July 2012. No title yet!

40th Review For The Bestseller

Yeah, my eBook The Bestseller just received its 40th review - and thankfully it's with five-stars. And it's from someone using their real name, too, which I always take as a good sign.

Here it is:


5.0 out of 5 stars Quick and enjoyable..., 7 Nov 2011
By A. J. Philpott "mightyyid" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Bestseller (Kindle Edition)
Nice good easy read, and great for train rides and given the seemingly smaller length, it is not as intrinsically captivating as a long novel that Mr Leather is renowned for, but at the same time it's an easy read that captivates from start to finish. All in a ll a good solid read that was quite enjoyable.

So thanks very much for the review, Mr or Mrs Philpott - you made my day.

I'm less taken with a reviewer who hides behind the name 'Waylander' who took the time to give every single one of my books on the Goodreads forum a one-star vote. Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things because they have so many four and five star votes that the odd one star doesn't make any difference. But how sad is that, to hide behind an alias. At least stand behind the courage of your convictions. I post reviews under my real name and stand by them. I would never post a negative review under an alias. That's just cowardly.

On a more productive note I'm flat out on a new Jack Nightingale story which Hodder and Stoughton will be using to publicise my new Nightingale book - Nightmare - which will be published in January. I hope to have it finished by the weekend.... It's about a gypsy's curse and I'm having great fun with it....

Money From The FBI!!!!

This just in!

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Anti-Terrorist And Monitory Crime Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
J.Edgar.Hoover Building Washington Dc
Customers Service Hours / Monday To Saturday
Office Hours Monday to Saturday:

Dear Beneficiary,

Series of meetings have been held over the past 7 months with the secretary general of the United Nations Organization. This ended 3 days ago. It is obvious that you have not received your fund which is to the tune of $850,000.00 due to past corrupt Governmental Officials who almost held the fund to themselves for their selfish reason and some individuals who have taken advantage of your fund all in an attempt to swindle your fund which has led to so many losses from your end and unnecessary delay in the receipt of your fund.

The National Central Bureau of Interpol enhanced by the United Nations and Federal Bureau of Investigation have successfully passed a mandate to the current president of Nigeria his Excellency President Good luck Jonathan to boost the exercise of clearing all foreign debts owed to you and other individuals and organizations who have been found not to have receive their Contract Sum, Lottery/Gambling, Inheritance and the likes. Now how would you like to receive your payment? Because we have two method of payment which is by Check or by ATM card?

ATM Card: We will be issuing you a custom pin based ATM card which you will use to withdraw up to $3,000 per day from any ATM machine that has the Master Card Logo on it and the card have to be renewed in 4 years time which is 2014. Also with the ATM card you will be able to transfer your funds to your local bank account. The ATM card comes with a handbook or manual to enlighten you about how to use it. Even if you do not have a bank account.

Check: To be deposited in your bank for it to be cleared within three working days. Your payment would be sent to you via any of your preferred option and would be mailed to you via UPS. Because we have signed a contract with UPS which should expire in next three weeks you will only need to pay $200 instead of $500 saving you $300 So if you pay before the three weeks 2011 you save $300 Take note that anyone asking you for some kind of money above the usual fee is definitely a fraudsters and you will have to stop communication with every other person if you have been in contact with any. Also remember that all you will ever have to spend is $200.00 nothing more! Nothing less! And we guarantee the receipt of your fund to be successfully delivered to you within the next 24hrs after the receipt of payment has been confirmed.


Note: Everything has been taken care of by the Federal Government of Nigeria, The United Nation and also the FBI and including taxes, custom paper and clearance duty so all you will ever need to pay is $200

DO NOT SEND MONEY TO ANYONE UNTIL YOU READ THIS: The actual fees for shipping your ATM card is $500 but because UPS have temporarily discontinued the C.O.D which gives you the chance to pay when package is delivered for international shipping We had to sign contract with them for bulk shipping which makes the fees reduce from the actual fee of $500 to $200 nothing more and no hidden fees of any sort!

To effect the release of your fund valued at $850,000.00 you are advised to contact our correspondent in Africa the delivery officer ( MR. George Mills ) with the information below,

Email: georgemills@yahoo.cn

You are advised to contact him with the informations as stated below:

Your full Name..
Your Address:..............
Home/Cell Phone:...........
Preferred Payment Method (ATM / Cashier Check)

Upon receipt of payment the delivery officer will ensure that your package is sent within 24 working hours. Because we are so sure of everything we are giving you a 100% money back guarantee if you do not receive payment/package within the next 24hrs after you have made the payment for shipping.

Yours sincerely,
MR. David Sunday
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
Phone contact: +1(315)308-0992

Note: Do disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM CARD, you are hereby advice only to be in contact with ( MR. George Mills ) of the ATM CARD CENTRE who is the rightful person to deal with in regards to your ATM CARD PAYMENT and forward any emails you get from impostors to this office so we could act upon and commence investigation.

New Nightmare Hardback Cover

Hodder and Stoughton have finalised the hardback cover for Nightmare, the third book in the Jack Nightingale trilogy. It looks amazing, I think. Hodder are just about to sign me to a new contract for two more Nightingale book so my thinking cap is on!

Money From London! I am so lucky!

This just in!

John Wood LLP
Will & Probate Solicitors
61 Gray's Road London WC1X 8TH
Email:jwllp5@aol.com

Compliments,

I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise, Please accept the content in good faith. I do not intend to cause any grief to you and your family. The reason for sending this mail is very fundamental to the doctrine of human privileges and right. My name is John Wood LLP a legal practitioner based in London and the personal Attorney to late Mr. Adams, a national of your country who died along with his wife and two sons who died in the Tube explosion between King's Cross-and Russell Square in London.

My client was a successful and is an accomplished family man, who made enough fortune before his untimely death. Since then I had made several Inquiries through your Embassy to locate any of my clients extended relative but this exercise has proved unsuccessful. After several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives through the Internet, to locate any member of his family, not much progress was recorded. My late client was an influential wealthy businessman, an oil magnet here in London and he left behind a deposit of Twelve Million Two Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds only (Ј12.2Million GBP) in his domiciliary bank account in a commercial bank here in London.

After the death of my client his bankers contacted me, as his Attorney to provide his next of kin who should inherit his funds. The board of directors of his bank adopted a resolution and I was mandated to provide his next of kin for the payment of this money within 28 Working days or forfeit the money to the bank as an abandoned property. The bankers had planned to invoke the abandoned property decree of 1996 to confiscate the funds after the expiration of the period given to me.

Fortunately, I came across your name, to my greatest astonishment, I discovered that you bear the same surname with my late client and coincidentally, you are nationals of the same country. Being convinced that you may be related with my late client or that you might provide clue to my search, I therefore, decided to contact with these facts before me, because of the similarities. By virtue of my closeness to the deceased and his immediate family, I am very much aware of my client financial standing and the bank account he operates.

I have reasoned very professionally and I feel it will be legally proper to present you as the next of kin of my deceased client, so that you can be paid the funds left in his bank account. I therefore seek your consent to present you as the Next of Kin to the Deceased since you are at an advantage, bearing the same surname and equally from the same country that the proceeds of this Bank Account valued at Ј12.2Million GBP can be paid to you. We shall both share the funds. 40% for me and 55% to you, while 5% should be for Expenses or your Government may require as Tax.

I shall assemble all the necessary Legal Documents that will be used to back up our claim. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of law. Please get in touch with me by email to enable us discuss further. To facilitate the process of this transaction, urgently forward to me

Your full names,
Telephone and fax numbers,
Address,
Age,
Marital status,
A copy of your identity and occupation.


For privacy and confidentiality reply using my email: jwllp5@aol.com. I will be expecting to hear from you.

Best Regards
John Wood.

My New EBook!

I've almost finished my new eBook, a thriller modestly titled The Bestseller.

It should be ready to go online in the next week or so.

Here's the first chapter -


CHAPTER ONE

Marina Del Ray, California, One Year Ago



Lightning flashed and Kirsty flinched and she jumped again two seconds later when a crack of thunder split the Californian night sky to her left. It had started to rain the moment she'd walked into the marina, small spots at first but the moment that she'd set foot on the wooden pier that led to the yachts it had started to come down in sheets and now she was soaked to the skin. She wiped her face with her hand. Part of her, the sensible part, knew that she should just turn around and go home. But the other part, the part that kept her awake at night, was forcing her to go on, She had to know for sure. She had to know the truth.

The main pier jutted out into the centre of the marina and smaller piers branched off it, left and right. The wooden planks creaked as she headed towards Wilson's yacht. Kirsty had been there three times before, once to go sailing with Wilson, the second time for lunch and the third time…. She shuddered. She didn't want to think about what had happened the third time.

Something small and furry ran across her path and she stifled a scream. She stopped and took slow deep breaths as she tried to quieten her racing heart. She didn't want to be at the marina, she wanted to be at home in bed, either asleep or watching TV or reading a book, but she had to be there. There was no going back, she had to know if she was going crazy or if Eddie Wilson really wanted to kill her.

Lightning flashed again and this time she was ready for the crack of thunder that came a few seconds later. Wilson's yacht was called THE WRITE WAY; it was just over thirty feet long with a single mast, the sail rolled up and hidden within a blue nylon sock. The yacht was in darkness. Wilson was the only owner who lived on his boat, all the rest were toys for weekend sailors. About half were yachts and catamarans but the rest were motorboats, floating gin palaces that rarely travelled more than a few miles or so from the marina.

The rain got heavier as she walked along the wooden pier towards the yacht. She stopped when she reached the stern and looked around. The marina was deserted and there had been no one in the office at the entrance. The metal mesh gate that led to the boats was never locked. She took her cellphone from her bag and covered it with her left hand to protect it from the rain as she peered at the screen. No one had called and there were no text messages. She'd arranged to meet Wilson for dinner at a Mexican restaurant that he'd said was one of his favourites, so hopefully he'd be sitting at the bar sipping a margarita while she did what she had to do. She switched off the phone and put it back in her pocket.

The yacht was tethered to the pier with ropes at either end and a third in the middle, and there was a power cable and a water hose snaking from a box by the stern into the rear cabin. She stepped carefully off the pier and onto the deck, holding on to the cabin roof to keep her balance as the boat shifted under her weight. Her heart was racing and she took slow, deep breaths to calm herself down. 'It's okay,' she muttered. 'We go in, we look at his laptop and we get out. Easy peasy lemon squeazy.'

She reached into the bag and pulled out bolt-cutters that she'd bought from a hardware store that morning along with two padlocks so that she could practise cutting the shackles. It took her only seconds to remove the lock and she tossed it into the water before pushing the hatch open. The wood grated and rain splattered inside. She ducked down into the cabin just as another bolt of lightning flashed out over the sea. It was harder to close the hatch than it had been to open it and she had to use all her weight to force it shut.

She stood in the darkness, listening to the sound of her own breathing. The boat was rocking from side to side in the wind and the metal lines rattled against the mast. She swallowed but her mouth was so dry that she almost gagged. She reached into her bag and pulled out a flashlight. She'd put duct tape across the glass with a small hole cut into it so that the light would be focussed into a thin, tight beam. It was a trick she'd read in a thriller once, and she grinned to herself when she switched it on and discovered that it worked. The thin beam illuminated a section of the wall not much bigger than a dinner plate and even someone walking along the pier wouldn't be able to see the light.

At the far end of the main cabin was a door that led through to the sleeping area. There was a double bed there, she knew. With dark red silk sheets, the colour of dried blood. That was where she'd gone on the third visit to the boat. She shuddered. Water plopped from her wet hair onto the floor and she wiped her face with her sleeve as she played the beam of light along the wall and down to the built-in desk, being carful to avoid the brass porthole even though it was the side of the yacht facing away from the pier. Wilson's MacBook Pro was there, open but switched off. There was a wooden chair in front of the desk and she sat down and pressed the button to turn on the computer. As the screen lit up she switched off the flashlight and placed it on the desk. There were three drawers on the right hand side of the desk and she pulled open the top one as she waited for the Mac to boot up.

There was a sketch pad in the drawer and she took it out. She flicked open the pad and her eyes widened when she saw the drawing on the first page. It was a caricature, a wide-eyed blonde with a pony tail sitting at an old-fashioned typewriter and above her head was a thought bubble filled with cuddly toys. The blonde had large breasts straining at the material of her too-tight shirt and Kristy self-consciously put her hand to her chest. She'd seen Wilson with the sketchpad during class but had always assumed that he was taking notes. "Bastard,' she whispered.

The laptop finished booting up and she leaned forward and checked the icons on the desktop. There was only one Word document and it was titled 'The Bestseller'. Kirsty shook her head in disgust. She'd always thought that he was joking when he'd said that was the title of his book.

She clicked on the file and it opened. She read the opening paragraphs with a growing look of disgust on her face. "Bastard, bastard, bastard,' she muttered. She stood up, switched on the flashlight and went through the galley and pushed open the door to the bedroom. There were cupboards above the bed and she pulled them open. There were two spare pillows inside and she took them out and tossed them onto the bed. There was a large book against the side of the cupboard and next to it a bulky leather roll. She took out the book and opened it. It was a medical book. Anatomy. There were yellow Post-its marking several of the pages, all concerned with the joints. Knees, elbows, hips, the neck. She threw the book down and took out the roll. She knew from its weight what it contained. Her heart was pounding as she sat down on the bed and put the roll in her lap, holding the flashlight between her teeth as she used both hands to untie the two leather straps that secured the bundle. She opened it out to reveal a dozen gleaming steel knives with black wooden handles.

"You evil bastard,' she muttered as she stared down at the knives. She knew now that everything that Wilson had written in his book was true. He was planning to kill her and dismember her body, hiding the pieces God knows where. She heard a peal of thunder, closer this time.

She retied the bundle and stood up. The knives weren't proof but what Wilson had written on his laptop most definitely was. It was as good as a confession. She had to get a copy and take it to the police. Then they'd stop him. She patted the back pocket of her jeans to reassure herself that the thumbdrive was there, then opened the door and stepped into the main cabin, the tight beam of her flashlight playing across the floor. She yelped when the beam found a pair of black cowboy boots.

'Surprise!" It was Wilson. His voice was a soft whisper, barely audible over the noise of the wind and the pattering of raindrops against the hull.

The flashlight fell from Kirsty's hands, hit the floor, and rolled against the wall. She bent down, her heart racing and grabbed it, thanking God silently because the bulb hadn't broken. She tucked the bundle of knives under her right arm and held the flashlight with both hands as she played the thin beam around the cabin.

Wilson had gone. For a brief moment she wondered if she'd imagined him and then there was a flash of lightning and she saw him standing with his back to the wall by the desk. His jet black hair was wet from the rain and he had a five o'clock shadow. Water was dripping down his face and he was grinning. Then just as quickly the cabin was plunged into darkness and she searched for him with the beam as a roll of thunder made her stomach vibrate.

He was standing by the computer, his hand resting on the keyboard. "You peeked,' he said. She played the beam of light over his face. His clothes were soaked, through but he was grinning. It was a cruel grin, almost savage. He was tall and wiry, and dressed all in black: shirt, jeans, cowboy boots, and a long coat from which water was plopping onto the floor.

Kirsty tried to speak but the words caught in her throat. 'I, I, I…'

"Yes, I know,' said Wilson. He took a step towards her, still smiling.

She held up the bundle of knives. 'I know what you were planning to do,' she said.

'What? What exactly do you think I was planning to do, Kirsty?'

"You know.'

'Tell me. Maybe it's all been a terrible misunderstanding.'

Lightning flashed and it was followed immediately by a crack of thunder. The storm was right overhead. The boat was rocking from side to side and Kirsty was having trouble maintaining her balance. She held up the roll of knives.. "You're mad,' she said.

He smiled easily. 'I'm a little unhappy at the way you broke in her, but I wouldn't say I'm mad.'

"You know what I mean,' she said. 'Deranged, Insane.'

'Oh come on, Kirsty. You need to relax. Come on. Big breaths.'

Kirsty gestured at the laptop with the bundle. "You were going to do it, weren't you? You were going to kill me and write about me.'

'It's a novel, Kirsty.'

"You were going to do it! For real!'

'A work of fiction.'

'I read it,' said Kirsty. 'I read what you wrote. You're going to kill me. Then you're going to butcher me.' She held up the bundle and waved it at him. 'With these! You bastard, you had it all planned. You were going to kill me and write a sick book about it.'

Wilson shook his head sadly. Kirsty realised that he had shifted his body so that she couldn't see his right hand. She moved the beam but as she did he stepped forward. He was holding a frying pan and he swung it at her, hard. She jumped back but he was too quick and the pan slammed into the bundle of knives and sent it hurtling from her hand. The bundle burst apart as it hit the wall behind her and the knives spilled out and crashed to the floor.

Wilson swished the pan from side to side. Lightning flashed again. Kirsty braced herself for the crack of thunder but it never came.

Kirsty stepped back, her shoe crunching on one of the knives. 'It's going to be all right, Kirsty,' said Wilson.

He moved to the side, out of the beam of the flashlight, and Kirsty's heat pounded as she tried to keep the light on him. 'Not scared of the dark, are you, Kirsty?' said Wilson.

Kirsty bent down, grabbed one of the knives with her left hand and straightened up, holding it out in front of her. 'Don't come near me,' she said.

'Now that just looks awkward,' said Wilson. "You're not a leftie. You'd be so much better off with the knife in your right.'

'Stop talking to me,' said Kirsty. She waved the knife in front of her. He was right. The knife felt wrong in her left hand.

He took a step towards her and she shuffled back, her left heel scraping against another knife.

"You should swap them around,' said Wilson. 'Have the knife in your right hand, the flashlight in your left. Trust me, you'll do more damage if I try to do this.' He lunged forward, making a grab for her left hand but she jerked away and lashed out with the knife. He jumped back, grinning. 'See, if you'd had the knife in your right hand you'd have got me then.'

'I just want to go home,' said Kirsty, her voice trembling.

"But you've only just got here, honey,' said Wilson. He jerked a thumb towards the main cabin. 'How about a quickie, just for old times sake.'

'Please, just let me go home.'

'Honey, will you take a look at yourself. You're the one with the knife. You're the one who broke in. Who's the one being threatened here?' He stepped to the left, out of the beam of the flashlight, and Kirsty swung it around to keep the light on him.
He lashed out with the pan and it smacked against the knife. Kirsty cried out in pain as it went spinning across the cabin.

Lightning flashed and as it did she saw him with the pan raised high. As the cabin went dark again he brought the pan crashing down on the flashlight. The impact almost wrenched her arm from its socket but she managed to keep hold of the flashlight as the glass smashed and the light went out. She threw the broken flashlight towards where she thought Wilson was standing but when it hit the wall of the cabin she knew that she had missed.

She dropped down onto her hands and knees and groped around in the dark, trying to find one of the knives.

Lightning flashed and she saw Wilson standing in front of her, a manic grin on his face. The pan had gone and its place was a bread knife with a serrated edge. Just as Kirsty screamed, the cabin was plunged into darkness again. She scuttled backwards on all fours, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

'Kirsty, it's all right,' whispered Wilson. "Just go with the flow. It'll soon be over.'

She sat back on her heels and held up her hands . She was shaking uncontrollably. Something flashed across her right palm and then she felt the pain and realised that he'd slashed her with the knife. She shuffled backwards, hyperventilating.

'Don't fight it, honey," he said. 'It'll be so much easier if you just let it happen.'

Kristy could feel blood trickling down her palms and the cut flesh was stinging so hard that her eyes were watering.

Lighting flashed again and she saw Wilson crouched in front of her, an evil grin on his face. He lashed out with the knife and Kirsty threw up her hands just as the cabin went dark again. The blade slashed across the fingers of her left hand. Again there was just a stinging sensation and she bit down on her lower lip, fighting the urge to scream.

Wilson laughed manically and she felt the knife bite into her left shoulder, ripping through her shirt and slicing through the skin. This time she screamed and flailed out her hands. Her left hand touched something and she grabbed for it. It was the blade of the knife, she realised, and as her fingers tightened on it. Wilson pulled the knife back and the serrated blade tore through her hand.

She fell back, screaming, then rolled onto her front and began to crawl away from him on her hands and knees. Her fingers scrabbled over the wooden floor and she gasped as she felt the handle of a knife brush against the little finger of her right hand. She grabbed it and gently reached out with her left hand to touch the blade. It was about six inches long. The blade felt wet and she shivered as she realised it was because it was covered in blood from the cuts on her hands.

'Ready or not, here I come," whispered Wilson in the darkness.

Kirsty held her breath and turned her head slowly from side to side, listening intently. She heard a slight scraping sound, his shoe scraping across the deck, maybe. And she could him breathing, slowly and evenly. She turned the knife around in her hand so that she was grasping the handle in her fist, the blade pointing down. She kicked off both her shoes.

She heard another scrape. He was moving towards her. She sat back on her heels and held her left hand out, fingers splayed, still holding her breath. Then lighting flashed again and she saw him standing over her, the knife raised high. Kirsty grunted and slammed the knife down and buried it in Wilson's left foot. Wilson screamed in pain as the cabin went dark again.

Kirsty jumped to her feet and pushed out with both hands. She connected with his chest and she kept pushing and felt him fall backwards. She screamed as loud as she could and heard him fall to the floor. She stepped on his chest but stumbled as he rolled over and she fell against the cabin wall. The boat rocked and she pushed herself off the wall and she rushed towards the hatch.

She heard Wilson grunt and then there was another flash of lightning but she didn't turn around. He still had the knife and she wasn't sure how much damage she'd done to his foot.

'Kirsty, don't leave angry!' shouted Wilson. He started to laugh as her fingers scrabbled at the hatch and pulled it back. She felt a nail break as she pushed it back as far as it would go. 'Kirsty!' shouted Wilson, but she forced herself not to look around.

She scrambled up the stairs and screamed as she felt the knife tear across her back. She lashed out with her left leg, kicking backwards, and her foot connected with something and she heard him fall back and hit the floor.

She was exhausted but the adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream kept her going and she fell onto the deck and crawled along it. The blood from her wounds was mixing with the rain as she scrambled along on all fours. She threw herself off the boat and onto the pier, pushed herself up and started to run, her bare feet slapping against the wooden slats like gunshots.

The Cover For Nightmare

Hodder are working on the cover for Nightmare, the third book in the Jack Nightingale trilogy. I think it looks great so far! The book is done and edited and will be in the shops next January. Hodder are now asking for two more Jack Nightingale novels, so I have my thinking cap on!

Money From A Woman In West Africa!

This just in -





FROM MRS MALAMA DEMEYA.

BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER,

BANK OF AFRICA (B.O.A)

Ouagadougou Burkina-Faso ( West Africa )



CONFIDENTIAL



My Name is MRS MALAMA DEMEYA. I am a banker by profession. I hail from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa. My reason for contacting you is to transfer an abandoned $27, 200, 000.00 USD to your account. The fund has been deposited by Late (MR. PAUL LOUIS from Paris, France) who died along with his entire family in 6th December 2003 in Air crash.



Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines but unfortunately we learn that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.



I want to present you to the Bank as the Next of Kin/beneficiary of this fund

It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.



I will not fail to bring to your notice this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer, please treat this business with utmost confidentiality and you should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter.



Please make sure you keep this transaction as your top secret and make it confidential till we receive the fund into the account that you will provide to the bank. Don't disclose it to any body, because the secrecy of this transaction is as well as the success of it.



I agree that 40% of this money will be for you as foreign partner in respect to the provision of a foreign account, and while 60% would be for me.



Further details of the transaction shall be forwarded to you as soon as I receive your return mail indicating your interest.



I am waiting to hear from you urgently.



Yours faithfully.



MRS MALAMA DEMEYA.