Welcome to the Steemit Story Chain - 'The Absent Gentleman'

Good afternoon all you great people of Steemit I hope you are doing good. It's time again for a new Steemit Story Chain and I am inviting you all to come and write a part of a story I will start. There are 100 Whaleshares on offer for the Steemer who writes the most original and engaging part of the story.

I would like to say a massive thank you to all of those who contributed to the last story chain, particularly Hive account@byn, Hive account@yardley-elbert, Hive account@dremingirwin, Hive account@wandrnrose7 and Hive account@sayee. You all wrote very interesting parts and you all prove that we have some very talented writers here on the Steemit platform. However, there can only be one winner and me and my co-judge Hive account@nikflossus have now decided on the winning entry.

Hive account@yardley-elbert

You demonstrated nice tight writing with interesting dialogue, and you switched effectively from slow introspection to fast paced action. The runner up was Hive account@wandrnrose7 who wrote a good alternative introduction, low key and believable with an intriguing twist at the end. Shortly behind was Hive account@dreamingirwin who, as usual, adopted solid action writing using a 'gumshoe' detective writing style, which worked nicely.

The winner, Hive account@yardley-elbert, has won 100 Whaleshares. Please reply with your Bitshares account information and I will send the Whaleshares to your account immediately. Enjoy! If you don't have an account don't worry it's very simple and completely free to set one up here - https://bitshares.openledger.info/?r=akrid-1.

A reminder of the winning entry is featured below.

Part 3

I spent the rest of the day in a blur of anxiety, checking my pocket for the box every few minutes and and making endless clerical errors as I worried about the large briefcase of cash I was resting my feet on, under my desk. Nothing even remotely exciting ever happened to me. In fact my life seemed to have barely any drama at all these days, so when my boss called me in to talk about my promotion I was so nervous I could barely speak in whole sentences.

And then suddenly it was 5 o clock and I was free. I hurried home, skipping the bus and instead taking the briefcase to the toilet, locking myself in a cubicle and taking a crisp twenty pound note out of the briefcase to pay for a taxi.

Feeling very much like a spy I asked the taxi to stop two streets away from my house. I didn't want to be followed. From there I got my key ready in my hand and walked briskly home with my head down. I opened the door, stepped inside, closed it behind me, locked the door and bolted it. I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to head for the kitchen when someone behind me spoke.

'Excuse me love,' said a man's voice,' Sorry to startle you. But you're going to need to put that briefcase down.'

I turned to see a balding man with a kind face step out of my dining room. He was still wearing his coat. Quickly I reached for the door handle.

'Lads,' he said, almost casually. Four black clad men in masks burst out of my kitchen and fanned out behind the man, each one keeping a pistol pointed at my head.

'Also,' he said, smiling apologetically, 'we're going to need that... thingy you've got in your pocket.'

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Right then let's move on to this week's new story chain entitled The Absent Gentleman. If you want to submit an entry then first upvote and resteem this post. I have written the first part of the story. Then you simply use the comment box below to develop the story in whatever way and style you desire. Be as creative and original as you can to help create a very compelling story. And have fun with it! Change genres if you want to. It's entirely up to you. A short paragraph or two is all we are after. And remember to number which part of the story you are writing.

This contest is sponsored by Whaleshares and I owe a big thank you to Hive account@akrid and Hive account@officialfuzzy. I would also like to thank Hive account@blocktrades for making Whaleshares possible. There is 100 Whaleshares for the winning entry. If you would like to learn more about Whaleshares and how they can significantly increase your post rewards please visit https://steemit.com/whaleshares/@eirik/guide-on-how-to-use-whaleshares-updated-version where Hive account@eirik will gladly explain more to you.

The hugely talented Hive account@nikflossus will be helping me decide which one of your contributions is worthy of the winning prize. We are looking for:

• A strong sense of imagination
• Creative intelligence
• Originality
• Narrative fluidity (ensuring the story chain links smoothly)
• Use of language, grammar and syntax (we need to understand what you're saying!)

The winner will be announced in a week's time. A new post will be published then announcing the winner along with a new story chain.

Here is part one of The Absent Gentleman

It made no difference what day of the week it was, or what time of the day. He would always be there. I must have walked passed that house a thousand times, probably more and he would still be there. Just sat at that table, nothing on the table and staring at nothing. I could never discern the expression on his face. There seemed to be a melancholy about him, but it wasn't obvious. The house was old and delapidated. He was old but there was life in him. I had always been tempted to make up a reason so I could knock on his door and check if he was alright, but I just never found the inclination to do it. Did he spend his whole day just sitting there? I never saw anyone else in the house, just him. One sunny afternoon I was walking to the shops to get some groceries. As usual there he was, sitting in his own space, musing as always. Then to my surprise he looked up at me, he looked me right in the eyes and mouthed the words....