Unfinished Business

"Unfinished Business" is a short Cthulhu Mythos story by American author Ron Shiflet.
== Synopsis ==
A man named Balmer comes into the possession of a pair of authentic Pickman paintings and plans to launch an exhibition before selling them. To provide security he hires private detective Wade Kearney to watch the artwork overnight.
On his first night's watch, Kearney tackles a strange creature resembling those in the paintings which is trying to enter the gallery, although it runs off after being shot. Meanwhile, Balmer receives the first of a series of phone calls threatening him with death if he does not destroy the paintings. 
On the third night, Balmer has become so disturbed by the calls that he decides to spend the night at the gallery with Kearney for protection. In the early hours, a pack of ghouls led by Richard Upton Pickman himself break into the building, kill Balmer and destroy the paintings.
== Characters ==
* Wade Kearney, a private investigator.
* Balmer, a profiteer looking for a big score.
* Joe Brennan, an elderly book seller.
* Richard Upton Pickman, a former artist who has devolved into a very special ghoul.
== Publication History ==
"Unfinished Business" was first published in the anthology Hardboiled Cthulhu in July 2006. It later appeared in Lovecraft's Disciples #12 in May 2008, and was included in the collection of Shiflet's own work They Thrive in Darkness: Mythos and Madness in 2018.
Category:Expanded Mythos Works
Category:Ron Shiflet works