King_Cotton
2008-11-04, 19:06
"It was him! He did it! You did it-I saw you!"
"Yeah it was the one with the hair! Kick his lilly ass, Todd!"
Todd with the glasses approached the stranger. "Was it you? Were you the one."
"Depends," he replied in a lackadaisical Southern drawl.
"I oughtta slam you," shouted Todd.
"I wouldn't do that," said the Southerner, "Besides, I have protection."
The posse laughed at this.
"Protection, what protection could this drunk have on us? The wrath of God? St. Elmo's Fire? Bullshit, hit him good Todd."
"Yeah, he's asking for-
"Protection," interrupted the southerner, "comes in three forms. Raging down the barrel of a barking .38, grinning maniacally on the silver of a knife, or a flame carelessly spreading in malevolent ecstasy by the contrast of night. Depending what you do, y'all might find out which one is the best. And the worst."
After a wingbeat's pause, Todd said, "Are you threatening me?"
"Am I?" said the Southerner. Then, pausing to light a handrolled, filterless cigarette, he spat a leaf on the ground dangerously close to Todd's shoe. "Or are you threatening yourself."
Todd seemed to think about this for a moment, although its highly doubtful any thoughts of merit were strung up in his Bourbon-soaked brain, and then swung at the Southerner with jarring decisiveness. The man disappeared, or seemed to, but by the time Todd realized this he felt a burning in his throat. Then another in his side. One more in his gut. Todd the Belligerent felt a warmth like urine slip down his chest, down to his crotch and through his jeans. He looked up as the stranger reappeared in front of him, sighing.
"Son, you gotta realize you brought this upon yourself. And what I hope you also realize is that you just signed a death warrant for them friends of yours."
Todd didn't care. He simply fell over and went to sleep. Or something like that.
His friends, all three, were dead within a month.
---
The following are excerpts from the Herald Times. All three stories were published between October 28, 1956 and November 17, 1956.
A Nashville man was discovered dead today in a farmfield outside Smithsville with a bullet wound in his forehead. The man was clutching a .38 revolver and an empty bottle of whisky. The coroner estimated the man had a blood alcohol content of .31 before he died. The case was ruled a suicide on scene.
--
A newlywed Terra Haute man was discovered by his young wife in the mid morning last Saturday. She had gone out to the grocer's and returned to find him with a butcher's knife stuck through his heart. The investigation is still open, but law enforcement officials determined Martin Jameson, 26, was preparing breakfast when he slipped on spilt cooking oil, impaling himself on the blade. Condolences can be sent to 672 W. College Ave.
--
An automobile wreck was discovered by a Smithville preacher on highway 46 between Bloomington and Nashville. The wreckage was severely burned and only one passenger was found inside, 19 year old Darrel Hammermeister of Martinsville. Officers were able to piece together that that Hammermeister had left Mike's Dance Barn and Pool Hall shortly after breaking up with his fiance, Mary Sue Parker of Ellettsville. Although the accident occured sometime between 1 and 3 a.m. this morning, a firecrew was called to the scene to stabilize the yet-smoldering wreckage. There are no signs of foul play.
----
"Yeah it was the one with the hair! Kick his lilly ass, Todd!"
Todd with the glasses approached the stranger. "Was it you? Were you the one."
"Depends," he replied in a lackadaisical Southern drawl.
"I oughtta slam you," shouted Todd.
"I wouldn't do that," said the Southerner, "Besides, I have protection."
The posse laughed at this.
"Protection, what protection could this drunk have on us? The wrath of God? St. Elmo's Fire? Bullshit, hit him good Todd."
"Yeah, he's asking for-
"Protection," interrupted the southerner, "comes in three forms. Raging down the barrel of a barking .38, grinning maniacally on the silver of a knife, or a flame carelessly spreading in malevolent ecstasy by the contrast of night. Depending what you do, y'all might find out which one is the best. And the worst."
After a wingbeat's pause, Todd said, "Are you threatening me?"
"Am I?" said the Southerner. Then, pausing to light a handrolled, filterless cigarette, he spat a leaf on the ground dangerously close to Todd's shoe. "Or are you threatening yourself."
Todd seemed to think about this for a moment, although its highly doubtful any thoughts of merit were strung up in his Bourbon-soaked brain, and then swung at the Southerner with jarring decisiveness. The man disappeared, or seemed to, but by the time Todd realized this he felt a burning in his throat. Then another in his side. One more in his gut. Todd the Belligerent felt a warmth like urine slip down his chest, down to his crotch and through his jeans. He looked up as the stranger reappeared in front of him, sighing.
"Son, you gotta realize you brought this upon yourself. And what I hope you also realize is that you just signed a death warrant for them friends of yours."
Todd didn't care. He simply fell over and went to sleep. Or something like that.
His friends, all three, were dead within a month.
---
The following are excerpts from the Herald Times. All three stories were published between October 28, 1956 and November 17, 1956.
A Nashville man was discovered dead today in a farmfield outside Smithsville with a bullet wound in his forehead. The man was clutching a .38 revolver and an empty bottle of whisky. The coroner estimated the man had a blood alcohol content of .31 before he died. The case was ruled a suicide on scene.
--
A newlywed Terra Haute man was discovered by his young wife in the mid morning last Saturday. She had gone out to the grocer's and returned to find him with a butcher's knife stuck through his heart. The investigation is still open, but law enforcement officials determined Martin Jameson, 26, was preparing breakfast when he slipped on spilt cooking oil, impaling himself on the blade. Condolences can be sent to 672 W. College Ave.
--
An automobile wreck was discovered by a Smithville preacher on highway 46 between Bloomington and Nashville. The wreckage was severely burned and only one passenger was found inside, 19 year old Darrel Hammermeister of Martinsville. Officers were able to piece together that that Hammermeister had left Mike's Dance Barn and Pool Hall shortly after breaking up with his fiance, Mary Sue Parker of Ellettsville. Although the accident occured sometime between 1 and 3 a.m. this morning, a firecrew was called to the scene to stabilize the yet-smoldering wreckage. There are no signs of foul play.
----