Frustrated Local Writer -
2013 Columns
December, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter Seven
Stu leaned against the car and looked at the house, wishing someone would come out and say something. Wished Jenkins would come out and start a fight. He felt like fighting. She had taken him along farther than she realized. He toyed with the idea of going in for a drink or even going for another swim or a run.
November, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter Six
What did it do to Joyce, Reed's daughter, Stu wondered, a girl raised without a mother, Reed at the office day and night, putting in the kind of hours required by Prudhomme. Or Reed required of himself. Of course, because of the difference in their ages Stu did not know Reed, the man—only Reed, the loyal employee. Once Stu had asked his father what had happened to Joyce's mother. What he really wanted to know was what had happened to his own mother, but Prudhomme wasn't going to tell him.
October, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter Five
Which to do first, talk to the police or to his uncles, the twins. Stu thought the police ought to be first, but he wasn't looking forward to it. What evidence did he have that Prudhomme was murdered?
September, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter Four
No time to paint today, and just as well because he didn' t feel like painting. Some artist he was. He even felt relieved because he had an excuse for not picking up a brush. He was off to George' s cottage. Tomorrow he would find another excuse not to paint at least as good. Stu felt oddly relieved but guilty at being relieved because another day would pass without giving him an excuse not to force himself to pick up his brushes, apply paint to canvas and realize once again that he had failed to produce a masterpiece. No time now to reflect on his lack of talent, or ambition. Besides, he didn' t want to think about how he had changed, with Prudhomme' s death as the catalyst.
August, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter Three
Again, Sgt. Hinckley interrupted his plans by phoning and asking him to come down to the station. This time he wanted Stu to view a lineup, eight men, one of whom they hoped might be the attacker. "How is she, the girl?" Stu asked. "I don't even know her name." He thought the look Hinckley gave him was a little off. "What?"
July, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter Two
Before he could call Sharon and make an appointment to see her, the phone rang.
"Sgt. Hinckley." The man waited for Stu to acknowledge him.
"Hinckley," Stu repeated. The name was familiar. If he was who Stu thought he was, he hadn't thought of him in a long time. "You're a police officer now?"
"So you remember me," he said.
June, 2013 The Evil Men Do Chapter One
Something woke him. Not the clock radio. He kept his eyes closed, hoping not to hear the sound again, willing away the possibility that it was happening again. Here, in this peaceful place. The land had become the subject of controversy now between developers and environmentalists, but it had never been the scene of violence, of a rape. Yet the crime had occurred twice already. He rolled over in bed, listening to the sound of insects and frogs outside his window, hoping he had been dreaming, fearing he would hear that other sound again, dreading what it meant. He opened his eyes. The sky was still dark, but beyond the green ribbon that was the marsh, invisible now, red tinged the black water. "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." A storm was brewing.
May, 2013 The Neighbor
We invited the neighbors, new and old, to our Hallowe'en party. Sonia Beaufort hemmed and hawed over the phone, finally apologizing for taking so long to tell me why she called. "Did you invite Helen?" she asked. "Who lives across the street from me?"
April, 2013 Risk
By the time I get out of the shower he is awake. "I'll be home late," I say. He says okay. As always, I am curious. "What do you do all day?"
March, 2013 The Breakup
We were in Toronto to evaluate some of the restaurants in the area. We'd flown up the day before — Ed, a tall, quiet young man with sandy hair long enough to flop into his eyes, and Sally, in her 30's, pretty, and plump. Bruce had a crush on her.
"I come from Omaha," Ed told us. "Someday I'd like to move back. Permanently. My dad's a doctor, so's my two brothers. They're adopted. My parents thought they'd never have children. Then I came along. I had a great childhood, you can imagine. Lollipop Land all the way.
February, 2013 Hairspray
She stands outside the door holding a can of hairspray. "Is this yours?" she asks. I say no. "Somebody threw it in the incinerator. You're not supposed to throw spray cans in the incinerator. They can explode."
"I don't use hair spray."
"Everybody uses hair spray."
January, 2013 Goodbye!
Regina stood in the bedroom doorway, arms folded. Her daughter, Marguerite, should have been through dressing by now. "Hurry up," Regina said."Why can't we take the train?" Marguerite grumbled. "I hate the bus. The fumes make me sick." "Me too," Regina acknowledged, "but it's cheap. The train costs too much."
December, 2012 The Girl Next Door
No one was renting the room next to mine, so I had gotten into the habit of leaving open the door to the connecting bathroom. Reading in bed one night, I heard a knock. A woman's voice asked, "Is it all right if I close the door?"
I jumped out of bed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know anyone was there."
"I just moved in."r
November, 2012 Palooka
You better get rid of that mutt. Next time I find him on my property, I’ll shoot him, and that’s a promise!” He leaned closer and poked his finger into Sam’s chest. Palooka growled and took a step forward. Sam’s neighbor moved back a step.