Murder Returns... To a Small Town (eBook)

Alan E. Losure (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Yorkshire Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-948282-70-3 (ISBN)

Infos

The note read: Leviticus 24:15-16 'Say to the Israelites: If anyone curses his God he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death.' The entire assembly must stone him. Ezekiel 16: 35 'Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.'

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Maggie O'Shea was in total panic having discovered early this morning, a warning note laid by the doorway with a rock holding it from blowing away. Though moisture had made some of the words blur, Maggie had no difficulty understanding a threat when she saw it. By now everyone in town knew of The 13th Disciple and that he backs up his threats with murder.

Textauszug

Chapter 2

A Decision to be Made

Gas City Mayor, Davis Huffman, walked anxiously along the sidewalk as he viewed the evening skyline in the west. Today had been a beautiful and warm September day, but by late afternoon, gray storm clouds were approaching and soon the storm itself would arrive. Pulling out his pocket watch and checking the time, Mayor Huffman knew that he was running early for the monthly city council meeting. He was running early on purpose. Naturally, he wanted to be in place before the rainstorms began, but more importantly, he desired to spend some much needed time alone in order to think.

Do I really want to run for Mayor again? he wondered. Approaching the beautiful three-story masonry Mississinewa Hotel, the Mayor entered and proceeded to the makeshift city room that the hotel seemed pleased to lease out to the city for its official uses. Some day we need to build us a city hall, he thought.

Entering the meeting room, Huffman lit the gas lighting fixtures and took up his seat in the center of the long business table that he shared with the five ward councilmen and the secretary. Opening his briefcase, he removed his notes for tonight’s meeting and began to review the evening’s agenda. Huffman then quickly realized that he could not concentrate on anything other than the question that had dogged him for weeks.

Should I run for re-election as Mayor or step aside and allow another to fill my place?

One way or another, he would have to make an announcement tonight since the November elections were only two months away. He owed it to his party to make a decision. Either he would be their candidate or another must be chosen to run against the already announced Councilman Michael Davidson who represented the other political party.

Leaning back into his wooden chair, Huffman’s thoughts began to drift back in time two years ago to 1892. The little town of Harrisburg, Indiana (population of 150) had decided to incorporate and become a city, built on the huge natural gas supply discovered only a few years earlier. A city with a new and exciting name; Gas City. What else could it be called anyway? Natural gas meant one thing and that was overnight prosperity for everyone. Factory after factory arrived, with the promised unlimited supplies of free natural gas for their every need. With the factories came men and families looking to make their own futures brighter. All of this had not come without some public opposition. Many people deeply resented any changes, especially in the name of the town they had known so well since 1867. Much more was involved than simply changing a name and all of that had to be clearly explained to the voting public.

A town or village is an unincorporated community with no governmental powers or services. To become a city, a modern city, is to become a defined governmental entity. It then provides local governmental services such as a Mayor, councilmen, treasurer, judge or ‘squire, and many official positions. In other words, it becomes a self-contained body that is capable of handling most issues without requiring outside assistance. But in the end, the daily growing population’s vote tallied yes two-hundred-twenty in favor of becoming a city and forty-five voted no. Gas City then became its new name. Now, only two years later, the city boasted a population of over thirty-three hundred people, and Huffman expected it to reach twenty-five thousand one day when his grandson would become its elected Mayor.

Looking back, Huffman was proud of his role in all of this but it had come at a great price. The madman who had tried twice to kill him had been a man that he had once considered a close friend who was soon to be hung for his crimes. This was never too far from his thoughts. Many a night he awoke with terrible nightmares, reliving those horrible moments over and over again as the bullets zipped past his head. He could only thank the young Marshal and his deputies for preventing his own murder. Most people had no idea what it’s like to be hunted like an animal, and the assassin’s bullet had come so very close to killing him… twice. Why would anyone put themselves in a public spotlight that invites the insane to single them out for killing? Still, he was alive and well, thanks to the quick actions of Marshal Justin Blake and his deputies.

They were also able to end the White Cap murders and had driven out a well-orchestrated criminal element operating within the city. Maybe, working together as a team, the elected officials of Gas City were beginning to make a difference. Maybe another term as mayor wouldn’t be so bad? Maybe the worst has now passed, and we can continue to build upon all of our good work? This is not the time to cut and run but to remain firm and finish the work ahead. Huffman felt that he had made the final personal decision and would make his awaited announcement at tonight’s public meeting.

For the last two weeks, the council had appointed Davis Huffman to fill in as the temporary ‘squire or, as others called him, judge or justice of the peace. So far, Huffman had married two couples and sentenced a few drunks and domestic disturbances to a few days in the city jail. It was the thought of handling a serious case that frightened him nearly to death. Having no legal training whatsoever, Huffman had scoffed at the very idea that he should fill in temporarily until a suitable ‘squire could be appointed before the November elections.

One local man would be perfect for the job but he had rejected the idea of leaving his law practice to become the city ‘squire. Honest as the day was long, Hugh Williamson was the perfect choice and everyone but him knew it. It had taken quite a bit of mild arm twisting, but finally, Williamson had realized the futility of avoiding it any longer and had agreed to appear before the council tonight to throw his hat into the political ring.

He would serve out the prior ‘squire’s time and then officially run for the position during the November elections. Hearing a door open, Huffman was brought out of his deep concentration as a few people began to filter into the room. The Mayor then returned to studying tonight’s busy agenda.

Off duty, Marshal Justin Blake felt it very necessary to appear before the council tonight to make his request to hire two additional deputies. With his friends Wilbert Vance and old Zeke Miller working nights, Justin was left to fend for himself during the daytime. More manpower was clearly needed in order to provide the city with at least one officer on duty at all times. Five officers would allow for this, but getting the city council to agree would take some skilled salesmanship on his part. At the start of the meeting, Mayor Huffman announced his candidacy to run for another term.

Attorney Hugh Williamson was introduced as the new ‘squire and was sworn in to take office immediately. Then it was Justin’s turn to present his case. He felt he had pretty well covered all of his bases but he saw that Councilman Davidson would be his chief opponent. Davidson stated that the city could not afford two full-time deputies and suggested a full and part-time fill-in position instead. Justin, though unhappy, felt that he could accept this concept… for now… and maybe later he could push for the fill-in position to be upgraded to full-time.

At the conclusion of the public meeting, Justin remained in order to welcome the new ‘squire. “Congratulations, Mr. Williamson. I look forward to working with you,” he told him as the men shook hands.

“Same goes for me, Marshal. Congratulations on your promotion, too. I think we will make a good team in enforcing law and order,” replied the new ‘squire. “Any leads on today’s terrible murder?”

“I wish that I could say yes. Perhaps it was just a passing tramp who tracked him down to settle the score for an old grievance? We’ll keep after it, sir, and I hope to have the man appearing before you soon. Good night.”

As Justin walked back to his house, he began running possible names through his head for the newly authorized positions. This was going to be more difficult than he originally thought. I’ll come into the office early in the morning to brief the guys on the killing and see if they have any ideas on hiring these new men, he thought. Entering the small but well-built home that had been given to him by a dear friend in his will, Justin grabbed an apple out of a bowl of fruit sitting upon his kitchen table. He then proceeded outside to sit on the front porch and relax. He found that he did his best thinking while sitting outside in his favorite rocker. There was much to consider now, and Justin Blake had all the time in the world tonight to think. Justin then noticed a familiar face approaching.

“I hoped I could find you tonight, Marshal,” Doctor Baxter said.

“Pull up a chair and sit a spell, Doc. What’s on your mind?”

“I found this letter in the rear pocket of the murdered man. I thought you should see it tonight since it might be very important.”

Justin motioned for Doc to follow him as they entered and Justin lit an oil lamp. Justin read it several times before commenting. “This fits right in with the killers’ bloody message on the wall. Another crazy killer on the loose is just what we need, and this one appears to be God’s messenger of death.” With a goodbye...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.3.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• ISBN-10: 1-948282-70-4 / 1948282704
• ISBN-13: 978-1-948282-70-3 / 9781948282703