Death Comes Calling (eBook)

... in a Small Town

Alan E. Losure (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Yorkshire Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-949231-08-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Death Comes Calling... in a small town is the exciting final novel in the Gas City, Indiana series.

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In the year 1896 pure evil stalked the land: Tom and Jack Milford were soon to be rich men by their standards. "e;Please,"e; the farm wife begged, "e;Don't hit my husband anymore. I'll tell... I'll tell,"e; she screamed. "e;There's a loose floor board under the table and a cash box is hidden under it. Please tell me my husband is alright!"e;Knowing that her husband was already dead, Jack lied, "e;He'll be alright now that you've told us about the money."e;Assured that this was all the family possessed, it was now time to have a little more fun. Shoving the chair with Mrs. Johnston now securely tied up to the front of the fireplace, Jack forced the bottom legs of the chair with her legs and bare feet into the flames...

Textauszug

Chapter 1

January 8, 1896- Marion, Indiana, Near Midnight

The cold, wet snow continued to fall as both men trudged silently onward toward tonight’s house of entertainment. Patsy’s was a small local establishment where men of color could drink their fill of home-made gin and freely mingle with soiled doves for any personal pleasure they can afford. From the outside, Patsy’s looked like any other run-down two-story house located in the housing development on the east-side of the railroad tracks. Often referred to as Johnstown by the Negro population living there, it was a constant reminder to all that the races of mankind remain segregated. The older folks accepted this unwritten law as the way it had always been, while the younger ones hoped that the day might come when their children would be free to live wherever they can afford to live. Too many though, felt that day might be a hundred years or even further away. Only time will tell if this wish would one day come to pass.

Both men, cold but determined, continued their onward trek. They were brothers, recently released from a three-year jail sentence for armed robbery. They now lived in a small run-down shack towards the rear-section of Johnstown. Just for fun and spite, the brothers threatened the poor old home owner with a severe beating if he didn’t allow them free use of the rental property. Terrified, the old man had no choice but to give in. It was not like the white police force would come to his aid in this matter. Law enforcement’s main concerns lay on the other side of the tracks and within their own segregated white neighborhoods. That’s just the way things are, anyway.

The brothers were not new to Marion, having been born here but then raised by their religious elderly Negro grandmother. Their mother was a soiled dove, who lived hand-to-mouth wherever she could, eventually dying a hard, cruel, death at a very early age when the boys were quite young. That was when their grandmother took both of her grandsons in and tried her very best to provide a loving home life with a solid faith-based structure. She had failed to save her daughter from the depths of sin and, try as she might, her efforts proved unsuccessful with her grandsons as well. Both boys, Tom and Jack Milford, would have nothing to do with the straight and narrow pathway of life. Each had learned very early on that they were different and that the only person each boy could fully rely upon was the other. Fighting became a daily occurrence for them, both on their way to school, and returning from it. Crime seemed their only solution and it came easy to them. Mercifully, many might say, their grandmother departed to her own Heavenly reward while they were away in jail. Many of her friends said that the kindly old woman no doubt died of a broken heart. Perhaps that was true and God simply spared her from what’s to come.

The brothers were actually twins, but not of the typical type of twins people normally associated of brothers. Each boy had different fathers and theirs was a very rare medical condition. What made these young boys stand out in a crowd as quite different was the fact that Tom Milford was white and his twin brother Jack was Negro. Soon they were known locally only by the nickname they learned to hate: Salt and Pepper. Each boy grew up with a large chip on his shoulder and a feeling that he would never get a fair opportunity in life. Together, they needed to make their own way, using their own rules, and fists, as they go. By the age of nine, they had already experienced run-ins with the local Marion police force. Stealing from those more fortunate than themselves became second-nature to both boys. Each also possessed a cruel streak and enjoyed tormenting small animals, or even classmates, for fun. Soon, they were feared within their own community by young and old alike.

From an early age, Tom Milford knew that Jack would get them into scrapes and it was normally up to him to get them out of trouble. When the brothers were just thirteen, for example, it was Jack that held-up that tramp one night who had wandered into Johnstown.

The old man really didn’t have much to offer them when Jack came up from behind him and placed a razor to the shaking man’s throat. After acquiring what little was in the tramp’s pockets, Jack, out of pure meanness, sliced open the mans jugular vein. The startled tramp quickly bled to death before Jack’s eyes. Instead of showing great remorse for his horrible action, Jack enjoyed the moment and the power he now possessed over life and death. It was Tom who came to his brother’s aid, blaming the crime on an innocent tramp who was actually blocks away during the murder. The man was arrested and taken away to pay for the terrible act that his brother had actually committed. This was the way of the Salt and Pepper Brothers.

Each quit school in the eighth grade to pursue his own way in life. The very thought of going to school, holding a job, or becoming a respected member of the community, seemed a ridiculous idea to both brothers. Working a steady low-paying job was for chumps, anyway. Taking whatever they wanted and enjoying life, was their day-to-day plan. Live for today and let the ‘morrow take care of itself. For several years, their luck held out until finally, it failed them as they were captured and jailed in Wabash, Indiana for robbing a dry goods store with a small stolen handgun. Now, at last free, they have returned home to Marion and were anxious to make up for lost time and a little pay-back.

Arriving at the establishment’s front door, they entered bold-as-brass as if they owned the joint. Three working girls were drinking gin with their customers as every eye in the room gazed upon the newcomers. The brothers were now well known, and feared, at Patsy’s, having enjoyed its pleasurable activities several nights before. Everyone also knew to watch what they said at this point as each brother was without fear, and quick to take offense. Each carried his own razor, and was not afraid to use it.

“Welcome back,” came an unconvincing voice from the back of the room. It was the lady who called herself Patsy, the owner and madam who looked out the best she could for her working girls. “Kick the snow off your boots, boys, and come set next to the stove and warm up,” she told them. “Tiny, take their coats and bring our guests something to drink.” The man known as Tiny served drinks to Patsy’s customers and broke up fights when needed. His nick-name Tiny was more of a joke, as the man was anything but small and quite capable of handling himself in a fight. Occasionally, his services were required when men got too rowdy or began fighting over the same girl. Patsy has a total of six soiled doves working for her with four on duty during the evenings while two had their evening off.

“Where is Veronica?” Jack Milford asked. “Tell her I’m here and I ain’t gonna wait,” he stated to Patsy, in a voice forceful enough to be taken as a demand.

“She’s with another client right now,” Patsy said, “But I’m sure one of the other girls would be happy to oblige you, Sir.”

Without any further comment, Jack Milford pushed Patsy to the side and began climbing the stairs to the second floor. “You can’t go up there now!” she shouted as Jack’s brother Tom stepped between the stairs and the owner, brandishing his own razor. That certainly got everyone’s attention, including Tiny who came to an abrupt halt behind Patsy.

“You just stay where you are and nobody’s gonna get sliced open,” Tom instructed. The other customers who were drinking with the girls downstairs quickly decided they had urgent business elsewhere, grabbed their coats, and fled. The frightened girls then huddled together and remained very quiet with their eyes wide with fear.

Jack Milford reached the top of the stairs and kicked open Veronica’s bedroom door. “Hey dude!” came a loud shout from the bed. “I paid fer dis time. Gets out or I’ll toss ya out of the window!” Jack Milford reached into the bed and pulled the startled naked man up by the throat. He then smoothly flicked-open his razor and sliced open the man’s exposed stomach. Blood began gushing forth as the startled man realized he was severely injured. Veronica began screaming as the bleeding man made a grabbing gesture for his injured stomach. Jack Milford remained holding him by the neck and with a violent motion, shoved the man through the upstairs glass window. Glass shattered as the unfortunate injured man tumbled helplessly out the window, striking a snow drift and remained deeply embedded in it as a large pool of blood soaked into the snow.

Turning to the terrified woman, Jack said, “Next time I come here, you cum ah runnin’. Hear me woman?” The terrified girl jerked the sheets up over her head as she continued to scream. Hearing the screams and sounds of broken glass, Tiny made an attempt to advance up the stairway but suddenly felt a terrific pain as Tom’s razor slice his left arm wide open. Screaming, Tiny backed away quickly and grabbed a near-by towel to cover the severely bleeding wound. “I’ll kill you fer that!”...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.6.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 1-949231-08-9 / 1949231089
• ISBN-13: 978-1-949231-08-3 / 9781949231083