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The Darkness 1
Episode Five
concluded with:
. . . He placed two
fingers on Jesse Monahan’s neck, feeling for a pulse that wasn’t there. As he
withdrew his hand, he noticed blood on the sleeve of his shirt. His arm had
brushed the gambler’s chest where a large knife protruded.
A rattling sound came from inside
the office. The door moved outward a few inches and the black cat slithered
into the hallway. The animal’s body rose into a hunched position and the cat
hissed; its eyes seemed to flame at the man crouched over the corpse.
Bart dashed from the house in a
panicked frenzy. He ran into town, passed a saloon and headed directly for the
sheriff’s office, which was locked. For the second time in less than an hour,
he pounded on a door.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming.”
Sheriff Buford Miley opened the door
in sock feet. His eyes gleamed with surprise. “Bart McRae. Heard you’d been
released.”
McRae stood immobile, unable to
speak.
“What’s wrong with you?” the sheriff
asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Episode Six
***
Sheriff
Miley finished hammering a new wanted circular onto the wall of his office as
he spoke to the two men who emerged from the cell area. “How’d the meetin’ go?”
“Mr. McRae
told us everything he told the jury,” Bertram Lowrie replied crisply. “I’m
convinced of the veracity of his statements.”
Buford
Miley looked a bit confused. “Yeah. I feel sorta the same way myself.”
“Sheriff, I
know you’re a busy man but could we trouble you with a few questions?” Rance
Dehner smiled and appeared as friendly as he could. Working with his boss,
Bertram Lowrie, could be difficult. Bertram’s aristocratic ways often put
people on edge. Rance occasionally had to sand those edges.
The sheriff
did look a bit relieved as he tossed the hammer onto the desk. “Sure, go
ahead.”
“I
understand Jameson’s doctor is out of town right now. Could you give me the
name of the man who buried Adrian Monahan?”
Sheriff
Miley laughed, shaking both of his chins. Miley’s weight took him past the
“heavyset” description. Dehner wondered how fast the lawman could move in an
emergency.
“I’m the
one who buried both Monahans, Adrian and Jesse.”
“And why is
that?” Bertram asked.
“That’s a
little job I got on the side. Bein’ sheriff don’t pay much, so I do the buryin’
‘round here. Adrian has a brother in San Diego
“Did
Phineas attend the funeral?” Dehner asked.
“Na. Too
old. Too sick.”
“When did
you receive payment for the execution of your duties in regard to the remains
of Adrian Monahan?” Lowrie asked.
“Ah, well…”
“When did
you receive the money from San Diego
“Oh. Guess
it was ‘bout three weeks or so after I buried Adrian
“Did anyone
write to Phineas about Jesse being murdered?”
“I did!
Found the address of the post office in San Diego layin’ on Jesse’s desk, along
with some cards. The buryin’ business ain’t the sure thing I thought it would
be. Sometimes I end up puttin’ a body in the ground and don’t get paid nothin’.
It ain’t right.”
“Indeed,
that is quite an injustice,” Lowrie couldn’t keep the impatience from his
voice. “Could you describe the wound to Adrian Monahan’s head?”
The lawman
shrugged his shoulders. “The old man put it there hisself.”
“Yes”
Dehner remained friendly as his boss pressed his lips together. “But could you
describe the wound?”
“Nothin’ to
describe.”
“What do
you mean?”
“The head
was pretty much gone. Guess that’s what happens when you try to eat the barrel
of a Colt .44.” Buford Miley laughed hard at his own joke. Dehner laughed along
politely. Lowrie stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow: Episode
seven of The Darkness
