sheriff’s sudden seriousness, James run his fingers through his dark curls before answering.
“Ain’t had a monkey on my back for a while now, Hoss. Still pissed off and I get a little antsy once in a while, but I ain’t gonna let it run me crazy, that’s for sure,” James replied, getting into the other barber chair as Junior Parker finished with Jesse Vice.
Jesse looked back at James as he was headed out the door and said, “See ya later son, and be sure to tell your mama and daddy we said hello,” Jesse then nodded to Joshua adding, “Good to see you too, Sheriff.”
“Will do, Uncle Jesse, good seeing you too,” James replied, before focusing his attention back to Stokes. Joshua acknowledged Jesse’s goodbye with a nodding gesture.
They both knew what Joshua was referring to, and although it had been nearly ten years, neither one had forgotten nor had they discussed it in a while.
So why is Joshua bringing this shit up now, James wondered, and then thought the heck with it, and asked him why he brought it up.
“When we get through here, we need to take a little ride. I got something I want to show you,” Stokes said, all the earlier merriment gone from his eyes.
Buck and Junior Parker glanced at each other, but both knew not to ask any questions. The father and son team had heard many things while they cut hair and shaved men in their shop there in the heart of Semmes. They usually made small talk and listened; knowing that was what was expected of them. They never offered an opinion, unless asked, and they were not asked.
Twenty minutes later, Sheriff Stokes and James Fortner walked out of the barbershop together. James climbed into the patrol car with him and they drove around to the elementary school and parked under the shade of a large live oak.
Joshua reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, before offering one to James.
“Well, you said you had something you wanted to show me,” James said, curious as to why all of a sudden, Stokes wanted to bring up those mutilations that happened a few years earlier.
“I think” Stokes said, reaching into a document folder and pulling out some Polaroid’s, “That our goat molesters have graduated to larger game,” he said, handing James the pictures.
“Da’yum” James exclaimed, looking at the pictures of the murdered women. “Shit fire! Are these for real?” he asked, not wanting to believe his eyes.
“Hell yeah they’re real. Nobody but us in law enforcement is supposed to see these, but I got me a theory I need to explore. Especially after I run into you and remembered your goats.”
“Well, whoever did that to my goats is sick in the head and if they’re now doing it to womenfolk, then they’re really some sick ass fuckers.”
“I know it made you plumb sick to come home and find your goats killed and mutilated like they was. I hated to bring it back up, but we never solved who did that to those goats of yours.
You know, we always figured it was some of them devil worshiping youngsters; the one’s that was having séances and sacrifices in the cemeteries back around that time. Heck it seemed like every weekend we had to investigate some sort of shenanigans. There was everything from sacrifices to crypt robbing going on back then.
I was wondering if you had developed a theory of your own, as to whom it might have been that done that to your goats. Any information you can remember or anyone you might suspect of doing that to your goats, counts, no matter how insignificant, it or they may have seemed at the time. They could have been young, old, or in between. No one should get past your scrutiny. Now think about it, Hook,” Stokes suggested earnestly.
“Well, you know, there were several who I thought it could’ve been back then, but heck Joshua, they was just boys, maybe ten, eleven years old or so. I never… well, I don’t know what to say,” James mumbled.
“They cut your goats
“Ain’t had a monkey on my back for a while now, Hoss. Still pissed off and I get a little antsy once in a while, but I ain’t gonna let it run me crazy, that’s for sure,” James replied, getting into the other barber chair as Junior Parker finished with Jesse Vice.
Jesse looked back at James as he was headed out the door and said, “See ya later son, and be sure to tell your mama and daddy we said hello,” Jesse then nodded to Joshua adding, “Good to see you too, Sheriff.”
“Will do, Uncle Jesse, good seeing you too,” James replied, before focusing his attention back to Stokes. Joshua acknowledged Jesse’s goodbye with a nodding gesture.
They both knew what Joshua was referring to, and although it had been nearly ten years, neither one had forgotten nor had they discussed it in a while.
So why is Joshua bringing this shit up now, James wondered, and then thought the heck with it, and asked him why he brought it up.
“When we get through here, we need to take a little ride. I got something I want to show you,” Stokes said, all the earlier merriment gone from his eyes.
Buck and Junior Parker glanced at each other, but both knew not to ask any questions. The father and son team had heard many things while they cut hair and shaved men in their shop there in the heart of Semmes. They usually made small talk and listened; knowing that was what was expected of them. They never offered an opinion, unless asked, and they were not asked.
Twenty minutes later, Sheriff Stokes and James Fortner walked out of the barbershop together. James climbed into the patrol car with him and they drove around to the elementary school and parked under the shade of a large live oak.
Joshua reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, before offering one to James.
“Well, you said you had something you wanted to show me,” James said, curious as to why all of a sudden, Stokes wanted to bring up those mutilations that happened a few years earlier.
“I think” Stokes said, reaching into a document folder and pulling out some Polaroid’s, “That our goat molesters have graduated to larger game,” he said, handing James the pictures.
“Da’yum” James exclaimed, looking at the pictures of the murdered women. “Shit fire! Are these for real?” he asked, not wanting to believe his eyes.
“Hell yeah they’re real. Nobody but us in law enforcement is supposed to see these, but I got me a theory I need to explore. Especially after I run into you and remembered your goats.”
“Well, whoever did that to my goats is sick in the head and if they’re now doing it to womenfolk, then they’re really some sick ass fuckers.”
“I know it made you plumb sick to come home and find your goats killed and mutilated like they was. I hated to bring it back up, but we never solved who did that to those goats of yours.
You know, we always figured it was some of them devil worshiping youngsters; the one’s that was having séances and sacrifices in the cemeteries back around that time. Heck it seemed like every weekend we had to investigate some sort of shenanigans. There was everything from sacrifices to crypt robbing going on back then.
I was wondering if you had developed a theory of your own, as to whom it might have been that done that to your goats. Any information you can remember or anyone you might suspect of doing that to your goats, counts, no matter how insignificant, it or they may have seemed at the time. They could have been young, old, or in between. No one should get past your scrutiny. Now think about it, Hook,” Stokes suggested earnestly.
“Well, you know, there were several who I thought it could’ve been back then, but heck Joshua, they was just boys, maybe ten, eleven years old or so. I never… well, I don’t know what to say,” James mumbled.
“They cut your goats
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