The Night The Lights Went Out

The lights went out all across the town. Inside the old Johnson barn, people had been dancing and drinking the night away. A few women screamed when the darkness took over, but the men figured it was just another brown out. That is until four shots rang out from a gun, barely lighting the room before sending it back into darkness. Just as suddenly as the lights went off, they came back on.

The pastor’s wife squealed when she saw the body of Drew Hart lying on the floor of the bar, blood pooling around him. Everyone in the barn turned their attention away from the dead body and towards Marty King, who was holding a gun in his hand. His head was bowed down and his hands trembled. The sheriff walked purposefully over to him and took the gun out of his hand. Then without saying anything more, placed handcuffs around his wrists.

“Carol. Find Carol.” Marty whimpered as he was led off. Carol was his wife and had been part of the party until the lights went out. The mob of people broke into conversation centered on the murder of one of their own. “Vicki, please find Carol.”

His sister nodded and watched as the Sheriff began dragging her brother out of the barn. The judge of the town was following them very closely. Vicki started to follow behind the other three but The Judge shook his head when she got close enough to him. “Your brother killed Drew, there is no disputing that. We all saw him holding the gun. He did it because Carol was dancing with him.”
Vicki stifled a sob; in her mind she began formulating a plan to save her brother’s life. She knew that it was up to her to save her brother.

She was his only chance of being acquitted of the murder. She brushed the red hair out of her eyes and tried to concentrate on figuring out how to help her brother. “I’ll take care of it.”

***

“My brother was hanged that very night. Without a trial, without any kind of investigation.” Vicki shook her head sadly. Tears welled in her eyes, as they often did when she spoke of the night when her brother was killed. “The Judge declared that there was no one else with motive for killing Drew Hart on Badger day. It’s a stupid celebration that our town used to celebrate to help the football team win.”

“Wait a second. There was never a trial or even an investigation? That’s illegal, there had to have been a trial.” The attorney shook her head. There was a file on her desk that needed attention but this strange, elderly woman sitting in front of her had her captivated. “Surely Ms. King, you are pulling my leg. The legal system could not have failed that badly.”

“It did. I am coming to you now because I want to sue the city for wrongful death, among other things. Part of the reason that I am doing this now is because I believe the statute of limitations is over and I can finally tell my side of the story.” Vicki leaned in, her voice dropped to a whisper. The lawyer sucked in her breath; somehow she knew the saga of Marty King was not one that was over. “Carol was a whore, my brother’s wife would sleep with anything that had a penis. Well to be honest she slept with quite a few women as well.”

“And?”

“One of the men she slept with was Drew Hart. Their affair was the talk of the gossip mill in town. My brother went off to war and his wife spread her legs for another man, it was the stuff of legend.” Vicki sucked in a deep breath and looked up at the lawyer. “Drew was my fiancée and I was not happy that he wasn’t being faithful to me. I did what I had to do; I had no idea that my brother would pay the price for my sin.”

***

“Well hello, Judge.” Vicki turned on the light. The older man jumped in surprise. His robe hung open, revealing a dirty tank top and dirtier boxer shorts. She raised her hand so that he could see the gun that was in her hand. “Remember that Badger day when you killed my fiancée and sentenced my brother to death? Well now it is time to pay for your sin.”

“Victoria, you don’t understand what happened. I was going to leave my wife; Carol and I were in love. She was leaving Marty, at least that’s what she told me.” Before he could persuade her not to shoot him, the gun discharged. The Judge slumped to the floor, his body already lifeless.

“Carol was just as incapable of love as you were. Your hormones did all of the decision making in your life and now it’s finally come back to bite you on the ass.” She grabbed his hands and began dragging him out of his house and into the cover of darkness. His enormous weight made it difficult to finish the task in a timely matter. “I don’t know what Carol saw in you. Everyone in town knew that you were smitten with her but no one could figure out why she was with you.”

The farm was only a few blocks from the Judge’s house, but Vicki was worried about being discovered. “When you shot Drew, I knew I had to take care of Carol. She was easy enough. At the bar trying to find another notch on her razor thin bed post. Getting her to leave with me was easy, and then I fed her to the pigs so no one would ever have to hear from her again. The same as I am doing with you.”

As she began the long process of feeding the pigs she realized that it was once again Badgers Day.