IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT

WORD COUNT: 577

IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT

In the still of the night the sounds carried far and wide. The shot sounded like thunder off in the distance. Sheriff Chuck Markham ducked instinctively and hid behind the hood of his cruiser.

"Joe, you crazy son of a bitch...." Chuck hollered at the shooter. "I'm gonna kick your butt all the way to the county jail if you put another hole in my car."

Joe Ogden, drunk, laughed out loud and fired another shotgun round out the window of the trailer he was holed up in.

Chuck pressed his lips together in fury, and cussed into his breath. He lifted his revolver and aimed at the illuminated window of the trailer. He could see Joe's outline against the background clearly. One shot would put an end to his madness, but Chuck hesitated.

Angela Ogden was no where in sight and Chuck wasn't sure whether she was inside the trailer or if she had made it out.
"Angela, are you all right? Talk to me," Chuck hollered, and listened for a sign of life from the newlywed bride.

Only silence answered his plea. Chuck waited a few more minutes before advancing toward the trailer. He snuck up closer to the window and stood on the tip of his toes to look into the window and scan for the woman. He couldn't see her. Maybe Joe had already killed her as he had promised. He'd called Chuck and told him that Angela was going to die today. She'd messed around on him for the last time, Joe had said.

Chuck advanced toward the door and slowly pulled the screen door open. The screeching gave him away in a heart beat. Joe fired his shotgun. Chuck dropped to his knees and dove under the trailer for protection. His heart beating like a steam engine, he laid there for what seemed an eternity. Chuck screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Joe, God dammit. I'm coming in and I'm gonna nail you."

Chuck struggled back to his feet. He gave the screen door a swift kick and busted through the front door and dove into the living room and rolled himself off to the left behind an over sized chair.

He waited for the next shotgun blast but nothing happened. He looked over the ottoman and stared in disbelief. Joe was sitting in his chair, the back of his head clear blown off. A gapping bullet wound to his forehead had ended his life.

Chuck rose to his feet and searched the trailer for Angela. He found her lying in a pool of blood in the master bedroom. Apparently Joe had shot and killed her that same morning. He had sliced her pregnant belly open. The fetus of her unborn child lay next to her.

A note had fallen onto the carpet. Chuck picked it up and read the few words, shaking his head.

"May you and that bastard child burn in hell, bitch."

Joe's jealousy had turned him insane. The baby was Joe's, Chuck knew it for sure. Angela had showed him a prenatal paternity test a few days ago, but Joe wouldn't believe her. Now, all Chuck could do was to make sure the baby and mother got a nice burial.

Chuck shook his head in defeat. "What a waste of human life," he said and dialed his cell phone to call it in.



Liked this story then check out my published Mystery Novel:
LOOK INTO THE EYES OF EVIL by P.K. PARKER
Available now only on www.ebay.com via seller: peach1212