Yellow Mama E zine

Bragging Rights

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by Bern Sy Moss

 

           “Yeah, last summer. Near as I can figure, it started with Jack, that guy over there by the pool table.”

           “Do you mind?” I asked, as I showed him my recorder. “The newspaper I work for likes me to get quotes down correctly.”

           “No problem,” he said. “Kind of surprised me that a big city newspaper would be interested in what happens in our little town, but I do like talking to pretty ladies.”

          “Well, the trial is over now, and it was very salacious. Just looking for your perspective to sum things up. You can start now,” I said as I pushed the button on my recorder and turned to look at Jack. He was massaging a pool cue in anticipation of his next move. There was no question in my mind why it started with him. I could imagine a lot of affairs starting with him.

         “Well, the husband spent a lot of time travelling for business,” he said and motioned to the bartender to fill his glass again. “Should have stayed home and done his business over the Internet like they do now, but he liked the in-person sell, so he just wasn’t home much. Not a lot to do in this town, but she found ways to keep from getting bored. A lot of her “boredom relief” is sitting in this place right now.

         “After Jack bragged to his best friend—who promised to keep it quiet—it was open season on what he thought was his alone. After all, she said that only he could make her happy, but that turned out to be a lie and now the best friend was bragging to a couple of the guys. Just a select few, mind you. He didn’t want to dirty up her reputation. Nothing like that. Just wanted to brag a little, too. I mean, unless you can brag—it didn’t happen.

        “It didn’t take long before they were all bragging to their select few. And you know what, the husband claimed he didn’t know any of this was going on. Hey, you’re pay for this, right?” he asked.

        I nodded and he tapped his glass on the bar to get the bartender’s attention as he said, “Her body was found at that spot some around here call ‘lover’s lane.’ Seriously, most guys wanted somebody arrested as soon as possible, because every day more came out. Call one guy in, and he’d name another guy to hopefully turn the heat away from himself. Lots of guys waiting for their name to come up. Even broke up a few marriages around here. Word was, there was somebody that would lose more than his marriage if his name came up.”

         “But her husband really did have the best motive,” I said.

         He continued, “Yeah, of course, the husband. ‘Must be the husband. She sure made a big enough fool out of him,’ our squeaky-clean sheriff said. No lie about that. The sheriff warmed up to any evidence to prove it was the husband. No one cared. Everyone just wanted to put a stop to it—before any more lives were destroyed, before any more names came out, before every guy in this town was named and it probably would have come to that.”

         “Wasn’t the sheriff running for reelection at that time?” I said.

         “My gut feeling at the time, was the husband was being railroaded, but you know the closer you are to the victim the easier it is to find evidence against you, and it looked like he would be going down for her murder,” he said.

         “So, what happened?” I asked.

         “Well, the sheriff, he just had to brag a little, too. To just a select few, mind you—few too many.”

          “And you’re the sheriff now,” I said. “But there’s always more, isn’t there? Did you and her . . .”

           He interrupted me, “Well, you see the town was very grateful when I solved the murder. No more need to air any more dirty linen around here, so to speak.  Previous sheriff’s now doing thirty to life. Didn’t pay for him to brag—not even to his select few. Better to keep things to yourself, sometimes,” he said, smiling and seeming amused at what he had just said.

            He pressed the button on my recorder. “We’re done now.”

 

     Short stories authored by Bern Sy Moss have been published in several anthologies and in print and online magazines including Yellow Mama, Mystery Tribune, Woman’s World, The Yard: Crime Blog, Spillwords Press, Spinetingler Magazine, Mysterical-E, and others.

Member: MWA, SinC, SMFS, ITW

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  Sean O’Keefe is an artist and writer living in Roselle Park, NJ. Sean attended Syracuse University where he earned his BFA in Illustration. After graduation, Sean moved to New York City where he spent time working in restaurants and galleries while pursuing various artistic opportunities. After the birth of his children, Sean and family move to Roselle Park in 2015. He actively participates in exhibitions and art fairs around  New Jersey, and is continuing to develop his voice as a writer. His work can be found online at www.justseanart.com and @justseanart on Instagram.