Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz Page A

a disagreement that got out of hand. They both pulled their weapons, one taking shelter in the inset door of Daffodil’s, and the other across the street behind the corner wall of the diner. In typical Old West fashion, they both stepped out at the same time, aimed and fired, killing each other simultaneously.
    Those were occurrences that, while tragic or dramatic, weren’t unusual in Goose Pimple Junction. But one Tuesday morning, something happened that was unique. P.D. was in one of the bays, working on a car, when the family of a man recently arrested, and doing time in the jail, showed up. The three brothers confronted P.D., pulled a gun on him, and said, “We know you have a whistle to call the police. So call ‘em. Now .”
    P.D. was a God-fearing, decent, honest man. He knew the men wanted an ambush. He said, “That’s not the way to handle your problem, boys.”
    One of the brothers snarled, “Mind your own bidness.”
    Another man pointed the gun in his face and repeated, “Now,” motioning for P.D. to go into the office, “or I will walk a mud hole in you and stomp it dry,” he said through gritted teeth.
    But old P.D, wasn’t stupid. Instead of blowing one long blast, like he normally would, he blew two short ones. The police chief heard the whistle and figured something was wrong. He and two of his men snuck around the back of the station and into one of the bays. They had a police car drive slowly down the street to get the men’s attention .
    P.D. had seen Bug beside the office door, and to distract the men, he pointed down the street to the police cruiser. “Well, here they come. You boys mind if I slip out back?”
    The three men, cocking their weapons and taking positions in the station’s office, were intent on the police car out front, giving Bug and two of his men a chance to sneak in and surprise them. While Bug went for the man who looked to be the leader, the other officers pushed guns into the backs of the other two men.
    “ Drop yer guns and say yer prayers, son,” Bug drawled. The men were apprehended without incident.
     
     
    [  June 2010  ]
     
    Tess was exhausted. She’d spent the day scraping more walls. Having successfully completed her work in the master bedroom, she went to bed tired, but not sleepy. She tossed. She turned. She needed sleep. Why wouldn’t her mind cooperate?
    She gave up on sleep once again and got out of bed for her laptop. She wanted to sit outside on her porch, but was afraid of what, or who, might be out there. She climbed back into bed, tucking her sheet and quilt around her, placing her computer on her lap.
    Tess opened up the chapter she was currently working on, but couldn’t concentrate. She thought of e-mailing Jack, but it had been a week since their lunch at the diner. She hadn’t seen him since then and thought he’d probably lost interest in her. It’s just as well . Story of my life . She decided to stop thinking about him.
    Her mind wandered to her son and whether she'd received an e-mail from him. Logging on to her account, she found two e-mails waiting, one from her son, and one from a friend back home. None from Jack. Nicholas was settling into his new home, job, and town nicely. He seemed happy.
    The second e-mail was from her friend Sara, wondering how she was doing in her new house. Tess was getting ready to reply when a new e-mail came in. This one from Jack. She took a deep breath and opened it.
     
    Subject: update
    From: [email protected]
    To: [email protected]
     
    Hey, Tess—I’ve missed seeing you. I haven’t had much chance to ask around town about what we talked about. I’ll try to do that tomorrow. Have you thought any more about talking to Lou? See ya soon.
     
    J.
     
    She drummed her fingers on the keyboard for a minute while she thought about what to write back. She hit “reply.”
     
    I’ll think about talking to Lou. I’m not sure it’s the way to go, just yet. What are you doing up at one