Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20A | 20B | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25-26 | 27 | 28-29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35-36 | 37 | 38A | 38B | 38C | 38D | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42-43 | 44-45 | 46 | 47 | 48-49A | 49B | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57A | 57B | 58-59| 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68-69 | 70A | 70B | 71A | 71B | 72 | 73 | 74A | 74B | 75
PART II
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS
76
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” Trey thundered when she walked into the house long after dark, simply strolling along, head down, arms behind her back, kicking pebbles.
Trying to figure out how to be strong and live her life in spite of everything.
Trying to figure out where she could go to be loved and taken care of.
There was only one place, she’d finally decided.
“I went home with Gale.”
Trey stopped cold in the kitchen where he was pacing. “You what?” he growled.
“That young man.”
“Yeah, I got that,” he said impatiently. “Where’s he live?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’mma beat his ass that’s why!”
“For what?”
“For tryin’a get with my wife! Whattaya think you’re doin’, goin’ home with some cat you just met? Especially when you got a husband and— Goddammit, Marina! That’s the last thing I’d’ve expected you to do! What’s he got that I don’t? Huh? Better kisser? Bigger dick, what? More money? ’Cuz he sure as hell ain’t better lookin’.”
He kept going, and every word he tossed in the air was just one more slice to her heart.
You helped me before. Please help me again. I can’t live like this. I don’t want my husband to think of me as a loose woman, but he does and it won’t matter what I do or don’t do he’s never going to be to me what Bishop Albright is to his wife.
“Don’t you got anything to say for yourself?!” he demanded.
I wish my husband didn’t think the same things of me that Mother did.
“No.”
“WHAT?!”
“You’ve already said it all, so I don’t need to.”
“Marina,” he growled. “Don’t make me go to work all mad and whatnot.”
“I can’t make you do anything,” she said tonelessly, scratching the already angry red skin around the wound Mother gave her.
If you’re there, if you’re real, if you are who Dot says you are, please help me.
“Marina, goddammit, I never thought I’d see the day you’d cheat on me—”
Maybe there was no heaven.
“—an’ you only halfway to givin’ birth! We been married less than—”
Just a dark nothingness.
“—three months an’ here some cat’s turnin’ your head ’cuz he said hello all nice an’ whatnot—”
No purpose here. Highly evolved organisms doing what organisms do, living and dying.
“—an’ I give you all this freedom—”
Freedom to … what?
“—and now I can’t even trust you not to get sweet at any cat who approaches you—”
She scratched some more and tore off part of a scab. She felt the warmth of the blood that oozed out of the wound.
“—after all that hootin’ an’ hollerin’ about you bein’ a good woman—”
She was really digging into the skin now, it itched so badly, tearing off strips of skin. She was getting blood all over her hand, but she didn’t care. It burned, the tender flesh the scab couldn’t protect. Now it didn’t itch; it merely stung, but digging in soothed it.
“—any ol’ flapper—”
The blood on her arm and hand were disgusting, but not so much she’d stop scratching.
“—beggin’ me not to get it anywhere else, but you know what?”
She was now scratching her entire arm, heedless of the blood completely. She just wanted it to stop itching, but it wouldn’t. It stung now almost as much as it did when the belt buckle took that divot out of her arm.
“I’mma go to work, an’ don’t expect to see me till you see me.”
Dark oblivion would be better than this.
Trey bustled around gathering his hat and car keys and, with one final glare, stormed out of the house.
Now she could scratch to her heart’s content, but it wasn’t enough. She took one end of the longest, thickest scab and ripped it off.
77A
TREY DROVE TO work thoroughly pissed off and, if he were honest, which he normally wasn’t about such things, hurt. Peeled to the quick. Nothing he’d said to her had made a dent, just her standing there scratching her goddamned arm like he was giving her a weather report, which meant she wasn’t listening.
How could she do that to him? Hadn’t he given her everything she could want? Hadn’t he given her a beautiful home and car and all the freedom she wanted? He wasn’t like most husbands, who didn’t let their wives out without a leash or at least an itinerary, which they had to do on foot.
And how did she repay him?
Going home with some pimply faced dewdropper who—
No! He couldn’t think about this anymore. He had a speak to run and he couldn’t let his wife—his wife, goddammit!—distract him from 1520. 1520 Main was his baby, his creation, his lifeblood and soul. She wasn’t, God knew. She was only sixteen fucking years old. What the hell did she know?
He’d spoiled her, that was what it was. Spoiled her rotten.
Nobody looked twice when he bunked down in the office, which annoyed him.
“Why’n’t you ask me why I’m not going home?” he demanded of Gio.
Gio shrugged. “Every man gets put out occasionally over something. Even mob bosses.”
“Put out? She didn’t do the puttin’ out. Well, she did, but not to me!” Gio gaped at him. Trey nodded furiously, feeling vindicated. “Yeah. So last night … ”
When he was finished, Gio said, “Is that why you weren’t at church?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not like her.”
“I didn’t think it was! But damn, now I see it clear as day. She’ll fall for any cat who turns puppy dog for her, like they do with Dot.”
“Boss, there is something not right about the situation. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”
“Well what the fuck does it mean?!”
Gio looked at him stonily. “Remember how, when Dot thought she wasn’t right that day we went to the cemetery? But you took Marina’s behavior at face value until you got thinking about it later? And then it turned out she was high on sweet tea?”
Trey started to get a bad feeling. “Yeh.”
“Going home with some cat she just met is not something Marina would do.”
“She said she did!”
Gio considered. “Dot would say that,” he said, “if she thought I was being stupid and wanted to poke at me.”
Trey scowled. “Marina doesn’t do that.”
“Betcha she doesn’t go home with boys who turn into puppy dogs around her, either.”
76-77A
If you don’t want to wait 2 years to get to the end, you can buy it here.
Donations can be made here, if you so desire.
Sorry for OT
The Prophecies of Titania McGrath – Andrew Doyle
Never apologize for Titiana McGrath.
Messy, and not at all in a good way.
I keep forgetting that Marina is only 16.
She seems much older.
Trey reminds me of my ex. She could find something that didn’t exist and keep hammering it, much as Trey does. Seems like Ol’ Trey may be a little schizophrenic, though there probably isn’t such a thing as a ‘little’ schizophrenia.
Marina needs to take care of the arm before it gets infected, 3 months is a long time. Trey needs more counseling from Gio.
Thanks Moj, another week to wait but I’ve got the time.
“I’ve got the time”
Your optimism is always refreshing, 4X.
He’s not schizophrenic. He’s distracted, jealous, stressed, and scared.
Symptoms
I think I’m good under the 30 minute OT rule. My apologies anyway, Moj.
Well, the trial of the border rancher who shot an illegal has started. His defense is that he shot in the air, which seems at a minimum to be an admission of negligent homicide (I believe he refused a plea deal for that, though). He can apparently cite a long history of cartel smugglers, armed with rifles, crossing his ranch (I think within view of his house), which strikes me as a start on “reasonable fear, etc.”. Still, this doesn’t sound like a good shoot under current standards. The trial is in Nogales (on the border). I don’t have anything on the jury make-up, but this could be a candidate for jury nullification. I’m struggling with this one – I don’t think there was an imminent threat, but the history of cartel activity strikes me as something that shouldn’t be disregarded (although it should be under current law).
Also on the local news in Tucson, a story about a bunch of women who just got sworn in as US citizens. Our useless mayor (also female and also Latina, Latinx, whatever) was there. From a quick shot of the group from behind, at least a third were Muslim (going by their scarves/head coverings). The one they picked for a quickie interview was also Muslim. I was surprised that it wasn’t heavily Hispanic, but we seem to have our share of Muslims (and Jews, for that matter) in Tucson/ Desert people gonna desert, I guess.
I saw a very young Muslim woman employee at the local eye clinic. Not sure what her job was. I was surprised, as we’re a long ways from the metro area.
crossing his ranch (I think within view of his house), which strikes me as a start on “reasonable fear, etc.”
One of us is not a lawyer, and I would never challenge you on law, and I don’t know the details that would answer this, but this story strikes me thus: the reasonable fear idea needs to include some idea of one of two things:
a) that the illegal was either closing on him (or some innocent third party) directly or
b) closing on some strategic quarter so that the rancher would not, either way, have ample time and maneuver to defend himself.
None of that has anything to do with previous incursions by smugglers, of course: I can’t murder someone because they vaguely resemble some class of other persons who on other occasions did indeed threaten me (and then the question comes: why did I not shoot all of them?).
The rancher has the problem, regarding space, in that he demonstrated and admits that he did have time and quarter to defend himself. Given that, he should update his story and simply show that actually (not in keeping with his story) he ran out of time and space and had to stop a threat………..absolutely nothing wrong with that except that he also should say that the warning shot idea was a regrettable lie he told in a panic because he did not understand that he had every right to defend himself in his situation as the new story would imply.
If he won’t recant the lie of the warning shot, he is tacitly admitting that he had space (to fire two shots: the warning and then the real deal, otherwise why take any chances) and really was not under direct threat for a few milliseconds yet. So he is left to prove that the illegal was about to flank him, gain entry, gain high ground, surround and seize and isolate him in some way that from which there is no way to immediate harm: some maneuver that was tantamount to creating a death trap. That’s not an impossible argument to make, but I like it less than argument A.
I’m okay, of course, if the jury decides from any combination of the facts that he was indeed in harm’s way (or reasonably thought so) and defended himself and could not be known to have committed a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. I’m fine if that sets him free. I’m fine with people defending themselves, and I’m very okay with dumbasses getting too close to the line between threat-now and threat-milliseconds-from-now and get blown away.
I’m also okay, of course, if defendants in future would keep their goddam gobs shut and minimize the angles and options and speculations that unnecessary utterances invite.
A long history of crossing his ranch seems like a bad defense to me, it’s counter intuitive -“they’ve been doing this for years so I had to stop them now” Even if they are ‘armed cartel smugglers’ whatever that means, either you can execute people for trespass or you can’t .That should be the only question here.
Or what Don said.
I’m going to take a different tact here. You know how the law treats people who are in car accidents or who kill someone while impaired? Even if they aren’t at fault for the accident, they are guilty because the so-called logic goes that they shouldn’t even have been on the road or its possible they somehow could have avoided the accident if they had been sober (even if not possible).
Well, that’s how I’m going to treat cases like this. Someone was actively breaking the law by illegally entering the country then actively trespassed onto someone else’s property. They shouldn’t have been there. They shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place if they followed the law and they can kind of get fucked. I’m not locking some old man up for the remainder of his life when he’s no real threat to anyone who isn’t already doing something they aren’t supposed to be doing. I know border laws just exist for appearances and all, but that’s my crazy logic here.
I’m ok with the ramifications of my logic. I think you’d see an instant and dramatic increase in border “crossings.”
I’d nullify the shit out of this if I somehow got on that jury.
I’m ok with all of that.
Interesting take. I don’t disagree.
Agree with Don that his biggest hurdle is that he fired a ‘warning shot’. If that is his story he should have taken the plea deal.
Now it sounds like the victim was so far away that the shot he meant to fire over their heads actually dropped enough in trajectory to hit one of them. I think I’d find guilty (not being privy to the whole trial of course…).
One of the surprises is how open the characters are with each other. Is that necessary to allow us to better understand the direction of the book. Moj, you know these things, we’re just looking over the characters’ shoulder(s).
In real life some of us tend to try to keep the skeletons hidden in the closet.
Part of the challenge of communication between characters is making sure the reader knows where the characters’ heads are without under-sharing with other characters. Oversharing is better because miscommunications from being tight-lipped is manipulative to the other characters and the reader.
Point of view has a lot to do with it. With the titular character of my first book, you’re NEVER in his head and the only way you know what he’s thinking is if he tells you, and he’s very tight-lipped (by the way, that guy is Trey’s grandson).
But to be honest, dialogue is my preferred way of exposition. It’s not really a mark of his character. It’s a way to communicate to the reader.
Thanks Moj,
I’m enjoying reading the twists and turns of someone else’s life. I’m mostly a non-fiction guy so this is a fun change of pace.
That’s not to say I haven’t used undersharing as a manipulative tactic. 😜
Oh boy. Trey is really digging himself in.
Story of my life.
starting to think maybe wild-haired isolation isn’t the best way to deal with my political paranoia. It might actually feed into it.
Paranoid?
This site can’t be reachedhttps’s DNS address could not be found. Diagnosing the problem.
DNS_PROBE_POSSIBLE
huh, I’ll try again
not gonna fall in love not gonna fall in love
I’m in love
🎵 O, Iiiiiiiiii…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozv8ugNm0P0
Seriously, Chris Isaak might be the unloveliest, most cartoonishly villainous human being in existence.
Cameron Diaz agrees.
You’re too young to fall in love.
https://youtu.be/d25tXdJSedE?si=vWQroZ9jg0DKTpg7
Thats a nice piano, I’ve got one just like it, but in a stained wood finish.
PieInTheSky on March 21, 2024 at 9:44 am
devils advocate seems like an idiom that would work in most languages
For various values of monotheism. YMMV with polytheists.
Alright
Dammit. This is cool:
https://t.co/Hv8hNlr3Bx
It was believable until the second half. Now it looks fake.
No more Mr. Nice Firster.
Well shit.
I guess this disqualifies me from being an American libertarian, but I’m super bummed to learn that Princess Catherine does indeed have cancer. Unspecified, but abdominal which is really bad news.
😢
I really like her. Best wishes.
I guess I’ll turn in my card too. It’s got most of the corners cut off already.
I’m also bummed that she was not made Colonel-in-chief of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, along side Queen Margarethe. I can understand, though disagree, why Camilla was passed over.
“I’m sorry stewardess; I don’t speak jive.”
I don’t know who this is. I’m assuming one of the inbred family members in the UK.
Actually, she was helping to diversify their gene pool.
I don’t see why human compassion disqualifies you from being libertarian.
…you don’t? 😛
“We did not become libertarians because we are altruists.”
-P. J. O’Rourke
How did I nearly miss that today is William Shatner’s birthday?!? He is a national treasure.
Morning all,
After a winter of Spring weather it looks like reality returns tomorrow. The forecast has been up and down for a few days but looks like 12 inches and more of snow spread out over a few days. I’ll be ready. A phone call away for my neighbor with a Bobcat, if necessary. Actually he’ll here without a phone call, First measurable snow of the winter.
Life goes on.
suh’ fam
whats goody yo
Funeral today. Wife of a classmate. Alzheimer’s.
Hope it’s not contagious (or maybe it is). I’ll let someone else be the judge.
I’m sorry you have to do that today. I hope you’re able to have an enjoyable visit with your classmate despite the circumstances.
I’ll pick up two of the girl classmates along the way, there will be 1 or 2 more at the church. It ain’t wedding bells that’s breaking up that old gang of mine these days.
Good morning, homey, 4(20), U, and Lack!
…and rhy!
I’m not here.
Shame.
Oh, OK. Never mind then! 😉
How goes?
Well, before I’d even had a chance to make my weekend morning chai latte, I had to clean up a cat’s hairball, so the rest of the day has to get better, right?
How about you?
I apparently slept with the lights on, but did wake up early enough to make it through the slop on the roads to my appointment.
Be careful out there!
🤞
I plan to.
*grumble* I just realized that I’ll need to stop by the grocery on my way back. I have caffiene, some cheese, and an 8oz steak. The steak is a cute little thing but not enough for a weekend.
If you have to go to the grocery during nasty wintry weather, I just hope you don’t need milk, bread, or eggs.
I do not stock any of those on the regular. Too often they sit around and go bad, so why waste it?
Mornin’ all
Good morning, Beau!
I’m here!
Morning everyone, including our .gov watchers.
☕😬
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Wwk6A0jFs
New Ozzy 🎶🎶
Good morning, Sean!
☺
Meh
Not feelin’ it
I didn’t endorse it.
Did ya see this blues cover I linked up the other day?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QAxBEfKeOzw
This was a jam.
Do they even work on weekends? Do they even work? Well, do they?
They probably make the interns take these shifts. The good news for us is that they may yet be young and naive enough to be turned.
Maybe they let the AI watch us on weekends and holidays.