Sunday, September 16, 2018

describe a scene that begins: “It was the first time I killed a man”

It was the first time I killed a man, and the only time, of course, when I blasted that SOB with his own shotgun.

I did it in a fit of rage, of revenge, of collecting a bill long overdue, plus accrued interest. “Accrued interest” is one of those fancy lawyerly legal phrases. Some of us aren’t as dumb as you’d think. But, I was the collection agency. I was the bank. I was the biased judicial system. I was the judge and I was the executioner. And proud of it. I’d do it again.

But at the same time I feel empty.

His name was Donald Larson and he was the chairman and CEO of a very successful bank in our town. They had four remote locations, owned a slew of strip malls, those sort of bland four-plexes that seem to pop up like weeds along the four-lane. Larson was the major owner, according to the obit, a family man, Christian, loved his family, and loved his work.

What a load of crap!

He loved money and he loved what money got him: status, friends, women. His widow, not just your ordinary trophy wife either, who apparently did love him more than he loved her, contested his will which gave about everything to his mistress. The widow got the house and a bit of a stipend for support along with a huge outstanding loan. The mistress got the beach house, most of the money, and even got the Corvette although the widow got a pound of revenge using a ball bat as best as she could on the ‘Vette. Apparently she didn’t know about the mistress. Good for her, the widow that is! I wanted to meet her and hold her and make her feel a little better but I’m not allowed to do that any more. Besides it probably not be good manners for the widow and her husband’s murderer to hug and share coffee. Not likely to happen with me now in prison. But, we girls got to stick together!

He was bossy. Rude. Unrewarding. I’d heard it was wise to keep out of arm’s length, too. He’d pinch your butt and then laugh. It was a wonder that anyone could work for him. But, in this economy you need the money so you do the time. I think he felt put upon that people would leave his employment for better wages and better benefits and better atmosphere. Like he just could not see that he was a class-A jerk. You had to wonder just how rotten he was and just how many other people were happy to see him dead and gone.

It only took a moment, too. Have you ever shot a 12-gauge? Kicks like a mule and the noise about broke my eardrums. Tears a right big hole in a man’s chest. The buckshot that missed ripped up a lot of wall and the hutch behind him. The post-mortem said the SOB was dead before he hit the ground. I don’t know if that’s possible but it sure sounds good.

Never mind that our son had more gunshot residue on him, than me, he standing off to the side. Never mind that there was only two distinct prints on the gun--my son’s and mine. But also, what I never quite realized was why Wilson kept a loaded shotgun in the broom closet next to the kitchen. It was too convenient I thought for a place to hide it from their son, too easy for someone like me to find it when his wife mentioned it one day.

I wasn’t happy that I killed him. It satisfied my need for revenge that the courts could not achieve. After he’d ruined my husband to the point of suicide, he wanted to shake hands and hug as if to sympathize and make things right. I refused. I tired to spit in his face but he realized what was about to happen and made his retreat.

But, the law is on the side of the rich. My husband was not rich. I’m not rich. The employees are not rich. Most of us feel fortunate to have income and a car and food and nice place to live. We don’t want to rock the boat, much. But he ruined my husband’s health. He killed my husband’s drive and spirit. He killed my husband. Donnie Larson could intimidate anyone: his wife, my husband, me, our boy, his boy!

Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I fine with that. In this case, I think I just hurried the process along.
###

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are always welcome. Thanks. If in doubt about which profile to choose from, use "anonymous."

<< Home