by Ron Gannon
Chapter 18. The Postman
Gene Evans pushed his cart down the pet food isle and stopped next to Linda standing by the kitty chow. He loaded his cart with dried and canned cat food.
Linda observed him. “Wow! You must be feeding an army of cats.”
“Around 19, I guess.”
Linda examined Gene's face and smiled. “I know you. I saw your picture in the newspaper. Wow! A hero.”
“Newspaper?” He deliberated. “That was many years ago.”
“I remember. That picture of you with a crew cut and bow tie was so cute. My father always had a crew cut. It’s so manly looking.”
“Thank you. You have a good memory. I was just a witness in a murder case.”
“Oh, you’re modest. I like that in a man. May I buy you a drink?”
“I’ll have a drink with you, but I insist on buying.” Gene thought the attractive woman looked familiar. Thinking he probably saw her while delivering mail.
“It’s a deal.” She extended her hand out. “I’m Linda."
Gene had a drink with Linda and agreed to take her dancing that night. He was putting the cat food away when there were loud knocks on his door. After putting the chain latch in place he opened the door enough to peek outside. Immediately he was knocked backwards by the door and chain support was ripped off the framing.
Sean, a muscular man with a silver cap on a front tooth, entered his kitchen, followed by Mario. “Don’t mind Silver Tooth, he’s just eager to have a chitchat.”
In the cat infested living room the three men took a seat.
“I heard the only way you could get into a woman’s panties was to go through her laundry.” Then Mario asked, “Did she catch you? That’s why you killed her?”
“I never touched her.”
“We know you did.” Mario glanced at all the cats. “They remind me of a Bond character: Pussy Galore. You wanted a different kind of pussy that night – didn’t you?”
“What if I did? That doesn’t mean I killed her.”
“I used to make it with Mrs. Paine. She laughed during sex no matter what she was reading. Is that why you killed her?”
Gene considered his options. Either one alone he could probable handle but two was out of the question. More than likely they had weapons and would use them. While in thought, Sean got up and punched the side of his head. He heard a loud sound like a bridge collapsing and saw stars for a second.
“Does that refresh your memory?” Sean stood over Gene, prepared to strike again.
Later, Sean sat on a recliner, stroking a white cat. Gene, his face and forehead swollen, his shirt bloody, sat on the sofa. A large tape recorder was on the coffee table in front of him. Mario sat by his side. “One more time. Get it right this time.”
“I saw Florence, nude, sauntering across her porch. She put her hands on the rail, looked out at the bay and took a deep breath. She slowly let the air out and smiled. She glanced around the empty beach and brought her arms above her head and stretched. Then, keeping her legs in place, she turned her body to the right, then to her left towards me. She stopped and looked at me. I was just admiring her beauty. She waved and gave me friendly smile before going back inside.” Gene glanced at Mario.
Mario nodded in approval. "Go on! You're doing fine. Just peachy!"