Shedrow (24 page)

Then, after they questioned Ryan Fischer, they just closed the case. They figured it had to be that Pawlek and his gangster friend killed Gus before they went on to terrorize the boy at the barn.
The boy...I miss the boy. Found out he’s going to vet school in the fall.
The boy was one of the few things he missed in prison. He had plans for the boy, but they never quite came to be. Perhaps he should have waited to kill Gus, and devoted more time to the boy, trying to gain his trust. But Gus really did have to die, and after that day, Ryan never came around again.

If it hadn’t been for Gus, and for that goddamn hermit, he might still be on the outside now. The hermit would have to die someday too, he thought.
He’ll probably be out of prison much sooner than me though. They stuck him in the low security joint. They say I may be in here for as long as five years. Not bad for murder though. And there’s nobody that knows I killed Gus. No one still living, that is. So easy to lie when you’re so damn stupid. Still, I’ll get the hermit one day. Catch him by surprise and slit his goddamn throat, same as I did Gus. Watch the blood drain out of his goddamn neck. I wonder what he’ll say right before I cut him open. It won’t be the same as with Gus. Gus just cried. He said he loved me. How could I kill him, he said. The crying just made me madder. Made it easier to cut him.

Mahlon thought about how the two doctors might have a little something coming too.
Yeah, the surgeon and the vet.
He thought they should have minded their own goddamn business.
I could go after another one of their horses. They sure love their horses. It was good to kill the big horse. We’ll see. I’ll be more careful next time.

Won’t leave anyone behind who can throw me in. I guess I shouldn’t feel so bad, really. I did get away with murder.

Still, I miss the boy. I never got to know him like I wanted to. I won’t hurt the boy though. When I return to Midway.

Colofon:

This book was designed using the Adobe

Caslon typeface, originally designed by

William Caslon (1720-1766). He based

his typeface on Dutch models. This Adobe

variant was designed by Carol Twombly.