Month: February 2012

At the Cheyenne, WY regional airport, a Cessna made an early evening landing and taxied to the ramp for refueling. Its pilot, Scott Andrews, was done flying for this day. He went into the attendant’s building and arranged to hangar the Skyhawk. He asked about nearby accommodations. “There’s a Super 8 right here. There’s a bar called the Cloud Nine Lounge.” “Say, by the way, isn’t this where that kid died?” “Yep. Jessica went down right about over there,” the man said, pointing to the little residential area that bordered the airport. People often ask about that. We are not so proud of it.” “Yeah. I can imagine. My wife got onto the topic a while ago. For some reason it stuck in my mind.” “Yeah. Her last words were ‘do you hear the rain, do you hear the rain?’” “Yeow. This was on the cockpit recorder?” “Nah. They flew a Cessna kind of like yours. No recorder. She was on the phone with her mother.” “That’s tragic.” “Yep. Enjoy Cheyenne.” “Thanks.” After taking care of post flight business, Scott headed for the Cloud Nine. He got himself a booth and a beer and called Lana. It was odd, but…

• by Ken Beck
• Posted on February 25, 2012

When Julian made it back to his home in Stephens City, it was about 11:30 PM. He had stopped at a service station in Winchester and changed back into his hiking gear. Then he stomped out into the woods next to the highway and muddied up his boots. He wanted an airtight alibi. Now he found that such precautions had not been necessary, because Dana Feminita was sound asleep in their bed. He went quietly back down the stairs, padding in his socks and put on some sneakers. He went out to the car and retrieved his ‘professor costume,’ and hung it carefully back up in a closet on the first floor. Now, except for the odometer reading, the whole thing had never happened. He poured himself a drink. He sat down on the couch and stared into space. He thought of Lana and Scott. He thought of Dana. He sighed. When he had drained his glass, he went upstairs and climbed in with her and was soon fast asleep. He slept the sleep of the man who had done what is right. The next day, he went with Dana shopping up in Winchester. He was full of talk about…

• by Ken Beck
• Posted on February 26, 2012

The morning after the crisis was one of those sun-soaked mountain days that made the snow cover glisten and hut the eyes to be out and about. Julian discovered this as he took out his trash. He winced into the rays of light that pierced the trees and turned back towards the house. Dana was in the bathroom, and he could see her in the window doing her makeup. They’d a good few days, and they were looking forward to a warm New Year’s Eve. They had no other plan than to indulge in each other’s company, make a meal of a pair of game hens, and swill some champagne. First, though, they had to get through December’s penultimate day. For Julian, this posed the challenge of seriously getting back to work on his novel’s bloody stump. It was slow going, and he kept diving off it to see if Lana had messaged him on Facebook. She hadn’t. For a man so proud of his restraint, he was weak as water when it came to craving the woman’s words. Scott, in his cell at the Wood County Sherriff’s Office holding area, was sitting on his first prison cot staring at…

• by Ken Beck
• Posted on February 29, 2012