The Locket Lab
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The Curse of Selina
A group of figures, cloaked in long black robes, were standing in a circle softly chanting a name. She could hear them repeating, "Selina, Selina, Selina," over and over again. Her mind reeled with disbelief as she leaned against the barn door to steady herself. She murmured to herself, "This can't be real, it's only a dream. I must be dreaming." As she stood leaning slightly against the barn door, she was unaware of a cloaked figure who had watched, in the dim moonlight, as she had approached the barn. As she stared dumbstruck with terror at the figures in the barn, the shadow moved from its position in the darkness, silently creeping up from behind her, raising a large club. The specter swung the club downward with tremendous force, crushing her skull. Lois Aldridge didn't hear the sound as the bludgeon crunched against the back of her head. She had joined her husband in death.
The Silent Witness
The moon hung high in the cloudless night sky, casting a pale, eerie glow over the small coastal town. The waves crashed rhythmically against the rocky shore, their sound a ghostly whisper in the quiet darkness. A lone figure moved through the shadows, blending seamlessly with the night. In the heart of the town, an old, abandoned warehouse stood silent and foreboding. Its broken windows and crumbling façade hinted at a long-forgotten past, now shrouded in mystery and neglect. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of damp wood and decay. The figure moved with practiced precision, every step calculated and deliberate. Clad in black from head to toe, the killer wore gloves to avoid leaving any trace. In their hand, a slender, gleaming knife caught the faint moonlight that streamed through the broken windows. On the cold, concrete floor lay the latest victim—a young woman in her early twenties, her lifeless eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. The killer had worked quickly, efficiently. The cut was clean, a single, precise stroke to the throat that ensured silence and a swift death. There was no sign of struggle, no indication of a fight. The victim had been taken by surprise; her fate sealed in a matter of seconds. The killer knelt beside the body, meticulously arranging the woman’s hands over her chest, a macabre semblance of peace. From a small pouch, they extracted a single white lily and placed it delicately on the victim’s chest. The flower’s stark whiteness contrasted sharply with the dark pool of blood spreading beneath her. The killer stood, surveying their work with a cold, detached satisfaction. There were no fingerprints, no footprints, nothing that could link them to the crime. They had perfected their methods over the years, leaving behind only a haunting signature—a silent witness to their presence. As the killer melted back into the shadows, the sound of distant sirens began to pierce the night. The police would arrive soon, but by then, the killer would be long gone, a phantom slipping away into the darkness. Outside, the night continued its relentless march toward dawn. The town slept on, unaware that another life had been claimed, another soul lost to the enigmatic predator who moved unseen among them. The moonlight dimmed as clouds began to gather, casting the town into deeper shadow. The scene was set, the stage prepared for the arrival of Dr. Sarah Winters, who would soon find herself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who was always one step ahead. And so, the dance of death continued, silent and unseen, beneath the indifferent gaze of the night.
The End of the Row
Author: Truman Dayon Godwin
language: en
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Release Date: 2003-03-10
It is a hard year for farmer Drury Bell. It is the fifth year of a prolonged drought, and he needs money desperately in order to plant his crops. He has used up all of his credit at the bank and with the various merchants he deals with. However, he manages to obtain just enough money to plant an early crop. He is ecstatic when both cotton and maize plants are about six inches tall because it appears he will produce very successful crops. However, a terrible hail storm destroys both crops and shatters his dream of paying off his debts. The sudden prospect of bankruptcy brings out his fighting spirit, and even Hank Huntington, a neighboring farmer who keeps trying to buy his land, cannot convince him to sell. Hank Huntington keeps pressure on him in various ways. Hank even makes a deal with Russell Taylor, the banker, that should the bank foreclose, he would buy Dru’s farm immediately. Dru thinks Hank Huntington is just greedy, but he learns later that there is a mysterious, personal reason why Hank is driven to possess his farm. Just prior to the hail storm, a drifter shows up at Dru’s farm house while he is in the field working. Dru’s wife, Frieda, rents an old, unused building to the drifter, who, besides being an artist, has a dubious background. Dru does not like the man and would have sent him away, except for his wife. She uses their financial plight as an excuse for him to stay. “We need the money,” she says, and although it’s a trivial amount, she insists on “helping out” by keeping the drifter as a renter. Her relationship with Clifford Curry, the drifter, becomes a nightmarish problem for Dru. He can neither convince her to send him away nor discover absolute proof of her infidelity, so he is torn by the physical and emotional separation created by the stranger’s presence. During the same time Dru fights for his land, struggles to obtain financing for re-planting his hailed-out crops, and deals with the marital problems created by Clifford Curry’s presence, he works with Thelbert Owens, the Deputy Sheriff and a close personal friend. Two teenage girls have been brutally raped and murdered, and Thelbert, who is overworked and involved in the investigation, allows Dru to help out. His participation is minimal and within the law, but it is sufficient for him to gain some insight which, together with particular personal knowledge he has, ultimately aids in resolving the cases. One day their grown daughter, Lawanna, shows up for an unexpected visit. In normal times, Frieda and Lawanna sometimes clash in the mother-daughter relationship. What Lawanna accidentally finds out about her mother and Clifford Curry makes her angry, and she leaves prematurely— but not before passing her discovery to Dru. A few weeks later, their son, Sidney, comes in from Alaska, ostensibly to visit. Actually, he’s on a personal mission, prompted by Lawanna, and soon Dru finds a family schism added to his many woes. All of the problems he faces, plus additional stress caused by the discovery of a body buried in his back yard, are enough to break even the strongest man. Sometimes he questions his own beliefs and feels inclined to walk away from it all, but he continues to hang on to his convictions with perseverance and hope. In a finale that is unexpected, uncharacteristic, and gruesome, he takes the actions necessary to save his farm, rid himself of Clifford Curry, and deal with all the related problems of marriage and family. This book is based on true events.