Miller’s hands flew up in a defensive posture to protect his face, as the bullet ripped through the lamp that was atop the small table next to his chair. She wanted his attention, and now she had it. Unaware, the blast from the revolver wouldn’t go unnoticed by the next door neighbor.
“Don’t say a word, unless you’re ready to meet your maker.” Sherry said calmly, “I knew it would only be a matter of time before you figured out, that it was me who killed Earl Schulz and Johnny Hudson. And I’ll let you in on a little secret, I’m gonna shoot Dick Fairchild next and cut his pecker and balls off, just as I did the other two. Then, I’ll have avenged my mother you see.”
Miller slowly lowered his hands to his lap and remained quiet as ordered. He knew she was too tightly wrapped to reason with at this point. She had a story to tell, so he was gonna let her get it out, in hopes it would bring her back nearer to saneness.
“Would you like to know why those three must die? You may answer.” Her voice remained calm and steady, even though it was without question her mind was bent.
With her permission given, Miller did respond, “Yes, I would like to know the reason why.”
“When I was just a little girl, my mother divorced my father. Not because he hurt her, or abused her or me, but because she could no longer stand his touch. She shut herself off from us, just as she shut off her feelings for herself. She was damaged goods you see.”
“May I ask why she felt that way, if it’s not too personal a question?”
“No, no it’s not too personal,” she said, “I found my mother’s diary in an old suitcase in our basement when I was fifteen. My mother was only twenty when she had me. Our little family lived on the outskirts of Millersburg, but just two years later, three young men, who were drunk and looking for a good time, from Saint Cloud, would drive over and run across my mother who was walking home from a neighbors. They got a lot drunker and took my mother by force to an apple orchard and took turns raping her. Yes, I’m sure in their minds it was just some innocent fun, but it wasn’t to my mother. She wrote it all down in her diary. The fear, the shame, the confusion, the emotional trauma; for you see, Dick Fairchild told her, if she went to the police he’d kill not only her, but her husband and her daughter, yours truly. My mother felt in her heart the only way was to divorce my father and leave us, so we’d be safe. She never told my father about the rape or the reason why she had to go. Just up and left us. I hated her for what she done, that is, until I found her diary. I still haven’t told my father about it. So you see, that’s why I saved Dick Fairchild for last; he was the ringleader.” Sherry’s wicked smile said volumes toward her self-righteous revenge against these three evildoers.
Miller knew better than to try and placate her or pretend sympathy for her mother’s plight. She would see right through such a ruse, he thought. “So, where does that leave us?”
“Knowing your need for justice, I’m thinking there would be no way to make any kind of deal with you. You’re not the type to simply look the other way I’m afraid. I really do want to thank you, for all your help and support while I’ve been with the department. And I just want you to know I will be more than happy to say a few kind words at your funeral.” She slowly pointed the revolver at his head.
Appearing behind her, he spoke with force, “Sherry, put the gun down right now!”
Startled, she turned around to see who was there, “What the hell!”
Miller took the opportunity to leap from his chair and tackled her on the sofa. His reflexes and strength were weakened by all the wine he had consumed earlier; but he was fighting for his very life and as his adrenalin surged forth, he became a fierce warrior as he tried to pull the revolver from her grasp.
Sherry was young, strong and athletic; she too fought with the ferocity of a tiger, for she still had unfinished business. She wrestled Miller off the sofa onto the floor as both struggled to gain the upper hand. Sherry was just too strong for the weakened older man; so he did what he thought he’d never do, he punched her, a woman, squarely on the jaw. That was all that was needed; she reeled back momentarily dazed by the short punch. To his surprise, she did not fully release the gun, so he twisted the barrel toward her chest and squeezed the trigger. The muzzle flash and resulting explosion sent both several feet into the opposite direction. The revolver landed on the floor between them. Thomas was in no hurry to pick up the gun as he saw Sherry’s motionless body face down on the floor. The bullet hand ripped through her chest and exited out her back. Miller couldn’t believe the size hole the bullet had made as it left her body.
Standing, he now faced the man who had appeared behind Sherry. Had his words not startled her, Miller would not have had a chance. “I must say Frances; I don’t believe in ghosts. Well, at least I didn’t use to away. I do want to thank you for saving my life.”
“I always liked you Thomas, you’re a good hearted man, and God protects the virtuous.” With that, Frances Hudson vanished into thin air.
Thinking ahead, he decided not to mention Frances’ ghost being there, he felt no one would believe it, and they might even put him in the loony bin. So, after calling Buddy at the station to send out the troops, he simply said he got the better of Officer Hendrix during their struggle, and that was that.
Also, he decided against telling of the diary, the rapes, and all the rest. The story was, Sherry Hendrix was just plain nuts and went off the deep end, no reason why she did what she did. Time to let the past, stay in the past, he reasoned. Case closed.
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SAINT CLOUD GAZETTE
CHIEF SHOOTS OFFICER HENDRIX DEAD
As reported by Chief Miller, Officer Sherry Hendrix admitted to killing Earl Schulz and Johnny Hudson just before trying to kill him. One bullet ended the life of a cold blooded killer, as this reporter sees it. She was suffering from mental trauma per Doc Pearlman; which left untreated, he said, can lead to severe and dire consequences, as we have all been witness to of late. The death toll now stands at 9.
Story by: Jonah McGregor
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