Dr. Duval sat on the stand like a deer in headlights. As the questions pummeled him, one after the other, you could see the sweat begin to shimmer on his forehead. “So you admit to engaging in conjugal relations with the late Zora Clemens,” George Alcock, the poised and confident DA, asked. My word, had it been quite a case. Dr. Duval, one of the town’s most esteemed physicians, was being tried for the murder of Zora Clemens. It appeared that the doctor had had a pleasant or at least bearable relationship with his wife, Helen Duval. Apparently, the relationship was not as fulfilling as one would be led to believe. Dr. Duval had actually been having an affair with Zora Clemens, a waitress at the local tavern. She was a rather innocent little thing, …show more content…
A tiny sliver of concern ruffled beneath her eyes. I raised the hatchet above my head. “Heavens! Barry, what are you doing?” It was time to be free. I swung the hatchet swiftly across her neck. The jagged blade sliced through her neck like a knife through butter. A thin wave of blood slashed across the floor. Her face, eternally frozen in shock and confusion, plummeted along with the rest of her head from the bloody stump. Her body stood still for a few seconds, gushing torrents of the crimson life energy, and then accompanied her head, shaking the floorboards with a gruesome thump. I stood speechless, staring at the severed remains of my wife. Her mouth hung open, her hair lay drenched in the puddles of sanguine fluid. I gawked at my gruesome accomplishment. Then I whooped and hollered in joy. I had done it! I was free! Free at last! And what about the children? “To hell with the children!” I crowed. As I packed up my things and pranced out the door into the night. My soul flooded with relief. I had risen up and broken the shackles that marital relations had placed upon me. I once again strolled off into the cool night air. I was happy. Undeterred.