In The Silence, I hear
Episode 2
** Warning, this story contains a scene of racist violence against a woman, and racist speech, (No N-words.)**
“Shit!”
Fredrick Appleton, woke with a start, sitting up straight, eyes wide open seeing nothing in the darkness of his room. It was still night out, a cold dark January night with no moon or stars.
In his black dream, he was privy to the conversation of Alice Bruce and Daniel Bruce who he met earlier that day at the new Barbeque place on State Street. They were the owners of the Triple B n Q House.
“I’m sorry Alice, I just don’t want them blackies working or eating for that matter in my restaurant. So stop even interviewing them,” It was Daniel Bruce talking to his wife.
“Daniel, you can’t be that way. We aren’t in Mississippi anymore the people here don’t think or act that way,” Alice argued.
“This isn’t what I signed up for. If I have to deal with those ugly, stinky, degenerates, I am not going to do it.” Mr. Bruce said sounding angry.
“What do you think we are going to do? Every penny we had is in this place, the move, and our new home.” The tone of Alice’s voice changed. A twinge of fear showed itself from behind the facade of love for her husband.
“First you're going to fire that thing you hired. That Ms. Jaunica Florance,” Daniel exaggerated the name when he spoke it. Disgust poured off his tongue like Niagra Falls.
“I will not, we need to finish hiring I need four more servers, I can’t afford to fire her.”
“I’m telling you Alice the next one of them Blackies step foot in this building is gonna end up being served with extra spicy sauce the way they like it.”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that. I think you should go back to Mississippi, I’m sure the clan still has your robe.”
“Don’t talk to me like that Woman.”
Fredrick heard the sound of a building door shutting. Footsteps across a parking lot, a car door opening, Daniel slid inside, slammed the door, and drove off. Daniel Bruce was driving, in the background, the radio played, and every so often a whimper and a pounding sound. It seemed to last forever when finally.
“AAAh, stop pounding on my car.”
The sound of a car stopping quickly, the car door opened, steps, what was that? The trunk opening.
“Listen here Ms. Jaunica you keep kicking my car, I’m not gonna be happy.”
“Please, let me go,” is what Fredrick thought the woman said. She had to be gagged he thought.
“Where are you? You son of a bitch. Whoa, I’ve never talked to myself before in the dreams.”
“Let’s see, the application says you aren’t married. However, you live in an apartment. So I can’t take you there. Let’s see now there is that abandoned hospital out on state road 6. What do you think, night creature? Sound like a good place to leave a body.”
Fredrick heard screams, crying, pleas for mercy, and then a trunk slam.
“Shit!” He was soaked in sweat his vision a little blurred and he rushed to get dressed and to the car.
As he drove he realized that he was not in a good spot. Daniel Bruce would most likely get there before him and then he, a deaf man, would be trying to sneak up on a perfectly capable man.
Then he saw it, two police officers in the Burger joint. He pulled in and screeched to a halt. He didn’t hear it but he could tell by the look on people's faces that he had made some noise. He got out and ran up to the police car.
“Officers, there has been a kidnapping, I read lips, I saw this guy talking to his friend. He said, yeah I got her in the trunk, I’m gonna take her out to the Redil State Hospital and put her out of my misery.”
He stopped talking and looked at the officers. The first thing he noticed was the look folks get when they hear him speak. That, “What the hell? Is this kid mental?” Look.
“Please officers, I’m deaf, but I read lips, I saw what I saw if you all don’t go check it out, I promise I will stop and tell every police officer I can find.” Then he looked at their name tags and said their names out loud, turned, and headed for his car.
They got in their car and called it in. He saw part of the conversation but not all of it. Finally, they headed out to Redil.
He followed. When they arrived it only took a minute or two to find a vehicle parked outside a building. Fredrick watched as they exited their car, started to look around at the parked car, then looked at a building with startled looks, and ran into it.
Daniel Bruce dropped Juanica Florance, then took the gym bag he carried off his shoulder, opened it, and pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer.
“Dang I’m glad I brought this, I can smell the stink coming off you on my hands,” Then he kicked her and she screamed. He reached down and pulled the gag off. “So should I bash your head in or throw you off the roof?”
Juanica sobbed, “Please no, please,” then she screamed, “Help me.”
Daniel Bruce, laughed loudly, then mimicked her, “Help me.”
He put the hand sanitizer back into the bag and pulled out a large hammer. He swung it around making sure she saw it. Then he put his hands on his hips and said.
“Daniel if you hit the darky with the hammer you are gonna have to clean your hammer and you might get her brains and blood on you. That would suck.”
Then he put the hammer back in the gym bag, looked at her, and said, “Well I guess you get to feel the breeze.”
At that, he went over and grabbed Juanica by the hair and started dragging her to the edge of the building.
“No, No, Help,” She screamed, the ability to struggle limited by the bindings on her hands and feet.
At the edge of the building, Daniel saw two things that surprised him. First, there was a man snooping through his car. The man held up a pen that he kept in the glove box.
“Hey you little shit, get out of my car.” He reached behind him and pulled his pistol out of his belt.
The Man shut the door, turned, and ran off without recognizing Daniel. Then Daniel noticed the Police car.
“Oh shit, bitch I guess you get shot.” He turned gun in hand as two officers emerged onto the roof.
“Freeze, drop the gun.”
Juanica screamed, “Help me, stop him please.”
Daniel fell from the building with three bullets in his torso.
Fredrick watched with a smile on his face, got into his car, put the pen in the glove box, and waited to see if the police would want to talk to him. Later that morning he got home, went to the bedroom, and put the pen on the shelf with his other Momentos.
To Be Continued
Find Episode 3, Take your medicine, here.
Start the Journey here with Episode 1.
© 2022, T. Mark Mangum
I am T.Mark Mangum. From an early age, I was hooked, addicted to the imagined, unfathomable worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Conan, the Lord of the Rings, and many others. I love writing fiction tales. I love writing in multiple genres. However, my favorites are Sci-fi and Fantasy fiction. I am a father of six; we have two cats and two dogs. Tabletop gaming is a passion.
