Honey Whiskey

Bloody Prudence

It was a long walk into town before Jonah made it to his small shop. His dad, Don, had taught him how to cobble from a young age. He was mostly keeping Jonah away from his neighbor's yard, which had been destroyed after Jonah had been drinking and drove the car onto his lawn. He had destroyed multiple bushes, ran down his flowerbeds and destroyed a few trees. Facing the brown brick building, covered here and there by vines. The two big windows were framing the front door, where the name of the store had been written. He felt quite proud, he had worked hard to be able to open up his own shoemaking store, Rust and Co. Unlocking the door, Jonah made his way inside. The bell rang loudly in the empty store. There were shelves against the left wall, showcasing some shoes who had been fixed by him. The smell of dust and glue filled the store, he looked around and went behind the counter. He picked up his used leathered apron on the wall hook, draped the apron on himself and took a seat on the antique stool behind the cash register. The small tapping of Jonah's finger on the counter echoed through the store as he patiently waited for clients. Bored, he glanced at his phone to see if he had gotten any sign from Maybelle yet, nothing. The day before, Jonah had stayed late at the shop. He was working on a last-minute order, the sole of a pair of high heels needed to be replaced. His customer was attending a wedding the next day. Jonah made sure every order was perfect, he loved his job and wanted it to reflect into his work.

After long hours of clients coming in and out of the store, Jonah took a small break and sat back behind the cash register. He switched on the small radio sitting on the counter. Voices announcing the daily news resonated inside the shop, Jonah felt less lonely in that moment.

"Breaking news: Early this morning an unidentified body was found on the grounds of an open house party downtown. The police are investigating possible signs of a drug overdose, though the exact cause of death has not yet been revealed. The authorities are asking the public to come forward with any information regarding suspicious behavior seen at the Prudence Street party last night."

~

The loud music from the party was muffled, Papi was walking back and forth in the small bathroom, he kept massaging his temple with his gloved fingers. Boiling inside, he looked up and stared for a moment at Stevo and Dalton. They were keeping an eye on Danny, who seemed quite calm as he was sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of the room. Papi was suspecting the teenager of stealing money and he had to do something about it. He knew he had to show the others that theft was unacceptable, especially if they were stealing from him. Papi had always treated his employees fairly, and made sure that all of them knew they could ask for money, whenever they needed it.

"Why am I here? Am I in trouble?", Danny was sitting on the chair, glancing at Papi who had turned to face him.

"Nobody said you were in trouble, we just want to talk with you. Friendly little chitchat."

"Talk about what?"

He tried to stay calm, Papi had already planned everything out, every tiny detail. Pacing around, the older man stopped abruptly and a malicious grin took over his face as his eyes met Danny's.

"Well you're new to the organization, I wanted to welcome you officially."

"No you're not. Is it about the money?", Danny straightened up, he seemed to look closely into every slight reaction Papi had.

"The money? Oh, so it was you."

"I didn't say that.", Stevo and Dalton firmly held him onto the chair.

"Well I didn't tell anybody about it, we had our suspicions but now I know that it was you."

"I was going to put it back!", his pupils were dilated, revealing the fact that he had started panicking.