If after dark you stray
Be ware of Judgment Day.
Here dead eyes that cannot see
Pass through Hell's Eternity.
KEEP OUT!
***
That's what the sign said in Cephas Stump's sprawling lethal hand. It was rumored that Cephas had shot at least ten people who had ignored this warning, winging three and nearly killing two others.
Needless to say, I was not happy when I was given the assignment to go out to his place, make sure he hadn't died or was injured, and report back to the sheriff.
He hadn't been seen in over three months, and everyone who knew him, knew Cephas Stump would come into town at least once monthly for supplies.
Nobody went through sugar like Cephas Stump.
The man based his shine on grain mash and commercially processed sugar. And the fact that he hadn't been in to restock was a sure sign something was wrong. A neighbor had reported not seeing him out and about for several weeks.
Probably one of Stump's best customers, I thought.
YOU ARE READING
Cain's Mark
General FictionA short story about a small town deputy in 1952 who is tasked with interviewing a backwoods moonshiner in the case of a missing youth.
