Whispered Secrets(Darrell Case) Nobody knew a thing about the murder that happened at 2:39 AM. yet news spread to every house in the village within a few minutes. Five bullets coming from five directions. Each one a killing shot. Both of Kenny’s eyes, ears and one in the back of his head. All long-range shots. In The Bluebird tavern the only one left awake was Max Creeker and, of course, Kenny. Behind the bar, waiting for Kenny to leave, Max counted up his losses. By his calculations, Kenny’s tab now reached just a little over $2000.00. The one and only time he pressed Kenny to pay his bill, he ended up with a broken arm. Max finally gratefully locked the door behind a staggering Kenny Walls. 30 seconds later, five shots rang out. Max swore he never heard a thing.

Before Kenny moved there, Thomason’s Creek was an idyllic little town. One where children roamed the streets playing hopscotch, marbles, or just riding their bikes. All that changed when Kenny moved into the old Jennings place. The storeowners, friendly at first, soon learned they were dealing with a thug. Before Kenny, no doors were locked. After Kenny’s arrival, no door was left unlocked.
Kenny never paid for a thing. If you didn’t have it in stock, you better get it as soon as possible. Kenny made living in Thomason’s Creek a nightmare.

Meg said, “All the girls are scared of him. Orders food and won’t pay for it.” Meg Young owned the Westward café. “Comes in big as you please, expecting the girls to drop what they’re doing to wait on him.”
Max and Meg were not the only businesses that suffered. Everyone in town endured Kenny’s bullying. If you didn’t give in and contribute to Kenny, you paid for it. From alcohol to food to gas for his elderly pickup. Like an early warning system, Paula Sims lowered her flag to half-staff when Kenny’s old pickup passed her house.

What happened that night everyone talked about. From one end of the village to the other, people heard the shots. Cell phones lit up. More calls were made between 2 and 3AM than all during the previous week.

The next morning, an anonymous call was made to the county sheriff.
Kenny lay on the sidewalk next to The Bluebird. His life’s blood pooled around him. Everyone came by to make sure Kenny was dead. That is until the deputies hung sheets to conceal the body. In the afternoon, the deputies went house to house questioning the residents. Everyone said they were asleep and didn’t hear the shots that took Kenny’s life.

As the sun went down, law enforcement packed up and went home. At 8 PM, everyone met at Meg’s restaurant. Nobody called it a celebration. However, everyone was smiling and talking excitedly about the murder. Meg served free food. Whatever you wanted was on the menu.

After welcoming everyone, Meg yielded the floor to Sue Collins, the local historian.
“Jeff, make sure there’s no one on the street,” Sue said. Jeff, being her husband, did as she asked.
“Everything’s dark honey.” He reported back. “Nobody around.”
Sue took a deep breath. “We can all sleep better knowing that the threat to Thomason’s Creek is gone. I want to thank the ones who removed our mutual menace. You know who you are. Consider the village very grateful for your act of service.”
Sue set down to a round of applause.

Listening to the bug he planted in Meg’s restaurant, the sheriff smiled. “Well, I guess that is one murder that will go unsolved.” He nodded to the four deputies in front of him. “You did a great job, men. But I still say I’m as good a shot if not better than you Hugh.”
“Maybe so, but you got Kenny in the corner of his eye. I was dead center.” Hugh said.
The deputies laughed.
“Ok guys, let’s go home.” The sheriff said. As the last one out, he shut off the lights.

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