Aurora Borealis

[BigDonGStone]

Jedediah Jackson:

Though I knew it wasn't possible for it to be someone else's gun I had to be sure.

Upon entering my room I immediately checked the drawer. Nothing. Three shirts, freshly folded combinations, a box of shells, and a cockroach that died shortly after I saw it.

I took a little extra pleasure extinguishing its measly little life; just like I was going to do to whoever was behind this frame.

I picked up one of the shirts and threw it in frustration.

"Sons a bitches", I muttered under my breath.

I hadn't seen Lou at the door and the shirt struck her just as she entered the room.

I took the remaining revolver out of my belt and checked the cylinder.

As I put it back I thought about Tonsilitis. He and I were going to have a conversation. A long one. And for his sake I hoped the revolver didn't have to come back out of my belt.

 

[Maid of Marvels]

The lady that's known as... Lou

Her joke fell on deaf ears and the look on Jedediah's face told her that one of the guns was missing. Lou sighed, sitting down on the bed and patting the space beside her. Things didn't look good, but she knew deep in her heart that he hadn't killed Lars. He didn't have any reason to pick a quarrel with that man in the first place. Actually, no one did. Well, that wasn't quite true now, was it? Someone obviously did and had done him in to boot.

"Someone took it to set you up, Jed. You and I both know that. Why? Well, we will find that out when we find out who. And we will."

Jedediah Jackson was probably the only person besides her ma who knew her inside and out and she wasn't going to lose him because of some foolhardy accusation. Lou let her finger trail along the gentle giant's jaw, finally tracing the outline of his lips with her thumb. He smiled softly, melting her heart as he always did.

"Everything's going to be all right. You'll see."

"Is the Law gone?"

Lou looked into his eyes. "He was still here when I came through, but I'm not giving Tonsillitis up to him that easy. You either. Personally, I'd rather deal with Constable Fraser, but... He wants to talk to both of you, he said. I'll stall till someone goes out to Patterson's Creek to see if what Ton says... "

She wasn't looking forward to dealing with the local law, which meant the North-West Mounted Police. Lou knew they were a formidable presence in the Yukon, and one to be reckoned with. They always got their man... or so they said. Well she had news for them. They weren't getting hers.

"Dammit, Lou. Even I know Tonsillitis isn't one for making up stories," he growled, getting up from the bed.

She sighed again and stood, walking over to the chiffonier to look in the mirror, as much to fix her hair as to sneak a peek at him. He would never let on that he was terribly worried about this mess, but it showed plainly in his face when she wasn't supposed to be looking.

"So how do I look, handsome?" Lou asked as she turned and slipped her arms around him, offering her lips to his for a kiss. "Just to tide me over til... " Jedediah arched an eyebrow, a look she returned with an innocent blink and a mischievous smile. "Why you naughty man. Whatever are you thinking?? Now kiss me quick."

Never one to take an order well, he kissed Lou long and slow, his hands sliding over her body as he pulled her closer. Another minute and Lou knew where she'd be instead of downstairs. Pushing him away, she grinned, her face flushed in a way that Jedediah knew all too well.

"Lingering here isn't going to help," Lou said solemnly. Best to get things over so someone can go down to Patterson's Creek and retrieve Lars Lindquist's body and tend to the burial. He couldn't just lie there. Dead is dead, but even dead, a person deserved that much. "I want to get Tonsillitis tucked away nice and safe, too. The rest can wait till morning."

 

[Graybread]

(Tad was sitting on the bench with Becky Hampton, hoping she might kiss him again. He was holding her hand, wishing he had the courage to kiss her.
"Wake, Toro. You cannot sleep in the water all night." Becky said, in a voice that wasn’t hers.
“Becky,” he replied, “I’m not in any water, and how do you know those words I don’t understand? The only person that talks to me like that is Annie, and she’s way up in Carmack…. Annie,”… he stated, puzzled, pushing up off the bench.)

Tad stood up in the rapidly cooling gray water, his tanned torso contrasting sharply with his white lower half. His eyes pooped open and he looked down at Annie standing beside the tub.

“Hi Annie,” he said sleepily, still not totally awake. “I was just talking to Becky.”

A broad grin spread across Annie’s face as it turned a brilliant shade of red. She gave Tad a quick once over before turning and grabbing a towel lying on the stand behind her. Keeping her face turned away she handed the towel to Tad.

“Tad,” she giggled, “you’re culo fauda.”

“Huh?” he replied.

She pointed her finger at his naked body, to indicate the meaning of ‘culo fauda’.

He followed the point of the finger, looking down at himself.

“Aaaagggghhhhh!” he gasped, his eyes widening, coming fully awake now. He dropped back down in the water, causing it to slosh over the sides of the tub, some splashing on Annie’s dress. He quickly leaned out and grabbed the towel, pulling it under the water to cover himself.

“Oh Gosh, Oh Gosh,” he stammered, his whole body a brighter red than her face had been. “Oh Gosh,” he stammered again, looking for a better place to hide, looking everywhere but at her. Finally sliding as far down in the tub as he could slide, until just the top of his blond head poked above the rim.

“Come my culo fauda, toro,” she giggled, peeking around to see the top of his head. “I have brought you clean clothes.” She stepped out of the washroom, shutting the door hard, to indicate that she had left, laughing the whole time.

Tad peeked over the edge of the tub to make sure she was gone, holding the wet towel in front of him, he quickly stepped out and went to the door. Leaning against it to make sure she couldn’t get back in. He tossed the wet towel back into the tub and grabbed an other to dry himself. He slipped on the clean trousers and the shirt. The trousers fit fine around the waist, but they were a little short in the leg. The shirt was fine also, except the sleeves were three inches to short, and it was a little tight across the shoulders.

Once dressed, except for his boots, Tad didn’t know what to do. “She has seen me,” he thought, “all of me.” He doubled his fists and clutched them to his chest. Pacing across the room, splashing through the spilled water. Four steps turn and four steps back. His embarrassment and fear at an all time high. “Pa always said I was big as an ox and twice as dumb,” he said to himself, as he continued to pace. He stopped in the middle of a stride.

“Well, ya aint no big dumb ox,” he said, pushing his fear down. “Yer a man now, out on your own. Ya aint no farm boy no more, so acts like a man. Jus go out there and tell her yer sorry, she seen ya.” He continued to tell himself. He unclenched his fist, pressing the wrinkles out of the shirt. He stepped to the door and opened it a crack. Peeking out, he could not see Annie. He shut the door again.

“Aaaahhhmmm,” he cleared his throat, as he opened the door and stepped out. His bare feet protruding out the bottom of the trousers, the skin wrinkled on his toes. His long arms and hands hanging down from the shirt sleeves, his blond hair, still damp, uncombed, sticking in every direction. He stepped out from behind the screen, his face down to the floor, his hands crossed in front of him.

“Miss Annie,” he began. “I’m sorry ya seen me nekkid like that…” His face turning red again.

 

[OnHarry]

okay?

 

[OnHarry]

When Stew got to the site where Lars body was supposed to be, he found nothing there. The rain had slowed down to a steady drizzle, but it was damp and cold, however he tied his horse and started to check the area, and after a bit found Lars's pan and his pick and shovel, along with his pack.

He was getting colder by the minute and felt miserable like a he had a cold coming on, then in the gravel by the edge of the creek he saw the gun. Stew stopped and squatted looking around very carefully now his instincts as a policeman overruling his discomfort. He saw faintly, as the rain was churning up the mud that wasn't covered with gravel, some footprints, smallish boots not what he would say were the size of Jed's, or Lars, it must have been that clot Toncilitis, closer to the creek he could see no other footprints.

Picking up the gun with his two fingers placed around the trigger gaurd he opened the chambers then looked down the barrel, it had been fired no doubt and recently.

Stew stood up and looked around for some indication of the body that Toncilitis said he had found, and noted nothing. He wrapped the gun in an oilskin cloth he had in his valise on his horse, and then mounted up and rode slowly downstream. Patterson's creek was not real wide or deep but it did move fairly quickly so if Lars had been near the middle he might have been swept downstream.

Half an hour later as Stew roade around a bend in the creek he saw the unfortunate Lars, well he wasn't exactly a friendly or popular individual but he was a human being and he was dead. Stew got off his own horse and went to the fallen black spruce tree to extricate the body. After freeing him from the tree, stew slung him over his own horse and walked back towards Lars camp.

When he got there he found Lars pack horse a decent looking, if not exceptional animal, and so he packed up what Lars had in the camp looking to see if there was anything to indicate what may have caused the ruckus that resulted in Lars death. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary noting that for the most part Lars was a fairly tidy camper Stew mounted his own horse the body now on the pack horse and decided to depart.

He stopped though and thought for a minute, what was going on here, only one or two footprints he could read, and the area around Lars claim was clear for a good 50 yards on both sides of the creek, so he doubted that Lars was ambushed, as the gun was fired and the person who fired it presumedly Jed would not have dropped it in the side of the creek particularily a nice pistol like this one, atleast if they had any sense. Something was not right here, so just to satisfy his own mind Stew went to the next claim along the creek which as it happened was the one Toncilitis worked.

Toncilitis had a small cabin so Stew had a look inside, and was more puzzled now. There had been some sort of fight or something here as the crude table and chair and the bunk were all askew and the whole place looked like it had been torn up this didn't make sense either. Stew decided to ride back to town in the increrasingly heavy rain and try and make some sense of this.

Two hours later, he delivered to the chinaman who served as undertaker and occasionally the assisitant to the doctor, who acted as coroner when he was sober. Stew made his way back to the Aurora Borealis and walked in to get warmed up and fed. He also wanted to tall to Jedediah and Toncilitis.

The first person he saw when he entered was Lou as she came down the stairs to the main room of the bar.

 

[Rufus the Mad]

Top was comin on to dog tired, and was just getting set to take his leave when the cook came to him and asked after borrowin some clothes, muttering somethin about needing them for the new worker... Raisin an eyebrow, he fetched out some of his larger clothes, and handed them over without much fuss. He didn't wear them except when he was needin some serious work clothes anyway.

He served a few more rounds, keepin himself busy fer a bit and was just about to call it a night and hand over the duties of the bar to some of the girls when that glowing bastion of law and order, the stalwart Constable Fraser. Top already didn't like the man, and liked him even less when he was investigating what could be called a friend of his... But he was still the law, and ol' Top hadn't forgotten his place in the scheme of things... He was just a barkeep now, and had no authority other than what his arms and balled up fists could bring 'im... He kept his mouth shut, his eyes open, and his ear to the wind, just in case he might be needed.

He grimaced a bit when he saw the mans eyes lock on Lou as she came downstairs, and he stood quiet and still, waiting to see what was needed... So much for sleep then...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

The lady that's known as... Lou

http://www.Bibracte.dreamwater.org/ATWAS/AuroraBar.jpg​

Lou paused on the landing to survey the room below and smiled proudly. The crystal chandeliers sparkled, giving off just enough light to lend a sense of intimacy to the room despite the fact that, even at this hour of the night, the Aurora was bustling. Lively conversations, laughter and the clinking of bottles and glasses added to the melody that someone was playing on the grand piano in the orchestra pit below the stage.

Unlike the dozen or some odd saloons in Carmack, all of the 'trappings' here had been imported; from the mahogany bar to the latest-style French gowns that the girls wore. Even the spittoons were shiny and changed often. No moose heads and cheesy decorations here. The Aurora had class. Sliding her hand along the banister, she continued down the stairs.

On her way across the common room, Lou caught the arm of a sultry red-haired beauty as she passed by. "Sadie," she whispered. "Give me a minute with him then do us a favor and go distract the NWMP, will you? He's looking mighty... lonely." Sadie would keep Mac busy and hopefully they'd hold off til the morning for any questioning to be done by the Constable himself.

But first things first... excusing herself from James, she approached two old sourdoughs standing at the bar looking like they'd lost their best friend. Placing her hands on their shoulders, she greeted them with a friendly, "Evenin' boys!" chuckling as they both jumped a mile off the floor.

"Most fella's are a little happier to see me than you two seem to be. What can I get you?" Even as Lou asked, she was nodding for Top to bring some whiskey down their way. "You boys are strung tighter than a hang man's noose. Relax a little."

Lou smiled her sunniest smile. "Perhaps a little company will soothe your nerves?" Motioning imperceptibly to a couple of the girls, she moved along her way again, chuckling. Those two had to be the strangest men she'd met in all her days.

Noticing that Sadie had the Mac wrapped around her little finger, Lou ducked into the kitchen to send Tonsillitis off to bed. Tomorrow was soon enough for dealing with any questions from the NWMP. Besides, she wanted to talk to Tonsillitis on her own before hand.

"Lou!" The sourdough's face lit up when she walked in. "It really was Jedediah's gun lying by old Lars, you know."

"We'll talk in the morning, Tonsillitis. Now go get your bath and rest yourself. I'll come fetch you from your room in the morning when the Constable gets here. Oh, and use the back stairs. I don't want Mac remembering what he was supposed to be doing."

Looking a little disappointed that Lou hadn't made a fuss, Tonsillitis smiled wanly and made his way upstairs after saying goodnight. Lou took a deep breath and watched him go.

It seemed as though Tonsillitis was desperate for her to believe that. In fact, Lou had no doubt that the gun was Jedediah's -- especially since they both now knew it was missing from his room. But there still remained the why and the how of it. No matter what, Jedediah Jackson didn't have a mean bone in his body and neither did Lars. None of this made sense, dammit!

With Ton safely out of the way, Lou considered sending a couple of the boys down to Patterson's Creek to keep watch on Lars' body. She'd read enough penny dreadfuls to know that a crime scene shouldn't be disturbed, and she had too much respect for the dead to let some ravaging critters get him -- if they hadn't already.

Leaving the kitchen, she was looking around to see if Jedediah had come down when Top caught her eye and gestured surreptitiously, nodding his head toward yet another NWMP. He was standing down at the end of the bar, talking to a couple of the few remaining customers and Mac was nowhere in sight. Lou sighed. It was the Constable.

 

[Tonsillitis]

Tonsillitis Jones

Tonsillitis went up the back stairs as Lou had said to do. It took a while to find the room from this direction, but after a few twists and turns finally stood in front of the door marked 214.

Once in and the door securely locked, Tonsillitis stripped and immediately climbed into the steaming tub of water that had been waiting. It was heavenly after all those months in the bush where the most the little sourdough could manage was a dip in the creek now and again.

Scrubbing, rinsing and scrubbing again, it was a fair guess to say there wasn't a speck of dirt left on Tonsillitis Jones' body by the time the hoarse-voiced miner had dried off and slipped naked between the cool, crisp sheets.

"You're gonna hang, Jedediah Jackson. Sure as my name is... " Ton laughed heartily, snuggled in and fell soundly asleep.

 

[Messalina]

Annie DeSilva

"Miss Annie, I'm sorry ya seen me nekkid like that… "

Annie kept her back to the farm boy while trying to compose herself. She just couldn't seem to suppress the wave of laughter that was threatening to consume her. She wasn't laughing at him so much as with him. She'd been just as flustered as Tad had been when he'd jumped out of the bath like that.

Oh, it wasn't the fact that he was naked so much -- she had been the only girl in a family of seven brothers, so naked men were not a rarity for her -- it was more the fact that Tad Merriwether had such a delightful sense of innocence about him. It was absolutely refreshing in a place like this where so many hearts and souls grew hard as they saw their dreams vanish in a pan of dust. Or lack of it most likely.

"Basta, toro. Don't worry over something so small." That's when Annie felt a flush spread over her own face. It wasn't so small after all. Was it?

The crimson of Tad's face deepened when she spoke, and Annie walked across the room to him. "That isn't what I was referring to, toro. I meant... " What did she mean exactly? Perhaps she was more flustered at seeing him than she realized? "These things happen, Tad. Please don't be upset about it. It's finished and over."

Annie stepped back and took a good look at the boy/man for the first time since he'd emerged from the bath. Sì. That he was a handsome man was obvious now that she could see past the dirt. Broad at the shoulder and narrow at the waist. And below... Annie felt the flush grow in her face again -- and elsewhere, too. Madre mia she hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Tomorrow we will get you some clothing that will fit you. This was the best that I could do on short notice. But now you need a bed, sì?" Annie tipped her head toward her own bed. "It may be short, but it is comfortable. This is where you sleep tonight. We will make other arrangements for you tomorrow."

 

[Rufus the Mad]

Seamus stood silently, watching the big barroom and letting everyone there know that he was. His presense hadn't diminished any from his days as a First Sergeant in the Army, even with his stubby appearance and missing leg.

He slid the full bottle of whisky down the bar to the pair Lou had pointed out with a practiced flip of his wrist, and smiled slightly as the bottle settled perfectly between them on the polished wood. He had been practicing that, and had gotten pretty good with foaming mugs of beer and the tumblers and shots he normally filled. To pull it off with an overbalanced whisky bottle was a feat he was rather proud of.

He watched the owner make the rounds, and saw the maneuvering that sweet Sadie was using on the NWMP was having exactly the right effect... Leave it to Lou to handle the situation with just the right amount of poise and grace. The new Constable, however, was proving to be a handful. He seemed determined to run this thing into the ground, and drag as many folks into the mess as he could. He hadn't started anything yet, but the wily old bartender recognised the type... He had seen enough bullheaded hot shot liutenants run through his old unit to know that eager tension, to understand the motivations on a man that seemed to be almost desperate to prove himself in the new setting. it had always been Top's job to bury them when they got themselves killed, and try to rebuild the remainder of the unit every time the idiots had gotten men killed along with them for no good reason. This new boy would take some watchin, and that was for sure and certain.

When Lou came back out of the kitchen, the burly bartender caught her attention as soon as possible, and nodded slightly in his direction to bring the problem to her attention. He then pulled out a fresh bar towel and began slowly wiping down the gleaming wood of the bar, watchful, silent, and ready should she need him.

 

[Graybread]

“These things happen, Tad. Please don't be upset about it. It's finished and over.” Annie said, standing in front of him.

Even though he’d embarrassed himself in front of her, he still felt drawn to her. He liked being near her, her looks, her scent, her words he didn’t understand, all drew him closer to her. He didn’t understand the reasons, he just knew he wanted to be near her.

“Tomorrow we will get you some clothing that will fit you. This was the best that I could do on short notice. But now you need a bed, sì?” Annie tipped her head toward her own bed. “It may be short, but it is comfortable. This is where you sleep tonight. We will make other arrangements for you tomorrow.”

At first, the thought of sleeping in her bed bothered him, but the more he thought about it the more accepting he became. “Annie,” he asked, “does sì, mean yes in your words?”

“Si,” she replied, “I mean yes, sì means yes in my words.”

“What does toro mean,” he asked?

Annie’s face flushed and her face and eyes bent to the floor, as she realized she was about to tell him she referred to him as a bull, and all the connotation that went with it. “Bull,” she said quietly, “Toro means bull in my language.” She raised her eyes to judge his reaction. He stood there beaming down at her. “Now to bed,” she said, flustered, stepping over, and pulling the blankets down on the bed. “You will have to work tomorrow.” She stepped quickly to the door, opening it and stepping out. She turned back to him, “Good night Tad…Toro,” she said, smiling at him, slowly closing the door.

He stood there for a moment, staring at the door. “Toro,” he whispered, “she thinks I’m a bull.” A broad grin crossed his face broken by a yawn. His chest swelled with pride, popping the top button off the shirt. He was tired and needed to sleep.

He reached up and pulled the chain on the new fangled electric light hanging from the ceiling. They had them back home, but he didn’t understand how they worked. All he knew was you just pulled the chain and you had light, it was better than kerosene lamps, and didn’t smell at all. He sat down on Annie’s bed and undressed, removing the two pieces of clothing. He crawled under the blankets and reveled in the feeling of the soft bed. He laid his head on the pillow and immediately smelled Annie. He buried his face in the pillow and inhaled deeply, he missed her already. He lay there wiggling in the bed before he realized he had been humping the sheets. He had a raging hard-on, and was immediately embarrassed by the fact. He shouldn’t be doing this he thought, not in her bed. He had played with himself many times, since he had reached puberty, but this seemed wrong, in her bed. He tried to think of something else, of plowing the fields, of feeding the hogs, anything to get his mind off his bodies’ demands. Finally, after chopping wood for several minutes, in his mind, he drifted off to sleep.

Becky Hampton was holding his hand as they walked down the lane, through the apple orchard. She tugged his hand and pulled him into the trees. Lying down beside a tree, she pulled him down with her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him deeply. She reached down with her hand and unbuttoned his fly, taking him in her hand, and stoking him, just as he would do himself. He felt his orgasm reaching a peak after a moment. He looked down at Becky who was no longer there it was Annie. The first jets left his hard-on and splashed on the ground.

Tads’ eyes popped open as he continued to stroke himself, there was no stopping at this point. “Oh gosh, oh gosh,” he panted, as his seed fell on Annie’s’ sheets. Weeks of pent up orgasms emptied themselves in this one. He lay there engrossed in the sensation, with Annie’s face in his mind. He would never be able to tell her what he had done, she would never understand, girls were like that, he thought. He was not embarrassed by the act, but she might be, so he would never tell her. He lay there holding his deflating manhood, thinking about Annie, how pretty she was, and how good she smelled as he drifted back to sleep.

 

[OnHarry]

Constable Fraser was making general inquiries of the residents of the bar, and was not surpriesed when no one knew anything, well Lars was out on his claim most of the time and these remote locations could do funny things to a man's mind.

As he spoke to a pair of likely looking lads, noting the latent hostility of the barkeep, Lou came up to him, and in tones sultry and sweet, bespoke of her plan to retrieve Lars from the creek.

"Not necessary maam, I already have him back and in the undertakers, and the doctor is checking him for cause of death." Several around that aspect of the bar snorted, one wag saying 'probably lead poisoning' which garnered a lot of laughter.

Constable Fraser did not share in the merriement. Lou looking at him realized for the first time, since it was the first time she was this close to him, how big he was, said "well then I guess you earned a drink on the house Constable"

"Never on duty maam, and seldom off." He replied with a noble incline of his head, which made the barkeep roll his eyes at his inherent purity.

"Do you go to church every Sunday too Fraser?" asked one of the nearby customers derisivly.

"NO, because there is no Presbyterian chapel hereabouts."

That settled, this was the most emotion anyone had ever seen from the usually stone faced constable. Lou asked him, "so constable, what have you learned so far in 'your investigation .'

"Can't say as of yet maam, as the investigation is still ongoing, which reminds me I need that Toncilitis person for a few questions."

"He went to bed" said Lou.

"Then he can get up can't he," spoke Stew with finality.

"He can sleep," answered Lou with even more finality," he will still be here in the morning, you can talk to him then."

"So long as I have your solemn word, you will not let him go before I speak with him,"answered Stew not raising his voice but speaking with a steely firmness that left no doubt to his resolve.

"Of course Constable," said Lou in honeyed tones that normally would melt the ice in the creek but seemed to have little affect on Stew.

With that he turned to leave and Lou called after him, "don't you want to talk to Jed?"

"No need at this point, but whe I return his pistol I may have a chat with him."

"No doubt tea and toast as well," laughed one of the other denizens of the Aurora.

If Stew heard him he gave no indcation, but marched out rain still dripping from his stetson. "Hmm," said yet another patron of Lou's finery, "either he knows it is Jed, or he knows it is not, wonder how this will all come out."

"Bad for someone I shouldn't wonder,"said one of the local philosophers. Lou just stared at his massive retreating back as he went out into the night and the falling rain.

 

[BigDonGStone]

James "Jedediah" Jackson:

Room 214 was used more often than not for "entertainment" purposes. It had one of those ornate dressing screens in one corner. I often wondered where Lou got her hands on it. Jade, bamboo, sandalwood. It had an ornate carving of women generals from the Ching Ming dynasty.

Hell, it was probably worth more in China than the whole hotel. Here though, where Chinamen were two or three rungs below street cur, she probably could have traded three of them for a bottle of whisky.

Sitting on the dressing stool behing the screen I looked at the remaining Colt and hoped that Jones wouldn't make the mistake of looking behind the screen.

True to her word to separate Jones from the constable, it wasn't long before Toncilitus came into the room. Shortly afterward I heard the straining of the bed and the rustle of the sheets. Within moments a contented snoring filled the room.

I waited a short time before moving up to the bed. Placing a low-back Windsor chair next to the bed I sat down and placed the business end of the Colt against Ton's forehead.

It had the desired effect. Ton's eyes opened wide and he looked at me in disbelief.

I looked directly into his eyes with murderous intent.

"Let me explain the situation." I spoke softly, but clearly and concisely.

"If Lars was shot with my gun it left a big hole in him."

"BIG hole", I repeated for emphasis.

"If this revolver is fired it will leave a really big hole in the bar downstairs. That big hole will be filled with most of whatever brains you have".

"Just nod real slow if you understand", I said without ever changing my tone of voice.

"Good", I said. "Now I have a few questions to ask and I want to get the answers before the constable beats them out of you".

"Oh and by the way", I said menacingly as I cocked the hammer back. "I REALLY want to like the answers you give me. I REALLY, REALLY want to like the answers".

 

[Tonsillitis]

Tonsillitis Jones

Tonsillitis froze, the business end of Jedediah's pistol planted firmly against the little dough boy's forehead, despite the fact that the rest of him was completely covered and only his saucer-sized eyes peered out from under the duvet. It wasn't meant to be this way. It wasn't...

A sharp rap on the door at the same moment that the hammer on Jedediah's gun clicked let loose a warm deluge from Tonsillitis' bladder. Dying like this wasn't exactly the way it had been envisioned.

"Jedediah!"

Only Ton's eyes moved when he heard Lou's voice.

"Hello, Lou," the big man rumbled. "I came to ask Tonsillitis some questions. He was just getting round to answering me. Weren't you, Ton?" He pressed the gun even more firmly against his forehead.

Lou took a couple of steps, the swish of her dress and the scent of her perfume mixing with the acrid scent of urine in Tonsillitis' nose as she moved closer to the bed. "Put it away, love," she said quietly, placing her hand over Jedediah's. "Let me have a word with Ton and then you and I... "

Tonsillitis, still too frightened to breathe a sigh of relief or relax, watched as the hammer was uncocked and the gun was drawn back.

"I need to talk to him, Lou." His voice was firm, insistent, but whatever Lou did next, Ton only heard the sense of her whisper and the skritching of the chair against the floor as Jedediah pushed it back and stood, was enough to send him, albeit reluctantly, from the room.

Neither of them spoke until he was gone and Lou had closed and locked the door behind him.