Part One - Brad Kilgore

  Chapter Six - I am not asking you to tell me something I don’t know.

  Frank holstered the forty-five caliber Colt Peacemaker, and he spoke. "Oh, I have a surprise for you.” He went out of the barn door and came back with a large pot, a bag full of papers, and a ledger. He quickly moved behind Kilgore to the burnt section of the barn. He didn’t want Kilgore to get a good look, and he wanted the fire in that part of the barn.

  Kilgore believed he recognized the papers and the Ledger. He grumbled below his breath. He didn't want to risk angering the man with a large outburst.

  The man said. “You're going to have a little fire in honor of... Murdering the help? Yeah, that will do.”

  With a loss of self-control the fat man returned with, "You son of a bitch. You're a dead man. I'll get you for this. I'll get you if it’s the last thing I ever do.” He was pulled upward and began to choke. The pressure eased. The smell of smoke surrounded him. Kilgore’s face contorted as he thought. The son of a bitches burning my papers. The scent of smoke grew stronger.

  Frank whistled a song from an old cartoon. Kilgore was such a cliche. A bad one. He moved across the barn and sat on the feed box. “A person should be happy in their work. Having a good attitude is important. Don't you think Kilgore? Come on, Kilgore, tell me about the thrill you got by killing her. It must have given you a big thrill to prove that you're such a big man.”

  Thoughts raced through Kilgore's mind. Lie. That's it. I just have to make him feel better, and this will all be over. His clothes were soaked in sweat. His knees had begun to shake. He was beginning to weaken. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to fight back. The fat man spoke hoarsely, “It was an accident. She was in here getting her stuff, and things just fell on her.”

  Frank moved behind the chair. He leaned on the rope tightening its grip on the man's throat. He was as careful as he could be. He wanted the man to last.

  The heavy man groaned and started to speak. No words came out of his mouth. Soon the only thing holding him up would be the rope. If this happened, everything would be lost.

  “That is not what I asked, and you know that is a half-truth. I am not interested in half truths. It may have looked like an accident. It wasn’t an accident. I am not asking you to tell me something I don’t know. I am giving you the chance to live.” He released some of the pressure on the rope. “You are aware that she is the only reason I offer you this chance? I'm here out of kindness, but not my kindness. I'm here to let you know that you don't have to hurt yourself anymore.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Short of breath the big man spoke anyway, “What are you stupid? What good would it do you to know how she died? Look at what you're doing. Staging accidents; it happens all the time. So yeah, I did it. There you go. Why shouldn't I tell you? You can't get me on it anyway. I own the local cops. So, what difference does it make? So go ahead and do it. Leave me on this chair. I got friends. I know people. They will be coming for you. No one will believe I committed suicide.”

  Frank laughed and said, “So, if you answer my question in a nice calm and polite fashion; maybe, I’ll be able to explain it to you? If you are not going to play; then, I'll just have to drag you out in the woods and bury you. you really should have just stuck to answering the question.” Frank drew the pistol out.

  Kilgore rambled on out of desperation. “You know this won't change anything? But it was an accident. I was handing down boxes, and one slipped. It just fell on her. Well, I just sort of help the rest of the stuff fall. I mean, after I started, I had to make sure it was done.” There was a long pause before he continued. He felt that this guy wasn’t buying the lie. He said, “There you go asshole. Do you feel better now?”

  “No, that really didn't help me feel better. But I didn't expect it would. I didn't come here to feel better. Well, I can see you haven't figured out what's going on yet.” He walked back over to the grain box. He sat down and waited. He picked up the recorder. He looked at it. He glanced at Brad. He put the recorder down. He hadn’t noticed the recorder. Was he really this stupid?

  A short time later Kilgore grumbled, “You don't say something like that and then shut up. What’s wrong with you? You got what you came here for. I've got nothing else to say about it. And there’s more than enough evidence here to get you. Man, you are caught. You just murdered a girl and stole a bunch of money. Whether I live or not someone's coming after you. I'm not in business with the friendliest people. If it's not the cops on a murder charge. It will be one of my people, one of them will get you.”

  “I never mentioned anything about money. I'm sorry, but I think you've missed the point. We’ve gotten off track. I'm going to ask you one last time. And I want you to give me a nice clear concise answer. If you answer truthfully, I will answer all your questions. Then I will walk out of here. I won't let you hang yourself. I won't let you hurt yourself anymore. I will give you the chance to live. Did it really give you a big thrill to kill a little woman?”

  Kilgore replied anxiously, “Okay. Okay. I'll tell you the truth. It wasn't planned. I just got hyped up. Coke, you know? She came to get her stuff. I was helping her. Really, I was? It was an accident. I was handing down boxes, and one fell. Then I just got mad. I mean, she left me. That's not right, she left me. Nobody does that to me. Well, I just helped the rest of the stuff fall. And after I started, I had to make sure it was done. I fixed her. It wasn't even very satisfying. I just couldn’t let her... So, I stopped her.”

  Frank knew it was a lie. The details were altered to make Brad seem less guilty, but it would do. He picked up the recorder and walked out of the barn. Even Brad’s lies were confessions.