Free LLOYD, PAUL R. by Hags Page B

Trust me
on this one.” Denise gave Micah a peck on the cheek, stood up and promenaded
out the door with a swirl of her miniskirt. Fritz followed.
    Micah followed them with his eyes.
“Groovy?”

Chapter 12
    “I’m in deep enough, Lilly. And it
possesses sufficient length. No, wait. A bit deeper will be better.” Lionel
Langdon scratched away at the dirt to make the hole deeper.
    He hoped the sounds would not
disturb the otherwise peaceful evening. He paused long enough to admire the
radiant red and azure colors of the sunset behind the trees. A few rays filtered
through the darkness sufficient for him to sigh as he realized what digging in
the dirt was doing to his dress trousers, oxford shirt and Ivy League blue and
red striped tie. He tugged at his Gucci leather belt and surveyed his dig.
    Lionel poked his head out of the
hole in time to observe a movement hidden by a bush. While Lionel jumped back
with his mouth wide and his eyes wider, a cat strutted out of the bush, sniffed
the air and said “Meowr.” The feline intruder turned up his nose and headed
away from the pile of dirt stacked by the hole.
    Lionel raised himself out of the ground.
He pushed the shovel hard into the dirt pile until it stood like a sentry to
guard against unwanted witnesses. After planting Lilly at the bottom of the
hole, he reached into his shirt pocket to pull a cigarette from a pack he kept
there. He placed the filter end between his lips and reached into his pants pocket
for a lighter. The flame lit the gathering darkness around his mouth as he
puckered his lips, sucking in the tobacco smoke along with the stench of a new
death.
    As he exhaled, a smile formed on
his lips despite the nicotine delivery vehicle and close proximity of a death
he had caused. He admired his work for several minutes as the last of the daylight
faded and his cigarette burned down.  He tossed the butt into the hole where it
bounced off Lilly’s forehead before settling into her hair. Her hair began to
smolder. He tossed in a load of dirt scooped up with his shovel.
    “Hey, what are you doing?” The
sound of the commanding voice froze Lionel.
    He glared over his shoulder at a
forest preserve police officer striding toward him. “Burying my dog, officer.”
    “This ain’t no pet cemetery.” The
officer approached the hole and shined his long police flashlight in. “Holy
shi…”
    The rusted steel spade end of Lionel’s
shovel smashed into the back of the officer’s head, knocking him into the hole.
    Lionel checked to see if the
officer moved.
    He didn’t.
    Lionel resumed filling the hole
with dirt. When he finished, he carried arm loads of dead leaves to the
gravesite. Once satisfied the grave was no longer visible, he scattered branches
and sticks about the tomb for a more natural appearance. He picked up his
shovel and was about to depart the area when a loud buzz caught his attention.
He glanced up expecting to witness a swarm of bees but discovered instead a man
circling about fifty feet above his head. The man wore blue jeans and work
boots. He had a red tee shirt tied around his waist.
    Ahlman Brown spiraled down until he
landed about ten feet in front of Lionel.
    Lionel backed up a few paces. “Mr.
Brown? I… I…”
     “You don’t understand, do you?” Ahlman
folded his four gossamer wings against his bare back and put on his tee shirt.
    Lionel glanced down on the ground
to avert his eyes. “Well, you see…”
    “No need to explain, Dr. Langdon.
We all have our foibles, don’t you agree?”
    Lionel gazed up into Ahlman’s eyes.
“Bu… but flying’s not a foible, Mr. Brown. It’s just not… not… done.”
    A lengthy smile crept across Ahlman’s
face. “Haven’t you heard, Dr. Langdon? I’m an absolute angel. You do realize
angels have wings?”
    “I suppose you…. you… you’re…
    “Wondering what you’re doing here?
Oh, I’m not wondering, Dr. Langdon. I know about your nasty habit.”
    “Ha…habit?” Lionel