Small Town Life

Bad Rock - February 1983

Maggie Sullivan, MD opened her eyes before the sun was even up. She rolled over and checked the time. 5:03am. She scoffed, wishing she could reset her internal alarm. Damn army! Here she was more than 10 years out of service and she still couldn't sleep past 6:00 am, no matter how late she was up the night before.

The night before.

Maggie smiled as she thought about Hank.

Two years ago, when the town's previous lawman had retired, Hank Thompson had taken over as Sheriff of Bad Rock. Maggie had found a kindred soul in Hank. They'd both left the hustle and bustle of city life and all the chaos that went with it for a nice, quiet life in a sleepy little town off the beaten path. Hank and Maggie had formed a pretty quick bond and found themselves keeping each other company in their downtime. Maggie had thought, that like her, Hank was not looking for anything beyond friendship - until he had asked her to "go steady" a few weeks back. It wasn't like she'd been opposed to a relationship, she just hadn't been actively looking. Hank was a nice guy and she enjoyed his company. He was a little serious for her taste and pretty old-fashioned – who said 'go steady' anymore? - but he was kind and dependable and if she were being completely honest, one of the few options available in their small town. One date had turned into another and they'd quickly fallen into a routine. Lunch at the diner most days and dinner every Saturday night. If a new movie was playing at the Cineplex in the next town over, they would make a day out of it.

It had all been very innocent. Hank would hold doors open and help her with her coat but he didn't try to hold her hand and he had never tried to kiss her - until last night. When Hank had driven up to her house after the movie, he'd walked her up the steps and placed a very gentle, very chaste kiss on Maggie's lips.

It had been sweet and she found herself smiling this morning, thinking about it.

Glancing at the clock, Maggie decided she might as well stop daydreaming and start her day. She grabbed her robe and headed downstairs to start the coffee.

As the coffee maker hummed and gurgled, Maggie opened the curtains on all of the downstairs windows and stepped out onto the porch. It was a chilly 56 degrees and Maggie pulled her robe tighter around herself. She stretched and leaned up against the pillar, admiring her view of the little town she loved. Maggie's house was situated at the end of the dirt road that served as Bad Rock's version of Main Street. Hers was the only house that was technically in town. Twelve years ago, when she'd come back from Vietnam and decided she'd had enough of the big city, she'd purchased the old Bad Rock Inn and converted it into a house and office for herself. All the other houses were set sporadically, on large plots of land spread out on either side of the only road into and out of town. Bad Rock, population 687, had one diner, a post office and a general store. Gail Newman had a little beauty shop set up in the back room of the store and kept the town's ladies' hair cut and coifed. The Sheriff's office and Maggie's home office rounded out the town in public services. Anyone needing a dentist had to wait for Doc Schumer to make the trek into town every few months or drive two hours east to Hillgrove.

Maggie stretched and looked around for the newspaper that she knew was somewhere in her yard.

Spying it wedged underneath one of the prickly bushes that bordered her porch, Maggie sighed.

"Rusty, you missed. Again."

Rusty was the 11-year-old son of Jerry Newton, who operated the little post office. Rusty was a good kid with a terrible throwing arm.

Maggie walked down the porch stairs to dig the paper out of her bushes, thankful that her porch light and flower pots were still in one piece.

She was elbow-deep in leaves when a car horn made her jump. Maggie stood up, paper in hand and whirled around to see Hank and his only deputy, Jack Harmson, roll by in their squad car. She waved with the paper and noticed a rough-looking occupant in the back seat scowling at her.

The car stopped in front of the Sheriff's office down the street and Hank got out and jogged back over to Maggie, who had just reached the top of her porch.

"Sorry about the horn, Baby."

"I wasn't startled at all." Maggie lied with a smile on her face. She looked over Hank's shoulder and noticed Jack still sitting in the car with the prisoner. "Who's your guest?"

"That's Sonny Jenko. Don't worry about him, he won't be here long. What do you say to dinner tonight?"

"That would be nice, Hank."

"Pick you up at 7?"

"I'll see you then."

Hank took a small step forward but then glanced over his shoulder at the car, thought better of it and with a wave, hurried back over to deal with his prisoner. She watched him walk back for a minute and then went inside.

Maggie had just settled down at her dining room table with a cup of coffee and the paper when there was a loud banging on her door. She got up to see who it was and started running when the person outside began shouting about an emergency.

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The Man peered from behind the tree and watched the big, black man being carried toward the house, enjoyed seeing his face contorted in pain. Pain he had caused. Frantic shouting brought a lady to the door who ushered them inside and closed the door behind them. He wondered if the Doctor - the placard in front of the house said Sullivan - was home? Was the woman his wife? Would she be able to help the black man if her husband was out? The Man knew the 50-caliber slug had caused a lot of damage. He had aimed carefully, avoiding the major artery, and still the wound, while not immediately fatal, would need urgent attention. The Man had chosen the cabin's location well. The only town with a doctor near enough to help, but not near enough to transport the patient to a hospital in time, was Bad Rock. Nothing had been left to chance. The Man had them right where he wanted them. He longed to kick the door in and finish the black man off. Make the others watch. He would save Smith for last.

No.

Deep breath.

He reminded himself to be patient. It was very early morning but still broad daylight and the doctor's house was in the middle of the main road. He took some time to study the surrounding area. A lone jogger gave a cursory glance to the black van as he ran past. A delivery truck was making its way down the street. Another man was...wait, who was that? The man flinched as he caught the glint of the sun in his eyes. He ducked further behind the tree and tensed, ready to retreat. The Man blinked a few times until he could make out the Sheriff's badge on the hat. The officer paused behind the van, stopped by the open side door and checked the inside of the vehicle. The lawman turned to scan the street and his eyes passed right over the tree the Man was hiding behind. The Man's mind spun with possibilities as he considered this new development. The Sheriff continued towards the door of the doctor's house and the Man smiled, quickly recalculating his plan as he backed away slowly, fading into the forest. He was nothing if not flexible.