Easy Under

by Charles Dowdy

His face is a gumbo of past the knife scar beside his lip, the nose that had been broken more than once, or the faint blossom of skin tissue from a gunshot to his forehead. That bullet did not penetrate his skull; instead it passed around his head and exited behind his ear. Doctors called it a miracle. People who knew Arlen Phelps called it typical.

Of course, the visible scars are nothing compared to wounds bleeding unchecked within his soul. Arlen’s daughter was abducted while she was under his care. He wife left next, because she couldn’t forgive him. Finally, Arlen lost his moral bearing and began committing crimes on behalf of other abducted children, hoping to save them from the tragedy that destroyed his perfect life.

Now, Hurricane Katrina is blasting through Louisiana and Arlen’s neighbor has been murdered. The chaos of the storm is the perfect accomplice. Arlen must find the killer before the police because he knows it wasn’t a random crime. It might be related to the beautiful client he is trying to protect from a psychopathic husband. Or it could be tied to Arlen’s precarious existence as a vigilante. Either way, another innocent person got burned for standing too close to a man some called “Arson” Phelps.

Nook

First published October 10, 2011