Half an Inch of Water: Stories by Percival Everett

Author:Percival Everett
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781555979096
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Published: 2015-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

The Day Comes

“All I know is them cows didn’t shoot themselves.” Hugh Rakes walked around to the other side of the corral. The steers were back-to-back and head to tail in the mud. It was raining hard. The damage to their heads was unmistakable. Some large-caliber weapon had done it.

Sheriff Howard Gunther, Rakes’s closest neighbor, snapped a few photos of the dead cows and shook his head. The early evening was cold and he wished he were at home.

“I was up clearing out that damn culvert. Didn’t hear a fucking thing.” Rakes took his hat off, slapped the rain off it, and put it back on.

“This one’s been shot twice,” Gunther said.

“Yeah. He wasn’t quite dead when I found them and I had to finish the job. Son of a bitch. If I find the son of a bitch that did this I’m going to—”

“We don’t need talk like that, Hugh. I know you’re upset. I wish I could tell you I had some idea.” Gunther stepped away and looked at the soaked dirt-and-gravel yard. “Well, let’s circle our way away from the pen and see if we can find some shell casings in this mess.”

“This one is mine,” Rakes said, handing the spent round to the sheriff. “I picked it up for you.”

Gunther took it and put it in his pocket. It helped to have it only because he wouldn’t have to find it himself. They found nothing. “So, he picked up his brass. That the way you see it?”

“Must have.”

Gunther put away his camera and frowned at the rain. “At least your insurance will take care of it. It will take care of your loss, won’t it?”

Rakes nodded, rubbed his hand through his hair.

Gunther watched him for a bit.

“Goddamn,” Rakes said.

“I’ll be off now,” Gunther said.

“Yeah, all right.”

Gunther got into his rig. He sat there for a minute watching the worn wipers streak the windshield. He then drove the mile to his house. He walked into the kitchen and found his wife sitting at the table writing out checks to pay the bills.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“I was over at Rakes’s place. He was showing me his cows that were mysteriously murdered.”

“What?”

“I almost believed him until he claimed he was cleaning out the old culvert. County cleaned that out last month.”

“Why would he shoot his own animals?” Karen asked.

“Insurance. They weren’t his best animals. I could see that he’d switched ear tags. Probably would have done that anyway. He’s up there now dressing out those steers and saving what meat he can.”

“What are you going to do?”

Gunther shrugged. “Nothing. It’s fraud either way. The insurance agent will come around and I will confirm that the stock were shot and that will be it. I hate this fucking job.” He poured himself a cup of coffee. “You want some more?”

Karen shook her head no.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like that nothing ever happens around here. I hate that all I do is put people I know in lockup for DUI.

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