The Second Talmage Powell Crime Megapack by Talmage Powell

Author:Talmage Powell [Powell, Talmage]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wildside Press
Published: 2015-08-09T14:00:00+00:00

TRIAL RUN

Originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, August 1971.

The three-column heading leaped at Ethel Claridge the instant she unfolded the newspaper that morning:

MOTIVE SOUGHT IN SLAYING

“Would you ever!” Ethel lectured her silent kitchen. “Those nasty newspaper people, doting on death!”

She sank down at the table, blue eyes devouring the story:

A young man who police said was a model citizen was shot to death last night on Sheridan Avenue as he was returning home from the under-privileged youth center where he was a volunteer athletic coach.

Police said the youth’s wallet and wristwatch were intact, and ruled out any known motive for the slaying of Allan Zeigler, 22, who resided with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Zeigler, at 1003 Sheridan Avenue.

Zeigler died instantly from brain damage inflicted by a .32-caliber bullet fired into the back of his head at close range, the medical examiner stated.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Zeigler left the Southside Juvenile Center at the closing hour of 10 o’clock, boarded a municipal bus, and got off at his usual stop six blocks from his home.

Taking charge of the case, Homicide Detective Lieutenant Thomas J. Heim said, “This should shock even a city calloused by violence and crime. Here was a fine young man quietly walking his street from bus stop to home. Halfway, someone calmly steps up behind him and blasts the life from him with a small-bore pistol, apparently for the sick thrill of killing. But whatever the motive, this is an all-out case as far as this department is concerned.”

As police activity and news of the shooting aroused the neighborhood, angered residents described Allan Zeigler as a young man without an enemy in the world, a capable athlete, and an outstanding student who recently graduated from State University and was working an interim daytime job before returning to the university for postgraduate studies toward a master’s degree.

Zeigler’s mother was taken to City Hospital where doctors reported her in shock and under heavy sedation.

Zeigler’s distraught father was unable to provide police with the slightest clue.

“I don’t understand…” The elder Zeigler wept as he repeated the words endlessly. “He wasn’t just a nice kid, he was a great guy. Everyone felt the same way about him. He liked people, and they liked him in return, respected and trusted him… Those kids on the southside… They’ll miss him. We’ll all miss him… I just don’t understand.”

Engrossed in the story, Ethel didn’t hear George, her husband, come into the kitchen. She started slightly as his shadow fell across her. She got up and turned toward the stove, clicking a burner to bring water to a boil for instant coffee.

George sat down and picked up the paper without saying good morning, rattling the sports pages open.

Ethel’s lips parted on a long-suffering sigh as she separated strips of bacon and stretched them neatly on the broiling pan. She was a tall, strong, spare woman with sallow skin and thin brown hair shot with gray. Her faded blue eyes deepened as she stole a glance at George.

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