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Daytona Area Writers
Category:
Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Balanced Mind Press
ISBN-10: 1986784967
Type: Fiction
Pages: 200
Copyright: April 30, 2018
ISBN-13: 9781619844865
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
The neglected daughter of a whore develops a philosophy of life from her walks through the woods and grows up to be the most loved murderer in the town of Marmalade.
Daisy Perlman is the uneducated, unloved daughter of a whore. Lacking any comfort or trust in her life, she turns to her walks through the woods to find some meaning in life. Although she makes many mistakes due to her circumstances, including murder, she becomes the best loved murderer and one of the most respected citizens in the town of Marmalade. It is the story from the eyes of a serial killer who regrets her actions later in life when she knows better. But it is precisely Daisy’s ignorance of the civilized world and her lust for life that will make you love her, too.
Excerpt
* 1985 – Age 72 *
The old man sputtered and pointed a liver-spotted finger toward the door. "Get out of my room and let me die in peace." He sniffed at the air as if the sanitized smell would kill him.
"You don't mean that, Old Man," his niece said, mascara running down her cheek. “I'm too old to take your crap anymore.”
"Maybe it's my fault. I've always protected you from reality. I should have let you face the monsters that were always there." He mimicked a menacing animal to make her laugh. He realized she was forever lost to him.
She remained stoic. "You were the only monster I faced. If it weren't for you, I wouldn’t be walking with a limp today.” She pulled a hanky from her purse and blew into it.
“Stop your fucking crying. I wish you didn't react that way to every fucking little problem. I couldn’t just let you wind up a spineless faggot. You were too stupid to know how people would’ve treated you.”
“How dare you?” She spat at the man and threw her tissue at his face. Then she composed herself and faced him. “This is your last chance for forgiveness. I was the only member of the family who was willing to speak with you, but even I am at wit's end. So, if there're any regrets you wish to relay to your family, tell me now.”
"Yeah, my whole fucking life was regrets. None of it went the way I planned. Any satisfaction I ever got was cheap and fleeting. Your aunt was the bane of my existence. She demanded things I couldn't provide."
He looked around the pleasantly furnished room as if he was in hell. His niece nervously shuffled her feet, avoiding direct eye contact with him. He strained to lift himself up in the bed, but his muscles felt paralyzed. He continued, "I'm not sorry about what I did, Anna. I was the only one who had the balls to stop you before you made a big mistake."
Her face reddened, and she slapped the man hard. “You don't get to say that anymore. If I had the strength, I'd strangle you myself, right now. But it's better I just go and never think of you again. It's up to Daisy now to do the rest.” She started toward the door.
"What the hell do you mean by that? And who the hell is Daisy?" His face began to sweat profusely
Her silence was his answer. Then her eyes darted nervously about the room, her face full of resignation. "Listen, is there anything I can get you before I leave?"
"No! It's a little late to start paying attention to my needs now. Just leave me here to die.”
His hand reached out for her, but she remained by the door. His speech grew more distant, but impassioned. “I only wish to know what lies on the other side now. Either I will fade into oblivion or all the answers to life's questions will be revealed to me." He looked giddy, repressing laughter. "I'm going on life's greatest adventure, far more daring than anyone can go on in this physical life." He laughed out loud and stared right through her. "But all of us take the ultimate trip in the end. Are you even a little bit jealous? Want to come with me?"
"You are a piece of work. You always manage to take me to a darker place. You never knew what love was." She fell into a chair and wept uncontrollably. “At least, I’ve found love in this world with Angela.”
He snorted. "You’ll never learn. Girls shouldn’t be with girls. But you’ll just continue to sniffle and blubber your way through life. Just acknowledge what has happened and move on.” He shot her a look of disgust and then looked away. “Most of all, never lie to family.”
"Sometimes people lie to you for your own protection," she cried.
"The truth doesn't always take you where you need to go. Sometimes, it just leads to pain…or even death.”
"You still should have told me—"
She walked back to the bed and reached over to grab his hand, but he pulled it away. “There are times when you just have to let others make the important decisions for you. I learned long ago I could never trust you."
"Not this place. I don't deserve this."
"It's for the best, Mr. Hoffman," she said.
"You should have told me—"
"I forgive you."
She ran from the room past Daisy Perlman who was lingering by the door, nodding her head in sympathy for the words she had overheard. Daisy, a large formidable woman with short orange curls and an innocent-looking face full of freckles that belied what lay beneath, entered the room and approached the man on the bed.
A frail thin woman with short black hair accompanied her. She darted behind the man as Daisy commanded his full attention. The old man attempted to raise himself up on one arm to confront the larger woman. With nimble dexterity, the thin woman injected a small syringe into his left arm. He fell back and lay unconscious.
“Now you will be more compliant,” Daisy said.
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