
Max Taylor, a gunman for The Syndicate, tells the story. He’s sitting in the courtroom, on trial for a freelance job he botched, while the lawyers question potential jurors. And one would-be juror, in particular, has Max worried: a little old lady named Mrs. Clevenger.
“There was a dryness in my throat, a fluttering in my stomach–I was on trial for my life. Murder was a capital crime in this state, and they didn’t use anything merciful and clean like a gas chamber. They made you take that last long walk and sit down in a chair wired for death.”
Talmage Powell avoids the predictable, unnecessary exposition that can often drag down courtroom stories. Instead, he takes an original slant on the genre and throws in a satisfying twist at the end. At five pages, it is a short and excellent story. I’d love to see a collection of Powell’s shorter work, he is certainly deserving of it.
Thanks to Galactic Central for the cover scan.
sounds good. I don't recognize his name. Not sure I've read anything by him.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great tale.
ReplyDelete