Show ME BUD THE TRAGIC WEDDING by RAY PAY FULBRIGHT L death was a shock corn ing on her wedding day as it did neighbor folks would be shak ing their beads heads sadly people liked libby sort of old she was near 40 but there was kindness and generosity in her heart not that her death would be a surprise she was very frail and a chronic heart sufferer doc doe hunt ley had begged her to ohp off with him and have a quiet justice of the peace wedding and avoid excite ment but no shed wanted to be with her family what family she had and such as it was with tightening throat doc gazed down on the thin dark figure in the blue tulle wedding dress lying on the quilted bedding shed fallen on the tag rag carpet they had told him when he arrived and one of the women guests had pi picked aked her up and placed her on the bed and had removed her hei stockings to massage her legs doc doe noticed the heavy finger marks on the thin ankles hien then his gaze swept to the digitalis bottle on the dressing table libby s heart never had been in euch such a bad condition that a shot of heart stimulant brought her out of it but it was obviously a severe attack her face was bluish her dark eyes bulging as if from an hn exploding heart A look of ab eject horror had torn open her mouth twisting her pretty face my husband was settin in the front room baitin fer the preacher and you to come doc cousin laura said doe always called her cousin laura because she was lib by a cousin the only relative libby bad the first guests were jest com in up a the road I 1 was in the kitchen trimmin up the weddin cake I 1 thought I 1 heard libby cream scream about an hour ago it was I 1 came in here as quick as I 1 could wash oft off my hands and there she was a alyin there on an the floor but blue in the face cousin laura was a big boned woman with suspicious disapproving eyes her hair was coal black cynic cynics had whispered that laura had married Grand pappy bogle 40 years her senior for his farm he wa was stone deaf and it was believed at the time live more than six months Grand pappy had a son harv bogle living with him that was the family Grand pappy bogle cousin laura bogle harv bogle and libby doc doe had always had an buncom fordable for table feeling that laura hated him or at least resented bis his taking libby from the family doc doe could hear Grand pappy in the front room yapping away with the guests no matter what anyone eald said to him he assumed that they were agreeing with him and went on yapping where a harv doc said harv a out to the barn sulking 1 I reckon on account of the wed ding cousin laura said with evil suggestion he ile amt aint been in all day even come in fer his dinner then she became thought ful her black eyes slitting now wait a minute I 1 believe I 1 seen luin him out on the back porch about an hour ago yeah I 1 did come to think of it doc doe understood about harv not wanting to attend the wedding red he d known that harv bogle had loved libby like a man possessed he d threatened a half halt dozen times to kill himself if she dian didn t marry him and when that didn t work he practically threatened to kill her only yesterday bed he d told libby that he bed d rather see her dead than roar mar crying the doctor doc had brushed libbis fears aside harv was harmless give him a month of fishing and squirrel hunting down in the obion river bottoms and bed forget it doc doe had assured her ilard was the bachelor type he lived from day to day felt no responsibility about anything the only thin he planned ahead was his tobacco patch out behind the barn doc found harv sitting on the wagon tongue in the barglot he lie was distractedly scraping blue mud from Us his rough brogans with a F i 1 vt 7 7 IN A cousin laura was a big boned woman with suspicions suspicious disapproving eyes shiny woods knife he was a heavyset man in tattered overalls griz aled his teeth showing the effects of constant tobacco chewing he ile didn dian t talk much and spent most of his time tune alone in the river bottoms his attitude towards the doctor was surly since doc doe had started courting libby harv looked up darkly been out here an all afternoon harv here and the bottom it it s any thing to you he kept on scraping mud you were seen in the back yard about the time libby died died Is she he studied doc doe suspiciously S slowly I 1 0 w 1 y conviction crept over his face somebody lied he said dully and returned his attention to his shoe harv I 1 never talked with libby about it but who gets libby s prop pro p she had a will sw shel doc knew that libby owned acres of valuable bottom timber land where harv did his hunting and fishing naw harv replied she leave no will you sort of got left out d dant t you doc if ian n she shed d lived through the day you d have got yo r bands hands on that land youa doc struggled to keep from getting mad his ILs gaze shifted to the dry branch at the foot of the red gullied hill snarled hungry looking sassafras grew on the bank and along the fence rows as if it had been forced out of competition for space in the rich bottom lands and relegated to the hills where compe for food was tired and hope less doc returned to the house looked around the barren red clay back yard then he entered by the back way the back porch screened in was as neat as a perfume counter libby s room was just as neat the rag carpets looked as it they d lust just been washed a day or so before doc doe went to the wall telephone rang central and asked tor for the sheriff this is doc huntley sheriff I 1 want to report a murder yeah out at Grand pappy bogle a place doe hung up fumed turned cousin laura stood in the kitchen door her black eyes staring balefully slowly doubt and indecision tore her mouth open did you say murder yes libby was murdered by the person who would inherit the acres of rich bottom land lib by s land Is certainly more tempting than Grand pappy bogles bogies red clay hills how how libby was picked up by her ankles and held upside down until she died from a heart attack that a how those bruises came to be on her ankles they certainly caused by massaging her heart wasn gasn t so bad that she couldn coulden t have gone on living a quiet life harv musts done it no laura you bed lied when you said you heard libby scream peo pie dont scream with heart attacks if she screamed it was be cause someone was attacking her in trtat case you would have caught the person who was attacking her it would take time to km kill her by holding her upside down tin till she died then straighten out her clothes and hair before escaping you only had to rinse off your hand hands you said maybe maybe I 1 was mistaken about the scream maybe but when I 1 talked with you a while ago you must have thought that I 1 was getting cious you lied when you said you saw harv on the back porch if he had been on the back porch and had entered this room be he would have left traces on the floor but there are no traces not in this room nor on the porch nor in the yard traces yeah the rich blue river hot torn tom mud that covers his shoes |