Show TH F K A ION CORNER THE TRAGIC WEDDING dy by RAY FULBRIGHT f death was wa a shock corn L ing on her wedding day as it dida did neighbor folks would be ba shaking their heads sadly people mad liked libby sort ot of old mal dish she ehe was near 40 but there was kindness and generosity in her heart not that her death would be a s a site she was very trail frail and a chronic heart sufferer DOS doc huntley had begged her to slip off with him and have a quiet justice of the peace wedding and avoid excitement but no shed wanted to be with her family what family she had bad and such as it was with tightening throat doc gazed down on the thin dark figure in the ba blue u e tulle wedding dress lying on the quilted bedding shed fallen on the rag carpet they had told him when he arrived and one of the tha women guests had picked her up and placed her on the bed and had r removed moved her stockings to massage her legs doc noticed the heavy finger marks on the thin ankles then his gaze swept to the digitalis bottleson bott bottle leon on the dressing table libbis heart never had been tn in 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 exploding heart A look of object abject horror had torn open her mouth twisting her pretty face my husband was settin in the front room waltin fer the preacher and you to come doc cousin laura said doe always called br h er cousin laura because she was lib bys cousin the tha only relative libby bad the first guests were lest jest cornin up the road I 1 was in the kitchen trimmin up the weddin cake I 1 thought I 1 beard libby scream about an hour ago it was I 1 c came ame in here as quick as I 1 could wash off my hands bands and there she was il i iyla there ou on the floor but blue in the face cousin laura was a big boned woman with suspicious disapproving eyes her hair was coal black cynics had whispered th that at laura had married Grand pappy bogle 40 years her senior for or his farm he 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 doe had always had an uncomfortable for table feeling that laura hated him or at least resented his taking libby from the family doe doc could hear bear Grand pappy in the front room yapping away with the guests no matter what anyone said to him he assumed that they were agreeing with him and went on yapping wheres Wb eret harv doc said darvs out to the barn sulking I 1 reckon on account of the wedding cousin laura said with evil suggestion he aint been to in all day even come to in fer his dinner then she became thoughtful her black eyes slitting now wait a minute I 1 believe I 1 seen him out on the back porch about an hour ago yeah I 1 did come to think of it doe understood about harv not wanting to attend the wedding hed known that harv bogle had bad loved libby like a man possessed essed hed threatened a half dozen times to kill himself if she marry him and when that work he be practically threatened to kill her only yesterday hed told libby that hed rather see her dead than marrying the doctor doe doc hid had brushed libbis fe ears ars aside harr was harmless give him a month of fishing and squirrel hunting down in the river bottoms and hed forget it do doo e had bad assured her flarv wax wa th the bachelor type pipe ito ile lived from rom day to day felt no responsibility about anything the only thins thing he be planned ahead was his tobacco patch out behind the barn doe doc found harv sitting on the wagon tongue in the barglot barn lot he was distractedly scraping blue mud from his rough brigans brogans with a i rag carpets looked as it if lust been washed a day or so eo b before fore doc went to the tha wall telephone rang central and asked tor for the tha sheriff I 1 this T hita is 1 doc huntley sheriff I 1 ws want n t to r report ep art a murder yeah out at Grand pappy bogles place doe doc hung up turned cousin laura stood in the kitchen door her bar it black ack eyes staring balefully slowly doubt and indecision tore her mouth open did you say murder yes tea libby was murdered mur derell by the person who would inherit the acres aclei of rich bottom land lib bys ly land Is certainly more tempting than Grand pappy bogles bogle red clay hills how how p libby was picked up by her ankles and held u upside down until sh she a died from a heart attack thaes how those bruises came to be on her ankles they certainly caused by massaging her heart ti 0 e M ak X S cousin laura was a big boned woman with suspicious disapproving eyes shiny woods knife ile he was a heavyset man in tattered overalls grizzled his teeth showing the effects of constant tobacco chewing he talk much and spent most of his time alone in the river bottoms his attitude towards the doctor was surly since doe doc had started courting libby harv looked up darkly been out here all afternoon harv here and the bottom if its anything jo to you he kept on scraping mud you were teen seen in the back bach yard about the time libby died pledl Is she ile he studied doe doc suspiciously slowly conviction crept over his face somebody lied he said dully and returned his at attention to his shoe harv I 1 never talked with libby about it but who gets libbis property she had a will she doe doc knew that libby owned acres of valuable bottom timber land where harv did his hunting a and nd fishing naw harv replied she leave no will you sort eort of got left out you doe doc ain shed lived through the day have got hands on that land you doe doc struggled to keep from getting mad his gaze shifted to the tha dry branch at the foot of the tha red gullied hill snarled hungry looking sassafras grew on the tha bank and along the fence rows as it if it had been forced out of competition for space in the rich itch bottom lands and relegated to the hills where competition tor for food was tired and hopeless doe 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 libbis room was just as neat the so bad that she have gone on living a quiet life harv musts done it no laura you lied when you said you heard libby scream people peaple ale dont scream with heart attacks attack if she screamed creamed it was wag because someone was attacking her la in that case you would have caught the person who was attacking her it would take time to kill her by holding her upside do down wn till 1111 she died then straighten out her clothes and hair belore before escaping you only had to rinse off your 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 suspicious you lied when you sold said you saw harv on the back porch if he had been on the back porch and had entered this room he would have hava left traces on the floor but there are no traces not in this room nor I 1 on the porch nor in the yard traces yeah the rich blue river bot torn tom mud that covers his shoes |