The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it, a chapter a day, over the next few weeks.
On Monday morning, Matt and I arrived at the Marshall County Courthouse in Guntersville a few minutes after 8:00 a.m. We hauled in a trunk load of briefcases and file boxes. Matt hung around the courtroom thinking the Defendants’ attorneys would make a reasonable offer to settle. I walked outside to wait for the Murray’s. I had told them Friday to park along Gunter Avenue and that I would meet them out front at 8:30.
At 8:55 a.m. they still had not arrived. At 9:00 I walked back to Courtroom 203 and told Matt. Judge Freeman, prompt as always, called our case. Matt informed the Court our clients had not arrived and he feared they had been in an accident or had some other emergency. Judge ordered a 30-minute delay.
I walked to the Clerk’s office to borrow the phone. I dialed the Murray’s home number knowing all along that no one would answer. I then looked up the number for Pete and Nancy Strother, the Murray’s good friends and neighbors. Nancy answered on the first ring and told me that she had not seen Bill or Nellie this morning but that their car was still in their driveway. I asked her to walk over. I told her where Nellie kept a key but she already knew that. I waited on the line for nearly ten minutes. When Nancy returned she could barely speak. She said that Bill and Nellie were both dead. They were still in bed and it was like they had gone to sleep and never woke up. I told her to call the Douglas Police Department and that I would be there as soon as I could.
I walked back to the Courtroom and told Matt. He motioned for us to go to a small conference room off to the side of the Courtroom to prevent the Defendants and their counsel from hearing us. The first thing Matt said was, “they’ve done it again. You know this isn’t natural. The Murray’s have been murdered. There can be no other explanation.” We then walked down the hall to Judge Freeman’s chambers. After we relayed what we had just learned, we asked him for a continuance which he granted without bringing in the Defendant’s counsel.
Matt and I went back into the Courtroom, packed up, and walked out.
The Pencil Driven Life 