Morning all. Too much time outside yesterday. Today it is an inside day with as much water as my body can handle. Yesterday was fun, but I think it is indoor events during the day until fall from here on out. The sun, heat and humidity are no joke. So hydration for me and a timer set for the morning prompt. Ready? Excellent, let’s go.
Something too play with. I haven’t done a story with a murder in quite some time.
Thursday, June 20th: The river was swollen with recent rains.
The river was swollen with recent rains. It as held in check by the reenforced concrete corridor it flowed into, but it was much higher along those concrete walls than anyone could remember seeing it since the new ones were installed.
They were more than five feet higher than the old flood walls. The old ones were taken outby the flood of ’26 and everyone thought that the new ones were far too heigh to be needed. They were often a symbol of government waste and overspending. Now with the waters a scant six inches lower than the top of the flood walls, the critics were silenced.
Now, calculations were being made about the strength of the walls and the volume of water currently contained. Brigades with sandbags had already been dispatched to reinforce the wall and to add more height.
Tony worked on the brigade. For hours it seemed as though he moved in the same circuit. He picked up a bag of sand, moved it into place and then went back for another bag of sand. When he dropped the bag in place, he had a good view of the river. Usually a placid stream it’s current slow and measured, it turned into a raging torrent. ass a child he played a game with the other children where they would drop a stick off one side of the bridge and race to the other side to watch the stick come out. It wasn’t a particularly thrilling game, but it kept them occupied on long summer days when they were told to find something to do outside.
He remembered how long it too the stick to travel from one side of the bridge to another. On one of his sand bag trips he stopped, estimated a distance that was the width of the bridge and tossed a stick into the water. He counted and then shook his head at the results.
‘Three times faster,’ Tony thought. He knew there was the possibility that his count was off, but at the same time, he also confirmed, at least to himself that the river was not only high, but running fast. He went back for another sandbag, but stopped as he heard a loud bang. He turned towards it fearful it was the sound of a structure giving way. He saw a man at the edge of the wall a little way down and on the other side. Tony watched as the man fell backwards into the water. There was the sound of a car driving away. Tony saw it was a dark green Jeep Wrangler.
He stepped away from the wall. The others working this section were further away. He was the only one near the wall on this stretch. He looked for someone to tell of the person who fell. Before he could find someone, a call went out further down the wall. Tony moved back to the wall and looked out. He could see the team further down river leaning over into the water as they fished what looked like a man out of the water. Tony thought about the green jeep and decided he would keep himself quiet for the time being. After all he knew who the jeep belonged to and knew that he didn’t want to get involved with anyone who had the keys.
Ten til Midnight 