Pig in a Poke

By Sotirios Fox

It's been months since the mysterious vagrant known only as "El Jefe" came to the small town of Rumors. He's taken up a quiet life, spending his days drinking at Rosemary's Roadhouse and working odd jobs around town for money.

Now, though, El Jefe and his two best friends - Big Jim, the former truck driver with a troubled past and Aposh, the escaped French convict with his own skeletons in the closet - are about to come face to face with the biggest threat Rumors has faced in, well, forever.

Just outside of town, the Qualls family has lost communication with the outside world. They haven't been to church, their children haven't been in school, and nobody has driven out to check on them. It's up to El Jefe, Big Jim and Aposh to solve the mystery of what happened to them. At first they suspect the family's been kidnapped (or worse) by local criminal mastermind, Crowbar Joe, and his gang of hooligans.

Upon arriving at the Qualls farm, though, they discover the Qualls have crossed paths with something much more dangerous and much more cunning than Crowbar Joe. What could the family have possibly done to anger a North American forest legend?

Find out as El Jefe, Big Jim and Aposh save the Qualls family's bacon in 'Pig in a Poke,' the 5087 word first story in the "El Jefe" series from writer Sotirios Fox.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turn Publishing
• Release date: Jan 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466023727

Sotirios Fox

Sotirios Fox’s last known whereabouts were in South Dakota. He is a working raconteur and speculative fiction author, which he believes might just be the coolest job in the world. At least, it’s up there alongside being a treasure hunter, gentleman adventurer or jai alai champion.

Book preview

Pig in a Poke

An El Jefe short story by Sotirios Fox

Smashwords Edition

Published by Turn Publishing

Copyright © 2012 by Sotirios Fox

Cover art © Hmeluk|Dreamstime.com

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Pig in a Poke

Last Sunday, Bob Qualls and his family hadn’t been in church. This was unusual, since they were a very devout family and attended every week. Pastor Hill, always one to worry, had tried calling them, but got no response.

Bob Qualls Jr., known to the town of Rumors as Bobby, hadn’t been in school all week. His teachers had tried contacting his parents, but nobody answered the phone.

By Thursday evening, word was starting to spread around Rumors that something had happened to the Qualls. People were saying things like, I hear Crowbar Joe’s boys did ‘em in cause they wouldn’t pay up their protection money, or, I hear they got run off their property by some big developers from the city.

Sheriff Coates had said she was planning to drive out to their pig farm, except she was busy on the trail of the Beast. The Beast was the several hundred pound