THE RECRUIT: a short story

By W. D. McComb

For World War II veteran Paul MacIntosh, a quiet life with family on his Mississippi farm appears to be all he ever wanted.

But when FBI agents confront MacIntosh with evidence suggesting he is involved with the Klan and recruit him to help them, the dark, smoldering fury that awakens threatens to destroy his

• Language: English
• Publisher: TreaShore Press
• Release date: Nov 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781734090437

W. D. McComb

W. D. “Dwight” McComb graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Mississippi State University before deciding that a career in medicine was his true calling. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Mississippi, then earned board certifications in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics as well as a specialist certification in wound care. He has been practicing medicine for fifteen years in northeast Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and three children. When he’s not treating patients or writing, he can often be found on the sideline with the local high school football team, roaming the woods of the Buttahatchie River bottom, or tossing batting practice to his kids. The Truth That Lies Between is his first novel.

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THE RECRUIT

a short story

W.D. McComb

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

THE RECRUIT

Copyright © 2019 by W. D. McComb

wdmccomb.com

All rights reserved. Published by TreaShore Press.

Book Layout © 2017 BookDesignTemplates.com

Cover design by David Provolo

First edition.

ISBN 978-1-7340904-3-7 (ebook)

ISBN 978-1-7340904-4-4 (paperback)

For the veterans who have so bravely served,

holding close the hope of return to a country

more noble than the one they left,

to a life better than the one they foresaw,

but who far too often returned home

to encounter demons they never anticipated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To my mother. I can always count on you to tell me it’s great.

To my father. Thank you for the stories.

To my wife. Without you, I would have no words.

To my children. You make me proud, one and all.

And most importantly, to the Good Lord above, the source of every good and perfect gift.

Thank you.

ONE

October, 1956

T

HE overhead chorus sounded unusually distant for this time of year. MacIntosh glanced upward and tried to remember when he had last seen a flock of geese this high, this early. His wife had noticed changes, too, but without knowing their significance. Her only concern had been how quickly she could get him to eliminate the spider webs that had seemingly accumulated overnight in every corner of their home. But he knew what their sudden appearance and the hordes of ladybugs gathering under the eaves meant. Cold is coming.

He stepped onto the lowest of the rocks and climbed, welcoming the burgeoning warmth of the rising sun at his back. He was careful to pick each step, to study the cracks between the rocks to make sure they didn’t move. He had made the climb hundreds of times and never had a problem, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. An ankle sprain wasn’t out of the question, but that wasn’t his primary concern. His boots were sturdy enough for farming and climbing, but not tall or