The Darkness and the Light

By William Dylan Powell

The oil derrick decorations. The old Crim Theatre. The red-white-and-blue precision of the Kilgore Rangerettes. Nothing much changes in little old Kilgore, Texas. And that's just the way Kilgore police officer Bubba Gantry likes it. But small town peace and quiet is a thing of the past when local AC repairman Eddie Valentine and his dog, Root Beer, swear that their neighbor is a real-life broomstick-riding, pointy-hat-wearing, weird-stuff-boiling witch. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Cat Weekly
• Release date: Oct 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781479467723

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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT, by William Dylan Powell

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright © 2017 by William Dylan Powell.

Originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November/December 2017.

Published by Wildside Press, LLC.

wildsidepress.com | bcmystery.com

THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT,

by William Dylan Powell

Bubba Gantry’s shoulders slumped in relief when the phone rang. Almost twenty pages into Wild Swans and there was hardly talk of any swans whatsoever. He’d half a mind to walk it back over to the library and swap it for that mystery with the chalk body outline on the cover Margie talked him out of.

Kilgore Police Department. Oh, hey, Eddie. What’s the haps?

Bubba knew what the haps were with Eddie. Same haps as when he called yesterday. Same haps as when he’d call tomorrow.

Eddie, we done been over this more times than the pope changes hats. There’s not any more can be done. Y’all just need to work it out.

Holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder, Bubba looked down at Wild Swans; toyed with the dregs in his foam coffee cup. Then he let out a sigh of resignation. Eddie just wasn’t letting it go. Looked up at the clock—5:45 p.m. Supposed to get off soon.

All right, we’ll come down there but let me tell you I better see something pretty amazing.

Bubba hung up and strapped on his gun belt as he stuck his head into the conference room where Tim Spegley was sound asleep.

T-Bone!

Tim’s spindly limbs sprung to life as he shot out of the two office chairs he’d