FAIR WARNING: This chapter is graphic and purposely written to depict the insanity of Earl Anthony Schroder.


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LAST TIME: "If she's dead," Cody remarked, "and, I wouldn't put it past Earl Anthony Schroder to have killed her either. You know what I told you he did to cats he caught under the trailer. And, it wasn't a pretty picture to see!"

"What did he used to do to cats, Cody?" Judge Stancil inquired.

"Judge, you may not want to hear this," Sheriff Daniels warned him.

Judge Stancil cast his eyes on the Sheriff and replied, "Yes, I do. There's not too much I haven't already heard." Then, he turned to Cody and asked, "So, tell me, quarter-pint. What did Earl Anthony Schroder used to do to the cats he caught under the trailer?"


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Cody looked at the Sheriff. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer Judge Stancil's question, but, after a slight hesitation, and thinking to himself, 'Okay. You asked for it. Don't say you weren't warned!' he did.

He told the Judge, "If Earl Anthony Schroder caught a meower under the trailer, and he would set traps for them, he'd bury it in the ground up to it's neck, with it's head sticking out of the hole he buried the cat in. Then, he'd go get the lawnmower, pull the cord that engaged the engine, and fire it up. No more pussycat!"

Cody paused a moment. He shuddered as he recalled the horrific memories of those days. Finally he admitted, "He always made me watch him torture the cat. And, I wanted to do the same thing to him! Then, I'd get sick, and get beat for making a mess on the ground."

"He would beat you?" Judge Stancil questioned in disbelief of the tragedy Cody relayed.

"He'd tell me in this world you gotta be tough!" Cody replied. Then, in an angry tone said, "I hate him!"

With tears trickling out of his eyes, Cody looked up and exclaimed, "I wish I'd never been born!" He spoke from the heart as somebody who'd lived the terror he'd suffered through.

"I've heard all I need to, Cody. Sheriff, your son needs his pillar of strength," the Judge commented full of compassion for the boy. He knew what Cody's existence in Palo Pinto had been.

Sheriff Daniels reached over from where he was seated and hugged his son tighter than he ever had before. Cody could feel himself enveloped inside the arms of someone who truly cared about him. He needed the sanctuary. At the moment, he was not the strong boy everybody in Astatula had watched him become. Instead, he was a fragile, fractured child in agonizing pain.

"Sheriff, I'll have Debbie immediately forward an Order under my signature authority to Paul Cartright, the new Sheriff over in Palo Pinto, to exhume Earl Anthony Schroder's grave. Based on what quarter-pint has just informed me of, I want to see what is inside that casket for myself. Since Earl Anthony Schroder fancies lawnmowers so much, now he's got one he won't be able to handle. Me. I'll mow his grass alright! Oh, and by the way, Sheriff. You may want to be there when that grave is exhumed."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Sheriff Daniels replied vowing, "I will be there with bells on."

When the hearing with the Judge concluded, Cody was relieved. As they strode out of the chambers, Sheriff Daniels placed his arm around his son's shoulders.

"I'm proud of you, Cody," he told him, "what you did in there took a whole lot of courage and I know it wasn't easy for you to do. But, I want you to understand, son, you did the right thing by telling Judge Stancil what you did."

Cody wondered when the nightmare that was his life in Palo Pinto would ever end. Or, would those days torment him for the rest of his life?

The Sheriff smiled down at the troubled boy and reminded him, "Don't forget, you have Wanted posters you promised to plaster all over town for me"

Cody looked up at his Dad and asked, "Why are some people so evil?"

Sheriff Daniels exhaled a slow, deep, breath of contemplation and responded, "That question is as old as dirt, Cody. They just are. Evil Incarnate."

Cody's body language indicated he was searching for more of an answer than he received from his Dad.

Sensing his son's reaction, the Sheriff boldly stated, "Don't worry. We'll get Earl Anthony Schroder if it is the last thing we do, Son. That I promise you will happen."

"When, Dad? When are we going to get him?" Cody wanted to know.


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Cast of Characters:

Cody Schroder - Blond munchkin and main character of the book.

Sheriff Brock Daniels - Long time Sheriff of Astatula and Cody's Dad.

Judge Stancil - Circuit Court Judge for Astatula.

Paul Cartright - Sheriff of Palo Pinto.

Debbie Ritterhoff - Judge Stancil's Judicial Assistant

Earl Anthony Schroder - Cody's biological sperm donor. Put Cody through ten years of hellacious physical, mental, and sexual abuse in Palo Pinto.

Chapter Word Count: 760

Book Word Count: 12,714