Cast of Characters:

Cody Schroder - main character of the book

Brock Daniels - Sheriff of Astatula and Cody's guardian

Beth Sorensen - Sheriff Daniels' confidant

Buzz Cochran - Sheriff Daniels' boon companion and campaign director

Astatula Assassin - deranged madman terrorizing the small town

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End of Chapter 5:

Without putting the kickstand down, Cody leapt off his bike. He allowed the Mongoose to fall on the well-manicured, green fescue grass. He jumped on Matt before he could dismount his red bicycle with its silver streamers hanging off the handlebars.

Angry, Cody stated, "You cheated to win!"

Surprised by Cody's attack, Matt replied, "I did not! I beat you fair and square. You're a sore loser!"

Cody took noticeable exception to Matt's ribbing and challenged him with, "Don't start something you can't finish, alligator!"

In a confrontational tone, Matt responded, "I can finish you lion!"

Cody heard the word as "liar" and the battle raged.


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Cody and Matt tussled in the front yard. Inside the residence, Brock Daniels, Beth Sorensen, and Buzz Cochran discussed the sheriff's re-election strategy over freshly brewed cups of Maxwell House coffee.

The three of them agreed, it was, as they say on their television commercial, "Good to the last drop."

Unbeknown to them all, the extremely well-kept home was being watched. The sight of the red brick rancher made the Astatula Assassin's skin tingle. Enthralled, a chill raced down his spine as he stared at the structure.

On several occasions, he'd been the Sheriff's invited guest. The sheriff totally oblivious of who he let in his home. This time he was not invited. As the Assassin stared across the road disdain filled him. He'd come to murder the sheriff. But, not only the sheriff, Beth Sorensen, and especially that putrid little holy terror the sheriff recently fostered, would croak with him.

The Assassin's eyes flashed from one window to another, and then the next. He observed everything that could be seen. In one eave was a Spiderman kite. Its tail draped over the roof of the house. No doubt, the flying object belonged to Cody. How the Assassin abhorred him!

Three times he surveyed the sheriff as he shuffled past the living room window. Three times the Assassin ached to withdraw his weapon and open fire. BAM! BAM! BAM! No more sheriff. He couldn't wait. Surely his true aim would end the meaningless life of the lawman.

Finally, the Assassin advanced across the street. Nothing blew in the wind. No sounds echoed, not even the chirp of crickets. Carefully, he made his way to a door in the middle of the back of the house. A Master Lock secured the screen door. Within mere moments, the Assassin popped the lock.

"Did you really think a simple padlock would keep me out, Daniels?" he asked no one in particular, "See how easily I am inside your house?"

The Assassin would not expose himself by switching on any lights. Instead, he used a focused beam flashlite to look around. His hatred fueled, he wanted to learn more secrets about the sheriff and his "family". The laundry room was clean and orderly, like everything else in the sheriff's life. How the Assassin loathed that. His life was so muddled.

He ran his hand over folded laundry Beth had laid out on a wooden table earlier that afternoon. The clothes were still warm to the touch. How entangled the Assassin now felt to the doomed sheriff. He sniffed the aroma of small Jockey underwear. No brown streaks noted. Obviously, the snow-white briefs belonged to Cody. The Assassin loved the excitement this environment produced. He anticipated Cody's demise and plotted how the sheriff would watch him die a slow, agonizing, lingering, death. Maybe he'd pound the boy's heart out of his chest with a sledgehammer just for sheer pleasure!

The Assassin dimmed the flashlight. He sat on the floor and fondled Cody's underwear in the dark devouring the sensation. The blackness engulfed him and made him feel immune to any danger around him. Murder was going to occur again. This was only a dry run. But, soon he'd come back with furious actions to blow everybody's mind. Now, he knew his plan would work.

His hands folded in his lap, the Assassin was well pleased with his accomplishment. He heaved a sigh. His web perfectly knitted. Cody's underwear still in hand, the Assassin used the distraction of the fight between the boys to make his unperceived exit from the residence. Before long the sheriff would be dead. So would the two people he loved the most, especially that damn Cody!

How the Assassin appalled him.