There's Been Another Murder

[couchgrouch]

There's Been Another MurderThere's been another murderand this guy's gettin popularthe crime scene's drawin gawkers, old guys with walkersand that damn four-eye'd goonfrom the Ledger-Picayuneis on a roof with binocularsthe moon is highand the snake on a rocky slopelooks like a pubeon a bar of soapthe new coroner's zippin up the baghe's still green on the hirefeels bad for old Moe cos he got let gojust before he retiredbut hell...the old always make way for the newthat's the way of the leafmusic, cars and people, tooand Sgt. Chelsey's pacinscratchin the cat hair on his gutrumors said the girl who's deadwas no whore was no slutwas a hard crack to nutyet she was found on the floorroom 224with a hammer in her headand the maintenance manhas a free room at the Inn and OutChelsey thought he smiled at the broken tilesand the bloody groutsmokin those Koolslike all are bred to dieand even the Big Dipperis just a chalk outlne in the skythe first was brained with a horseshoethe second gouged with a corkscrewthe third was a floaterfished out by the Coast Guardand her daddy up in Cincinattigot a death certificatefor a postcardnow Chelsey thought somethin bout the wrench jockey didn't look rightthe kind of lonely guywho cruises nightsfingerbangin his nostrilsat long red lightsglossy mag neath his mattresspics of some washed up actresswho loathed her former stardomNyquil addict, prayers fulla static, bloody automaticburied in his gravel gardenso he served his warrantthe maintenance man was foreignand the tears came in torrentsafter twenty hours of questionsand who cares if it's fictionelection years need convictionsor at least an X to mark a suspect'scoerced signed confessionwell, three weeks laterin his place by the shorethey found Chelsey and his catdead on the floorthanks to a water moccasinput in thru the pet doorthe papers spoonfed it to the publiclike puddin, like banana Gerber'sthey claimed the Cuban didn't do the crimeand ol Moe smiled wide one more timeat the morning headlinesthat said there's been another murder(c)2005 Robert George