This story was written
for submission to
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine on
August 27, 1992 for the Mysterious Photograph Contest.
The photo is at the bottom of the page.
The
Vital Organ
The bird was right where
Sanducci had said it would be. It was kind of a pretty
thing, but not pretty enough to keep me from my prize. I
had worked too hard. The crane's wings were stronger
than I expected, but I managed to get it to a
thoughtfully provided fisherman's cleaning table. No
fisherman ever made a catch like this one: inside MY
catch were four lovely diamonds, each as big as a
fifty-cent piece..
I cut the bird's head and neck off, tossing it aside,
then sliced through the feathered breast. Thrusting my
hand into the still-warm cavity, I removed the vital
organ. Nothing! My rage boiled over. I threw the useless
carcass on the ground. Hands still bloody, I checked the
number of rounds in my gun. Satisfied, I went after
Sanducci. No one makes a fool of Big Al!
The little girl spotted the the dead crane first and ran
to it, eyes brimming with tears at the bloody, broken
bird. She walked to the severed head, lifting it gently.
She turned, crying, to her mother, lifting the head high
for her to see. The long neck nearly touched the ground.
"Look, momma, someone cut up the pretty bird!"
Her mother spoke gently to the girl, calming her. She
took the crane's head from unresisting little fingers,
and in her motherly concern never saw the four
glittering rocks that slid out of the crane's long, graceful
neck.
Copyright 1992, J Montgomery
The photo
challenge:
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