The Mailwoman: Chapter IX

Hugh Hamilton

After they had finished their delicious meal, they decided to inspect the body of Graham, who had been obediently waiting for their attention.
"Your turn for the full-body examination?" asked Ben casually.
"One of the conditions of me being poisoned is that neither of you give me a full-body search," interjected Graham before quietly dropping dead again.
"How about we just focus on discovering the identity of the perpetrator instead?" suggested Hugh.
"Works for me," agreed Ben.
"And me," said Graham.
As he began to die for the third time, Ben and Hugh started to inspect – from a safe distance – the offending food.
"It certainly looks like food," noted Hugh, sparking a beautifully crafted glare from Ben.
A now-familiar pause from the great clan of Silence rode in atop a handsome steed and dismounted carefully at the feet of Hugh's lips. After setting up camp and building a small fire, he began making arrangements to contact his second in command when Ben finally decided on what to do next.
"Let us question the bellboy," he said, excited at the sense of authority he conjured.
"Makes sense," nodded Hugh.
Suddenly, a sound that was reminiscent of a jeep starting up on a dusty plain in Chad was heard from somewhere outside.
"I wonder where that bellboy is going in such a hurry," wondered Hugh as he gazed out the window.
"Bugger," cursed Ben.
Gathering together the recent events into their heads to form a coherent picture, Ben and Hugh rushed out the door and began descending the stairs. Their carefully constructed rush was soon interrupted by a door of sorts that stood menacingly as a divide between them and the street outside. A memory cue was set off in their heads and it burst spectacularly against the starry skull walls as they slipped beneath the door-frame into the wavering heat. A trail of dust marked their target's path and they followed as best they could on the unsteady bicycles they stole from two impoverished little boys.