Last updated on December 18th, 2017
Free Book Preview – Tooth and Nail
“Good evening, this is WBRP. We have a special guest with us tonight. His name is Pete Pethaford; he is the mayor of a small town, Winfield. We will speak with the mayor on an update with his current plans in the campaign for the Principal Law Enforcement. But first, we will start at the beginning of his story.”
The woman in a red dress, which stretches down to her heels as required by the network asks, “So, Pete—is it all right if I call you that?”
Pete, in a well dress suit, is now on camera. He looks at the empty lens now focusing on him, smiles, and turns towards the woman. “Sure.”
“Well, few people know about you. What can you tell everyone about your earlier story? Who were you and how did you become the mayor of a small town?”
Without hesitation, Pete gives his response,.“I grew up in the same town I currently am mayor of, so, in my opinion, it was easy to become mayor since I was widely known. Before being the mayor I had aspirations to become a cop. Seemed like killing dangerous people would be a good thing and even fun.”
The interviewer blinks once and speaks in a calm voice. “I see, can you tell us about how you grew up? Who is your family? Did your parents have a desire for you to get into a political office?”
“My parents were murdered when I was young, but you would have known that if you did prep-work and looked into my history before bringing me in on live cable. Anyways, after they were murdered, when I was 8, I struggled for a long time with finding who I was. I went house to house, staying with different people in my city. It seemed like everyone in Winfield was my family growing up. They are the reason I wanted to become mayor. While being a mayor of a small town is not prestigious, it doesn’t pay well, and often I’ve needed to have other part-time jobs, it has been a great way to launch me to where I am now.” Pete turns back towards the camera and grins. The cameraman waves his hands and points him back towards the interviewer.
“So, you were an orphan?”
“Well duh. What else would you call someone without parents? Maybe I was just the kid everyone owned a part of?”
Maybe that’s why I own them now. Pete thinks.
“And you started your political career at a young age, right?”
Pete clenches his fist. He bites hard on his teeth. “Yes, I started at 18, although I think age is irrelevant.”
The woman retains her composure and brings up a topic she has the upper hand on. “What’s it like having been in the hospital? Some have stated you were going mad. What would you say to those people?”
“They are liars. I was never in a hospital. I’m just fine.”
“We have records of your stay. Would you prefer us to show them?” The woman pauses and stares at Pete. “What about this fantasy of your house being alive and there being a black floating figure in your kitchen. Would you say those things are rumors, too?”
Pete, making no outward appearance of shock, turns back towards the camera he loves. “Crazy people don’t make things happen. I have created state-of-the-art hospitals, schools, and increased job growth for my constituents. I love all of you. Not this woman to my right though. She’s kind of stupid.” Pete’s grin increases as he continues to speak. “Seriously, who is this gal? It’s almost like my ex-wife is interviewing me. Stupid. Stupid woman.” Pete pauses and turns his face towards the interviewer. His face is blank. “Wait, a minute. What did you say your name was, miss?”
The interview lady takes a deep breath, and she turns towards Pete with a slight smirk. “I’m your ex-wife and I—”
Pete cuts her off and adds, “That’s not what I asked. Be a good girl and answer the question.”
The woman states under her breath. “You don’t answer questions either,” but declares out loud, “Jen Pethaford.”
Pete turns back towards the camera and points two index fingers to the unseen audience.
“You got that right.” Pete’s smile is enormous, but he speaks in a controlled manner, “and if you want to hear more about why this network has allowed a successful mayor to interview with his deranged ex-wife, find out after these sponsor ads.” In one smooth motion, Pete pulls himself up from his chair and heads off camera.
The camera, still focusing on where Pete once was, and where Jen continues to be, cuts after a few seconds.
Someone yells out, “We’ve got 3 minutes.”
Pete, continuing past the set, takes one look at the executive of the TV station. The executive hurries up to him.
The executive has a quivering voice which rises in volume. “What was that, Pete? We had a deal; you can’t just walk off set.” Pete backs up to a wall.
Pete ignores the argument, pulls out a 45 from his jacket, and fires a shot at the man in front of him.
The man collapses to the floor while falling backwards.
Pete walks right over to him, points his gun at the head of the man gasping on the ground, and fires a second shot.