.
orley Munson noticed a local detective across from himself at dinner and felt his neck break out in hives before he even registered how he knew the man. He was the same fellow who had pondered over the autopsy of Morley Munson’s father and he had been part of
a team who had wandered through the Munson home at the time of his mother’s passing.
Morley Munson made eye contact with the man just before his main course came. The moment took probably only a second in real time but it felt like the slow click of some eternal clock in his mind. He smiled over atthe man, his pupils hidden behind the reflection of his thick (prescription) lenses. Morley Munson waited for a nod in return but received only a stare back from the man. A hard, blank stare.
Morley Munson decided against ordering dessert, even though rice pudding was on tonight’s menu. He paid his bill in a hurry and scurried out the door (with a bag of leftovers), glancing back to see if the man was watching his exit. He was indeed.
Morley Munson rationally knew that even
a local detective had to eat dinner and it meant nothing (or next to nothing) that
they had both been in that restaurant at the same moment. This is what is known as a ‘coincidence’ and his rational self told him to forget the incident and think nothing of it. His irrational self, however, exploded with anxiety and he went to a local park and walked for several hours, muttering quietly to himself.
Morley Munson eventually came upon a stray dog lurking in the shadows. He lured the dog next to him with a sourdough roll. As it ate, he beat the dog to death with a stick.
