The April 7 release for The Unforgiving Town is getting oh-so- closer. Today I will share a scene I feel symbolizes Al Kitchen’s plight when he returns home after serving 17 years in prison for manslaughter. The scene involves a murder of crows, the official name for a flock of that kind of bird and an appropriate one for a book that is a murder thriller.
In The Unforgiving Town, Al believes he’s a changed man. I made him one. But tell that to the townspeople of Holden who prefer he had died in prison. Al killed a man most people liked in a botched robbery. Wherever he goes, he encounters people who won’t let him forget.
Back at his family home, which he shares with his cousin, Al decides to put his new-found freedom to good use painting the house his grandmother left him. (You read about Jenny Kitchen in my last Substack.)
The house’s exterior hasn’t had a fresh coat of paint in many years, probably not since Al’s grandparents bought it. The same goes for the interior, which he envisions as his next project. His cousin Bernie takes Al to a hardware store in the next town to get enough paint for two coats for the clapboards and trim — not a pleasant experience because of who he meets there. But now Al has enough paint to fill his days, one side at a time.
On one those days, Al is high on a ladder when he sees crows in action. Here’s the scene.
Tuesday morning, Al had one goal in mind, painting the right side of the house as early as he could, so the clapboards would be good and dry. Bernie told him it was supposed to rain tomorrow. The storm got delayed a day. Too bad about the interruption. He felt like he was on a roll. But then again, it might be nice to take a break. Painting wasn’t hard work, but he was using muscles he normally didn’t.
Al held onto the paint can’s handle as he climbed the ladder to the right side’s peak. The brush and a rag were stuck in the back pocket of his jeans. Once he reached the top, Al looked over the house’s roof through the thinning trees to the homes belonging to the people who lived nearby. He had no idea if they were the same people who lived there when he did the last time.
A bird’s loud “caw” caught his attention. When he looked skyward, crows were chasing a hawk. He counted ten in the group. The birds were on the hawk’s backside, cawing, insistent in their pursuit. The hawk was a powerful creature that killed for its food, but here it was being turned away by a mob of smaller birds, a murder of crows, he remembered it was called. The hawk had to be stronger than any of them. But it wasn’t taking any chances.
Al knew how the hawk felt, being chased away like that.
“What the fuck,” he said.
Al continued to watch until the birds were out of his sight. Then he began to paint again.
A murder of chasing off a bird of prey? I’ve seen it a number of times. I felt it describes Al’s situation well, so I asked my artist son, Ezra Livingston, to include them in cover. He created a rather large murder of crows. By the way, in case you’re wondering, a group of ravens is called a conspiracy.
Thanks to those who have pre-ordered The Unforgiving Town’s Kindle version. Here’s the link. This book is sequel to The Sacred Dog. Both stand on their own, but if you like one you might like the other.