by Henry Custer

"Hi sweetie, how was your day?" Sara called from the kitchen area as Jake dropped into his favorite chair.
It took a few seconds for Jake to respond. Hell, what could he say? It had definitely not been a good day. "Well, it wasn't good, that idiot Carl was on my ass all day. And that flunky he hired to help me is even worse. Not only is he no help, he is downright exasperating. What and idiot ass!"
"Well, you just relax honey, supper will be ready in a few minutes." Sara liked to have their little talks when Jake came in from a hard day at the auto salvage yard, but she also knew when not to pursue a subject.

After supper Jake was unusually quiet as they watched the sitcoms, then the news and went to bed as usual. The next day as he prepared for work, pulling on the same old coveralls he had worn yesterday, he whistled one of his favorite ballads, "Frankie and Johnny."
Well, thought Sara, maybe today will be a little easier. I sure hope so, poor Jake, he was never able to take a lot of crap from people. But as hard as the work was, he did need the job, and all jobs had a boss. I just hope he doesn't have another of those awful headaches today.

That evening, right on time as always, Jake swept into the living room. "Hey honey, you in there?" he called into the kitchen.
"Sure babe, I'll have it on the table in a jiffy. How was your day?" she asked.
"Very satisfying," Jake replied, "One in a million, I feel great now. Had one of those headaches earlier today. Things got kind of hectic. The helper kid didn't show up today and the idiot Carl was being his usual asshole self. But I feel great now."
"That's wonderful Jake," she replied, bringing him a cold beer, "just relax for a few more minutes while I get supper on the table. I'll turn on the six o'clock news, then maybe we can get to bed early," Sara purred, giving him one of those knowing smiles.
Something the news anchor was saying got her attention. Had he mentioned Carl's name, her husband's boss?

"A customer found his body in back of the tool shed at the salvage yard just before five o'clock this afternoon. He was apparently beaten severely with a jack handle. The police have no suspects as yet, but the other employees have not yet been contacted."

"Honey, did you hear that?" Sara exclaimed.
"Yeah, I heard it," Jake replied casually, "bastard had it coming for a long time. Gave me a headache again today."
"You didn't..." She couldn't finish the question.
"Yep, finally killed the son-of-a-bitch, would you bring me another beer honey?"