Ray Johnson was beginning to feel uneasy about moving to Wiley. After seeing the motel he would be managing, he realized it was not anything like he had expected. Also, he could just see the look of disappointment in Susan’s and the kids’ eyes. Ray now was in a tight spot about what to do. If only he knew the true secrets of Wiley, his decision would be made very easily for him.

“Daddy. I am very hungry,” exclaimed Ashley, interrupting his thoughts.

Ray’s stomach growled when she mentioned it. He had completely lost track of time because it was nearly one in the afternoon.

"Alright, sweetheart. We will go get something to eat very soon,” Ray replied. “Mr. Sanders, I think it is about time we go grab a bite to eat."

Mr. Sanders looked a bit annoyed for whatever reason. “Sure. Get in the car. We can go to the Diner in town.”

Ray was beginning to despise Mr. Sanders. He was very pushy and quite rude. Also, many of his stories seemed somewhat fishy. The family got into the old Cadillac for the last time. The drive to the Diner was fairly short and luckily within walking distance of Mr. Sanders' office. Everyone got out of the car and walked into the Diner.

Ray immediately noticed that the outside of the Diner needed a new paint job and the windows looked like they had not been washed in years. The smell of cigarettes was so overwhelming that when Ray entered the restaurant it caused him to cough. His wife looked disgusted and the girls began making gagging noises. Also, the smoke was not the worst part. There must have been at least one hundred flies buzzing around. It was ironic because all of the people in there seemed not to notice any of these disgusting obstacles while they ate. Mr. Sanders led them to a table and said that he needed to make an important phone call.

A woman with bright orange hair and cheap red lipstick wearing a nametag that said “Betsy” greeted their table.

“Well, howdy there, folks! What on earth brings y'all to Wiley today? I have not seen an unfamiliar face in God knows how long."

Ray replied, trying to ignore the smoke, “Well, Mr. Sanders has been showing us around today. We might be moving here due to—"

Betsy interrupted him, “Do not listen to that man. He is crazy and not a good person." She leaned into the table a little closer and lowered her voice. "He has blackmailed everyone in this town to keep their mouths shut about various instances—he's even blackmailed me! I refuse to let an innocent family such as yourselves get sucked into this town’s mess."

“Well, what exactly are you talking about?” demanded Ray.

Betsy began to tell the whole story. “Well, about two years ago, that man you are with was picked up for questioning about a gruesome murder. It just so happened that the man who was killed happened to be Mr. Sander's deceased wife’s lover. A few weeks prior to the entire fiasco, it was rumored that Mr. Sanders had found out about his wife cheating on him. He was outraged. A few weeks later when the pregnant woman was about to go into labor, a cardboard box showed up in her hospital room. She opened it and what she found inside was just horrible. It was the head of her lover, who was also the father of the baby she was about to have. She was planning on leaving Mr. Sander’s soon after her child was born. Even more tragic, the doctors found her strangled in the tubes of the device that was used to monitor her heart rate and contractions of her uterus. She had committed suicide in despair over her lost lover. The doctors tried to rescue the baby, but it had suffocated inside of the mother when she strangled herself. Three people were left dead—it was such a tragedy! Everyone in the town knew it was Mr. Sanders who was responsible for the decapitation. Somehow, though he got away with it. Personally, I think he paid off the police so that they would mind their own business. Anyway, just thought I would give y'all a heads up. Be careful with what you believe in the things that man is telling you."

Betsy walked away from the table leaving, Ray and his family absolutely astonished.

Ray said, “Let’s get out of here before Mr. Sanders even knows we have left!” Ray looked at Susan and her eye’s had a look of relief in them.

The family quietly grabbed their belongings and swiftly walked across the street to their car. Ray was no longer interested in moving to this town. During the car ride away from Wiley, he would soon find out about all of the rest of the secret findings that his family had stumbled upon during the day. No money was worth risking his family’s safety. Approximately thirty miles outside of Wiley, a rainbow appeared in the sky.

Bibliography: Vogel, Steve. 1994. April 2. "Sgt. Stephen Schap Beheaded His Wife's Lover." The Washington Post. Web source: Snopes.com

Image Information: Closeup of Head in a Box by I'm elsewhere in May 2006

Author’s Note: I based this story upon a true article that I came across. A soldier in Germany actually did decapitate his wife’s secret lover and then brought the head to the hospital to show to his pregnant wife. I made up the part about her and the baby dying though to make it more horrific. I also made the jealous husband into my character, Mr. Sanders, to add a twist to the story.

The Diner resturaunt in this story is actually based on a personal experience. Whenever we were about to move to a small town in Oklahoma, my sister and I went with my dad to its local restaurant. Everything smelt like smoke and there really were flies everywhere. I was so disgusted. To make matters worse, whenever I went to use the restroom, there were cockroaches and a huge spider on the floor. I was so frightened that I remember crying and begging my dad that we would not move there. We ended up moving there and luckily it was not bad at all. Although to this day, when I still drive by that restaurant—and I must add that it has changed owners numerous times—I still refuse to eat there because of the horrible experience I had there as a child.

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