he drove up to the motel in his town and country car he watched the working women with the field hands from the farm he walked into the lobby with his pleased to see you smile scribbled on to the register his fictitious name and smiled the footsteps of a young girl came tapping along the hall the outline of his features were shadowed on the wall she stood a little nervous half lit by the neon light that flashed in many colours through the darkness of the night the skin on his face like a well worn saddle smiled as he said goodnight at the melody motel it was business as usual as the girls wiped the tears from their eyes his shirt lay by his bedside his jeans down by his feet she swallowed hard and mumbled with the key between her teeth on went the television the picture flickering slow top cat in the alley way as they sat there all alone he drove back up his driveway in his town and country car his wife was cooking chicken with a baby in her arms the smell of home cooked dinner filled the air at home that night screaming officer dibble in the tv s flickering light slumped in his favourite armchair his face as grey as stone his feet up on the table next to the chicken bones he seemed to show no feelings picking corn out from his teeth police down at the motel as the blood dried on the sheets