Double Take

It’s an understatement to say Craig wasn’t happy Marilyn was going to her sister’s, leaving him stuck at home to answer the door for trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.

About quarter-to-ten, he dumped the last of the candy bars into pre-teens’ pillow cases and sacks and promptly closed the drapes and turned off the porch light to signal he had had just about enough.

The bell sounded again about 11:45 and he opened the door with purpose only to find nothing but an orange and black Halloween bag in the vestibule.

He looked around and--seeing no child--stooped and had only raised the bag 6 inches from the concrete when he saw a severed human hand at the bottom, dropped the gory find and lurched to vomit on the grass.

Police assured him they were enroute and, when dispatch asked if it was a man’s or woman’s hand, Craig dared to take only the quickest glance, but long enough to recognize the ring he’d given Marilyn on the hand he had taken in marriage.