220. Colonel Tulkinghorn’s Last Hurrah
Amy stoops down to search the man. She flips him over onto his side and begins riffling through his pockets. In one she finds a beaten up old leather booklet with a handwritten title page, “The War Diaries of Colonel Elihu Tulkinghorn.” She tries to read the diary, but has a difficult time making out the handwriting. She gives up after a few moments and returns to searching what is evidently the body of Colonel Tulkinghorn.
In his left breast pocket she finds a small index card. It has a name, Colonel Tulkinghorn, a time, a date, and a series of letters and numbers. Amy quickly recognizes the numbers as a Library of Congress call number; perhaps this is some kind of book reservation slip? Amy continues her search. Amy makes her oddest discovery in the Colonel’s right trouser pocket; a pair of women’s underwear. The panties are a thong cut. From the feel of the material Amy can tell it’s expensive; the bands are elaborate and delicate black lace, the body soft pink silk. Meticulously embroidered in black on the crotch are the letters “C. S.” Amy looks quizzically at the old man as she wonders what he would be doing with a pair of women’s underpants.
She stuffs the panties and the card into her pocket. When she does so she hears what sounds like a combination of a sigh and a gasp from the direction of the Colonel. To her surprise, a light mist begins arising from his body as he slowly fades into nonexistence. Amy takes a step back, now quite unnerved. As she turns to leave she notices the Colonel’s elephant gun still lying on the floor.
“Hmmm,” thinks Amy, “it might not hurt to have an extra bit of protection. And a gun like that should provide a whole lot of extra protection!”
Should Amy grab the gun, or just get out of here?