Catcher Malek

by Johannes Springenseiss

Dave Malek went completely nuts yesterday. First he poisoned his family and the dog, then he took his shotgun and drove around town, blowing away his poker buddies one by one, and before the police finally overpowered him, Malek still managed to knock off Santa Claus in front of Walmart. When this morning Sheriff Harrington enters the jail, he finds Malek reading The Catcher in the Rye, many a murderer’s prime excuse since the Lennon assassination. “Why, Dave,” bellows Harrington, “why did you kill your wife and kids, then your friends, then Santa?!” Malek looks up. “Family first.”

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Johannes Springenseiss is a world citizen and raconteur. He mostly writes speculative fiction and creative essays published in literary magazines worldwide.