After fifty-three years behind the chair, Rayburn Cole is finally retiring. But on his last day at Rayburn’s Barber Shop, an old photograph brings back the memory of nineteen-year-old Austin Prescott—and the last haircut Rayburn gave him just days before he disappeared. Some memories fade. Others wait thirty-one years to be heard.

Rain slicks the alley behind Harper's Chicken as Detective John Prescott stands beneath the glow of the employee entrance, waiting for a warrant that might finally uncover what had been hidden beneath the restaurant floor for decades. John’s wife, Abby, drops off their curious daughter, Charli, because she is too curious for her own good. She wants to be a part of the investigation at Harper’s.

In the distance, the lights of Bunkwood Regional Hospital burn against the mountainside. The abandoned Briar River Mill sits dark and silent in the distance—watching over a town that had spent far too long keeping its secrets.

Coming after R.E. Chatterton’s first short story “Sweet Tea for Two,” this one introduces Mabel and Henry of Juniper Lane, where they are also usually found sitting on the front porch sipping sweet tea for two. Enjoy!

Detective Prescott in front of Harper’s Chicken in Briar Glen, NC. Bunkwood County. Inside you’ll find regulars Steve, Paul, and Mrs. Bobbi being served by the town gossip and bubby waitress Tammy. Somebody is always up to some kind of damn shenanigans at Harper’s Chicken!