SYNOPSIS
 
Rue the Devil’s Tattoo
By
Nan Mix 2011
 
In a seedy neighborhood dive with an ornate mahogany back bar adorned with baseball photos and memorabilia, Carl Gentry sits staring blankly in the mirror.  He is middle aged and dressed in scruffy jeans and a denim jacket.  He hears a strange drumming cadence; someone in the room is hitting their fingers on wood making the sound of the Devil’s Tattoo.

Carl wonders out loud at the sound remarking to himself that the last time he heard the noise there was a murder.  Down the bar sits Rhonda Ruiz, an over-the-hill woman dressed in a rumpled evening gown complete with tiara.  She is nursing the last bit of a pink drink in a giant martini glass with an umbrella stuck in it.  On her lap is a big lop eared bunny.

Rhonda thinks Carl is talking to her and tries to con a drink out of him by handing him her bunny, Percy, while she jumps up on the bar and does a tap dance to the tune of “Puttin on the Ritz” in her own wobbling vocal rendition.  The bartender comes in and tells her to get down before he is charged an entertainment tax by the city.  Rhonda retrieves her rabbit and leaves. Carl and the bartender engage in conversation.

  While sitting at the bar Carl remembers how his date Rose was killed after they heard the sound of the Devil’s Tattoo and she was trying to open her door.  She was wearing a distinctive feline faced ring as she turned her key. She was trying to talk Carl into going dancing instead of coming into her apartment.

Carl is the killer and he does not realize it.  He has escaped from prison and is on the hunt for the killer.

Carl queries the bartender who is not only the owner of the bar, but also an ex professional baseball star.  In their conversation the bartender, Charley alias Slugger, realizes Carl is the escaped killer of Rose, while Carl is stating that he wants to find the killer and that he can hear the drumming. Carl opens his jacket and places a gun on the bar.

Slugger watches Carl’s hand drum the Devil’s Tattoo and identifies himself as the brother of the murdered Rose as he pulls a chain out with the feline ring attached from under his shirt.  Slugger grabs a baseball bat from behind the bar stating he wants the killer too and accuses Carl of trying to rob him.

Carl protests that he is not after money, just the killer. Slugger states that he wants the same thing and hits Carl in the head with the bat knocking him off the stool.  Going around the bar Slugger finds Carl with his head at a bad angle, places the gun in Carl’s hand and calls 911 to report an attempted robbery.

Rhonda sticks her head in the door wanting another drink because her rabbit Percy is thirsty.  Slugger tells her to come back on Saturday night.  He states very slowly that there will be a party in honor of Rose and there will be dancing because Rose always liked to dance.

 The End