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birthplace of Tennessee Williams—"America's Best Playwright." However, only a few artsy types care about him. Most people know that he was a notorious homosexual, so that makes him a sinner in the eyes of God. People here seem to have a direct line to God, and to Jesus, so they know exactly how those two feel about things.
    We don't actually have many homosexuals. I would bet that most of the folks in this town wouldn't even recognize one. Still, they are considered evil, with an agenda to seduce God-fearing Christians, winning them over for Satan.
    I suppose it's no wonder that people spend so much time minding each other's business, and hating people that they do not know personally. Gossip is somewhat more interesting than boredom.
    Not too far away from Columbus is the city of Tupelo, "The Birthplace of Elvis Presley." We would love to claim him. There's no doubt about his sexuality, and he loved his mama and Jesus, too. If only Elvis had been born here, we would have so much to be proud of.
    Of course, Mayor Perkins ' twenty-something twin sons, Karloss and Kordell, get into trouble all the time. That's not really news, especially since influential people at City Hall cover up the boys' peccadilloes. The Dispatch tends to downplay their recklessness, as well, taking a boys-will-be-boys attitude. However, their transgressions usually involve guns, and certainly not toy guns.
    There are also whispers of dog fighting. That frightens me a lot. Anyone who hurts a helpless animal —well, it makes you wonder, would they hurt a person, too?  If people in town have proof of that, they are being very close-mouthed about it. I can understand their position, sort of. Mayor Perkins has a reputation for being a bully. There is fear of retribution.
    But, Monday morning brought news that stunned the town like a bolt of lightning. Coach Lewis Russell had been murdered!
    The headline of The Commercial Dispatch read, "RESPECTED EDUCATOR AND COACH FOUND STRANGLED." It was the lead story on WCBI, the local CBS affiliate, at 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
    Our weekly paper, The Columbus Packet , put out a special edition with photos of the body, in a black bag, being wheeled into the coroner's van. They gave the story a very important position, above the mug shots, and even before the pictures of bloody drunks getting arrested for fighting.
    People were frightened, and in a perverse way, thrilled. There was so much to speculate about. By all accounts Coach Lewis was beloved. Not as beloved as Mother Goose, to be sure, but still well-liked in the community.
    There were interviews with his colleagues, all giving the expected quotes: "he was wonderful"; "a dedicated teacher"; "a fine man"; "an asset to the Historic Commission." . . . For some reason there were few comments from members of the track team. He had taught for over twenty years. You would think they would be grieving en masse.
    There were even some interviews with John Daigle, the father of Skip. Could there be a connection between Skip's suicide and Coach's murder? Unlikely, in my book. It was all so tragic. John Daigle, or "Johnny D," as most people around here called him, was devastated. Photos of him in the Dispatch showed a slender man with red-rimmed eyes. His misery cloaked him. Anyone could see that he would never be the same.
    The Packet included in their story a small detail about how Skip's mother, Linda Daigle, had disappeared several years ago. I suppose that made it much worse for Johnny D. Skip was all he had.
    Coach's wife, Sue Ellen Russell, was playing the devastated widow. Columbus shared her sorrow. There were lots of photos of her on the news and in the papers. She was a mousy-looking woman, with a tight, gray bun wound on the top of her head like a steely tiara.
    The story got " curiouser and curiouser." Although the Russells owned one of Columbus' historic homes on the south side of town, he was discovered in a small bungalow on 3 rd Street North. The house was