Sex and Murder Magazine

By Daniel P. Coughlin

The scorching hot summer of 1959 was an educational time for Eddy Slater—it was the summer he came to know his destiny.

Eddy was a junior and high school had let out for the summer. Eddy never understood why his classmates got so riled up for the summer—sure, there were no bells, teachers or homework, but that meant there was nothing, boredom.

The house that Eddy and his mother, June, lived in was nice and the yard was exceptional due to Eddy’s chore work. The grass was always neatly mowed and the clippings were always evenly spread out across the lawn to keep it nice and fertilized—Eddy loved the smell of fresh grass clippings after he’d done the mowing on hot-humid summer afternoons. The white picket fence lining the front yard next to the cracked sidewalk where weeds and dandelions poked through was painted twice that summer and really made the yard picturesque to the passing eye.

Eddy’s mother sat in the kitchen drinking her Herbal tea—slowly dipping the small brown bag into her steamy cup of hot water.

“Morning mom,” Eddy said as he slid over to the refrigerator and pulled out the tariff of orange juice. He put the glass container to his mouth and began sipping. The sweet orange fluid barely touched his lips when he felt the judging eyes of his mother staring through the back of his head.

“If you put your dirty little mouth to that tariff…I’ll break it over your head. You go to the cupboard and then you pull out a glass…then you pour the orange juice into the glass and then you drink it. It is simple and it is common sense. If your father were still alive he’d be tanning your hide right now, young man. Do you understand?” June said and she continued dipping her teabag.

“Yes mom,” Eddy responded with a shaky voice and then he followed his mother’s directions.

“I worry about you Eddy. I watch you do these awful things. You drink from the container, you don’t put the toilet seat down after you do your business—Eddy, I’m not home enough to watch after you. I work too hard putting food on the table and providing a life for us.”

Eddy stood in the kitchen watching two Robins sore across the backyard while he fantasized about how nice it would be to grab the butcher’s knife from the block and plunge it into his mother’s stomach. He’d love to watch her bleed out onto the kitchen table.

Eddy would always greet his mother when she came home from work, if he didn’t greet her she would spend at least an hour crying about how he didn’t appreciate her. He always knew it was his mother because of the way her cheap two-inch pumps came limping up the wooden stairs and onto the porch.

On that particular day she’d come home from a twelve-hour shift complaining, almost in tears, of the blisters she’d accrued from walking to the office in heels because she couldn’t afford to ride the bus—that and her boss wouldn’t allow her to wear comfortable shoes to the office.

“Eddy, guess what?” June asked.

“Mr. McDonald, at work, said he’d pay you ten cents a day to file folders and stamp envelopes at the office this summer. How does that sound?”

“Do I have to?” Eddy replied and then June slapped him across the face.

“I do so much for you and all you can do is complain! You’re going to take the job and you’re going to like it! And that’s final! Now go wash up for dinner.”

Eddy shuffled to the bathroom across the hard wood floor, sliding his sock covered feet as he went. The cold water felt good on his hands and he couldn’t help but to wonder about how nice it would be to drown his mother. He wouldn’t have to listen to her bitch and moan anymore. He would be able to do whatever he wanted. She never let him do anything on his own. She wanted him in her presence twenty-four hours a day yet she acted like she hated him. “Do this Eddy, do that.” He hated it and he hated her.


The next morning Eddy was dressed in his Sunday clothes—even though it was Thursday, and eating fried eggs and bacon with his mother in the kitchen.

“Now, when you meet Mr. McDonald I want you to be respectful. If you show him anything but gratitude for hiring you—by god I’ll smack you right in front of him…at the office. Got it?”

“Yes, ma.”

“Good. You look nice and handsome,” she said and then kissed him on the cheek. She placed her hand under his chin and stared at him for a moment. Her face was close to his and he felt uncomfortable. Eddy hated it when his mother got sentimental. Then June leaned in and kissed Eddy on the mouth and kept her lips touching his as if she liked the taste of them.

“Okay mom,” Eddy said as he pulled away from her. “You’re gonna get your lipstick all over my face.”

And then she slapped him across the mouth.

“Can’t I show my baby some affection now and again? You don’t have to be so ashamed of kissing your mother. It’s just the two of us anyway.”

“It’s creepy,” Eddy said.

June’s eyes went wild and she gritted her teeth. “What…you don’t like girls? You like boys? Are you a queer, Eddy Slater?”

“No, mom. I just…I’m sorry. Can we go now?”

June got up from the table and pushed past him grabbing her black purse from the countertop next to the back door.


The law office was to the right of Main Street off of Water Street. It was a nice cream-colored brick building with brown trim that stood out amongst the rest of the red brick buildings on the block. A bell jingled upon entering the front door and then Mr. McDonald was walking toward them.

“This must be Eddy? Hi, Eddy I’m Mr. McDonald. Looks like you’ll be working here for the summer?” Mr. McDonald said as he stuck his large hand out to Eddy.

Eddy took the enormous hand—his hold was strong and heavy and Eddy thought that maybe he was trying to intimidate him. “Thanks for bringing me on, Mr. McDonald. I promise I’ll do a good job.”

“I bet you will.”

Eddy stamped and licked envelopes until his fingers were sore and his tongue was dry like sandpaper. He placed the newest stationary next to the coffee pot—and then the prettiest girl he’d ever laid eyes on walked into the office. The most beautiful creature he’d ever bared witness too was standing before him. Sally McDonald had long blonde hair and tanned skin. Her smile was bright and wide and her teeth were straight and gleaming white. Mr. McDonald made his way over toward her as she entered the office.

“Good afternoon, dumpling. Come here, I want you to meet someone. This is Eddy Slater, June’s son. He’ll be helping out around the office this summer,” Mr. McDonald said while he walked his daughter over to the break room table where Eddy sat.

Eddy scooted his chair back and stood to greet Sally. His feet stumbled a bit when he saw how gorgeous her piercing blue eyes were. He wanted to swim in them. For the first time that day Eddy felt good about his summer job.

“Hello Eddy Slater, I’m Sally McDonald.”

“I know…I mean it’s nice to meet you,” Eddy spewed. Perspiration beaded-up on his forehead and he could feel his temperature rise.

“I guess we’ll be helping each other, huh?” Sally asked.

“You sure will,” Mr. McDonald added as he pulled out a chair for his daughter.

Sally and Eddy both sat down and divided their workload into separate piles of envelopes, stationary and stamps. Eddy could feel his penis growing into an erection. It was slipping up past his belt line and then sticky semen seeped out of the head and touched his skin just below his belly. If his mother were to come in right now and ask him to stand up he would just die. And then she did.

“Eddy, can I speak with you, please?” June asked.

Eddy looked from his mother to Sally—eyes wide with fear of what she would see. He nonchalantly slid his hand into his pants and adjusted, sticking his erect penis upward so that the head was tucked under the tightness of his belt. He stood and faced her and watched while her eyes discovered his nastiness. She almost smiled.

“Never mind,” June said.

Eddy sat down and continued placing stamps on the corner of the manila envelopes and then stacked them into neat piles. He wanted to die and then he looked to Sally and she was laughing.

“What was that about?” Sally asked.

“Nothing,” Eddy replied and then Sally reached across the table and put her hand on top of Eddy’s.

“It’s okay,” Sally smiled smug-like. “I like you too.”

“Ah, um, maybe we should get back to work.”

They worked in silence for the rest of the day and at five o’clock Eddy’s mother came to the break room again.

“It’s time to go home,” she said in an exhausted voice.

Eddy nodded, then stood and followed his mother out the front door. He turned once, to smile at Sally—she did the same.

The walk home was silent. Eddy watched his mother force each step as if her feet were giant blisters underneath her shoes. The sad look was still hung across her brow and Eddy wished she wouldn’t do that—it made him feel like he was supposed to somehow comfort her and he didn’t want to. He only wanted to think of Sally. He wondered what her breasts looked like. Maybe they were large and voluptuous or maybe they were flat and droopy around the bottom. They looked nice while he stared at them throughout the day, but the push-up bra accentuated them. Eddy didn’t think they looked as nice as the bra made them appear. He wanted to fornicate with her. He felt his blood rushing down to his penis again. His mind took him to his bedroom where he would lay her down and acknowledge her nakedness before putting it inside her and thrusting hard until he came. He wanted to ravish her—the sounds of her moaning would be so pleasant.

Once at home, Eddy told his mother that he needed a shower and so he went to the bathroom and turned the faucets until there was an equal balance and the shower was lukewarm. He took his clothes off and entered the tub. His penis was fully erect and he imagined that Sally was in the shower with him—putting her mouth on it. Her lips would slide forward across the shaft and then slowly move back to the head. Eddy rubbed it hard now and then there was a noise—a click and then a creak and his mother entered the bathroom. Eddy quickly turned toward the tiled wall away from his mother. The shower curtain was clear and she would surly see him if he were to turn around.

“Open the curtain.”

“Come on ma, I’m in the shower,” Eddy wined. He wasn’t able to reduce his erection and now he was pinching the head in order to cause pain—pain might subside the orgasmic convulsion that now swam in his groin.

And then the shower curtain slammed to the left side and Eddy had to face her. She looked down and saw it and like a criminal caught with nowhere to turn, Eddy lowered his hands and let his mother see.

“All day that thing has caused me grief. What is it about you boys? Always thinking with that thing?” she looked at his penis, still erect. “You just look for something to put it in or you rub it until that stuff comes out of it.” And then she touched it and tugged. Her eyes moved up to his and he felt scared and turned-on at the same time. She tugged faster now and he wanted to run but couldn’t. He closed his eyes and let it happen. Before he knew it, he was shaking. He tried to imagine that it was Sally doing this, that she came to him and was now touching him there. He imagined Sally smiling and then it happened—the white cream exploded from the tip of his penis and he was shaking badly but trying not to move. A light groan left his lips and then his mother slapped him, getting the white stuff on his cheek as she hit him and then she left the bathroom. Eddy turned the warm water off and washed himself in cold water.


The next morning was beautiful—the sky was a clear blue with only a few white clouds floating across God’s canvass. Eddy and his mother walked to the law office in silence. They mentioned nothing of what happened in the shower. When they got to the office, June turned to Eddy and ran her hand down the side of his face.

“We’ll stop for ice cream on the way home from work. It’s Friday, payday, and I want to take my son out for ice cream.”

Eddy nodded and then they entered the office. Eddy felt his face fill with blood and his cheeks go flush when he saw Sally sitting in the break room licking envelopes. He turned to his mother and she washed his red face with those judging eyes that he hated so much and in a moments time he thought of chopping her head off with the wood-ax that they kept in the garage next to the rake and weed whacker. He would cut her head off and then place it on the mantel above the fireplace. Like a decoration piece—it seemed appropriate and then he thought of Sally lying naked on his bed. His mind jumped from thoughts of killing his mother to fucking Sally all the while he was setting his wind-breaker over the top of his chair and then taking a seat next to a pile of mailers.

“Hey Eddy, how’s it going?” Sally asked.

Eddy snapped out of his lustful fantasies and admired the red lipstick that Sally had on today. It was a bit heavy and not quite neat but he could tell that she’d only worn it to impress him.

“I’m good. How are you?” Eddy asked as he screeched his metal chair closer to the table.

“Fine,” She said and then she leaned in close to Eddy. “Aaron Stoddard is having a party tonight, you want to come?”

Eddy couldn’t help it, the thought circled back into his head—dirty thoughts that would only piss his mother off and God knew he didn’t want her pissed off again. He hated it when she touched him like that. It was gross and it made him feel sick.

“Yeah, I know Aaron. You want to go together?” Eddy asked.

“Sure, I might have to sneak out. Why don’t I come to your house around ten?”

“Sounds good to me.” Eddy said with a smile and then his mother came in to fill the boss’s mug with coffee. He wanted to trip her and watch as her head smashed into the corner of the marble countertop—blood spraying across the refrigerator next to it and then she would fall to the ground and go into convulsions before dying and bleeding out all over the break room floor.

He didn’t trip her.


At the Ice Cream Shoppe on Main Street Eddy ordered Strawberry while his mother had Rocky Road. They sat at a booth and licked their cones pleasurably. When they were finished Eddy said “thank you” and then they left and walked home.

After showering, Eddy went to his room and dropped his towel to the floor. He stood naked in his room deciding what he would wear to the party—his mother walked in. Eddy bent down to pick up his towel, but his mother stepped on it and then looked to him with a savvy grin.

“What’s the matter? I brought you into this world naked, I think I can handle you without any clothes on. She stepped up next to him. The smoothness of her slip was nice against his warm skin and then she kissed him. She let her slip fall to the floor and then she was naked and touching him down there. Eddy closed his eyes and thought of Sally while his mother did this. She pulled him over to the bed and then sat him down. She straddled him and then he felt her warmness as it slid inside of her. It only lasted a few moments and then he was shaking again.

“You used to last longer,” June said as she dismounted Eddy. “You used to make me feel sexy.”

Eddy sat on the bed, naked, waiting for her to leave. His mother bent down and picked up her slip then stood in the doorway, naked.

“Is she really that much prettier than me?” his mother asked.

Eddy shook his head. He felt sick again and he wanted her to leave. He knew things would only get worse if he remained silent.

“No mom, no one’s prettier than you.”

And then she smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her. Eddy got up and wiped off his penis with three pieces of tissue paper, but then went to the bathroom and washed with soap. He didn’t want Sally to put her mouth on his penis and taste his mother’s juices.

Eddy decided on brown slacks with a light blue polo shirt. He combed his hair nice and washed it in beer to give it that nice golden shine. He smiled at himself in the mirror and then went downstairs. To his surprise, Sally was on the couch sitting next to his mother. Her face was red and bleeding and her hands were tied behind her back with clothesline from the backyard.

“Look honey, Mr. McDonald’s daughter stopped over to say hello.”

Eddy froze. He stood at the bottom of the stairwell and watched on with horror as his mother pulled Sally’s breasts from her shirt. They were perfect and round—a creamy white color. The rest of her was tan, but her perfect breasts were creamy colored. Tears rolled down her cheeks now and she didn’t look as beautiful as she did before, but she still looked amazing.

“Come have a seat, Eddy. Don’t be rude to our guest.”

Eddy shook his head. “Mom, why do you have to do this with every girl I ever like. It’s embarrassing,” Eddy said as he made his way over to Sally. “I’m sorry, Sally, she gets so jealous sometimes.” And then he sat down next to Sally and began fondling her breasts and then his fingers went to her stomach and then into her cotton panties. He pushed his middle finger into her wet parts and then he tickled her. She was wet but still crying and then he kissed her. Her lips were salty from her tears, but they felt heavenly.

“Please stop,” Sally begged.

“Shhh. It’ll only get worse if you don’t go along.”

Eddy pulled his finger out of Sally’s vagina and then forced her onto her stomach and then pulled his pants down. Eddy had never been so excited before and then he put it inside of her and she cried softly. Eddy thrust his erection in and out of Sally while his mother ran her fingers across his back.

“That’s it, Eddy. Be gentle with her,” June said as she began to massage Eddy’s shoulders.

When Eddy was done, he pulled out and ejaculated on Sally’s lower back between the dimples above her buttocks. He stood and stuttered across the living room—his pants wrapped around his ankles. June walked to the kitchen and then Eddy heard the back door open and the screen door sway. Eddy looked at Sally for a moment while she laid crumpled on the couch sobbing. He pulled his pants up and then sat back in his chair.

“Bring her around back!” June yelled from the garage.

Eddy shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Now?”

“Yes, Now! You get out here this instant! This instant!”

“Bitch. I hate it when she gets like this.”

Eddy walked across the living room to Sally and grabbed her wrists and pulled her off the couch.

“Trust me, you don’t want to see what happens if you don’t come with me,” Eddy told Sally while he dragged her across the carpet and then into the kitchen.


Eddy came shuffling into the garage—still dragging Sally like a heavy bag of potatoes. Once the fluorescent light shone upon Sally, June came out of the darkness holding the wood-ax.

“Can’t I fuck her one more time?” Eddy asked, annoyed.

June rolled her head to the side and cringed her brow into an angry stare.

“Now.”

“Fine.”

Eddy grabbed the wood-ax and slammed it down into Sally’s chest. An explosion of blood and oxygen erupted from her mouth and then she was dead. Eddy spent the next three hours dismembering Sally and then digging a six-foot deep hole in the backyard next to the old elm tree where no one could see or hear what he was doing.

Eddy looked up and over the mound of dirt and watched the outline of his mother walking toward him in the darkness—still wearing her slip. When she got close enough, Eddy could see that she had brought him a glass of water.

“You must be thirsty.”

Eddy took the glass and pounded the water in quick chugs and then he pulled the glass away from his mouth and breathed heavily.

“Hurry now—the sun will be up in a few hours and you still have to bury her.” June said.

“I know. I’ll get it done,” Eddy answered and then he set the glass down and hopped out of the hole. He crooned his head to the right where Sally’s discarded body lay and then he stepped toward her. He kicked the pieces of her into the hole and then covered her with a couple hundred pounds of dirt.

By the time Eddy went to bed he was exhausted to the point that he couldn’t force himself into the shower. He would have to clean his sheets in the morning. Sleep came fast.


He must have slept for more than a day because when he awoke it was dark again. She was tapping his shoulder and whispering for him to wake up. He rolled over and felt every muscle in his body ache and groan with soreness. He rolled to the edge of the bed and then sat silent, looking to the floor for a moment.

“We mustn’t wake her,” the voice said and then Eddy realized that it wasn’t his mother’s voice, but it was familiar.

“What? Mustn’t wake who?” Eddy said as he tilted his head quickly to find Sally kneeling down before him. He jumped back across his bed and crawled away from her. “It can’t be…I’m dreaming. Go away!”

“Be quiet or she’ll wake up,” Sally said.

He was no longer tired. He was fully alert and awake and listening to Sally. He peered at her with wild eyes and shook his head.

“Am I dreaming?”

Sally shook her head side to side. She was beautiful. Her smile was wide and bright—even in the dark and she was dressed in the same nice blue dress that she’d worn earlier.

“We can be together, Eddy—if you want,” She said.

“What? How? This is impossible…” Eddy looked around, making sure no one could hear him. “…I killed you. Believe me, I didn’t want to…you know what happened.”

“I know what happened and I’m telling you we can be together—if you want. You want me don’t you?”

Eddy felt his penis growing again. He leaned in close to her and she kissed him, sliding her sweet tongue in and out of his mouth—licking his lips and teasing his mouth.

“Come on,” She said as she stopped kissing him. “Don’t you want to be with me? Not like before. Just the two of us—we can, you know,” She said as her hand slid up his thigh and then fondled his scrotum.

He couldn’t bare it any longer—he had to have her now! He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to his face. The kiss was passionate and before long they were naked and enjoying each other. It was the best he’d ever had, way better than with his mother—that was just physical. Afterward, they held each other for a few moments and then Sally pushed away to the other side of the bed.

“I have to go,” She said in a low voice.

“Where?” he asked as he sprung up in his bed. He didn’t remember putting his flannel bottoms back on, but then a lot of things happened in the last half hour that he didn’t quite understand—least of all his pants.

“If you don’t want to go with me I’ll understand.”

“There’s nothing to understand. I need this. Don’t leave me here with my mother—I’ll lose it!”

Sally looked at him with her gorgeous blue eyes that twinkled like sapphire globes and then she said. “You have to do it…if you want to be with me.”

“Do what? Jesus, just tell me what I need to do!” he shouted.

Sally leaned in close and then whispered in his ear. Eddy pulled back afterward and felt relieved.

“That’s simple.”


An hour passed by and Eddy stood in his mother’s room, now, watching her sleep soundly. He looked at her peaceful face as she slept with a slight snore. He could see her right breast peeking out from her slip where it dropped over her shoulder. He went to her side and tapped her shoulder with his free hand.

June awoke and then Eddy drove the wood-ax into her face—caving it in and parting her head like the Red Sea. Her skull cracked and Eddy heard it crunch and then blood and oozing grey jelly poured onto the sheets. He turned to Sally and smiled then pulled the ax out of from his mother’s face and repeated the chop—this time splitting open her stomach, allowing her intestines to unravel from the thick skin that held them. He smelled shit and realized that he must have opened up her colon. He left the room covering his nose with his arm near his elbow.

“Is that alright?” he asked.

“Perfect. One more thing and we can be together forever.”

They walked downstairs into the basement and then Sally motioned toward a small card table that had been set up near the far right corner.

“Bring that over.”

“Okay,” he said and then he was dragging the weak metal chair across the cement floor toward the staircase.

“And the clothesline.”

“Sure.”

Eddy now stood on the chair and wrapped the clothesline around his neck and then tied it tight to the wooden rafters above—taught.

“You’re sure this is all I have to do—to be with you forever?”

Sally nodded her head up and down and smiled.

Eddy stared into Sally’s beautiful blue eyes as he kicked the chair out from under his feet and then he swung and flailed. There were a few moments of extreme discomfort and then he felt lucid—for a moment. He looked to Sally as his surroundings changed and then he saw Sally’s face turn pasty white and then black. Her eyes fell from her head like white raisins and then she was laughing—cackling and then Eddy felt the flames as they burned his flesh and he swung—engulfed in flames, he swung.