literary                                                                                sung kyun shin.    





                    The main characters in this story are the Maloney couple, known as Mary and Patrick Maloney. She can be recognized as the typical housewife, she's intelligent, bright, has a clean and well organized home, loves her husband over everything on earth - and, she's pregnant in the sixth month. Patrick is a police officer, a senior. Obviously he's been a police officer for a long time, and therefor has affected their daily life with a sense of regularity. The home is warm and clean, they usually go out to eat on Thursdays, and regularly, he has a drink as he comes home from work at the regular time of 10 minutes to five.As we first meet Mrs. Maloney we are drawn into a perfect environment. She's situated in their living room, sewing something, most likely for her coming baby, we hear about the sideboard behind her, the two tall glasses, soda water, whisky and fresh ice cubes. She is being described as beautiful, soft skin and lips and dark and large eyes, patiently waiting for the love of her life, her husband Patrick.

Everything goes as regular as ever; he comes home by ten to five, gives his coat to Mary, enters the living room and gets the drink she fixed him. She knows that his work dries the life out of him and therefor let's him drink a little of the drink, knowing that it will give him some strength back. As he drains half the glass her thoughts runs away with her, reminding her of all the beauty reflected in this wonderful human being, she loves him for everything he is, even for the way he sits loosely in the chair. We haven't really gotten to know Patrick yet, that is why our first impression of him is not a mix of tired husband and rejecting husband. In our quest for realizing what is about to happen we bury the fact that something must be wrong with him.

The first indication comes as he drains the half rest of his drink, and fetches himself another, stronger one. She watches him as he sips from the dark, almost oily drink. In her final hope for starting a conversation, she says something about his position after all these years of service. But there is no more hope now, something definitely is wrong. Patrick totally rejects every kind of offering that she comes with trying to get him some food. Finally, as she is about to 'force' making him dinner, he says "Sit down, just for a minute. Go on, sit down. I've got something to tell you." And there it comes, never revealed to the reader but still as knifes through ones' hearts, the shocking, unreal news that goes like mine in her heart, just waiting for something to step on it, a thought, a word. "So there it is," he added. "And I know it's kind of a bad time to be telling you, but there simply wasn't any other way ." She still is way lost in her state of shock as the words fly around her like wasps, ready to make her scream out in pain. But they withdraw, she somehow remains shocked as she whispers that she'll get the supper. It's not till she comes up with the frozen lamb-leg, that something steps on the mine.

Without a thought, she swings the leg and brings it down as hard as she can in the back of his head. There was no doubt, he was dead, and she had killed him. With a mind, clear as a crystal, she plots her alibi, goes to buy vegetables, and come home, 'realizing' the 'unreal' murder of her husband. And for the first time she actually realizes that she misses him. The one she wanted him to be. After the investigation, the sake is clear. Mrs. Maloney could not possible have killed her husband, Sergeant Noonan things as he sips of his whiskey and chews on a piece of lamb.