Introduction
This is a true story. I know it’s true because I lived it; correction, am still living it. All events in this book happened between March 2009 and July 2011, taking place in a little town in the Cumberland Valley of South Central Kentucky.
Burkesville is a sleepy little farm community, where people keep their doors unlocked, where there are no gangs, and where practically every corner boasts a church. It’s in a dry county and so the public need not contend with rowdy bar patrons. It has an eclectic mixture of Christian, Mennonite and Amish congregants.
This area is also rumored to be home to several members of the infamous ‘Cornbread Mafia’ tribe. They used to run illegal whiskey, mainly Hooch and Moonshine, during the depression and now run illegal drugs. What was once an empire that dealt mainly with production and distribution of marijuana is now into the production and distribution of ‘Meth ’, the slang term for the drug methamphetamine. Every week, the local papers are sprinkled with tales of arrests in little, ‘out-or-the-way’ towns. And every week, the number seems to grow.
Like I said, I am still living this story. It won’t be over until the resolutions of the court cases at hand are done and “justice”, by legal definition, has been served. Until then, I have opted to put these words to paper, based upon entries in my daily journals and the mounds of handwritten and typed notes I have kept. The names of the characters have been changed to protect the guilty. They all know who they are and I expect a flurry of threats for defamation of character or slander or some other irrelevant charges. I don’t care. I know this story is true. They know this story is true. Official documents can be shown to prove the story is true.
Now it’s up to the reader.
Some readers may be put off by certain chapters containing graphic sexual scenes. For this, I apologize if I offended anyone. I didn’t do this to entice prurient interests. I did it because much of what happens in this book is tied inextricably to sexual motivations and the physical entanglements that happen between two people in love. Or I should say, at least one person in love.
My goal in writing this odyssey is to let people know that however safe and secure you feel in your personal sphere; No matter how many friends you believe you have; No matter how smart or dumb you are as you stumble through life; There are people out there just waiting in the wings to take advantage of you.
You might be lucky. You might never have to face what is lurking around secret corners. Maybe you are in good standing with your guardian angel. Or maybe God, in his infinite wisdom, will call you up to prove your worth.
My word to the wise is this. Keep ever watchful of those who would do you harm. Keep ever watchful of devils with pretty angel faces. Keep ever watchful for those who could lead you down The Red Road to Hades.
