Rest for the Wicked by Meghan Leigh Paulk
from Seven Deadly Sins: a PUNK NOIR Magazine series
The verdant village, nestled at the foot of a craggy cliffside, was renowned for its temple.
The temple, in turn, was renowned for its great bell. The massive bell, molded from bronze, hung from the temple’s high tower. Three times daily, the appointed bell ringer mounted the tower steps to strike the sonorous bell with a beechwood mallet. At dawn, the bell sounded to wake the villagers. Two hours later, the bell rang to signal commencement of the work day. At sunset, the bell’s resonant tone sent the workers home to their families.
Then, one morning, the bell stayed silent.
The villagers woke gradually, greeted only by a melodic chorus of robins and bush warblers. The town constable, still wiping sleep from his eyes, roused his deputy at home. Together, they rushed to the temple to investigate. Upon arriving, they found a gathering of villagers gawking at the bell ringer’s crumpled body. His skull had been stove-in by his own mallet.
The deputy whispered, “What kind of maniac would kill our beloved bell ringer?”
Less than a mile away, in a slovenly shack, a grubby man slept peacefully, still clad in his bloodstained shirt.
Uninterrupted at last.
This story appears as part of Seven Deadly Sins, a PUNK NOIR Magazine series, originally published July 2025.
Bio
Meghan Leigh Paulk is an attorney by day, author by night who lives in Austin, Texas. Her short fiction has been published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Punk Noir, Shotgun Honey, and Cowboy Jamboree.
PUNK NOIR, the online literary and arts magazine that looks at the world at its most askew, casting a bloodshot eye over the written word, film, music, television and more.
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Reminds me of OSS 117 Cairo Nest of Spies when the bumbling French agent starts a riot by knocking out the man calling prayers in the middle of the night, and thinks he did a service to others by letting them sleep. Your story is one of the best of the lot.
Haha. I’m ringing the bell for this one. Nice.