BLOW GUN
A young woman named Omi has come from Ecuador to a small city in Texas where she rents a space in a small row of shops. She opens a small laundry service and soon finds out from her neighbors that the owner of the building is being forced to sell for a gambling debt. Everyone is afraid of losing their business in the small row of shops until Omi steps up and purchases the building from the owner.
As she finalizes the sale, her sister in Ecuador calls informing her that her Grandfather, Paa, is coming to stay with her for a time. He has been nothing but trouble and he is too much for she and her kids, so she is sending him to Texas to get rid of him.
Omi lives in a small place behind a house in Crane, Texas. It is a small two room place away from prying eyes. Omi brings her Grandfather home from the airport, she does not know him well, but on the ride home she learns he speaks English and was forced to leave the jungle where he lived because of the poison in the water. Omi is concerned about what he will do all day while she is working and decides he should come to the shop with her for a time while he’s adjusting.
Omi introduces her Grandfather to the people in her building as they come by her store. They find Paa amusing, a bit out of place with his necklace, colorful poncho, earrings and Panama hat. Omi has also discovered Paa’s fascination for electronic devices and the kitchen can opener. Omi teaches her grandfather to use a new phone she buys him, how to start her car, how to drive and get around with GPS.
One day Paa almost burns the place down trying to cook something, it is nearly the last draw for Omi between keeping up with her business and trying to keep her building repaired. After calming down, she makes up with her Grandfather who is truly sorry about his accident in the kitchen.
The next day, two men come into the shop as Omi is working, Paa is watching her from a chair in the corner. The two men explain that the man they represent was in line to buy the building before she bought it. The building was for a gambling debt that was never paid, they inform her the man she bought it from has disappeared without paying the debt, so now they want the building from her. The two men say they can give her a small amount of cash if everyone in the building will pack up and leave after she signs the deed over to their boss.
Omi refuses and becomes angered over the idea that she should have to sell the building in such a fashion. Omi begins to shove the men out the door when one of them punches her and knocks her down. Paa jumps from his chair, but the two men beat them both. As they leave, they tell Omi they will be back in a few days and will want the signed deed to her property. Omi is unconscious, but Paa hears what they say and memorizes their faces.
The police and ambulance come, they take Omi to the hospital, Paa is treated by the paramedics for a cut on his head, but refuses to go to the hospital and stays to close up the store. As Paa gets ready to close, a woman from the next business tells him one of the men who beat Omi is going to set fire to the building, possibly that night.
Paa decides to take action, he goes home and from under his bed he pulls a long narrow case. He opens it and inside is a long blow gun. Next to it is a smaller blow gun, bamboo darts and a small bottle, all of which he takes out and arranges on a table. Paa takes a seat at the table, carefully inspects his blow gun, then puts one of the bamboo darts in it and aims at poster of a rock band on the wall. He gives a quick puff on the end of the blow gun and the dart hits the screaming guitar player in the picture between the eyes. Paa is satisfied and goes through the careful process of creating poison darts.
He takes a small black lump of what looks like tar from the small pouch always wears. He puts it in a small bowl and pours a small amount of liquid from the small bottle on to it and crushes it into a paste. He then heats the paste carefully until it is a liquid, applies the liquid with a que tip to the darts. He is careful not to put poison on the tips to prevent any fatal accidents. Paa finds an old black bowling ball carrier in the closet, with that and his blowgun case he leaves the house.
It is almost dark when Paa arrives to Omi’s small store to watch for anyone coming to burn it down. While in the store, he sees an old suit coat and pants he has been admiring and puts them on. Paa admires himself in a mirror holding his two cases, his dark skin and earrings framed under his black hat make him look intimidating and mysterious despite his small size.
As Paa takes a chair to a hiding spot outside of the store, he remembers boyhood lessons of hunting, how to wait and when to strike. His memory is interrupted when a car pulls up in front of the store and sits for a long time. It is very dark, Paa opens his case and takes three darts, he loads one of the darts and comes closer to the car. A large man slowly gets out, stands and lights a cigarette as he eyes the stores. Paa recognizes him as one of the two men that beat he and Omi.
Paa raises his blow gun and hits the man in the side of his neck. The man screams as he falls, struggling to pull the dart from his neck. Paa comes close to watch him struggle, the man recognizes Paa and tries to pull his gun, but his hands are becoming paralyzed. Paa tells him to keep struggling, it makes the poison work faster. The man pleads with Paa, “What do you want from me?!”. Paa answers, “I want your head”. Paa drags him to his car and puts him in the passenger seat, starts the car and drives off.
At home, Paa puts the bowling ball case on the table, opens it and pulls out the man’s head. Paa takes the skin off the skull and puts it in the sink, the skull he wraps in plastic and throws in the trash. Paa washes the face of the dead man, admiring it while works. He salts the inside then sows the back of the head shut as well as the eyes, then places the head in a big pot of boiling water.
Paa waits for two hours and pulls the head out of the boiling water to cool, it has shrunk to one fifth its size. Paa admires it as he stuffs the head with sand to give it form as it dries. Paa secures the lips on the head with small splints he has cut from wood, pushing them through the rubbery skin. He then combs the hair and puts a leather tie through the top of the head and hangs it from his neck. Paa admires himself in the mirror and dreams of past victories against enemies in the jungle.
The next day, police find a headless man in a car parked on the side of the road just outside of town. The two detectives at the scene learn his name was Thurman Brandon, a bad guy who worked for Bennet Morrison, a man who ran gambling in Odessa, Texas.
Bennet is in his office in Odessa wondering where his man, Thurman is when he sees a news report on television. Two men are watching with him, one who beat Omi, Bruce Derbin, and another, Dan Agberg. Bennet realizes the headless man found in the car is Thurman. The men are shocked and wondering who could have killed him, they are interrupted when a package arrives. When they open the package, they find Thurman’s shrunken head.
Instead of going to the police, Bennet sends Bruce and Dan to the hospital to check on Omi and see if she knows about who may have killed Thurman and when they can expect to hand over the building. The two men go to the hospital taking along the shrunken head, they show it to Omi and ask what she knows about who would do such a thing. She tells them it is Paa, her grandfather, and he will do the same to all of them after beating them, they throw the head at her and leave.
Paa is waiting in the darkness outside the hospital as Bruce and Dan come out and part ways, Bruce goes alone to his car in the outside parking lot. As he fumbles for his keys, Paa hits him in the thigh with a poison dart. Bruce yanks out the dart and looks to see from where it came, he gets in his car, starts it and drives away. Bruce pulls out of the driveway and turns, but makes it only a half a block before he pulls over and dies. Paa picks up his two cases, one in each hand, and slowly walks to Bruce’s car. He gets in, removes Bruce’s head and puts it in his old bowling ball carrier wrapped in a plastic bag.
At the police station, the two detectives searching for the killer are studying Thurman’s shrunken head they received from the hospital. After some research, they discover it takes only a matter of hours to shrink a head. The police lab reports the poison in the headless body is from a plant that grows only in Ecuador and Peru, consequently the detectives decide the daughter must know something about the killer. They go to the hospital to question Omi.
Before they can leave, the receive a letter from a lawyer representing Thurman’s family demanding possession of his head, shrunken or not. They want to bury Thurman as soon as possible but they need his head to do so. The detectives are not sure what to do, but finally decide to let them have the head after a few more samples are taken.
At the hospital, the two detectives only confuse Omi with their questions. She knows nothing about poison from Ecuador or how to administer poison. She inadvertently mentions her grandfather living with her, when they ask where he is from, she realizes he may be involved and tells them she doesn’t feel well, to come back tomorrow. The detectives are skeptical and advise her she could be in trouble for holding back any information before they leave. The detectives decide they must find out about Omi’s grandfather, but they don’t know his name or what he looks like.
That night, Dan is at home relaxing when he sees that his partner, Bruce, has been found dead the day before without a head. He spits out his food and begins to panic and heads to the bathroom for his medication, the bottle beside him on the table is empty. When he opens the medicine cabinet, hanging there is the shrunken head of his partner Bruce.
Dan cannot believe his eyes, he screams, shuts the medicine cabinet and comes out the bathroom door. Paa steps out of the hallway and hits Dan in the chest with a poison dart. Paa watches Dan as he falls and begins to crawl towards him, Paa encourages him, telling him makes the poison work faster. Dan uses his last strength trying to pull his gun, but Paa hits him with his blow gun, knocking it away.
Bennet is in his office with two new men when a package arrives, it is crudely wrapped. When it is opened, they find the shrunken head of Bruce. Bennet is horrified and angered at the same time, the phone rings, it is a friend at the police headquarters. He tells Bennet that detectives suspect the grandfather of the girl in the hospital and gives them Omi’s home address to look for Paa. He tells him when police searched the place, they could not find him, but Bennet might have better luck. Bennet hangs up and tells the biggest and meanest of his men, Snake, to go to the house, break in and find the grandfather.
Outside the small house where Paa and Omi live, Paa sets a snare trap as he did in the jungle. The narrow path on the side of the front house that leads to Omi’s house is the perfect place. There is no lighting there and it is pitch black at night, so Paa spreads broken glass where his victim is meant to fall. Paa goes to the roof of the small house with his blow gun to wait.
It is not long before Snake arrives, as planned, he comes quietly through the path leading to Omi’s house and his foot is caught by the snare. He falls forward, cutting his hands and face much of his legs and stomach on the broken glass. Snake gets up and with a knife from his jacket, he cuts the snare and continues through the path in a bewildered state.
Snake stumbles out of the pathway and into the yard in front of the house, knife in hand, bleeding and furious. He starts towards the house when Paa hits him in the chest with a poison dart. Snake yells in pain, but pulls out the dart and continues. Paa quickly reloads and strikes Snake in the forehead this time, Paa watches Snake as he falls forward and spasms, then dies.
Once again, a package arrives at Bennet’s office, and when opened, it is the shrunken head of Snake. Bennet decides that’s enough and wants to call the whole thing off. He decides he will visit Omi in the hospital himself and ask her to call off her grandfather.
At home, Paa removes the small blow gun from the case and prepares a set of poison darts to fit it. He packs it away in its case, he puts his hat on and grabs his bowling ball bag and leaves the house. Paa walks slowly to the hospital and takes a place in the park across the street where he can watch.
The two detectives are at the hospital questioning Omi, they tell her they suspect her grandfather. They search immigration for men from Ecuador and found a man named Paa with her address. Omi tells the she knows nothing of his whereabouts, she can’t imagine why a kindly man like her grandfather would do the things they say. The detectives give up and leave Omi’s room.
Bennet arrives at the hospital and sees the two detectives standing in front, he tells the driver to go by and park in the underground parking. He can take the elevator right up to her floor from there. There are no parking spots near the elevator, so Bennet’s driver parks a dozen rows back. Bennet tells him to wait, and leaves the car, walking towards the elevator. He is focused and angry, until he hears the shuffle of feet nearby. Bennet becomes cautious and suspicious, now focused on the cars around him, he hears the sound again, looks back towards the car, but it’s too far away. Bennet hears the elevator door open ahead and begins to hurry.
When Bennet comes to the elevator doors, they are closed, it seems odd to him, he press the up button and the doors open. There inside is Paa, carrying his two black cases, one in each hand, his head is tilted down so the brim of his hat covers his eyes. Bennet gets in the elevator, he has no idea who this is beside him and presses the button for Omi’s floor, he notices the man beside him has pressed nothing. He asks him “what floor?”, offering to press the button for the man. Paa says nothing, the elevator doors close and it starts to go up. Bennet asks Paa, “What kind of doctor are you?”, and Paa replies, “I’m your witch doctor”, and then presses the STOP button and brings the elevator to a halt. Paa pulls out the small blow gun and hits Bennet in the eye with a poison dart. Bennet struggles and dies in the elevator before Paa removes his head and places it in black bag. Paa takes the elevator back down to the garage and leaves with Bennet’s head.
The two detectives arrive at the hospital murder scene, police are interviewing Bennet’s driver, who knows nothing. In the elevator is Bennet’s headless body, the detective know that it is Paa and must find him. The go to the Omi’s small house for a surprise visit, hoping to catch Paa off guard. They break in and search everywhere but can find no evidence of Paa.
After the detectives leave, the house is quiet and secure, Paa comes out of hiding. Paa goes through the process of pulling the skin off of Bennet’s skull, and putting it in the big pot. Taking the skull, wrapping it in plastic then throwing it in the trash bin in the alley. Paa sews the back of the skin and the eyes shut, the boils the head, filling it with sand and putting small wooden spikes through the lips and a leather strap through the top of the head so it can be worn. This time Paa performs a ceremony over the head with native words and three lit candles, he then places the head in a box with a note and places it under Omi’s bed.
Paa goes to the airport in Dallas and begins a trip back to Brazil, he has brought only his two cases, his blow gun case and the bowling ball case. Paa checks in and as he passes security, they want to open his cases. First they see the blow gun, Paa tells them it is a museum piece headed back to Ecuador, the little bottle is empty when it is checked. Security then takes the bowling ball case, they slowly unzip the top and look inside, there are only children’s toys Paa has bought to bring back home. They allow Paa through, he boards the plane and safely leaves for Ecuador.
Months later, Omi is well and her old building has had a makeover, business has been good for everyone renting from her. She is in her little shop when she gets a post card from Ecuador with no return address that reads “There are no monsters under the bed…”. Omi goes home and looks under the bed to find the case Paa left there, she opens it to find a note with Bennet’s shrunken head. Omi is shocked at first, but reads the note: “Keep this spirit token and place it in your shop. It will keep you from evil.”
Omni is in her shop one day when her assistant sees the shrunken head inside a bottle. She finds it hidden in a place beneath the cash register as she cleans where her coffee has spilled. Surprised to find such a thing, she asks Omi if it is real and why does she keep it there. Omi laughs it off and tells her it isn’t real, that it’s a family heirloom she keeps for good look. Her assistant is repulsed by it and puts it back where she found it.
Just then a man comes in, much like Bennet, arrogant and cocky. The man takes a look around, puts his hands in his pockets and says to Omi, “Nice place you have here.” He takes a few steps closer and asks Omi, “Do you know who I am?”. Omi waits for a long moment in silence, the man begins to ask if she heard him, but he begins to choke, Omi smiles. The man begins to cough and sputter as if he were being poisoned, he turns and leaves the store. Omi looks at her assistant, who looks to where the shrunken head is stored. Omi says to her, “I guess it works.”
END© 2023 Jim Caron
