A Laughing Matter Part 2

Now, he thinks as he reaches for the greasepaint, he’s just going to kill them. Seeing the blood on his hand Earl remembers the first step. He washed the blood from his hands and quickly washed his face as well. Forgoing the wedge he used his pointer and middle fingers. The gold wedding band flashed as he began edging at his high hairline. It had been years since he had applied the white. It was as if his fingers had never forgotten.

With his thumb he smoothed the white greasepaint over his eyebrows and around his eyes. Violet eyes, Earl thought, to match the violence in my eyes. Red for blood might put too much red on my face with red lips. Earl debated while using his pinkie to get into the crevices of his nose.

His lips, blue from cold and lack of oxygen, seemed the proper color as covered them with the white to complete the foundation.

Next I sprinkled a small pile of Clown White Face Powder on the center of its puff. I folded the puff and rubbed the sides together thinking of having Zamirs throat under his fingers instead. Taking a deep breath Earl lightly powdered his face.

While the facial foundation set Earl pulled brushes, a primary palate including black, and a mixing palate from a shelf in the medicine cabinet. As an afterthought he pulled out a box of gauze and applied a pad to the back of his head. The pad came away with dried blood. He rinsed the gauze pad and swiped at the wound again. After a minute of rinsing and swiping the gauze finally stopped coming away dirty.

He takes a large glob of the blue and put it in the mixing palate. Then added a tiny bit of red. Mixing the two thoroughly creates a very blue blue-violet color. Taking a lip brush Earl painted the mixture on his lips coming out with a color that nearly matched that below the white.

Adding now a glob of red to the remainder of the previous mix and mixing obtained a red-violet color. Earl traced out a long triangle below his right eye and a vertical diamond around the left. Then carefully with speckling as to not lighten the color, he filled in the outlines.

Using translucent powder Earl set the design. Then he put a glob of black into the mixing palate. With a thin tipped brush he drew carets over his eyes. Then Earl traced a permanent frown with the black at the edge of his blue lips.

One last layer of translucent powder. Then he went out into the kitchen. Next to the stove he never learned to use was a butcher block of knives that had been a wedding present. Earl pulled out the large carving knife. It would be perfect.

He pulled out the long knife next to it too. It was the bread knife. The serrated blade couldn’t stab but it would slice beautifully. One knife for each hand. One knife for each method of attack, carving to stab and serrated to slash.

Earl knew where Max lived. It wasn’t a far walk. He did not know where Zamir lived but he would be next when he came to the club tonight. First Max, who refused to do anything to help him when Earl needed him. Stepping out on the downed door Earl went to begin his new career.