Terrible Jim Fitch
by James Leo Herlihy

THE STORY: TERRIBLE JIM FITCH is set in a motel room where the relationship between a girl hustler, and a man, a small-time crook who specializes in robbing churches, is explored.

The girl is horribly scarred on the cheek, and it soon becomes evident that the man did it.

Their relationship is a complex one.

The man, in a way, loves the girl, being totally dependent upon her for simple human involvement.

But he has a weakness for violence, a weakness played on by the girl.

The man talks about his life, his mother, and generally muses on his philosophy.

The girl is sullen and cowed.

The outcome is never in any doubt—but the psychological motivation of the manic-depressive killer and his alternating moods is always engrossing.