impressive, isn’t
it?”
“I don’t mind adding any more
names to the roster if we have a reason for it, but as things stand, I believe
that we very well could have the killer listed among those names.”
Moose nodded. “I agree. The real question is what do we do about it?”
I glanced at the clock on the
wall. “Well, it’s too late to do any
more interviews tonight. I think we
should wait until morning and get a fresh start. Do you think Martha would mind coming into
the diner and covering for me after my eight a.m. shift?”
“I’m sure that she’d be
delighted. Would you like me to ask her
for you?”
“No, I don’t mind doing it
myself.”
We were still talking about the
possibilities when Martha poked her head into the living room. “This is your first and last warning. Pie is now being served in the kitchen, and
if you’re nice, there might just be a scoop of ice cream to go along with it.”
Moose stood quickly, and I
followed suit. “You don’t have to tell
us twice,” Moose said with a grin.
“I wasn’t about to,” she said,
smiling brightly.
More than an hour later, we were
saying our good nights. Despite my early
shift the next morning, I’d been the one to prolong our visit. While it was true that we saw plenty of my
grandparents at the diner, the opportunity to spend time with them both when we
were away from the place was a little too rare for my taste.
As we pulled into our driveway
back at home, I said, “That was great, Greg. I’m so lucky that I still have my grandparents so close by.”
“I couldn’t imagine a world
without them in it,” Greg agreed. As we
got out of the car, I pulled my jacket close. The day had been quite nice, but it had turned chilly with the setting
sun, and a cold breeze was blowing.
I glanced at the darkened front
door, and I was glad that Greg had installed a motion detector on the light
over it a few months earlier. When we
got within twenty feet of it in the dark, it would spring to life. I looked forward to it turning itself on when
I saw something moving!
“Greg, hold on a second,” I said
as I grabbed his arm.
“What is it, Victoria?” he
asked. “I’m not in the mood to
dawdle. I should have worn a heavier
jacket.”
“Something’s near the front
door,” I said. “See?”
As I said it, there was movement
again. It wasn’t a person, or even an
animal; I could see that now. It looked
like something flapping in the breeze. But what could it be?
“There’s no sense standing around
trying to figure out what it is. Let’s
go see for ourselves,” Greg said as he took another step forward, and the light
sprang into its full intensity.
“It’s just a note,” I said as relief
flooded through me. Sure enough, someone
had left a message for us, but they’d chosen a rather unconventional way of
delivering it.
A sheet ripped from a small
notebook was pinned to the wood of the door jamb with an ice pick, its shaft
dripping in blood.
At least that was what it had
looked like at first.
“It’s not blood after all,” I
said after I gave it a closer look, feeling relieved and clearly showing it in
my voice. “It’s just paint.”
“Maybe so, but it’s still a
pretty nasty way to deliver a message,” Greg said as he reached to pull the ice
pick out of the door frame.
“Hang on. The sheriff needs to see this,” I said as I
grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Why should he possibly care
about somebody’s idea of a bad joke? What
does it mean, BACK OFF? You think this
is related to the murder, don’t you?”
“How could it not be?” I
asked. “It’s pretty clear that
somebody’s trying to warn us that we’re getting too close.”
“Victoria, if that’s true, how
can you sound so pleased when you say that?” Greg asked as he pulled out his
cell phone.
“At least it means that we’re
onto something,”
it?”
“I don’t mind adding any more
names to the roster if we have a reason for it, but as things stand, I believe
that we very well could have the killer listed among those names.”
Moose nodded. “I agree. The real question is what do we do about it?”
I glanced at the clock on the
wall. “Well, it’s too late to do any
more interviews tonight. I think we
should wait until morning and get a fresh start. Do you think Martha would mind coming into
the diner and covering for me after my eight a.m. shift?”
“I’m sure that she’d be
delighted. Would you like me to ask her
for you?”
“No, I don’t mind doing it
myself.”
We were still talking about the
possibilities when Martha poked her head into the living room. “This is your first and last warning. Pie is now being served in the kitchen, and
if you’re nice, there might just be a scoop of ice cream to go along with it.”
Moose stood quickly, and I
followed suit. “You don’t have to tell
us twice,” Moose said with a grin.
“I wasn’t about to,” she said,
smiling brightly.
More than an hour later, we were
saying our good nights. Despite my early
shift the next morning, I’d been the one to prolong our visit. While it was true that we saw plenty of my
grandparents at the diner, the opportunity to spend time with them both when we
were away from the place was a little too rare for my taste.
As we pulled into our driveway
back at home, I said, “That was great, Greg. I’m so lucky that I still have my grandparents so close by.”
“I couldn’t imagine a world
without them in it,” Greg agreed. As we
got out of the car, I pulled my jacket close. The day had been quite nice, but it had turned chilly with the setting
sun, and a cold breeze was blowing.
I glanced at the darkened front
door, and I was glad that Greg had installed a motion detector on the light
over it a few months earlier. When we
got within twenty feet of it in the dark, it would spring to life. I looked forward to it turning itself on when
I saw something moving!
“Greg, hold on a second,” I said
as I grabbed his arm.
“What is it, Victoria?” he
asked. “I’m not in the mood to
dawdle. I should have worn a heavier
jacket.”
“Something’s near the front
door,” I said. “See?”
As I said it, there was movement
again. It wasn’t a person, or even an
animal; I could see that now. It looked
like something flapping in the breeze. But what could it be?
“There’s no sense standing around
trying to figure out what it is. Let’s
go see for ourselves,” Greg said as he took another step forward, and the light
sprang into its full intensity.
“It’s just a note,” I said as relief
flooded through me. Sure enough, someone
had left a message for us, but they’d chosen a rather unconventional way of
delivering it.
A sheet ripped from a small
notebook was pinned to the wood of the door jamb with an ice pick, its shaft
dripping in blood.
At least that was what it had
looked like at first.
“It’s not blood after all,” I
said after I gave it a closer look, feeling relieved and clearly showing it in
my voice. “It’s just paint.”
“Maybe so, but it’s still a
pretty nasty way to deliver a message,” Greg said as he reached to pull the ice
pick out of the door frame.
“Hang on. The sheriff needs to see this,” I said as I
grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Why should he possibly care
about somebody’s idea of a bad joke? What
does it mean, BACK OFF? You think this
is related to the murder, don’t you?”
“How could it not be?” I
asked. “It’s pretty clear that
somebody’s trying to warn us that we’re getting too close.”
“Victoria, if that’s true, how
can you sound so pleased when you say that?” Greg asked as he pulled out his
cell phone.
“At least it means that we’re
onto something,”
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