waving a firearm around and threatening to use it. I didn’t want holes in the store’s ceiling.
I made a mental note to look into banning guns from the store, now that Wisconsin has made it legal to carry concealed weapons. I doubt that Stanley has a carry permit anyway, though. He doesn’t believe that the government has any business telling him what he can and can’t do.
After Lori left in a huff, some of our more agreeable customers wandered through. Stu from Stu’s Bar and Grill stopped in to pick up his newspaper, which had only just arrived. Usually they are here long before now.
Stu is such a hunk! He has the best bedroom eyes in the world.
“They’re betting Nova Campbell was murdered,” Stu said, sharing comments from his bar clientele. “Actually placing bets on who did it.”
“And?”
“Holly’s in the lead. People know that your sister didn’t like the dead woman. And I can see why, if what they say is true about her husband and his employee.”
“That rumor isn’t true,” I informed him. “If you’d met the dead woman when she was alive you’d see why Holly didn’t like her. I didn’t like her, either, right from the very beginning.”
Stu paused to scan the front page of our local newspaper, the
Reporter
, which I referred to as the
Distorter
for obvious reasons. For one, Patti worked for it and I knew how she operated. For another, the paper didn’t usually have anything worth reporting, so it tried to stir the pot by printing a lot of opinion pieces, which bordered on libel.
“She was pretty,” Stu said, holding up the paper so I could see the photograph of Nova Campbell right on the front page.
“Is that all you guys care about?”
“Pretty much.” And with that Stu was off, but not before he gave me a wink to let me know he was messing with me.
Milly stopped by to replenish her flower bouquets. I picked up a newspaper from the stack and showed her Nova’s picture. “I wonder where they got a photograph so quickly.”
“Driver’s license,” Milly said. “That’s what they usually do. That’s a good-looking photo. You should see mine. I look like a convict.”
“I was just about to read the article about her,” I said, noticing Patti’s name below the byline. I sighed before delving into the body of the piece.
Here’s what I read:
Nova Campbell died suddenly during a tour of a local honeybee apiary owned and operated by Story Fischer, who also owns The Wild Clover. Her store has been the gathering place for some of Moraine’s most speculative observations and innuendos, and this current tragedy has added fuel to the fire surrounding one of the oldest and certainly most colorful families in the area—the Fischers.
Is it possible Campbell’s death could be related to the environment she so innocently entered? Was she set upon by a swarm of killer bees? And what about the younger Fischer sister, Holly Paine (nee Fischer), who is married to mega-millionaire Max Paine, the deceased’s boss? According to several sources, the deceased’s relationship with this family member’s husband during Campbell’s brief visit to our usually quiet town of Moraine is under scrutiny.
Did jealousy drive Holly Fischer over the edge?
Or was a certain husband’s secret affair(s) in jeopardy of discovery?
And what about adding more flavoring to the suspect list in the form of two of Nova Campbell’s team members? Was someone eliminating the competition from within?
Or did Nova Campbell take her own life?
All this is pure speculation, of course, because two law enforcement agencies working side by side have failed to cooperate by answering questions the public deserves to know. Investigators working the case actually demanded a gag order pending more autopsy details, but intimidation can’t stop this reporter from giving you all the news, all the time.
Stay tuned as the “Story” develops.
“I’m going to kill her,” I said out loud, before realizing the
I made a mental note to look into banning guns from the store, now that Wisconsin has made it legal to carry concealed weapons. I doubt that Stanley has a carry permit anyway, though. He doesn’t believe that the government has any business telling him what he can and can’t do.
After Lori left in a huff, some of our more agreeable customers wandered through. Stu from Stu’s Bar and Grill stopped in to pick up his newspaper, which had only just arrived. Usually they are here long before now.
Stu is such a hunk! He has the best bedroom eyes in the world.
“They’re betting Nova Campbell was murdered,” Stu said, sharing comments from his bar clientele. “Actually placing bets on who did it.”
“And?”
“Holly’s in the lead. People know that your sister didn’t like the dead woman. And I can see why, if what they say is true about her husband and his employee.”
“That rumor isn’t true,” I informed him. “If you’d met the dead woman when she was alive you’d see why Holly didn’t like her. I didn’t like her, either, right from the very beginning.”
Stu paused to scan the front page of our local newspaper, the
Reporter
, which I referred to as the
Distorter
for obvious reasons. For one, Patti worked for it and I knew how she operated. For another, the paper didn’t usually have anything worth reporting, so it tried to stir the pot by printing a lot of opinion pieces, which bordered on libel.
“She was pretty,” Stu said, holding up the paper so I could see the photograph of Nova Campbell right on the front page.
“Is that all you guys care about?”
“Pretty much.” And with that Stu was off, but not before he gave me a wink to let me know he was messing with me.
Milly stopped by to replenish her flower bouquets. I picked up a newspaper from the stack and showed her Nova’s picture. “I wonder where they got a photograph so quickly.”
“Driver’s license,” Milly said. “That’s what they usually do. That’s a good-looking photo. You should see mine. I look like a convict.”
“I was just about to read the article about her,” I said, noticing Patti’s name below the byline. I sighed before delving into the body of the piece.
Here’s what I read:
Nova Campbell died suddenly during a tour of a local honeybee apiary owned and operated by Story Fischer, who also owns The Wild Clover. Her store has been the gathering place for some of Moraine’s most speculative observations and innuendos, and this current tragedy has added fuel to the fire surrounding one of the oldest and certainly most colorful families in the area—the Fischers.
Is it possible Campbell’s death could be related to the environment she so innocently entered? Was she set upon by a swarm of killer bees? And what about the younger Fischer sister, Holly Paine (nee Fischer), who is married to mega-millionaire Max Paine, the deceased’s boss? According to several sources, the deceased’s relationship with this family member’s husband during Campbell’s brief visit to our usually quiet town of Moraine is under scrutiny.
Did jealousy drive Holly Fischer over the edge?
Or was a certain husband’s secret affair(s) in jeopardy of discovery?
And what about adding more flavoring to the suspect list in the form of two of Nova Campbell’s team members? Was someone eliminating the competition from within?
Or did Nova Campbell take her own life?
All this is pure speculation, of course, because two law enforcement agencies working side by side have failed to cooperate by answering questions the public deserves to know. Investigators working the case actually demanded a gag order pending more autopsy details, but intimidation can’t stop this reporter from giving you all the news, all the time.
Stay tuned as the “Story” develops.
“I’m going to kill her,” I said out loud, before realizing the
Similar Books
