did she ever act like she was stoned? Did you ever smell marijuana?”
I shot Patsy a helpless look. To be honest, I don’t know what marijuana smells like. My own children had never given me a reason to be familiar with the aroma or appearance of illegal drugs. At least I hoped not. And if I was wrong, my ignorance had spared me many hours of anguished worry.
“Nope,” Patsy said with a firm shake of her head. “I’d have known if she used, and there’s no way she did. She was weird without pharmaceutical help.”
I shrugged helplessly. “You’ll have to take her word for it. I wouldn’t know one way or another.”
Another car pulled into the driveway, followed by the sound of several more vehicles pulling up in the street. My thoughts turned, for the first time, to what to do about the store. I’d have to put some sort of sign on the door since we obviously wouldn’t be open for business. I mentioned the problem to the sheriff before he got sidetracked in giving orders to the group of various official-looking people now arriving to invade my house.
“Don't worry about it,” he told me. “My people will take care of everything. Nobody will be coming in here. I’d like the two of you to come with me and look around to check if anything is missing. Then if you’ll give us time to check on your rooms upstairs, we’ll leave you the freedom of the kitchen and your living quarters until we’re through.”
We did as he asked, following him dutifully from room to room. He made sure neither of us entered the library, stopping in the doorway just long enough for me to look over and around the men in there, glancing to see if anything was missing. Patsy was shielded from the sight of Shelly’s dead body by the sheriff’s massive body, and I couldn’t see the corpse either. There were too many people blocking my view, and I didn’t try to look. I’d already seen Shelly’s body twice, and that was two too many times.
Idon’t suppose there were more than four people in the room, but they seemed to fill every square inch of the room. Auras were one of the things I was trying to develop an awareness of. The law officers exuded bright reds and dark, strong colors. They emitted shades of power, mixed with the dark shades created by the sight before them. I shivered and turned away to shake my head. No, there was nothing missing in the room as far as I could see – except one young life.
None of the other rooms showed any overt signs of burglary or damage. The small amount of money I’d left in the cash drawer was still there, right to the penny. Perhaps Shelly had surprised the burglar and he’d been so scared after killing her that he’d forgotten to steal anything. By then, nothing seemed too ridiculous to be possible. There was no sign of forced entry I could see.
We were sent back to the kitchen. I still couldn’t accept the insinuation that I’d forgotten to turn the alarm system on, so I believed the would-be-burglar must have cut the wires to disable the system. Then, apparently, he picked the locks. The knowledge that someone could do such a thing wasn’t the least bit comforting, but the thought I hadn’t forgotten to turn the alarm system on gave me a little relief from the guilt slowly but surely creeping up on me.
It was so set in my mind that someone had put the system out of operation, I flicked the switch to “on”, fully expecting nothing to happen.
Oops.
“Good Lord!” Patsy gasped, spilling coffee. I recognized one of her mother’s sayings, complete with intonation. She turned to look at me as I stood aghast, staring at my hand which was still on the switch.
The kitchen filled with law officers, several with drawn guns. The sheriff’s voice cut through
I shot Patsy a helpless look. To be honest, I don’t know what marijuana smells like. My own children had never given me a reason to be familiar with the aroma or appearance of illegal drugs. At least I hoped not. And if I was wrong, my ignorance had spared me many hours of anguished worry.
“Nope,” Patsy said with a firm shake of her head. “I’d have known if she used, and there’s no way she did. She was weird without pharmaceutical help.”
I shrugged helplessly. “You’ll have to take her word for it. I wouldn’t know one way or another.”
Another car pulled into the driveway, followed by the sound of several more vehicles pulling up in the street. My thoughts turned, for the first time, to what to do about the store. I’d have to put some sort of sign on the door since we obviously wouldn’t be open for business. I mentioned the problem to the sheriff before he got sidetracked in giving orders to the group of various official-looking people now arriving to invade my house.
“Don't worry about it,” he told me. “My people will take care of everything. Nobody will be coming in here. I’d like the two of you to come with me and look around to check if anything is missing. Then if you’ll give us time to check on your rooms upstairs, we’ll leave you the freedom of the kitchen and your living quarters until we’re through.”
We did as he asked, following him dutifully from room to room. He made sure neither of us entered the library, stopping in the doorway just long enough for me to look over and around the men in there, glancing to see if anything was missing. Patsy was shielded from the sight of Shelly’s dead body by the sheriff’s massive body, and I couldn’t see the corpse either. There were too many people blocking my view, and I didn’t try to look. I’d already seen Shelly’s body twice, and that was two too many times.
Idon’t suppose there were more than four people in the room, but they seemed to fill every square inch of the room. Auras were one of the things I was trying to develop an awareness of. The law officers exuded bright reds and dark, strong colors. They emitted shades of power, mixed with the dark shades created by the sight before them. I shivered and turned away to shake my head. No, there was nothing missing in the room as far as I could see – except one young life.
None of the other rooms showed any overt signs of burglary or damage. The small amount of money I’d left in the cash drawer was still there, right to the penny. Perhaps Shelly had surprised the burglar and he’d been so scared after killing her that he’d forgotten to steal anything. By then, nothing seemed too ridiculous to be possible. There was no sign of forced entry I could see.
We were sent back to the kitchen. I still couldn’t accept the insinuation that I’d forgotten to turn the alarm system on, so I believed the would-be-burglar must have cut the wires to disable the system. Then, apparently, he picked the locks. The knowledge that someone could do such a thing wasn’t the least bit comforting, but the thought I hadn’t forgotten to turn the alarm system on gave me a little relief from the guilt slowly but surely creeping up on me.
It was so set in my mind that someone had put the system out of operation, I flicked the switch to “on”, fully expecting nothing to happen.
Oops.
“Good Lord!” Patsy gasped, spilling coffee. I recognized one of her mother’s sayings, complete with intonation. She turned to look at me as I stood aghast, staring at my hand which was still on the switch.
The kitchen filled with law officers, several with drawn guns. The sheriff’s voice cut through
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