WHERE'S PERRY MASON
WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
MAKING THE DROP....by Terri
on to next part of STORY
John came home from the fitness center and found Rose in their room. She was sitting there looking out the window at the snow.
"Hey, sweetheart!"
Rose jumped a mile. "John! You scared me!"
He laughed. "I'm ALWAYS scaring you, love! You were a million miles away!"
Rose gave him a brittle smile. "I'm sorry. I just had a trying day with the children."
John sat down and took his shirt off and unlaced his shoes.
"Marty called. He tried to get hold of you but you were out. He wants to see you tomorrow about the long-range story of Daisy. He has some ideas but he wants to know how committed you are to it. So he wants you to meet him about 5:00 PM. Can you make it?"
"Hmmm? Yes. Yes, I'll call him."
John gave her a kiss and said, "The guys called out for pizza and calzones so I'm not hungry. I'll grab a quick shower and then let's get to bed."
The shower turned on and while he was occupied, she called Marty.
"Marty? It's Rose. John said you wanted to see me."
"Hi, honey. I need to discuss the storyline and see how much time you want to work.
I know the children and the house keep you busy. Is 5:00 PM too late?"
Rose bit her lip. "No. I'll do some shopping in the City." She hesitated. "Marty? I need to talk to you tomorrow. A personal matter."
Marty was alarmed. "Everything alright with you and John?"
"Yes. I'll explain when I see you tomorrow."
CLICK!
John came out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair. "You on the phone?"
"Yes. I called Marty. I'll go into the City in the afternoon and do some shopping. William said he will pick Will up from school. He's giving another lecture at his kindergarten class. William is back by popular demand!"
John yawned. "What a day. I just want to get in bed and spend time with my best girl...."
Rose lay in the dark, unable to sleep. John was sleeping deeply. Rose reached over to him and stroked his cheek. What a fool I am! Everything that happens, I bring on myself. Am I doomed to screw up forever? I can't lose him.
Sleep still eluded Rose while the dawn broke. She grabbed her robe and went downstairs and started the coffeemaker. Eventually everyone came and went for breakfast. John left for the fitness center. The day progressed with Rose ready to jump out of her skin.
About 3:00 PM, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Rose, is that you?"
Rose whispered, "Tori. Please! Why are you doing this? What have I ever done to you?"
Tori said, "Oh, Rose, it's nothing personal. Really. I just need money."
"But your father owns the Star ta----magazine. Surely you are wealthy!"
Tori said, "Oh, Rose, there is one rule about being rich. Somehow you feel like you are not quite there! I have expensive tastes to maintain. Expenses. OH, don't feel bad! You aren't the only one. Now, let's parley. Is it worth 30,000.00 to keep your little lies and secrets quiet?"
Rose whispered, "Yes."
Tori said, "OK. See? That wasn't so hard. So--we need to meet. Where do you suggest?"
Rose said quietly, "Your place?"
Tori said, "I think not. What about that new house of yours. I can meet you at, oh, let's say 5:00 PM."
Rose said, "Tori, I can't. I have a meeting in the City at 5:00. Would 6:00 be alright? John won't be home until 7:00. I just want to get this over."
Tori clucked sympathetically. "Sure, sweetie, I understand. Like going to the dentist.
Alright. I'll meet you there at 6:00. Make sure you have the money."
Rose said, "Tori? Can I ask two favors of you?"
"Sure, you can ask. What is it?"
"You WILL have the diary and poems, won't you?"
"Sure. Favor number two?"
"Could you please park on the next street? I don't want Bethia to see your car there. There is a key under the fourth rock from the left of the back door. If you get there before me, just let yourself in. I'll be right there."
"Sure. Hey, Rose. I have to ask you a question. May I?'
Rose didn't say anything.
Tori asked anyhow. "These poems. They are very romantic, very erotic. This man obviously loves you and wants you. He looks just like the man you married. Tell me--
what made you pick John?"
Rose said quietly, "It was easy."
"Really? What was the determining factor?"
"Daniel is a pig. John isn't."
CLICK!
THE INCREDIBLE INVISIBLE HOUSE............by Coralynn
WandaSue peers out the window at the snow, all white and glittery on the pine trees in the front yard. A winter wonderland, she sighs as she pulls herself off the couch where she's spent the night.
She stretches, then does a few jumping jacks to get her blood flowing. I'm famished! she thinks as she goes into the kitchen to 'rustle up some grub' as she so inelegantly puts it.
The main part of the refrigerator contains skim milk, beer, some eggs, a loaf of bread and various jams and jellies. She moves things around looking for butter.
"Where's the $$#& butter?" she yells as loudly as she can.
BB opens one eye and hears the unmistakeable voice of that wretch WandaSue barreling up the stairs at him. He had been dreaming much pleasanter things and this yanks him back to the reality that he's stuck, yea locked, into this house with the person he detests above all others.
He tries to go back to sleep, but it's too late. The reality of his situation wrankles him so that his mind can't let it go and relax enough for him to return to his sleep.
He gets up, yanks on his clothes and makes his way down the stairs into the living room, which is cluttered with old magazines WandaSue must have dragged out of the recycle bin. The afghan that is always so carefuly draped over the back of the couch is now on the floor, and empty beer bottles strewn about carelessly.
"WandaSue, pick up this junk!" he yells toward the kitchen.
She ignores the suggestion and goes back to yelling, "Where's the #$$& butter?"
"If it isn't in the fridge I don't have any!" he states the obvious. Sheeeeesh, where does the dimwit think you store extra butter, in the stove??
She pops her head into the living room and whines, "PLUS, you have no HungryMan Dinners in your freezer. How do you expect me to survive? I gotta eat!"
"You could stand to lose about 30 pounds anyway, so count this as the first day of your diet!" he yells at her as he stomps off to try the doors again.
The front door is still stuck, and the back door the same. He yanks on the latter door till his face turns purple, then gives up.
He then remembers the trap door to the attic, and runs upstairs. Yanking it open, he climbs the little staircase until he finds himself in the frigid attic, but he's too excited to let that stop him. He goes to the only window on that floor and yanks it open.
VOILA!
His excitement is palpable as he crawls out the window onto the part of the roof above the upstairs bedrooms. Looking down, he realizes it's too far to jump. "I need a ladder!" he says aloud, looking around for one, but of course finds nothing remotely resembling such.
He sees Bobby Joe emerge from the guest house and yells loudly, "Bobby Joe! Over here! Look up! HELP!!"
He's flabberghasted that BJ seems oblivious to his cries for help. Hell, he's not that far away!" he exclaims as the bitter cold of the air finally registers. He continues to yell, louder and louder. When BJ gets into his car and drives away, BB is panicked. Why didn't he respond? Now what do I do?
He decides to return to the inside of the house, and again crawls through the window. He pads over to the ladder that goes down into the second floor, but..........where is it? He sees the opening from which the ladder is supposed to emerge, but it's not an opening anymore. It's shut, and the ladder is folded up on top of it. He pushes on it, but it's designed to be opened from below, not above. He still pushes, harder and harder, but it refuses to budge.
"WANDASUE!" he yells over and over again, but all he can hear from below is the TV, the voices suggesting she's watching a talk show.
WandaSue sits on the couch eating toast loaded high with grape jelly, engrossed in her daily fix of Jerry Springer. "Hit her for me!" she instructs one of the 'guests' on the show, then, when one woman belts the other one in the midsection, laughs in glee.
Pandemonium breaks loose on the set, chairs are thrown, everyone yelling at everyone else. She wonders if BB has surround sound on his TV, as the yelling sounds like it's coming from the right, left, and even above the set.
"He's a good for nothing scoundrel, but he has a great TV. Hmmm, think I should put my post-it note on this?" she says as she goes in search of the pad.
THE DEMOTION.......by Coralynn
Alan Carson hangs up his overcoat and pours a cup of coffee just as Travis wakes up from an uncomfortable night of sleep. "Hey, Chief!" he says with false cheer, "Time to let me out! I've learned my lesson and I won't go against orders again."
Alan shakes his head. That clown expects me to believe that?!
The door opens and Bobby Joe rushes into the station, stamping snow off his boots as he slams the door.
"I have another disappearance to report!" he tells Alan, "This one is....is....."
"OK, slow down. Who's disappeared this time?" Alan sips his coffee and finds it too bitter, so he adds a packet of Sweet N Low.
"Not who, what!!" BJ says excitedly, "The main house at the Montgomery Rach is gone!"
"An entire house?!" Alan wonders what this man has been smoking.
"YES! You can see for yourself!"
Alan thinks of the snow on the highways. The thought of driving out to that ranch doesn't appeal to him, so he asks, "when did you last see it?"
"Yesterday."
"Was it there last night?"
"I don't know. I returned home late after being at the Dew Drop Inn for a few hours, and well, well, maybe I was just a bit the worse for wear.....and I didn't notice one way or the other."
"Please don't tell me you were driving drunk, I don't think I could handle it just now. Let's deal with the house. It was there yesterday, but now it's gone, right?"
"Right!"
Alan has the feeling that he's going to have to drive out there, snow or no snow. He sighs as he puts on his overcoat and accompanies BJ outside.
"I'll drive out there, too. Just wait, you'll see!" BJ tells him.
"OK, let's go," Alan starts his cruiser and follows BJ several miles out of town. They turn onto the long driveway that leads up to the ranch, and when they get to the end, he looks to his right, where that large house always stood.
His forehead creases. The house is gone! BJ was telling the truth. Now what the heck is going on here?
Both men jump out of their cars and walks toward where the house stood for close to 100 years. As they get 20 feet from the location, they bump into a wall.
"Whaaaaaaa..."
There is no wall. It just feels like a wall.
Alan runs his hands up and down this solid-feeling obstruction; walks a few steps over and tries it again. It's solid alright!
BJ sees what Alan is doing and runs up and down feeling the 'wall' himself. "GOOD GRIEF!" he yells over and over.
BB is sitting in the attic, wrapped in an old bedspread when he hears muffled voices outside. Poking his head out the window, he sees BJ and Alan Carson running around with their hands moving up and down like a poor Marcel Marceau imitation.
"OVER HERE!" he all but screams.
They don't look up.
"BOBBY JOE! HELP!!" he yells even louder.
They obviously don't hear him and the enormity of his plight hits him like a blow to the stomach.
"There's witchcraft going on here," he concludes as he talks to the stuffed parrot his grandparents were so fond of, which he always hated so it ended up in the attic gathering dirt and dust.
He can see Alan taking pictures. Well, he thinks, that's one step in the right direction!
He rumages around and finds an old 13 inch black and white TV that retired from service many years ago. Plugging it into an outlet, the fuzzy picture forms and he sees someone reading the local news, "Still no progress in the disappearance of William Robert Montgomery," the anchor says, "We'll keep you updated as new information becomes available."
When Alan Carson returns to the police station, he's totally confused. Flinging his coat on the coat rack, he gets on the computer to see if he can find out anything about how a house could just up and disappear into thin air. He wonders if anyone at the Big House on Winding Willow has any theories, but decides to check it out online first.
"Chief!" Travis calls out, "What about it?"
"What about what?" Alan answers as his attention is more on the computer screen than on this twirp in cell #1.
"Time to let me out for good behavior!" Travis congratulates himself on thinking up such a good angle.
"They need a Crossing Guard over at Winding Willow Elementary. Go over there and spend the day doing this for community service and we'll talk later. I'm busy doing something else, so just do it and don't ask me any more questions."
"Can you unlock the cell?......please?"
"Oh yeah," Alan does that, then returns to Googling 'disappearing houses' online.
MEANWHILE:
"Little Will, get up, what are you doing lying in the snow?" William asks.
"Making a snow angel, Poppy William. Didn't you do that when you were a kid?"
"No, most certainly not!" William pulls the child up from the prone position he's been in, flapping his arms up and down out to the side.
"It's fun, though!" Will insists as William brushes as much snow off the boy's snow suit as he can.
"I'm glad we decided to walk to school today, Poppy William. I'm real happy when you come to school. All the other kids wish their grandpas were as cool as you are!"
"Well, that's a nice thing to hear," William is genuinely pleased. Although he is not the boy's actual grandfather, he's taken on the role with great pleasure.
They pause by the crosswalk to wait till the crossing guard gives the go-ahead.
"HEY!" Little Will yells, "That's not Mrs. Hawkins! That's someone else! Where's Mrs. Hawkins?"
"Maybe she went on vacation," William speculates.
"I hope she comes back tomorrow, cuz this guy doesn't know what he's doing! Look! He isn't holding the 'stop' sign right. He has it turned around. What a doofus!"
"Now, now, Will, don't be so harsh. It may be his first day on the job."
The Crossing Guard walks to the side of the road where Will and William are standing, ready to send another group across, then, when he sees who these two are, pulls his cap down over his face.
The cars stop as the group begins to cross. As they get close to Travis, Little Will exclaims, "I know that guy! I pulled a sheet off him at the Halloween party!"
Travis turns his face away. That brat of Rose's........I should have known I'd meet up with him.
Several of the older boys are dressed alike in black leather jackets with skulls and crossbones emblazoned on the back. They begin to chant, "The crossing guard wears a sheet!" over and over.
Travis goes for where his gun holster would be were he wearing one.
This isn't lost on the little band of hoodlums. "Going for your water pistol? You are such a big tough guy! No water pistol! No water pistol!" they repeat the last three words all the way to the other side of the crosswalk.
Travis carries the traffic barriers to the side of the street and flings down the Stop sign. "This is humiliating and ridiculous!" he says softly. I need to do something more important than escorting juvinile delinquents across the street!
Then the conversation he heard earlier between Alan and that guy who ran into the station comes back to him. YES! That's something I want to investigate! If I crack that, I'll be in but good with the Chief!
He walks toward the back of the police station where the cruisers are parked, and, seeing no one nearby, hops in his and revs it up. He's well out on the street before anyone inside the station hears it, and gunning it manfully, he heads for the Montgomery ranch. He hits a patch of ice and the car does a 360, then guns it again to show it who's boss.
When he reaches the place where he knows a house should be, sonofagun, it is gone. That guy wasn't smokin' wacky tabaccy! I'll drive back into town and alert the TV station, yeah, I'll bet Carson forgot to do that!
When he reaches the TV station, he enters the reception area and marches purposefully up to the woman stationed there.
"I have a big story!" he announces.
She looks up, puts aside the papers she had been perusing and as her eyes take in the glory that is Travis, laughs, "Did something exciting happen on the school crossing?"
Travis realizes he looks rather unimportant in his current outfit, so quickly takes off the orange vest and drops it on the floor, "The Montgomery ranch house is gone, disappeared!"
The receptionest looks quizzical, but not convinced. "Oh sir, there's a homeless shelter across town that serves hot meals, would you like me to contact them for you?"
"NO! Let me talk to one of the reporters! This is a real story! If you don't, I'll give the newspapers first crack at it and your face will be red and you'll be fired for......"
"OK, OK," she chuckles as she rings one of the reporters, "Hey, Len, some guy out here says he has a big scoop. Wanna hear it?"
She replaces the phone and goes back to working on her stack of papers. Travis paces in a circle until finally this 'Len' guy appears, looking around for the person with the scoop. All he sees is this young man who, if he were a dog, would be chasing his own tail.
"Len?" Travis approaches him. "Can we talk?"
"I suppose so. What is it?"
"Look, I know it sounds impossible, but if you drive out to the Montgomery ranch outside town, you can see for yourself that the big house, you know, the manse, is gone, vanished, poof!"
"Uh-uh. Poof, you say?"
"Get a cameraman and go out there! I didn't believe it either, but it's true!"
Len is not in the mood for any wild goose chases and shakes his head disbelievingly.
"I'll drive you out there myself!" Travis pleads.
Len sighs and goes into another room, emerging with a cameraman, who looks at Travis like he's an escaped lunatic, but they leave and are soon seen driving away.
WSue and BB 'DO LUNCH'...........by Coralynn
The hands of the clock aren't straight up in the noon position, in fact it's only 11:20am, but WandaSue is famished again. She finds a lot of canned goods in the pantry, and opens up several cans of Wolfgang Puck's chicken dumpling soup.
After it reaches a boil on the stove, she yells upstairs, "Grubs on, BB! Get your carcas down here!"
No response. Well, he's just playing hard to get, she thinks, as she pounds up the staircase. She looks in his room. Nope, not in there. She calls out, "Billy Bob! Where are you! You can't have gone far!"
She hears banging coming from above and wonders if the rats are really that big in this neck of the woods. She shudders at the thought that a rodent could make such a loud pounding noise.
"Just a minute!" she laughs at herself, "No rat can pick up something and pound the floor with it.....they don't have opppppos....whatever those thumbs are that we have. Wonder what's making the sound. "Billy Bob! Are you up there?" she looks at the hall ceiling and finally notices the attic trap door.
She gives it a mighty yank and down come some stairs and a whole blast of cold air.
"Are ya up there, because if you don't answer right now, I'm closing this up again!" she yells, hoping it's BB and not the biggest rodent the world has ever seen.
She's about to close it back up when she sees BB at the top of the stairs, draped in several layers of bedspreads. His hands, gripping the material closed, are blue, as is his face, as he slowly descends.
"You really need a better foundation color than that, BB! Get your buns down to the kitchen, we're having soup a la Wolfgang Puck!"
He tries to stop shaking, but is still doing so as he enters the kitchen. WSue yanks the big pot off the stove and commences to ladle up the soup in two bowls.
BB holds his hands over the still hot burners, rubbing them vigorously, hoping neither of them will have to be amputated.
"What were ya doin' up there anyway?" she asks as she reaches into the box of saltine crackers and drags out a bunch of them, crushing them into the soup, then stirring so vigorously that the concoction slops over onto the table.
By now BB has his hands around his soup bowl, feeling warmth begin to bring sensation back. "Never mind!" he answers curtly and thinks, None of her business. I don't have to answer to her like she was actually a person in my life.
"Time for the noon news! If you won't talk to me, at least I can hear a human voice," she flips on the small TV on one of the kitchen counters.
"Breaking news! A reporter and cameraman went to the Montgomery Ranch after having received a tip from an inside source saying that the main house had been moved during the night. As you can see from this film clip, the house is no longer where it has stood for the past century. Reporter Len Rollins has more........"
"Thank you, Bruce! Yes, I was out on the Montgomery ranch myself, and the house is gone. Whether it was moved to a new location is not clear, as it cannot be seen anywhere else in the area. If any viewer out there knows where it is, they are asked to call the Chappaqua police department and our television station as well, of course. When contacted, Police Chief Alan Carson said that his investigation was in the primary stages and he had no clues as yet to the whereabouts of the house. Stay tuned to Channel 7 for updates as they occur. Now, over to you, Bruce!"
BB jumps up from his chair, upsetting the soup bowls, which clatter to the floor.
"Now see what you've done!" WandaSue gripes.
"WandaSue, you simpleton, the house is invisible! Don't you get it?"
"Well, well, well, well, what'd'ya know," she says casually as she drops paper towels on the floor to sop up the soup, pushing them around with her foot.
"We're gonna die in here!" BB is panicked, "We can't phone out, nobody can come in, and we can't leave, so when our food supply runs out, we're going to starve to death!"
"If that's true," she raises one eyebrow, "Then ya better stop knockin' over the table and wastin' it. Men! Such slobs!" she goes to the pantry and brings out two more cans, banging them down on the table, "If we die inside here, at least we'll die in style! Do you have any idea who Wolfgang Puck is?"
CORPUS DELICTI IN THE KITCHEN......by Terri
Five o'clock rolled around and found Rosamond in Manhattan. She parked the car in the studio covered parking garage. The security guard opened the door for her.
"Good evening, Miss de Clifford! Nice to see you back."
"Hmm? Oh...oh, thanks, Stanley. Great to see you too."
She took the elevator up to the ninth floor. Gwen was coming down the hall.
"Hey, girlfriend! I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays! I hope this means you will be back!"
Rose gave her a hug and managed a smile. "I sure hope so!"
Gwen said, "What are you here for?"
"I have a five o'clock appointment with Marty. How have the costumes been going?"
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Oh, I always have about 30,000 pins in my mouth."
Rose's head shot up. "WHAT??"
Gwen said, "Hey, take it easy! It was only a joke! Usually I have only 20,000 pins in them."
Rose managed a weak smile. "I'd better get to Marty. You know how punctual he is!"
"OK, honey! Meet me for lunch next week?"
"Sure, Gwen! I'll call you on Tuesday."
"Come in!" Marty called out.
Rose opened the door and Marty jumped up and kissed her. "Hello, sweetheart! Sit, sit! I've got a new storyline all revved up for Daisy. I just want you to see if you are up for it before I send it to the head writers."
For a half hour, they discussed the storyline and the scripts. Finally, Marty said,
"Rose, I can see your heart isn't in it right now. What's wrong?"
Rose sat there, staring at a blank space on the opposite wall.
"Marty, do you remember about a year ago, when John and I were seeing each other and no one knew it? It was right after Julie was born."
Marty said, "Yes, I remember. John was pretty miserable then. In love with you and not able to do anything about it. He confided in me."
Rose looked up with tear-filled eyes. "Did he ever mention that we were being blackmailed?"
Marty nodded slowly. "Yes, he did. He came to me for advice. I told him to do whatever was necessary to protect you. He was afraid for both of your lives. As I remember, it cost him. But Rose, where is this going?"
Rose tried to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks but failed. She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"Marty--I'm being blackmailed. And I don't know what to do?"
Marty was concerned. "Did you discuss this with John?"
Rose quickly said, "NO! And he is not to know!"
Marty's face registered disappointment. "Oh, Rose! You haven't! Please say you haven't! I know there was a lot of tension on the Time and Chance set. Don't tell me you succumbed..."
"No, Marty! How could you even think that? I love John. With my entire being."
Marty was puzzled. "But what else can there be?"
Rose confessed, "I saved some poetry from his brother Daniel. Stuff you don't show to your mama and stuff your daddy would go after the poet with a shotgun. Let alone having your husband find out!"
Marty took her hands. "What can I do to help you?"
Rose said quickly, "I need 30,000 dollars." Her words came out in a rush. "Oh, Marty, please! I need a loan so John won't find out! You can take it out of my paycheck over the year. If he finds out, he will positively kill me! Or worse, he could leave me--and take Jullie with him! He's so crazy about the baby, he'd never let me have her!"
Marty gave her a hug. "I'll have it for you tomorrow. But one thing, Rose. Let me have those poems. I'll make sure they are destroyed. I won't read them. In fact, you can even help me put them through the shredder."
Rose threw her arms around Marty. "Oh, Marty, what would we do without you?"
Marty gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, I can't let my hottest couple combust, can I?"
Rose left the office and headed for her car. I have to get Tori to stall one more day.
I'm sure she will understand. Wonder if she will charge me interest?
She got in the SUV and turned the key.
Rrrrrrrr...Rrrrrrr.....Rrrrrr....Rrrrr....
Oh no! Rose looked up and saw the domelight was left on. She sat there with her head on the steering wheel. Guess it is AAA time. First I'd better call Tori and tell her I'll be about an hour late. I hope she'll understand. She dialed Tori's cell number and got nothing. Just the voicemail.
"Tori, this is Rosamond Gwinnett. I've got a dead battery and I am in Manhatten. I've made the necessary arrangements but I will be delayed. I'll meet you at the new house at 7:00. The key is where I told you it would be. I'l see you then."
Now to call AAA.
John closed his checkbook and put the invoices in the desk drawer.
Daniel came into the office. "Leaving already?" he asked John.
"Yeah, I told Rose I'd be home before 8:00 PM for a change. How is Rhys doing at Moose's house?"
Daniel shrugged. "I don't know. I guess OK."
John looked over at Daniel. Daniel was sitting down at the desk with his notebook.
"What are you writing?"
Daniel quickly closed it up. "Nothing." He shoved it into a desk drawer. Daniel stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I've got things to do. Slim is locking up tonight. So I'll see you in the morning."
John said, "Yeah, I'm getting ready to leave too."
Daniel walked out and John waited until he was out in the parking lot. He reached in the desk drawer and said, "OK, brother dear. Let's see what is so all-fired important in your notebook!"
John opened it and what he read surprised him. Whoa, Daniel!
John could feel his face getting red. I guess this was meant for someone else! So Daniel has himself a girl, huh? Pretty lustful thoughts in here...
John shut the book, and replaced it. Well, it's his business! Wonder what Rose would do if I sent her stuff like this? Probably blush and make me burn it!
He laughed softly, put on his jacket and headed out the door.
Rose thanked the towtruck driver for the jumpstart and gave him an autograph when he asked for it. She looked at her watch. It's 6:30----I hope Tori got my message. She dialed again and got the same voicemail.
"Tori? Rose Gwinnett here. I will be there no later than 7:00 so I'll come straight over."
She pulled into traffic and headed out towards Chappaqua.
John was on his way home when his cellphone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, John, it's Murph. Listen, those appliances are being delivered tomorrow. Can you leave me a check to cover it? I left the invoices on the table there."
"Sure, Murph.I'll stop there on my way home."
"Thanks! Hey, about two more weeks worth of work and you can move in!"
John said, "I can't wait, buddy! A normal quiet married life! That's for me!"
CLICK!!
Rosamond drove around the block of Winding Willow. She saw a BMW parked around the corner with vanity plates that said "Tori". Good, she's there! Let's get this over with! She pulled into the driveway and used her key to open the door.
"Tori? Tori? It's me..Rose."
From the kitchen came John's voice. It sounded strange. Kind of far away.
"Rosamond? For God's sake, don't come in the kitchen!"
Now when you say something like that, you might as well say, "Just ignore that big white elephant sitting in the living room."
Rose opened up the kitchen door. There in the darkness was John. Holding a kitchen knife. On the floor was Tori Sheffield. With multiple stab wounds. Deader than dead.
Rose grabbed on to the counter for support. "Wh-wh-what happened?" Her voice came out in a raspy whisper.
John leaned back against the wall. "I don't know. I came by to drop off a check that Murph needs for the appliances and I-I found her like this."
Rose turned pale. "I think I'm going to be sick!"
John reached out to her. "Go in the other room. NOW!"
Rose's feet were unable to move. "B-b-but, John, isn't that one of OUR knives?"
"Yes."
"John, this isn't good."
"Yeah. Tell me about it. Rose---what are YOU doing here?"
Rose thought fast. "I was here the other day and I left some sewing supplies here."
"You don't sew."
Rose said frantically, "John, here we are with Tori Sheffield in ribbons on our kitchen floor and you want to debate whether I can sew or not?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "John. Did-did you...?"
John exploded, "Are you out of your mind, Rose? Why would I stab Tori Sheffield in OUR kitchen with OUR butcher knife?"
Rose folded her arms across her stomach and bent over.
"I'm either going to be sick or faint."
John pushed her head down. "I can help with the fainting but not with the sickness. If it is the latter, can you make it to the bathroom?"
Rose's head began to clear and she began to see how much deep doo-doo she and John were really in.
John stood up and put his arm around Rose. "Are you allright now? No fainting? No being sick?"
Rose nodded slightly. John said, "We need to call the police."
Rose whispered, "Shouldn't you call 9-1-1?"
John picked up the receiver. "Whatever for? She's dead. One thing---what was she doing here?"
Rose just shrugged, "I have no idea."
Then he spied Tori's purse on the counter. "Let me see what she has in her purse. Maybe there is something that will give us a clue."
He started to go through her purse. Rose thought she would scream. She felt her blood turn to ice water.
John took things out. "Here's lipstick..keys....cellphone. Wonder who she called? Or who called her?" He started to press #8-6 for retrieving voice mail and Rose quickly grabbed it. "John! You--you can't! That is private information!"
"Right." John returned to the task at hand. While he wasn't looking, Rose pressed #8-6 and then pressed #-5. Delete messages.
John said, "For such a busy reporter, her purse is next to nothing. Wait! Here's some papers..."
Rose froze. "I--I can explain, I think...." she said in a fearful voice.
John thumbed through them. "Just car repair receipts...explain what, Rosamond?"
Rose stammered around. "Ex-explain why she had no papers. She may have used one of those things that you record appointments and erase immediately."
"Right. I'm calling the police now. I hate to have to tell Alan. They were good friends and I think Alan was trying to kick up the relationship a notch."
He dialed the police.
"Officer Pennypacker here."
"Hi, this is John Gwinnett over on Winding Willow."
He mouthed to Rosamond, 'good! No McGee!"
"Is Alan Carson there?"
Jeremy said, "He stepped out. Something to do with a disappearing house, if you can believe it!"
John looked quizzically at Rose but then continued on.
"I'm at my new house on Winding Willow..."
"The old Cooper house?"
"Yes."
"Architectural marvel! I took architecture for a year in college so I notice things like that."
John said, "Yes, well, it was 'stuck in the 70's if you know what I mean. Avocado, harvest gold, rust, you name it! Shag carpeting...WHAT AM I SAYING??"
Jeremy said, "Excuse me?"
John took a deep breath. "Officer Pennypacker. There is also something from the '70's in my kitchen. The body of Miss Tori Sheffield."
A minute of silence followed. Then, "Say WHAT??"
John said, "A body. Tori Sheffield. She's been stabbed. And quite a few times."
Jeremy sighed, "Right. I'll send an ambulance and find Alan. And one other thing...
DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING?"
John hung up. Rose said, "What did he say?"
"Not to touch anything. I think, Rose, I did something I shouldn't have."
"What?"
"My prints. They are on that knife!"
Rose's eyes grew large. "No, John. What are you saying? That they would accuse YOU?"
John saw headlights and looked out the window. "The police are here."
Rose said, "What are we going to do? She's dead in our kitchen! I'll never cook in there! She'll haunt the place! My souffles will fall!"
John grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Get a hold of yourself, Rose! You never baked a souffle in your life! OMIGOD! Listen to us! We have a perforated woman in our kitchen and we are talking about souffles!"
The doorbell rang. Rose bit her thumbnail.
John said, "Keep your mouth shut and let me do all the talking. Understand?"
Rose nodded wordlessly.
"John Gwinnett?"
"Yes. Come in."
The clean-cut young man extended his hand. "Officer Jeremy Pennypacker. I called Alan, we both agreed that he'd better not come into the case yet. Too emotionally involved."
The forensic team followed with all their paraphernalia. Rose sat down in a chair, her face white.
Jeremy and his partner Scallione sat down, too. Jeremy said, "Lou. why don't you see to the crew and the uh, victim."
Lou nodded and headed to the kitchen.
Jeremy whipped out his notebook. "What time did you find the body, Mr. Gwinnett?"
John said, "I stopped here about 7:00 to leave a check for Murph, our contractor.
I literally stumbled across the body. I flipped on the lights and saw her laying there. The knife was laying right next to her. I didn't have to be a rocket scientist to tell you she was dead."
"Any idea how she got in here?"
"None."
"Any idea why she is here?"
"Not at all."
"Door usually locked?"
"Yes."
"How many keys?"
John shrugged. "A half dozen. Me, Rose, Murph, spare key...I can't really tell you where the rest are."
Jeremy turned to Rose. "What time did you get here?"
"I came here at 7:00. John must have gotten here no more than a minute or two befoe I did."
"Where did you park?"
"That's my Miata in the driveway?"
"Mr. Gwinnett? Where did you park?"
"I parked at the other house and walked down here."
"Any of you have any dealings or a relationship with Miss Sheffield?"
John said, "She was seeing Officer Alan Carson on a social level. She came to a few parties with him. We went out to dinner with them once. That was about it."
"You, Mrs. Gwinnett?"
Rose shook her head wordlessly. "Just what John said."
Jeremy heaved a big sigh. "OK--I'll give them a hand in the uh, other room."
When Jeremy left, John frowned. "I don't like the looks of this, Rose. Just what was Tori Sheffield doing here? Why our place of all places?"
Rose shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. But look! There must be three or four police cars outside along with an ambulance."
She glanced out the window. "And here comes the entire family. William leading the pack. I guess the flashing blue lights attracted their attention."
Rose heaved a big sigh.
"And so the William Inquisition begins!"
YELLOW TAPE..................by Coralynn
"Roger! Come quick!" Bethia yells as she looks out the window, "Something bad is going on at John and Rose's new house!"
Roger joins her at the window and agrees, "Oh my God, look at all those police cars and fire trucks! I'll go find out."
As he flings on his coat, Bethia goes to the closet to get hers.
"Honey, do you think you should be going out there? The sidewalk could be slippery," Roger advises her.
"But.....but.....I must find out! What if something horrible happened to Rose!" Bethia protests.
"I'll find out and come right back," he tells her with his hand on the door handle.
"Promise?"
"Promise!"
Roger walks rapidly to where William, Eleanor, Bess, and Marthy and Jack are standing outside Rose and John's new house.
"William! What's going on?"
"I'm not sure. They won't let us in. They say it's a crime scene, but John and Rose are coming out now.......they look ok."
"That's a relief. Bethia is beside herself with worry. The children are both over at the big house?"
"Yes, they're fine. Celeste is with them. Why don't you and Beth come over to the house and we can all find out what there is to find out."
"Will do!" Roger agrees.
When Rose sees William she rushes up and throws herself into his arms, "Oh William! It's awful! Just awful!"
"What happened?" Eleanor asks.
"Let's get you indoors, young lady," William says, "You're shaking like a leaf. Come, I'll help you.." they walk toward the big house, everyone else following.
Eleanor approaches John to see if he has any more information than the obviously traumatized Rose, "What happened, John?"
"A murder. Right in our very own kitchen," he tells her, "Tori. The one who dates Alan Carson."
They've almost reached the big house, and, as they step up to the door and begin to enter, Eleanor asks, "But why in your house?"
They close the door behind them and shed their coats. Roger and Beth arrive and when Beth sees Celeste, she runs over and begs, "Celeste, you have to tell me what happened!"
"I don't know anymore than you do at this point," Celeste tells her, then, gesturing to where Rose and John are seated on the couch, adds "It looks like those two are in as much shock as the rest of us. Let's hear them out."
John has his arm around Rose, who is still shaking. "When I got over to the new house, to leave a check for Murph, I literally stumbled over the body. Tori Sheffield. Stabbed, and more than once. It was gruesome!"
"What was she doing in your house?" William asks, "And how did she get in anyway, don't you keep it locked?"
"Yes," John answers, "it makes no sense. Why was she there and how did she get in?"
All eyes are on Rose, who says nervously, "I can't figure it out!"
Celeste sighs as her heart sinks to her shoes, the strong impression washing over her that Rose knows a lot more than she's admitting.
AT LEAST THE TV WORKS............by Coralynn
WandaSue, chawing away on some beef jerky, and finishing up the last of the magazines she found in the recycle bin, turns on the late news.
"Hey, love of mine, come down and watch the news with me! There may be more on our disappearance!"
BB is getting awfully tired of staying in his bedroom with a chair pushed up against the door and comes downstairs to at least pour himself a stiff drink that will hopefully help him sleep and quiet his riotous mind that has imagined every conceivable disastrous conclusion to this ridiculous situation he finds himself in.
When he sees WandaSue sitting on the couch chawing away on the beef jerky, he's so repulsed he turns to go back up the stairs, but what he hears on the TV news stops him.
"Late breaking news! A murder has been committed at the home of John and Rose Gwinett on Winding Willow in Chappaqua. The body of Tori Sheffield was found in their house with multiple stab wounds, Officer Jeremy Pennypacker reports. No other information is known at this time, but when it becomes available we will cut into regular programming to bring it to you."
"WHAT?!" BB is shocked.
"Looks like your little tootsie has a mean streak, a homicidal streak, a bad temper....."
"Shut your foul mouth!" he yells, then pauses when he hears the news anchor say:
"The disappearance of William Montgomery and now his house at the Montgomery ranch outside town is still baffling authorities. They're investigating whether the two disappearances could be related. No suspects have been identified so far. Going on to international news......."
"Of course they're related, you simpleton!" BB yells at the TV screen.
"Now, now, cool your jets, sweetheart of mine, oh love of my life, oh legally wedded husband of moi...."
"Shut UP!" he goes over to the cabinet-bar and pours wine into the largest container he can find, tipping it up until it's half empty, then refilling it and going upstairs as WandaSue's voice fades in the distance.....
".......oh sweet babydoll, oh priceless treasure, oh loser of the western world......"
MEANWHILE:
Marilyn and Moose watch the same TV news, which causes Marilyn to become agitated. "I've gotta get over there and find out what's going on!" she exclaims.
"I'll come with you," Moose takes his arm from where it's been resting around her shoulders, "Let's go!"
They grab their coats and rush out to Moose's car, hop in and drive toward Winding Willow. Marilyn sits there nervously, twisting a tissue in her hands. "Tori Sheffield? What was she doing in Rose and John's house?"
"I'm sure Rose and John can clear it up," Moose tells her, patting her hands.
They draw up in front of the big house, which is ablaze with lights, "They're still up!" Marilyn says excitedly.
They enter the house and see the living room full of everyone who lives in the house, but the conversation has slowed. Mostly Marilyn sees a group of people with confused experessions on their faces.
When Rose sees Marilyn, she gives her a wan smile and says in a shaky voice, "How did you know?"
"It's all over the late news!" Marilyn explains, "Rose, what happened?"
John takes over, "Tori Sheffield must have arrived at our house before either Rose or I did, because when I got there she had already been killed. Rose got there a few minutes later, and, as you can see, is still totally shaken."
"But why your house?" Marilyn is confounded.
"We have no idea," John tells her almost by rote, as he's said this several times over the course of the evening.
Marilyn's gaze flies to where Celeste is seated, their eyes locking in a mutual understanding. "Oh-oh," Marilyn thinks, "Celeste probably knows more than any of the others, even Rose and John." She sends Celeste a mental message 'I'll see you back in your room as soon as we can get away and not be misssed.'
Roger has gone to his house to get Rose a sedative, and comes back with it, handing a small bottle of pills to the still shaking woman, "Just take one now, Rose, and then, if you can't sleep, take another one."
Rose gratefully takes a pill from the bottle and swallows it, her hands unsteady.
In time Rose begins to feel more relaxed and tired. "I'd better try to get some sleep," she tells everyone, taking John's hand, John leading her to the stairs. "Goodnight, everyone. Thank you for your moral support," she tells them weakly as she and John disppear up the stairs.
William heaves a giant sigh, "We should all try to get some shut-eye. Staying up all night won't solve anything, though, if it could, I would gladly go without sleep for days."
There is a general agreement as they all get up from the couches and chairs. Roger and Bethia let themselves out, but Marilyn stays. Moose whispers, "We should go, too, Marilyn."
She tries to think of an excuse, then finally just comes out and whispers back, "Can you wait for me. I must talk to Celeste. Lie on the couch for awhile, can you?"
"Sure, no problem," he answers. Marilyn smiles up at him. This man has the best disposition of any man she has ever met, and she appreciates him more and more as time goes on.
Celeste is waiting for her in her room, the crystal ball uncovered and the computer turned on.
With unspoken agreement, they bring up the Story online, and read it carefully.
"This proves, as if we need proof, that Rose didn't kill Tori," Marilyn comments, "but it doesn't tell who did."
"Right, neither John nor Rose did it. But........it gives us clues."
"We can't take this to the police, can we?"
"Oh my goodness, gracious no!" Celeste says, "What kind of crazy evidence would this be? They'd think we'd lost our minds."
"Uhhhhh, Celeste, I hate to change the subject, but...........you made the Montgomery ranch house disappear."
Celeste chuckles, "I couldn't resist, dear. Those two won't be bothering anyone now for most of a week."
"A week?!"
"Unless my spell wasn't as strong as I thought, but yes, it could show up in about another five days."
Marilyn laughs, "You're a prankster, Celeste."
"Shhhhhhhh, we must'nt let that get out," Celeste puts a finger in front of her lips, "but........back to the serious issue here.........if Rose continues to deny that she knows why and how Tori Sheffield got into their house, she may end up in huge trouble. Lying, commonly known as perjury, does not sit well."
"But only if you're under oath! Ohhhhhhh, could there be trial?"
"You can count on it!" Celeste says grimly as she turns off the computer and the Story fades from view.
_____________.......by Terri
Daniel paid the deliveryman for his double-deluxe pizza and sniffed appreciatively.
"Aahh! The sweet smell of pepperoni!" He picked off an anchovy and downed it as efficiently as a college freshman swallowing a goldfish.
Kicking off his shoes, he sat down with his six-pack of Bud and popped one open.
He picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV.
The 10:00 PM news came on.
"Jeez, who wants to watch THAT?" he said to no one. As he started to push the channel changer, the announcer's voice caught his attention.
"...on Winding Willow. The house was purchased in October by John Gwinnett."
The TV screen showed yellow crime scene tape surrounding the house.
Daniel sat there totally in shock. Holy (*^**$!!! Are John and Rose allright?
The reporter was on the scene.
"This is Holly Broderick reporting to you from Winding Willow Road, an exclusive area of Chappaqua where the homes are palatial estates. The body of Victoria Sheffield, daughter of J. Byron Sheffield, media magnate, has been discovered in the kitchen of the house of John and Rosamond Gwinnett, daytime drama actors on As the Planet Turns. Police are not releasing any details but information has come to us that Miss Sheffield was repeatedly stabbed to death. Mr. Gwinnett found the body and called police. It is not known the reason Miss Sheffield was in the house or who was in the house with her at the time. Rosamond Gwinnett arrived shortly after her husband found Miss Sheffield. There is no apparent motive at this time. Back to you, Wesley..."
Daniel sat there in shock. Oh, Rose! Rose, honey, did you do it? Is John covering up for you? Daniel thought back to the conversation he had with Tori Sheffield. She threatened to publish the poems I wrote to Rosamond. Did she threaten Rosamond with the same thing? Blackmail her? For Pete's sake, could Rose have snapped? A knife. Typical of a woman, isn't it? Doesn't sound like a planned thing. Sounds more like a crime of passion. Maybe she confronted Tori at the new house and when Tori threatened to publish those poems, Rose lost it.
Wonder how long Rose will get? Ten years? Twenty? She'll be maximum forty years old when she gets out. Yeah, I could wait for her.
He grabbed the telephone and dialed the Big House.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Daniel. Who's this?"
"Daniel, it's Marthy."
"Marthy, I just called to see what happened and how Rose and John are. I just heard it on the news. Can I speak to them?"
Marthy covered the mouthpiece and whispered to William,"It's Daniel, he wants to talk to Rose or John."
William shook his head no.
Marthy got back on. "I'm sorry, Daniel. But they have already gone to bed. Roger gave Rosamond a sedative. She's pretty freaked out about it."
Daniel said, "Yeah, I'll bet. Right in their own house. Anyone say what Tori was doing there?"
Marthy said, "No."
Daniel said, "I'll bet Rose wil insist they sell the house and move. I'll call John in the morning. Give them my best."
Marthy said, "Will do. Goodnight, Daniel."
CLICK!
Daniel thought, 'Those poems have to be at the root of this. How did Tori Sheffield get her hands on them? Why did Rosamond save them? And did she enjoy them?
He popped open another Bud and grabbed another slice of pizza, turning his TV to Sci-fi.
PERCHANCE TO DREAM.............by Coralynn
Rose falls into an uneasy sleep, more the product of the sedative than anything else. Before long she's dreaming:
Rose is preparing dinner in the new house, putting the finishing touches on a salad, when up from the floor of the kitchen an apparition rises. Tori is holding the diary and many sheets of paper......papers that contain that damning poetry.
Rose shrinks back against the counter in fear, as Tori Sheffield lunges at her with a knife, blood dripping from the entire 18 inch blade.......she screams but no one hears.......she tries to protect herself from the murderous attack, but it's too late.........
John's dream:
Rose and the children plead and cry, but the Police aren't interested as they lead John away in handcuffs. "But she was already dead!" he repeats over and over.
"Fingerprints don't lie!" Travis McGee snarls at him with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.
William's dream:
The moving van is almost full as the movers cart out the last of the furniture. William stands stricken as a piece of heavy equipment then drives into the back yard and digs up his flower garden, while 25 jackhammers destroy the driveway.....
Eleanor's dream:
Henry2 clutches Little Will as Eleanor tries to free the lad. "Let him go, Henry!" she demands. He tips his head toward the new house, which is dripping in blood, and answers, "The boy is royal, and belongs back at court, not here in that murder house!"
Henry then disappears, Little Will as well.
Marilyn's dream:
Everyone at the big house is shackled and as the police lead them away to the police van, Travis McGee leers at her, "I know who you are, lady, and I'm gonna tell!"
Celeste's dream:
The court room is eerily quiet as the prosecuting attorney repeats his question: 'Were you being blackmailed by Tori Sheffield? Yes or no!'
Rose is so frightened her hands shake, as does her voice, "No."
The ceiling of the room then collapses down upon everyone in the room, crushing them.
WandaSue's dream:
Rose is on her knees begging, 'Wandasue, you have to testify that I was with you at the time of the murder!' Wandasue's lips curl, "I'll do it for a cool million, but not for a penny less!"
Billy Bob's dream:
BB's mother's voice comes over the phone line, "I told you she was a tramp! I told you she was no good. But did you listen to me?"
He beats upon the walls, which dissolve into a raging river, which envelops him and carries him toward the ocean. He swims as hard as he can, but the undertow is too strong......
Daniel's dream:
Daniel and Rose and baby Julie are boarding a plane for Iowa, or is it California? He can't be sure, and the airline employees he asks shrug and say they don't know either. But they board the plane and before long are in the sky, looking down at Chappaqua and the gallows upon which John is to be hung at mid-day.
MEANWHILE:
At 11pm Travis drags back over to the police station and enters quietly, hoping no one will be at the front desk, but his hopes are dashed when he hears Alan Carson's voice explode, "Travis! Where have you been all day? You didn't report to the crossing guard station for the after-school shift, and your cruiser was missing most of the day. So where were you?"
"I was helping you out," Travis says in an unconvincing voice, "You have much bigger fish to fry than the Montgomery disappearance......"
"I expressly forbid you to work that case! Jeremy is heading it up!"
"But......but.......I saw it with my own eyes, Chief! The Montgomery house is gone!"
"We knew that, ninny! Now, get back in cell #1 before I completely lose my temper."
Travis enters the cell, and as Alan locks it, enquires meekly, "Can I get out of jail tomorrow?"
"Why would I let you out? You played me for a fool today, junior, so you stay locked up! But tomorrow you have an appointment with Judge Matthews. I told him my side of the story, now you get to tell him yours."
"My side?" Travis tries to think of things he can say to win over the Judge's sympathy.
"I'm going home now. I would have left an hour ago but I had to wait up for you!" Alan puts on his overcoat and exits the building.
When he enters his car, he puts his head down on the steering wheel and breathes deeply, wondering if it's all a bad dream. Tori murdered. Tori, who he was hoping might be the right woman for him. Murdered. Why??
____________.....by Terri
_________________....by Terri
Rosamond screamed, "NO!" out of an uneasy sleep and bolted upright in bed. John sat up with a jolt. He reached over and held her. She couldn't stop shaking. John stroked her hair and said, "Shh, honey. It's going to be alright."
She buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed. "NO! It's not alright. It's NEVER going to be alright! I think I am cursed! Everything I touch is tainted! I am screwing up your life, John. You deserve better than me!"
John said, "You're talking foolish, sweetheart. Where would I be without you? I may as well be half alive."
Rose dried her tears on the sheet and managed a weak smile. "You're too good for me, John. I don't know what would happen to me if I didn't have you, too."
John said, "How did this happen to us? We were set to move into that house. Do you think Tori Sheffield knew it was unoccupied and met someone there for a...a tryst? How did she get in? I used my key to get in the back door. You used your key for the front, didn't you?"
"Y-yes."
"There were no broken windows, were there? The lock wasn't jimmied in the back. So she must have either picked the lock or it was open or she had a key."
Rosamond said, "I--I don't know. The only thing I know is that I want you to call Hots and put the house up for sale."
Dead silence.
Then....."YOU WHAT???"
"I want to sell the house."
John said, "You are out of your mind, Rose. I'm writing this off to the lateness of night and that mickey cocktail you took. No way am I selling that house. You think I am going to start hunting for a new house all over again? And have you decide you want to move the house a little to the left?"
Rose said, "You won't agree to it?"
"No. Absolutely not."
Rose said fearfully, "Everytime I'll go into the kitchen I'll see her there. I'll never be able to cook there..."
"...Rose, you don't know how to cook anyhow..."
"...well, I was planning on learning! NO! I won't step foot in there."
John said, "Tell you what. We'll just have to remodel the kitchen. I'll get Murph to do new ceramic tile. New cabinets, new lighting. New colour scheme. Would that make you feel better?"
Rose said, "I'll see. Let's do that."
"Alright. I'll call him as soon as they remove that yellow crime scene tape."
"John?"
"Yes, honey?"
"Did you see 'Amityville Horror'?"
John threw the covers over his head and said, "Sheesh, Rose!"
The next morning, Rose woke up at the crack of dawn again. This is getting to be a bad habit, she thought. Her mind felt fogged in. Must be the residual effects of Roger's tranquilizer. She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to focus her thoughts. She put her robe on and headed down the hallway. Marilyn was coming out of her bedroom at the same time.
"Marilyn! You stayed here last night?" Rose asked.
Marilyn said, "Yes, it was late and I didn't feel like going back to Moose's house. He stayed in the spare room down the hall. Oh, it's not like that! I have great affection for him and I am helping him remodel that old house of his."
Rose managed a smile. "When you get done, I think you should try to get it on the National Register of Historic Homes. From what I have seen, it is an old Colonial Saltbox home."
Marilyn laughed, "Yes, built in 1776. It's as old as our nation."
Rose said, "But not as old as me!" Then she was quiet as she tried to collect her thoughts.
Marilyn gave her hand a squeeze. "Come on, no one is up yet. Let's sneak down to the kitchen and get some coffee. We can confab one on one, girlfriend!"
The two of them sat down and drank their coffee.
Marilyn sat back, appreciating the coffee aroma. "OK, Rose. Tell me what was going on."
Rose got up and shut the kitchen door and sat back down. "Marilyn, she had the diary and the poems. She was blackmailing me to the tune of 30,000.00 dollars!"
"WHAT?? Tori Sheffield had your poems and letters? But how..why...?"
Rose said, "The 'how' I figured out for myself. The night of that party, she was upstairs. I think she was snooping around. The 'why'? She said she had expensive taste. Marilyn, she found the chink in the fireplace and moved it. My diary and the poems came out. She wanted to meet me at my new house and give her the money or she would have the poems published in the STAR."
Marilyn whistled. "That would have been disastrous!"
Rose ran her hand through her hair. "Yeah, tell me about it."
"I know it sounds awful, but what a break for you. Any idea who killed her?"
"No. And I don't know how I can ever go in that house again. John absolutely refuses to sell the house."
Marilyn said, "Don't do any thing rash, Rose. The police have any clues?"
Rose shook her head. "If they do, they aren't telling us. I imagine John can find out from Alan....ALAN! That was his girlfriend! Oh, Marilyn! He must be devastated! I have to call him..."
Marilyn stopped her. "Stay out of it, Rose. Not a good idea."
"But why? Alan is a good friend of John's."
Marilyn said, "And his girlfriend was found dead in your kitchen. Don't do a thing."
The phone rang. Rose answered it.
"Hello?"
"Well, well! Just the person I want to talk to!"
Rose said grimly, "Daniel. What do you want?"
"I think you know. Can you meet me?"
Rose said, "No way, Daniel."
Daniel began to recite, " 'Sheets of burgundy satin, Accenting your ivory skin..' ".
Rose was quiet. "Where?"
Daniel smirked, "Thought that would bring you running. Let's say the little bistro over on Main Street in..say, an hour?"
Rose said, "You rotten son...."
"I take that for an 'I'd love to, Daniel.' My treat."
CLICK!
Rose turned to Marilyn and said, "I guess I have to take a breakfast meeting."
Within forty-five minutes, Rose pulled into the bistro's parking lot. The Jeep was already there. She went in and Daniel was sitting down at a table. He pushed the opposite chair with his foot. Rose looked at him, not saying a word.
"Oh, come on, be sociable!"
"Daniel, this is not a social call. What do you want?"
"Answers."
Rose said, "I don't recall any questions. Oh, all right!"
She sat down. "What questions do you have?"
"Was Tori Sheffield blackmailing you?"
Rose bit her lip and said, "Don't be absurb. What would she blackmail me about?"
"Those poems."
"What poems?"
"Those poems you saved. Every one of them."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Really! Then how did Tori Sheffield get them?"
"She must have made some stuff up."
"Yeah, right. Funny how she got the titles matched to the right poems. You saved them, Rose. Admit it!"
"You are out of your mind, Daniel. Why would I save those..those disgusting poems? I crumpled each one of them up and burned them!"
"Then the ashes must have reconstructed themselves and materialized into paper again. Because Miss Sheffield had each and every one. She tried to blackmail me to the tune of 20,000.00 or else she would have published them in the STAR. I told her to go ahead."
"She tried to blackmail me, too...YOU WHAT??? YOU WERE GOING TO LET HER?"
"Well....sure! Where would I get 20,000.00, Mrs. Gwinnett?"
"But---but she threatened to hold us up to public humiliation, Daniel! She would have ruined us!"
"You worry too much, honey. The public would get their fifteen minutes of titilation and then move on to the next scandal."
"But my life would be shattered!"
Daniel took a bite of his toast. "Oh, don't be so dramatic, Rosamond. You are a cat. You always land on your feet. If John dumped you, I'd be waiting in the wings."
Rose stood up. "You don't care about your brother, do you?"
Daniel said, "I care. But I care about myself more. Human nature, love. Any idea what happened to Miss Sheffield anyhow?"
Rose picked up her coat. "She was stabbed."
Daniel said, "Well, duh! All of New York knows that by now. I meant, why in your kitchen? Isn't it a co-incidence that she tried to ruin yours and John's life and then ends up dead in your kitchen?"
Rose looked at Daniel disbelievingly and then walked out the door.
The waitress came by and said, "Need anything else?"
Daniel watched her pull out of the parking lot. He turned a brilliant smile to her. "Nope! Got all I need!"
THE MORNING PAPERS............by Coralynn
When Rose returns to the big house and walks inside, William is yelling something from the kitchen. She walks into the room and hears:
"Blast it! I oughta sue!"
Eleanor and Celeste are also at the table and look at him, waiting for his tirade to either subside or explain itself.
"LOOK!" he folds one newspaper to the movie ads section and shoves it across the table at the women. "See that? 'Time and Chance,' the unedited edition,' in other words, the ad.......adul.......I can't say it!"
Eleanor examines the ad more closely and gasps, "What? They made our movie into a pooooo.....por.........I can't say it either, William. Look at the illustration! A bunch of nuuuuuu.....nud.......Oh God! How did they do that?"
"How'd they get a copy of the film?" Rose asks, her heart sinking into her shoes. Now this on top of her other problems? Will the torture never cease? She sees a fuzzy picture of someone who looks a lot like her, but with no clothes from the waist up.
"You didn't perchance pose for this, did you?" William looks at Rose accusingly.
"Please!" she protests and runs upstairs. This is too much, I can't handle anymore, she thinks.
"Do they name the so-called cast?" Celeste asks.
"Ohhhh yeah, but the names have been altered slightly," William looks closely at the small print, "Rosamond the Harlot, Eleanor the Bad Queen, Henry the Magnificent........HA......magnificent must have something to do with this illustration," he again pushes the newspaper across the table.
The women look to where he's pointing, then cover their eyes in shock.
Eleanor is the only one who finds anything amusing in this. "What a crock! He never looked like that when I was married to him! Come on! This looks more like an ad for Viagra!"
MEANWHILE:
Sally hands the morning paper to Penelope, who whips it open to the movie section and hoots, "I thought so! The movie opens tonight. Get your duds on, girlfriend, we're going to the movies!"
____________________....by Terri
The medical examiner finished typing out his report. He reached for the phone.
"Officer Pennypacker, please."
Jeremy Pennypacker came on the line.
"Dr. Gerber. Do you have anything for me?"
Dr. Gerber said, "I wrote the report, I will fax it over to you in a few minutes. Care to know the cause of death?"
Jeremy snorted, "I am guessing she was stabbed to death. Am I right?"
Dr. Gerber said, "Technically, yes. But she was also struck from behind with a blunt object. I am sure the object is still in the kitchen where she was found. So whoever whacked her was from behind. I don't know if Miss Sheffield knew what happened after the first blow."
Jeremy said, "Estimated time of death?"
"It appears it happpened around 7:00. Now, Mr. Gwinnett claims he was there at 7:00 and found her. She apparently died right before he called us."
Jeremy said, "Interesting. Thank you."
Jeremy next called forensics. "Any progress on that knife?"
Dr. Olinski said, "We determined that it was a butcher knife, approximately 9", serrated. Made by J. Henckel."
"Fingerprints?"
"Just two sets. One belongs to John Gwinnett."
"And the other?"
"His wife. Rosamond."
Rosamond slammed the door to the bedroom. John was looking in a dresser drawer for a shirt to wear.
Rose sat on the bed. "It never stops. IT NEVER STOPS!"
John grabbed a blue sweater and pulled it over his head. "What is wrong now?"
Rose flopped back on the bed. "What would you say about time traveling back to the 1640's England and not coming back? A place with no movies, no murders, no po--"
She almost said 'no poems.' She stopped short. "The only thing you have to worry about is the plague."
John hunted on the floor for his shoes. "Right. We could move in with my mother. She'd love it." He found his shoes and turned them upside down. Just to make sure Jake or Belle didn't put a bone in them. All clear.
Rose took a deep breath. "William is on a rant. And I don't know how..."
*RING*
Rose reached over and grabbed the phone. "Hello?...yes, Marty...I don't know..calm down. CALM DOWN BEFORE YOU HAVE A HEART ATTACK!"
John looked quizzically at Rose. She shook her head.
"...I did not. I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!...well, I don't care if the woman bears an uncanny resemblance to me....Marty, that was two years ago and that was the tabloids....well, EXCUSE ME! I am a respectable married woman now!"
At this John reached over and pinched her derriere.
"OW!...no, not you, Marty...yes, well, all of us are in shock. Can you block distribution? Oh, they got around it by calling it 'TYME and Chance'....no, I am SURE it won't be up for Golden Globes, Marty....maybe 'Tyme and Chance' may make the Cannes Festival but not the Oscars...well, it certainly wasn't El and it wasn't me....
and from what I saw of the picture, it most certainly wasn't Henry...no, he was.."
At this John looked up. Rose abandoned her train of thought.
"....I am mortified but believe me, Marty, I have a situation...You haven't heard?...Tori Sheffield was murdered in our new house last night....l---I'll talk to you later about it...
alright, bye!"
John checked his wallet to see how much money he had left. "What was THAT all about?"
Rosamond rubbed her temples. She could feel the start of a major headache.
"Someone took a print of 'Time and Chance' and did some creative editing and turned it into 'TYME and Chance' and made it a skinflick." She flopped back on the bed and covered her eyes. "Maybe if I go back to bed, the nightmare of the last few days will just disappear."
"Last few days? Rose, Tori Sheffield was only murdered last night."
Rose said, "Well, it SEEMS like a few days ago."
John said, "I sure wish I knew what she was doing in our house."
Rose tried to bluff and said, "Me too."
MORNING NEWSPAPER, pt. 2.........by Coralynn
WandaSue is pacing the living room when BB comes down from his bedroom.
"I wanna see the morning paper!" she grouses, "The TV doesn't go into enough detail about that murder, and I wanna know more. Betcha Rose killed her. All that sweetness and light on the surface has to be hiding a homicidal maniac....."
"I get a morning newspaper," BB comments as he pours a cup of coffee.
"So where it is?"
"Outside, where else? Since we can't open any of the doors, we can't go out and get it, dummy!" he growls at her.
"Maybe they stopped bringing it when they heard the house had disappeared, though," she points out.
"Well, then, why don't you go to the window, look out and see?" he says, "I mean, really, how dimwitted can you be?"
WandaSue peers out the window and sees two or three newspapers lying about 20 feet from the house. "Hey! Whoever delivers your paper sure has a sorry throwing arm!"
"The paper usually lands about five feet from the front door," he tells her, tiring of this conversation.
"So why's it so far away? Come look! Those newspapers have to be 25 feet from the house."
"No, they aren't."
"Yes they are! Come see!"
BB sets down his cup on the table and goes to the window to shut her up if nothing else.
Sure enough, the newspapers are an unusual distance from the house. "Whatever!" he comments, "since we can't get out of the house, what difference does it make?"
"Wouldn't you think at least one paper would be closer? All three of them are out there piled one on top of the other like maybe they hit a wall of some sort."
"Ask me if I care!" BB opens the refrigerator and sees no food, just a bare space, "Hey, we're running out of food!"
"Is that all you think about, food? I wanna know why those newspapers are in a pile so far from the house!"
"Well, why don't you turn on the TV? Maybe Jerry Springer will have the answer!" he quips as he goes into the pantry to find something edible.
"Very funny, bozo!"
BB yells from the pantry, "What the heck is going on here? You have post-it notes on most of this food."
"Right you are, oh legally wedded husband of mine," she shoots back, "I gotta make sure I get my fair share!"
MEANWHILE:
Marilyn knocks gently on Celeste's door and hears the friendly, "come on in, Marilyn."
"How'd you know it was me?" she asks, then answers her own question, "that's right, you know a lot of things....."
"True. I can tell who's on the other side of the door."
Marilyn sits on a chair and frowns, "You know, Rose and I were talking, and I didn't let on that you and I read the Story online. For some reason, the others aren't thinking of that......sometimes they forget about it. You and I are the only ones who check it out almost every day. You and I have a lot of information..........."
"We do, and at some point we may have to use it."
"Should we let Rose know there were other blackmail targets out there? Tori had about six different people she was harrasing."
"Any one of whom could have killed Tori. But what would she do with the info if she had it? The Police aren't going to take seriously some knowledge gained from reading a so-called fictional Story on the internet!"
Marilyn purses her lips and is deep in thought when suddenly she stands, saying excitedly, "I have it!"
"Have what, dear?"
"You know how some police department hire psychics to help solve tough murder cases? Well, they could hire you! And you can crack the case!"
"That would put the spotlight on me, though. Do we need more people thinking this is a house full of nutcases?"
"But it's Rose and John's lives here, Celeste! They could end up in jail forever or worse!"
"Your idea is good, Marilyn, but let's save it till there's no other option open to us. Hopefuly the police can get the perpetrator on their own."
Marilyn nods, "I wonder who it was.........."
__________________.....by Terri
Jeremy Pennypacker looked up as Alan Carson walked in the police station. His eyes were red-rimmed.
Jeremy said, "Are you alright?"
Alan sat down and rubbed his hands over his face. "No. But I will be. Jeez, Jeremy, who would want to kill her? I mean, like that."
Jeremy said, "Forensics said it was fast and furious. Someone who was upset and led with his/her right hand. They hit Tori in the head and stunned her and then grabbed a knife and finished her off."
Alan said, "But she was a sweetheart. All she did was work for Architectural Digest.
She was dating me. Exclusively. She was fun. I never saw her down. And now.."
Jeremy walked over and put his hand on Alan's shoulder.
"I promise you, Alan. We will find the bastard that did it."
Alan said, "I can't understand what she was doing in John's house."
Jeremy said, "John Gwinnett said he came in the back and found her. Wife came in the front. I've just been wondering.."
"Wondering what?"
Jeremy hem-hawed around. "Look, don't get upset, OK? Could Tori...oh, hell, I don't know to say this..could she have been involved with John Gwinnett?"
Alan shrugged. "I know he's crazy about his wife."
"But isn't she a little...high-strung, as actresses are? Tempermental? Volatile?"
Alan said, "No. He wouldn't do that to me."
Jeremy went back to his papers and said, "Sure, Alan. Sorry. I'm just grasping at straws."
Jeremy wandered down to forensics. Sam Yamaguchi had just finished with Tori's BMW. He handed Jeremy a plastic bag.
"Here. We found her diary and some papers in a folder. I didn't open them."
"Thanks, Sam."
Jeremy took them back to his cubicle. He thumbed through the diary. Well, well! John Gwinnett's name is peppered throughout the diary. And these papers..he opened the folder. He started to read them. Whoa! These are really heavy! So..it looks like Tori DID have a fling with John Gwinnett! She probably threatened to expose their little affair and maybe he lost it. He'd hate to lose that beautiful wife of his."
Jeremy put his jacket on. "Alan? I've got to go out for a while. You be OK?"
Alan said quietly, "I guess."
Jeremy thought to himself, how do I tell him his lady was having a thing with one of his friends?
Jeremy pulled up in the drive at Winding Willow. He knocked on the door.
William answered the door. "Hello, Officer. What can I do for you?"
Jeremy said, "I'm sorry to disturb you, sir,. but are the Gwinnetts here?"
William ushered him in.
"I'll get them."
John and Rose came down the stairs.
Rose was saying, "....I just don't know what Marty is going to do."
Rose stopped short when she saw Officer Pennypacker there.
Jeremy said, "I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. and Mrs. Gwinnett. But I have a few questions."
John grabbed Rose's hand for solidarity. "No problem. But we gave our statement last night."
Jeremy held out the diary. "Have you ever seen Tori Sheffield's diary, Mr. Gwinnett?"
Rose looked like she wanted to faint.
John took it. He looked through it.
"I don't know about Tori Sheffield, but this isn't her handwriting."
"It isn't?"
"No. It's my wife's handwriting."
Jeremy looked to Rosamond. She was totally white.
John continued to look through it. "Rose? I didn't know you kept a diary."
Rose stammered, "John....I kept that when I was sixteen." She grabbed it from him.
It--it's just the usual girlish longings at sixteen..."
Jeremy said, "I didn't know you knew Mr. Gwinnett at sixteen."
Rosamond turned red. "You read it? Who gave you permission?"
Jeremy himself was embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Gwinnett. But it IS a murder investigation. Any clues are important."
Jeremy then handed the poems to John. "Have you ever seen these before?"
John looked at the letters.
"These are poems. Wow! Very hot stuff! 'burgundy sheets' 'skin of ivory' 'kisses of softness and light giving way to urgency'...these are not in my handwriting."
Rose again looked like she was about to faint.
John looked closer at it. "I know this handwriting. It--it's my brother Daniel's. Are---are you trying to say my brother was writing erotic poetry to Tori Sheffied?"
There was a long silence. Jeremy said, "The letters and the diary were found together, Mr. Gwinnett."
John looked at the poems and the diary. He looked at Rose.
One look at her face told him everything he needed to know.
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