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Wanda Louella Robinson |
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My name is Wanda Louella Sharp Robinson. I am 56 years young, and very happily married for 15 years. My husband and I have no children, but we do have 4 dogs. Jasmine Pepper, a Yorkie; Miss Abbie, a Yorkie-Poo; King Tobie, a toy poodle and father of Jasmine’s babies; and of course little princess, we aren't sure what she is but she is our baby…got to love her. I love to write, god gave me that gift and I started out writing poems. Everyone loves my poems…they have been heard at funerals, birthdays, anniversaries, you name it! I recently started to write children’s books and have written 8 all total. They can be found on lulu.com…they are good, clean Christian stories, and I am very proud of that. I recently wrote my first murder mystery and I love it. I mean it is totally different from my other writings and I thoroughly enjoy writing in any form…it is a gift from my god and I shall use it in every way. I guess you would say I am a very passionate person when it comes to any of my writings? I only hope whoever reads them will enjoy and get something out of them. I live in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. We have a farm and two horses, Maude and Scout. We have 11 cats, outside, and one in the house, Mr. T. He has never walked on the ground and he’s a good clean cat. My family in Ohio, once said I had went to the dogs. Well I have cats too! If you haven't guessed by now, I love life, god’s creatures, my family and friends. I just love all of god's wonderful creations, and I love you! Sincerely yours, Wanda Louella (Sharp) Robinson Email me: snugafriend@yahoo.com • Read Louella's Poetry...at our "Poetry Corner"  By Wanda S. Robinson It was June 3, 1995, and the day started off pretty calm for Detective Matthew Marks. He had been a street cop for 10 years, and had recently become an investigating detective at crime scenes. And a very good detective he was. He had already solved and closed five difficult cases. He is ranked high in his capacity as a good detective who didn’t let anything escape him. From the smallest clue to the last one and biggest he would solve. So when this case came before him, he treated it like the others. So with the evidence and clues he mustard all his group of policemen and began the journey to solve. But somehow he knew this was going to be a tough one. It was called “The Case of the Crying Lady.” The story really starts the day before, June 2. A call came in to the station about a man who had seen a woman being abducted from her car in the Wal-Mart Shopping Center around 3 that afternoon. He said her car was a white four door Ford Station Wagon. The man who grabbed the woman was tall, but he could only see from behind. But he was white and dressed like a bum. He had memorized the license plate numbers they were, DC-6546-Y. The county was in D. C. And he believed it to be from Washington. He continued to say that the lady was well dressed and had blonde hair and looked to be around 40 years old and the man about 50. He then said the car then headed east out of town on route 55. That car was a brown sedan. And he didn’t see its license plate in time. But hoped it all helped. Marks and his team went to the parking lot at the shopping center. There he began to gather clues to this mysterious case. About half a day had passed and the group was getting tired. Marks suggested that they get the photos and the other evidence from the car and surroundings which was few, loaded up to leave for the day. He then went on back to the office and went to his computer and entered the license plate number. To his surprise, the registration and name that came up was someone he knew. It was a Cassie Grandview, he knew her very well, in fact he worked with her on a murder investigation not a year before. A Vet had murdered his lover and her boyfriend, and her dog. They all happened to be this Cassie’s friends and she was to be almost the Vet’s third victim. But it was Marks to the rescue and from the Vets wife of all people. They had murdered for a little girl. And love was never mentioned for them. Any way, Cassie was his friend and best bud and she was in trouble again. By who and why? Marks would find out for sure now. Someone he knew was in trouble and he would fight to his death to help. She had become an investigative reporter for the local newspaper shortly after that case and she was good at her job too. Cassie had definitely been abducted. The neighbors say she hadn’t been seen since yesterday around 8 a.m. She is a reporter for the local newspaper. Some how, Marks was sure this had something to do with her disappearance and he thought he knew where to start! From his past case file, “The Day the King Died”. When he got all the info he needed he went to the post office and mailed an envelope to his sister in Maryland. What was in it? And why was he sending it to her? Then Marks calls the office and informs them he had an emergency that took him out of town and to direct all calls and information on the case directly to his cell phone and answering service. Said he would return in a couple days. That was approved and off he went. The road lead him to Prince George, Va. And he knew he would find what he wanted there right away. It was the prison for the criminally insane. You got it. It was the Vet and Marks wanted to talk to him if he could. Larry Mapes looked like he was 90 years old. He had really changed his looks a lot since being arrested almost 3 years before. He will never get out. And his wife, well after about 11 months in woman’s prison, she hung herself. So she is out of the equation. Just he and he alone was who Marks was concentrating on for now. And hoping that Mapes would give him clues or information that would help him find Cassie. Now looking like an old man, Marks decided to talk to him first about how he was being treated in there and how he was doing. You know, just trying to gain his confidence. Larry told him he was awfully lonely and he missed Trina. Not Linda, but Trina. Marks was on the right trail, he just knew it. So he asks Larry where Cassie was. Larry asks who Cassie was. And Marks told him. Larry didn’t remember her. So he said… Marks told him just who Cassie was and how he came to know her. Then the doctor remembered her. And then ask how she was. And then he laughed that evil laugh that Cassie had told Marks about. Then Larry looked away and gazed out the window just like Marks wasn’t even in the room now. Wonder what he was thinking, thought Marks. Could he be thinking of what has happened to Cassie? So Marks said, “Cassie was kidnapped day before yesterday Larry, do you know why?” Just then Larry looked at Marks and said, “Just listen for the crying lady.” Then he looked away again, and no more for Marks today. Larry was in his own little world once more. So Marks thanked the staff and ask if he could come back, and they said yes. So with that Marks left. And all the way back to the District he thought about his visit with Mapes. And just what he meant by the “crying lady.” Matt had been back one day when he received a phone call from the man who had witnessed the kidnapping. He wanted to meet with Marks said he had some new information that he thought Marks could use. Marks agreed to meet with him. The man told Marks to meet him at the old refinery just outside town around 9 p.m. Marks agreed and hung up. What could this man have to add to the information he had already given, and why so secretive? Marks made sure he had his gun and bullets and a good tape recorder tape. He had learned from his very first case, “Where Have All the Bodies Gone,” to carry one at all times. “You just never know when you would need one.” Was his saying. So around 8 p.m. he left the office. And was then on his way to the refinery. Marks got to the refinery around 8:47 he had about 10 minutes to wait. He parked in a place where his car couldn’t be seen. And he just kind of looked out and around for any thing that he thought would help later. As time neared, Marks noticed a car setting by the gate entrance, motor still running and a driver in front seat. He drew his gun and slowly approached the car. There he saw the man on the phone slumped over the steering wheel, dead. He had been shot at close range and it looked like it was from a silencer Caliber 45 and in the left temple. He didn’t know what hit him probably. But someone sure knew he would be there. How and why was he killed, what did he know and was about to tell him? This case had more questions than that of a Christmas Goose with feathers! Marks called his group of guys in on this one too. Informed them that nothing they found was to be told to any one outside his office or they would be fired. Some how Marks felt some one within the police station knew something about this. Wouldn’t be the first time a good cop went bad and in this case, again. When the investigating team arrived, Marks labeled everything as if it were the same as the kidnapping of Cassie. It was after all tied to that case. This man was to have some evidence or in fact news for him of it. And just who was this man. And how does he tie into this mystery? The facts came back that the man at the parked car at the refinery was Eugene Foils and he had been working with Cassie on a case. The day of the kidnapping he had just left Cassie. They would meet every day at a local location to gather information on whatever case they were investigating at that time. Did him wanting to meet with me have something to do with what they had been investigating? He thought to him self. And why did they just abduct Cassie and not him too? Maybe that was part of this plan. Sort of kill the messenger! Eugene just happens to be a very thorough investigator for the paper. He had received many awards for his stories and coverage of all. He had in fact hired Cassie after the first story she did after her bout with Dr. Mapes. So that is how Cassie got that job. He hired her. So what case were they working on the day Cassie disappeared and what part did Dr. Mapes play in all of this one? Well it was Wednesday, a week since the kidnapping and murder of Eugene. And so far nothing was getting cleared or close to being solved. Marks was almost at his wits end when Lance Stephens, a young cop came and ask Marks if he knew what a “Duns ton Burner” was. Yes he did, it was a joke with other cops as to a “fire sure clue”. Lance continued to tell Matt that he was delivered a letter from this Eugene guy. Marks opened the letter and it stated that if anything had happen to him, at the refinery, go to the hot spot of the plant. That would be the cooker so to say, and there he would fine a briefcase under the lower stair case and inside was what he had on the case he and Cassie was investigating. Matt thanked the young cop and asks if he would like to assist him on this case for a few days. Lance agreed and was well pleased to be asked. So to the refinery once more Marks went, this time with a backup and some clue as to what he would or should find. He arrived at the refinery with in 2 hours of receiving the information from young Lance. He entered and went to the back of the plant. There it was, the boiler room and the stair case Foils wrote about and there was the briefcase too locked up tight. Marks put gloves on as not to disturb any prints that might have been left behind. As did Lance. Inside the briefcase Matt was hoping would give him some ideas as to where and why Cassie was kidnapped to begin with. And why he feared for his life too. And how would he get this darn thing opened? Back at the station, Matt got a hold of the forensic team to see if they could unlock the briefcase for him. They came and got it unlocked and what he found inside shocked him. It was pictures of women who had been strangled and beaten beyond recognition and some had been mutilated and cut up bad. Just like Trina and Dan Dawson had been only these were still together when the photos’ were snapped. And who were these ladies? So he started a check on missing women around 25 and 40 years of age. He knew that would take a while so he continues looking at some more things that were inside the case. There were dates, addresses, counties, streets, phone numbers, different bars and other locations. Some marked empty or dead. Which in cop talk meant “no good”? So with all of them he ran checks on also. He told young Lance to start a chart of all of it and they would go from there. Within a few days all was together and now Matt could start putting the pieces to this puzzle together for his answers. Lance did a good job setting up that chart. Matt said he couldn’t have done that good. And he thanked Lance for all his help. Lance said he was glad to be of assistance and let him know if he would be needed again. Just then Marks said to Lance, “Don’t leave, I need you here with me and my team. Don’t go back to the desk as night watchman you are now my “night watchman” okay son?” Lance thanked him again and continued to work for Marks. Some of the dates were times and places Eugene and Cassie were to meet. The streets were meeting places except for three of them. Lexington & 3rd, Highland Avenue and Sutter Street. Where were they and how did they tie in with this case? They ran a check on the street names and came up with 158 of Lexington throughout the United States, 11237 Highland Avenue and 7677 Sutter Streets. Then they broke it down into states surrounding them and then counties and bam. There it was. All three were in the D.C. area and that is where the kidnapping took place just across the bridge from Arlington, Va. And that was where the refinery was. So Marks checked to see what the address of the refinery was and it was 98077 E. Lexington. In Arlington, Va. That was one, only two to go. The next one was the street of the local Wal-Mart, Sutter Street. And Highland was a street in D. C. about 20 miles away. It was the cemetery. National Cemetery. Not the big fancy important one like Arlington’s but just the same it was full of dead people. The name of the missing women had just finished and Lance had the list on the computer. So they began to do the “process of elimination game”. Ones that had been missing for over 15 years they eliminated. Then the ones that had been found but not mutilated like the photos shown. So then that left them with about 1500. Then they did the ones that the cases had been solved and closed. That eliminated about 1000 of them. So now they had to concentrate on 500. Doing good, thought Marks, and they were only three fourths being done. Just then the phone rang and Lance answered it. He told Marks it was for him, Marks told him to ask who it was and what they wanted. Lance did and he came back and said this, “Sir, it is a lady who says you need her assistance on this case. She says she is a clairvoyant and she has been having visions of a “lady” crying and she is in a dark place.” Marks sat up in his chair and ask Lance to transfer the call into his office, Lance agreed. Marks picked up the phone and introduced himself to the lady on the other end. She said her name was Maria Singleton, and she had worked with various investigations and he could check out her working methods and accuracy of each one she solved. He said he would and could she come in so he could talk one on one with her. She responded by saying “Yes, and right away I may add”. So Marks told young Lance that he could leave for the evening that he had done all that was needed to be done today for his part. Lance said good night and was gone. Marks had just got the fresh pot of coffee done when this beautiful, but very mysterious looking black headed woman stood in the doorway. “You are Matthew Marks?” And I said I was. She then told me she was Maria. She looked like she was around 45 or 50 years old. Very neatly dressed and smelled real lady like. He was impressed. “So you think you can help me solve this case I am working on?” “Yes” she answered, “ I am not sure what case you speak of, but I have been having these visions of a lady, around 40 or so, in a very dark place. She is crying and no way out. She is saying “You” and then nothing. She is also in a cops uniform I think, and she is very smart. I can tell by the way she is careful not to speak loudly. She knows she is in danger. She speaks of road. Hot spots and her crying is very strong.” The whole time she is talking, Marks is remembering what Dr. Mapes said as he was leaving that day. “The Crying Lady”. She ask then if Matt had any thing that could link her to the people or person involved in this case. He thought for a moment then said “Yes I do, but it is from some time ago and nothing to do with this particular case, but that the person involved had at one time touched it.” She answered and said that would do just fine. So he handed her his tape recorder. Cassie had held it the day she told what had happened on that day. As she held the recorder, she drew lots of deep breaths and then sobbed like and then screamed. “Evil, I feel nothing but evil holding this, she is in a lot of danger and has already been in the clutches of this person before.” How, that mad man was in prison. And after all, he did know she was crying. Maybe he also knew where she was! He then ask Maria if she could also get clues if she was with someone who was connected to this. And again she answered “Yes”. Matt made an appointment to go see Dr. Mapes and he was taking Maria with him this time. The next day bright and early, Matt and Maria head for the institute where Mapes was residing. She knew. She could sense Matt’s fear and his anticipation towards getting there and asking more questions. She told him not to be so eager to gather information, for it would come to him in pieces as others had, and it would be for him to place the pieces into the right spot. Did she know him or what! When they arrived as they got out of the car Maria said, “Don’t tell what you know, be secretive okay, don’t feed the wild.” Wonder what she meant by that, but anyway he didn’t intent to give anything away he was there to get not give. He told them to put Maria in the sound room adjoined to the room where he and Doc would be. That way she could observe and he wouldn’t know she was there. When the Doc entered the room, he was like a wild animal. He walked along the walls sniffing and looking from the floor to the ceiling. I ask him to sit and he refused at first, then he decided later to set. As he sat there just looking at the table top, he said, “So do you hear her yet?” “Do I hear who yet?” Marks asked, pretending to have forgotten what the doc had said the last time Marks was with the Doc. “The crying lady remember, she is here you know, right here with us now.” “She is, I don’t see her. Where in this room is she?” “Did I say in this room” What game was he playing now? “No, no you didn’t, so where is this crying lady?” “Oh, she is here, right here in my heart”. Then he laughed that evil laugh and said nothing more, so Marks decided to leave, he’d had enough of that fruitcake for one day. And out the door he went. Leaving the Doc sitting just gazing at the walls. He met Maria as she came out of the room she was in. “Well, did you get anything from him or feel anything?” “No he is creepy and I feel evil and sadness at the same time around him. If he is involved with this it is because he has powers too. Powers like me”. “You mean he is a psychic” “Yes and as far as I can tell he is very good too. He can really get into peoples’ minds and control their thoughts to a certain extent”. “Are you saying he is playing with you, me or the victim now?” “Mr. Marks he is a genius. I think he can control minds inside there and make people do things they don’t normally do. And if he can, he has got the perfect alibi when it comes to defending himself. So be careful who has information about this case or you could die and any one subject to it. Including me, but I am not afraid. So let’s continue with what we have to do.” Marks was quite taken with the knowledge Maria had. Could she be right about Mapes and if so they had some more work to do. They get back to the police department and begin to work on what people in the last three years had visited the good doctor within those walls at the institute. They had the institute fax over the visitors list and they did with speed. On the list was in 1993, just 1 _ years after he had been locked up Cassie paid him a visit for an interview she was doing for the paper and Eugene was with her that day too. That was October 11, 1993. That date corresponded with one of the dates in the briefcase. So now they were getting somewhere. The other dates were there too. December 22, 1993 Eugene alone visited the doctor and on that same day a Joseph Merrill did too. So just who was this Joseph Merrill and why did he visit the doc. The next date that was in the case and the visitors list was April 19, 1995. That was just a few months ago and that was a lady, a Antoinette Gearing. Who was she and what did she see the doctor for? More questions and no answers. But soon, Marks thought, soon. So far Marks had a missing person, a dead informant, a crazy man, a psychic and a lot of mumbo jumbo. How would he get it all together before time ran out for Cassie if it hadn’t already? Marks worked all night and Maria stayed too. Morning came and Lance came in. “So anything new develop while I was gone?” “No, not really, we are just trying to put some more of the puzzle together so to say.” Marks remembered what Maria had said about not knowing who to trust with any information he may receive. So he played it cool, although he really liked Lance and his work. He felt guilty not sharing what he had, but later maybe. The phone rang, it was the institute. They told Marks that the Doctor had committed suicide last night he had been saving his medicine and took about 50 pills at once and it stopped his heart and he died. Just what Marks needed, another corpse. Now where to go from here. As he hung up the phone Maria said, “The link is gone, and it is up to me now to continue his plight. And I shall do it.” Then she arose and went out the door. As she had appeared, she had gone. In the next few days all Marks had to go on was what he had when Maria left. He had to let Lance know because he needed help and time was getting close. Lance said he did believe in psychics and would help in any way he could. First thing Marks ask Lance to do was to go to the institute and see if any one after he and Maria left Friday had visited the doc and if so, who and what time. Lance was on it. As Marks was looking at some more of the papers that was in the briefcase, he noticed a piece of paper he hadn’t seen before. It had 33907 E. Magnolia Street. That he knew was in Arlington, but where. He remembered it from somewhere. So he got on the computer and mapped it out. There it was E. Magnolia Street. It was in the center of the National Cemetery. But why there and what did it have to do with Cassie. Then it hit him, Maria had said a dark place. Could it be a mausoleum? He called for his car to be gassed and ready within the next 15 minutes. He then left a note for Lance as to where he would be and what to do till he returned. Then out the door Marks went. He gets into his car and headed to Arlington, to the Cemetery. He thought to himself, “I always wanted to talk to the dead.” He got there in about 45 minutes found Magnolia Street. This cemetery actually had streets and they were all named. Now just how weird is that? On this Magnolia Street there were only about 20 of them tomb like graves. So which one would he pick first. So he decided to go alphabetical. He started with the first one, it was Baker. It was locked up tighter than a drum. He stood and listened for a while, but nothing. He marked it with a circle. As he checked each one, they were locked. He did it that way so he would know which ones he had checked already. He came upon one marked Mapes. Now maybe he had come upon something that meant something. There it was Linda and Larry Mapes. The dates were October 5, 1958 born, December 8, 1993 died. Nothing yet for Larry, he had just died today. So was this where Cassie may be? He stood and was listening, and suddenly he turned and there stood Maria. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days and was all a mess. Not that neat looking lady he had first seen. She was covered in mud and wet grass and blood. Where had she been and what did this mean? So he held her as she spoke. “Beware of those you choose to cover you, they will hurt and you will not recover from their touch. Take this and get the crying lady out.” She handed him a key and fell dead right there in front of him. Why? What did she know that she had to be killed and by who? The key worked it unlocked the tomb. As he entered he heard what he thought was sobs. But maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe he just wanted to hear sobs. But no, they were real. And they were on the other side of that wall. He went to call the station but no signal. So that meant he had to go back outside to make it. There lay Maria in the grass. She at one time was so beautiful and to die like this. Oh well, he didn’t have time for this, he needed to get Cassie out and now. So he made his call. No answer. He thought for sure Lance would be there to answer. But maybe he got a lead at the institute and was following up on it. So he decided to try the Captain of the department he worked out of. And he got him. “Captain, its me Marks, I am here in Arlington at the National Cemetery. The case I was working on led me here and there is a lady locked up in the tomb of Linda Mapes and I got to get to her or she will die and I already have one dead lady here. Someone murdered her too. Can you come and send me some back up too?” “Sure, just set tight Marks help is on its way.” As he sat waiting for help he noticed Maria had a tattoo. On the tattoo was the initials JM&MS. MS was her initials but who was the JM? He also noticed imprints of where a wedding band used to be. She had been married? She never spoke of herself though come to think of it, so this was all new to Marks. Just then he heard footsteps, and when you are in a dark creepy cemetery in the middle of the night, footsteps are the last thing you would want to hear unless they were your own leaving or the cavalry. Marks went behind the tomb that was next door and hid and watched as a male figure approached, looked around then knelt down by Maria. Then he did something that almost made Matt heave his dinner up, he cut off Maria’s left hand little finger and stuck it in his pocket. Then he proceeded to drag her over to the tomb beside the Mapes’ and as Matt covered his mouth and closed his eyes trying to be quite, the figure was gone. He had just melted into the blackness of the night. Who was it and why did he do that to poor Maria? Marks lay there for a few, just then he heard rustling and running then Captain Waverly shouted to Marks to tell him where in the cemetery he was. Matt yelled that he was on Magnolia Street about 100 feet away towards the west. There, Marks saw the lights and again yelled, “Over here Captain”. They found him and the body of Maria, minus her little finger. Marks started to tell the Captain what had happened but stopped. Then the swat team already had the door off the tomb and was ready to enter the inside of it. “Wait” said the Captain, “What is that wire across the top of the door?” The team checked and it was a trip wire for a high explosive bomb. But to where inside was it located and how much time after tripping it did they have to dismember? They worked had and fast. Soon the door was off there was Cassie lying on the top of the crypt where the body of Linda Mapes laid. And the bomb was at the end on the floor. Slowly they moved Cassie and out the door with her and into my arms she fell. They got the bomb and put it in the explosive tank and secured the scene. Cassie was weak. And she looked like she had been in a war. But Marks had to look at her and laugh. Then he said to her, “You know kid, we are going to have to stop meeting in these kind of places or someone may get the idea we need each other or something. But then, what would my wife think.” And they both laughed so hard, Cassie cried. And you know what, so did Marks. The next day, Cassie came to the station as soon as she was released from the hospital. She wanted to definitely help on this one. She had a few clues to give Marks, but not many. She never seen the man’s face and he wore a hooded sweater and a plastic false face. He was tall and smelled fresh. Like he had just showered and put cologne on. But she swore she would know his shoes. They were the expensive kind of snake skin. Real dressy looking she said. He was really dressed like he was going to the office and not to the mausoleum. And he was in no hurry. She then added that he never talked. He just made jesters as to what he wanted her to do. When he put her inside the tomb, that is when he tied her hands to her feet and made her lie down on top of the crypt. She didn’t know it was Linda Mapes until just a few hours ago. So then Marks said he wanted to ask her some questions and she said “fine”. So he started his questioning. “Cassie why were you going to visit Doctor Mapes on the dates I am showing you? What questions did you ask and were you writing a story of him or what and did you cry while confined in that tomb?” She then said, “One at a time, okay. Now first you ask me why I saw the doc, well I needed some more detailed info for a book I am writing. Eugene thinks it will be a good one too and as for the dates, Eugene and I decided to document any and all facts, times and dates that had to do with doc. And so what if I cried, it doesn’t mean I am a whimp!” Then Matt told her how Eugene died. Then she did cry. She never meant to get any one killed. Marks assured her it wasn’t her fault. He began to tell her what had been happening since her kidnapping. Linda she knew had died, but didn’t know it was her in that crypt till now. Doctor Mapes, she had no idea he had killed himself then poor Eugene. Matt had remembered the figure at the cemetery and he told Cassie what he had witnessed. She then asked if the figure was left or right handed. “Wait, I think right, why?” said Marks. “Why?” “Because my man was right handed and he too wore a hooded sweater. You know the kind that has pants to match.” “Yeah, a jogging suit, right!” “That’s it a jogging suit.” So now they knew it was one of the same persons but who and how did he know Cassie, Eugene, doc and Maria? Just then Lance entered the office and said his good mornings. Marks introduced him to Cassie and said she would be helping them till the end of this case because she was the kidnapped victim. So then Lance ask what had happened. They filled him in on all the details. “ Wow some story lady, you should write a book about your daily escapades.” Then he laughed. Cassie felt uneasy around Lance. She didn’t know why, she didn’t know him. He left and went to the court house for Marks to get a plan of the cemetery and all the street names. So when he left, Cassie told Marks about her vibes she had around young Lance. But Marks told her she was still “gun shy” so to speak. As the day went on, every thing was like at a dead end. Then Marks remembered in the briefcase was photos of women who had been mutilated and strangled then murdered. And wondered how Cassie got them. So he asked her about them. She said she knew nothing about them. That Eugene did other things when he wasn’t working with her on her stuff. It seemed as though young Lance had been gone for a very long time, too long to have just been going to the court house. So Marks tried him on his cell phone. No answer. Marks had just started to sit down when the phone rang on Lance’s desk. It rang, and rang. Finally Marks decided to answer it. “Hello, police department. Detective Marks, how can I help you?” Then a faint voice said, “Please, come and get me. He is going to be back soon and I know he will kill me. Please hurry!” “Who is this?” said Matt, and then there was a click. Immediately Marks called downstairs to the trace room. He asked if they could trace the last call to come in on extension#11, they said they could but it would take about 10 minutes. So Marks had to wait. Waiting was always the hardest and the worse part of his job. He had no patience when it came to gathering evidence or clues. He wanted answers like right now. The trace room called back in 9 minutes, getting better Marks thought to him self. Where did it come from? “Boss, you are not going to believe this but it came from the National Cemetery. On a street called Honeysuckle Lane. It’s a pay phone. Did you ever know a cemetery to have streets and a pay phone and be named?” “In this line of work you will hear and learn a lot.” “ Thanks!” And he was out the door. On the way to the cemetery, Marks had time to reflect all that had happened the past two weeks. What was he missing? What did all of it mean? Why wasn’t he getting this one as clear as the others? Always questions, and no answers. When he reached the cemetery it was close to dark. Again he thought. He hated darkness especially in a cemetery alone. But he had his gun, a cell phone, a lighter and his tape recorder. He never went any where without any of those items. He was prepared for any and all. It took him a while to locate Honeysuckle Lane. It was about 5000 feet north of where he was the other night. It was getting cold out and he forgot his winter jacket. Boy what a night to be in here he thought, bright moon, chilly and spooky. All made for a “Nightmare on Elm Street” saga. But this was Honeysuckle Lane. So what was next, “Morning Glory Circle!” He had to laugh at him self. He was talking to him self to keep from being so pre-occupied with his surroundings. Just then he thought he had heard another car door. So he stopped and went behind a tall tombstone that was there. There he saw that figure again. This time it was heading away from him. So he quietly followed far behind the figure. There about 100 yards away was the figure. He was standing in front of a big crypt. It was marked “Merrill”. That was the name of the man who went to see the doctor and the initials on Maria’s shoulder, JM. Joseph Merrill. That was it. Was he who the figure was? And was the lady on the other end of the phone inside that one. Boy this case had more twists in it that a ships’ rope. And Marks was getting tangled up in it some how. As he got closer he stopped and looked for something to get behind and hide. He didn’t want to be seen until he got some of the pieces to his puzzle. So he waited. He found a stoop at another crypt and stepped inside it. He could see real good and clear from there and everything he needed to witness. As he watched he was surprised to see that the figure was well built. He seemed to never tire at what he was doing. He would go inside then come back out. Then when he stepped back in this time when he came out he was carrying a body. Who was it? Were they dead or alive? Marks had to get closer. So each time the figure went inside, Marks moved in closer. Now Marks was only about 15 feet away. He had to make sure he didn’t breathe heavy or the figure could hear him. So he took small and silent breathes. He sat down in a soldier way and was ready for ambush if needed. As he watched, the figure carried out another body, all women. Marks thought as much. He only saw the first one and knew for sure it was, but the others were just a guess going by the size and the way he handled them like they would break or something. He was a wacko job too. As he filled up his pull wagon, he looked around to see if there was any one in the cemetery. “Give me a break!” thought Marks, “Who in their right mind would be in a cemetery this late at night if not up to no good!” Then he seemed to look right at Marks. He just stood there for a while. Then he put down the body and came towards Marks, “this is it” he thought, “I’ve been had” so he put his hand into his front pocket of his pants and clicked the recorder on. He was ready. “You can come out now Detective Marks. I know you are there. Did you like the show I gave you?” “I did it all just for you. These girls have been waiting to get to go out with me so I made tonight for all of them.” “Which one do you like, the blonde, redhead, brunette come on now, which one?” Marks started to speak, but his throat was so dry he had to build up saliva before he could. “Which one do you want, Lance?” with that the figure dropped the shovel he was holding and turned to look at the girls. “He knows who I am girls, the fun is all over now.” “How and when did you know it was me that was killing those women, and that I kidnapped Cassie, killed Eugene and the Doctor well he did him self. I even killed my Maria. She was my life, but she was turning on me. She was jealous of me and my girls. I had her come and act like she could help you, she really was clairvoyant. That is how we met. She was on a case at the last department I worked at and I fell in love with her then. She said she had felt the same way about me so it was just right. I had at that time already killed three ladies. And no one knew. Then they fired me because I was always coming in late, but you couldn’t keep the hours and do the things I was doing and still be on time for work now could I?” Then Marks asked him why? He answered “Why not? “Some of them ask for it they were nothing but a tease and besides they were just toys, I had my Maria.” Then Marks said, “Those are those girls in the photos Eugene had aren’t they? So is that why you killed him because he was going to tell me. He saw you that day kidnap Cassie and got scared. He figured it was you who and the rest is history as they say!” “Yes, and Maria was suppose to throw you curve balls and she wasn’t. Especially, after you took her to see the doc. I didn’t know about that until later. But I fixed her. I showed her you don’t betray me and get by with it. How did you like what I did with her finger? I had to have a souvenir. All the others gave me something of theirs so I needed something of hers so to speak!” Just then he turned, he and Marks both heard a rustle in the leaves on the ground. But they saw no one. Just a bird Marks thought to him self, and Lance thought the same. No one spoke for a few minutes. Then Lance continued with his tale. “Want to meet my newest and latest to be victim Detective Marks, here she is.” He entered the crypt and brought out this girl. She was around 35 or 40. Dark brown hair and had been beaten badly. “She’s the one who called you. And just as I got back she was hanging up. I made her tell me who she called. And here we are, one big happy family!” “Are we having fun yet?” As Marks started to reach behind his shirt, Lance advised him that it wouldn’t be the best move to make now. So Marks aborted the attempt to control the situation. So then he remembered the cell phone, if he could reach inside his pant pocket and punch in # 677 the call for help. Then all would be fine. So he did. And he got to punch in the number. He hoped the phone wasn’t upside down. Oh well, only time would tell now. “Are you going to kill that poor girl here Lance?” “Don’t be stupid among your other fine tricks Marks. I have plans for her and they are not here with you watching. No you are going to join these girls at their pad for tonight, okay bud?” With that, Matt thought he was going to be sick again. But he was strong. He didn’t instead he got his second wind and was ready to fight to the finish. He would have to act fast, or Lance would get away and all his chances of solving this case once and for all would be gone. Oh sure, he had the story on tape. But with no Lance or any of the bodies, what would he have. Just words. As Marks was being ushered into the crypt, he felt Lance fall and Matt turned to see Cassie standing there with the biggest stick he had ever seen. She gave Lance a good hit over the back side of his head. He was out like a light. We started to free the young lady and then she screamed, “It’s him” so Cassie let him have it again, this time in the gut and then the head. He would be out this time for a long time. Shortly after, the other cops arrived and we secured the sight for evidence. They took him to the prison hospital under heavy armed guards. I told them I would be there shortly to talk to him more. As Cassie and I were looking at the bodies of those women, we decided they were of the women in the photos that Eugene had in that briefcase. Now how did he get them and did he know for sure it was Lance. There were actually 7 bodies and there were 20 photos. So who and where were these other women. Oh well, thought Marks, one case at a time. He gets to the infirmary of the prison and goes to where they have Lance. He didn’t look so neat and clean and proper now. He looked defeated. He was. And good old Matt Marks did it to him. And now it was time to find out why. As Matt approached Lance, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was so young and could have made a good cop. But the evil in him over took the good. So then Matt got to ask him the questions that had went too long in getting answers too. First how did he know the doc? He said he was his sister’s husband. So that meant he was Linda’s brother. Then he continued to tell about how bad the doc was to her and that she only wanted to have children. So he said he would get her one if she would quit hounding him and be a devoted wife. She did and then she found out he was messing around on her. So she was going to teach him a lesson and every thing just got out of hand by the time he got here from Sacramento. He was going to help them but then the doc went psycho on her and that landed her in prison and she couldn’t take it. And she killed her self. He blamed the doc for her death. If he had just waited on him, he was used to doing the dirty jobs and no one would ever know about him. He and Linda had different dad’s, so the last names wouldn’t mean any thing to any one, so he continued his questioning to Lance. “So did you help kill the doctor or was it all his doings?” Then Lance spoke again, “ No, I didn’t, but I told him if he ever told who I was, I wouldn’t ever let him live long enough to tell any one else. And he knew I could and would. So it was just a matter of time, he liked to play the game, but didn’t like the endings. Then, his sister started coming and visiting him. She was a work of art. Tall, long legs, very attractive and I told him so. And she would be nice to take to meet my other gals. And he just about freaked out on me that day.” Then Matt asked what her name was. “Antoinette Gearing doesn’t that name just run off your tongue like warm honey? She was one of the girls I had out tonight, in fact she is the one who called you, remember. Please come and get me, he is going to kill me!” Then Lance started to laugh, he laughed until he started to cry hysterically. Matt was then asked to leave. He did, he had all he needed for now, maybe enough that he could now draw his own conclusions. He got back to the station late the next morning only to find the team going through Lance’s desk. They found several good clues. Matt was telling Cassie of all he had been told and then they listened to the tape. There it was everything Marks needed for an arrest. Another wacko bites the dust. And Marks is the sweeper. He and Cassie did make a good team and he was not going to stop until he got her on the roister at the station. He needed her and besides, she was always getting into trouble and she needed him to protect her. Then she had a really good laugh on that one. So the “Case of the Crying Lady” was closed and Matt could go home and stay there for a while. And when he awoke in the morning, he kissed his loving wife, Cassie and it sure was good having her home again. Next to him where she knew she belonged. They had been married for 10 years. And they loved each other so much. So is this the end. Maybe and maybe not. These two never know when to say “Enough already.” Remember the letter he mailed to his sister in Maryland? It seems Matt give her some details to go by only if something happen to him and Cassie. It would clear up a lot of speculation on the Departments end as to his relationship with Cassie. But now every one knows she is his wife and know every thing he knows. So, every one beware. Their eyes are on you all! THE END By Wanda S. Robinson I was just lying around, kind of a lazy day, you know. It was kind of rainy and I was in no mood for any thing. So I decided to just take this day for myself. I am just a normal person, with normal needs and daily tasks. But sometimes things find me and I am caught in the middle of them, and I have to see them to the end. And this was one of them days. As I was soon to find out. As I was having my 15th cup of java, the phone rang. It was my neighbor Trina. She was crying. Her dog got out last night and hadn’t come back and she was afraid of the worse scenario. So I told her to set tight I was on my way. After all, if it were me, she would be there for me. So off I go to help a friend. When I got there, she was a wreck. She hadn’t slept. And she was all shook up. I told her to settle herself down because when Sierra did come back, she would sense her nervousness and be scared of her, so she started to calm down. She said she let her out around 9 p.m. as she did every night. And she knew that she liked to roam the block. But she always was back within an hour at the most. So I said, “Oh, well, did you call the Mapes, or the Turners, or even the Wilson’s. Maybe they have seen her”. And she said, “No”. So I did. None of them had seen Sierra. So I told Trina I would go out and circle around to see if I could see her any where, but for her to stay put. Just in case she came home. She agreed. So off I went again. Out in the rain and in my pajama’s slash jogging suit. You couldn’t miss Sierra; she was a beautiful miniature border collie. And she was very smart. And she didn’t like strangers. So I doubt very much any one could have picked her up and took her away. So up and down the streets I go. Calling her name and listening for her to bark or something. But none of the above. Then all of a sudden was this little girl. And she said, “Are you looking for a little doggie?” “Yes, do you know where she is?” “Yes, she is in my daddy’s car room, come on” So I followed the little girl in to this garage. And I thought how cute to say “Daddy’s car room” I had to smile to my self. And low and behold, there was Sierra and she wasn’t alone. No indeed, she had 9 little babies with her and they were all just like her. Trina was a granny. Oh how funny. So on my cell phone I called Trina and told her I found Sierra and she was fine, and I was bringing her a surprise too. I thanked the little girl and her daddy, ask if we owed them any thing for the care, the daddy said just maybe a puppy. I told him I was sure that could be arranged. So they helped me load them all into my car, and off we went. Home. When I got there, Trina was standing in the doorway. She was so excited to see us. So I got out of the car, I said, “Come here and help me can you.” She came and when she saw the puppies and Sierra she started to cry all over again and I told her, “No time for that, now help me get them settled in the house okay” So she did, and inside we all 12 went. She took an old laundry basket and cut the front out and put a soft blanket in the bottom of it with a few stuffed toys and then Sierra got in with her 9 babies. We had 5 boys and 4 girls. And they looked perfect. And oh so beautiful. Immediately Trina called her Vet. She told him what had happened and he suggested that she bring them all in to be checked over just in case. So we loaded them back up and took them to the Vet. They checked out fine. They weighed any where from a pound to a pound and a half. Little piggy’s is what I called them. He gave Sierra some vitamins and the puppies some booster vitamins. They were going to be just fine. Trina said she had no idea she was with pups. She just thought she was getting too fat. Oh, this was just too funny. Finally, something to laugh about, on this ugly, yucky day and that was so cool. And we have babies. I told Trina what the little girls daddy had said, and she said “No problem”, so a good day for all. In the weeks that followed the pups grew up so cute and they were ready to be given to new homes. That little girl got first pick and Trina picked her dad. Yes, they are a couple now. What a sweet ending for Trina. A nice family to build on. And now for my life. It’s been 4 months and all the pups are gone, Trina is never seen any more by her friends, she is busy with her new life, which is alright with me. She deserves good things in her life. She and her new beau are going to travel soon. It is Friday evening, I was just getting ready to sit down and eat supper and watch my favorite T.V. show. A knock came at my door. Who was this stranger, and why was she at my door? When I opened the door, there stood this woman, she looked dazed and confused, I said, “Are you alright and what do you want?” She didn’t say any thing at first, then she started to cry and all she could say was, “Help me find the King”. How could I help her when I didn’t know the king or even that, “What King?” So I ask her, “What King, and What do you mean?” She soon began her story and this is what she said. “About a year ago, I got married, and I thought it was all going to be good, you know. Well I was wrong, he was mean to me and he hit me all the time and he locked me in the basement and wouldn’t let me out only to go to the bathroom. He never let me out side. I only got out tonight because I crawled out a window that I broke out and if he finds me he will kill me I am sure of. And he will you, you know, he knows every thing.” Well, she got my attention, that is for sure. Who was her husband and did I know him? So I ask what her name was. She said her name was Linda Mapes. Was she married to Larry Mapes, the Vet.? The one that Trina uses. Oh boy, this is interesting. So I said, “Dr. Larry Mapes?” and she said “yes” “Why does he do that to you?” And how long has this been going on?” She said almost as soon as they got married this started. He was very jealous and he never let her use the phone. He even screened all calls that she got, and made. So she was a prisoner in her own home. He had told her that if she ever tried to free herself from him or tried to tell any one about what he is doing, he would kill her and any one who knew. Well, thanks a lot lady, I thought to myself, what have you done for my life lately? There had to be something I could do to help her without him knowing I did and get her away from him too. And who is King? “Linda, who is King?” “Oh, his is my little border collie puppy, he brought him home one night and said it was for me but I had to keep him down stairs with me and not in the house part. Said he didn’t want to smell poop or pee in the house part. But I trained him on paper and he is so smart.” I know he was, after all his mommy Sierra is a very smart dog. So she has one of the puppies. I ask where King was now, and she said she didn’t know. Said he wouldn’t crawl through the broken window. So she left him behind. And could I go back and get him. Well, here I was again being asked to rescue a dog. Wasn’t I good for any thing else. Is this what they mean when they say “Gone to the dogs?” But I am a softie and I will try. So I was off again to the rescue. When I got to Linda’s house the lights were all off, a good sign. No car in the driveway. Another good sign. So I walked around the house and I seen the broken window. I knelt down and looked in. there was no dog. Where was he? I saw a faint light coming from the garage, so I slowly moved toward it. The door was cracked open a bit, so I looked in. What I saw made me sick to my stomach. It was King. He had been tied by the hid legs hanging from a rafter, and his throat had been slit. And he was dead. That beautiful little creature, dead. The King is dead. Just then I heard footsteps, so I ducked down behind a bush that was by the side of the garage. It was Larry. He had a black garbage bag in his hands. And a big knife. I knew what he was going to do. He was going to cut King down and put his body in that garbage bag and dispose of him that way. And I was so right. As I watched, I wondered how a man that acted so compassionate with animals, could be so cold and heartless to do something like this. I just felt like screaming, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to be the next one swinging from the rafters if I could help it. No not me. As he was turning to leave, so I thought, he stopped and bent down. Moved the rug that was down and there was a door. Right there in the floor of the garage. He went down the stairs. He had been down there for some time, then he returned. Closed the door, replaced the rug. Then he was gone. I had to see what was down there. And if I was going to it was now. The car had left and I knew he was gone too. So I moved slowly. Then I was in the garage. I walked over to the rug. I stood there just looking for a few minutes. My stomach was in my throat. Then I bent down and moved the rug. Opened the door, took the first step, then a second and a third, I was there, and it was a cold, damp, eerie, creepy feeling dark hole in the ground. I felt around for a light and I found one. I turned it on and what I saw was this. A stainless steel table, a cabinet full of needles and bottles of medicine. Bandages and tape, cotton swabs, alcohol and antiseptics. It was like a mini hospital. But why? And why so secretive? Then I saw it. A body. A body of a woman. It looked like it was about a month old of being dead. I wondered who it could be. And why was she in Larry’s garage floor. And did he kill her? I really couldn’t make out the face because of the black garbage bag over it. And it had kind of sealed itself from the heat down there. So who was it? I no more got those thoughts in my brain when I heard a car. It was over top of me. “Oh Lord, help me, what will I do if I am caught by this maniac?” I crawled under the lowest thing I could find, it was the cabinet where all the things were kept. I don’t think he could see me if he tried. I don’t think I was even breathing. Just then down the stairs he comes. Sure enough, it was Larry. He looked puzzled, but must have thought he left the light on; he came over to the cabinet and started to put things inside. I know I wasn’t breathing now. He went on doing what ever it was he came back to do. Then he stopped. He stood there just looking around. Then he spoke. “Good evening my darling, did you miss me?” Oh my, he was talking to that dead girl. He continued, “You know I hate to do the things I do, but you just make me so mad at times I just can’t control my self. And it is all your fault. Why do you do this to me Trina, why did you fall in love with him and not me and plan to go off with him and not me? Why did you tell me because I was married you couldn’t and that he was special, wasn’t I special too. I saved your dog and her babies. I even took one hoping you would see I am loving and kind and gentle and warm and all the things you said he was. Well he is burning in Hell right now, and his little girl is sold to the right bidders. So now what are you going to do now, save them?” then he laughed such an evil laugh. This all wasn’t making sense, Trina, my Trina, she did tell me she and Dan were going to Can Cun and would be gone for at least a month. But the body over there didn’t look like Trina, was it, could it, oh no. It is, there is the bracelet we both have one a like just for friends. Oh no, not Trina. I should have been there… Soon he began to scuffle with a suitcase he had in the corner. It was the kind with rollers on the bottom for wheeling it through air ports and places like that. And big, about one of the biggest I had ever seen. Wonder what he was going to do with that. He opened it and inside was more black garbage bags. A much longer figure inside that one. Could it be Dan’s body? And what was he going to do with it? I thought he said he was burning in Hell. Just then I felt a sneeze coming on, oh please, I thought, not now, please. An a chew. I tried to muffle it but I didn’t do such a good job, and he heard me. He said, “Oh you can come out now, I knew you were there all along. So come on out.” I did, and I don’t think he thought it to be me. He really looked surprised. “And how long have you been down here and how much do you know?” I told him just a while ago. Right after he left the last time. I saw the dog. And I saw how he came down here and I needed to see what was down here. And I had, I was getting ready to leave when he came back. So I heard it all and seen it all. And what was he going to do to me now. He said he didn’t know that he needed time to think. So he tied me up and placed me in that suitcase and I heard him lock it. Now what? I think he left. And why was I suddenly very sleepy? I don’t know how long I had been out, or what day it was even. But I do know one thing, I was hungry and thirsty and very cramped up in here. When was he coming back, or was he? Only time would tell, if I had time that is! Then I heard something, it sounded like a thud. Then a click then I heard a door slam and another click. What was it and what did it mean. Just what was going on out there and should I be afraid? Then I heard footsteps coming towards me again. I began to sweat and my heart was pounding out of my chest. It was him I knew it and I was a dead woman. This was a sure thing but I would go out fighting that is a sure thing too. Then a click and the suitcase opened. It was him and he looked so different. He looked crazy this time. His eyes were kind of glazy and his hair a mess. He was crying and his hands were shaking. He hadn’t shaved for a couple days so that meant I had been there at least a couple days. At first I thought I would act like I was in a daze. And maybe he would not be rough on me. So I got as limp as I could. He went to lift me up and I got real limp then. He drug me over to the steel table. He lifted me up onto it and covered me up. Then he walked away. What was he planning to do to me? And most important, when? He went over to the lady’s body and started talking to her again. “Darling if you had just loved me the way I had loved you, I wouldn’t have had to do any of this. But no, you had to go and fall in love with him, and look where it got you. And him. But at least you are both together forever.” And then that evil laugh again. It sent chills up my spine. Then he continues to talk. “Trina why couldn’t you just love me, Linda was no good, and I told you she wouldn’t get in our way of love. She would never have given us any trouble. Now I have to kill her, and your friend. So now I have killed four people. You, your lover, your friend, my wife. Oh yeah, her best friend King.” As he talked he walked around the table and the chair in which she sat. Dan was still slumped over the bucket that was there catching water from an old pipe or something. He acted as if they were very much alive and could hear all that he was saying. What a nut case he is. I didn’t know what my next move was going to be, but I had to do it soon, or I would be one of the dead he could speak to next… He then told them that he was going to take and separate them for the last time and no one would be able to put them back together again. And he would make a lot of coyotes happy tonight too. And then he said so laughingly. “Who you gone to call, “Ghost Busters” ha ha ha, oh that laugh it just brought chills to me. But that reminded me of something very important. I remembered I had a cell phone. If I could catch him gone again I could call the police and tell them this horrible story and get them to help. So I lay there waiting. Hoping that he would leave again. Then he did something that absolutely turned my stomach, he kissed her. I mean on the mouth. Yuck! How nasty. He was sick. Then it started. He come and took me off the table and lay me on the love seat that was over in the corner by the chair she was in. Then he put Dan’s body up on the table. He cut open the bag. What an awful sight. Dan was a mass of bruises and cuts. Larry really did a number on him. Then he went over to the cabinet and got out several surgical knives and a box of baggies. Then he began cutting off the fingers and the toes and placing them in those baggies and sealing them inside. As I watched in horror, I thought I would faint, but I didn’t and I continued to watch. Then without even a twitch he severed the head from the body. And put it in a larger baggie. Then the legs. In a garbage bag and the torso in one also. Then the arms he cut into four pieces and used the large baggies again. After he had all of Dan bagged up, he then put all of the bags into one large garbage bag and took it up the stairs. This must mean he will be leaving. Oh I pray it does then I can call for help. As he worked on his patients he was singing, “I fall to pieces” what kind of a person can sing and do something as heinous as this. Then he returns and did the same thing to Trina’s body. All of her parts cut up evenly and put into baggies or garbage bags. Then all into one large bag as he had done with Dan. Was he going to bury them in different places or what? I love a good mystery, don’t you? He came back down only to clean up. There was no blood, but plenty of shavings and body soot. He must have shot them up with embalming fluid. Because they looked like old dried out trees. After he was done, he looked over at me, I pretended to be asleep. He smiled and came over towards me and said, “Rest now little gal, I will return and take care of you and Linda, when I find her, and I think I know where to look.” And again he laughed that evil laugh. And now I was scared for Linda too. So after he left, should I call my house first, and would Linda answer? So I went up the stairs and tried to go out but he had locked the door. Now what will I do, I can’t get a signal down here or can I? I went over to the small window that was over the cabinet and I climbed up onto the table and onto the top of the cabinet. As I went to lie down on the top of the cabinet a mouse jumped out at me and I just about fell off. And that would have hurt. I finally made it up on the top and got to the window. Oh no, it’s sealed. Now what can I do? I had to think, but did I have time? Then I remembered the scalpels he had. If I could get to one of them, then I could chisel the seal away and then maybe. So I began to climb down to the table, then to the floor and went to the cabinet and got into it and got me a knife. So once more I climbed up onto the table up on the top of the cabinet and started to chisel away at the seal around the window. I must have worked on it at least an hour. I finally got it. The window opened and the air felt terrific on my face. So I held the phone up by the open part of the window. I had a signal. I dialed my home phone. It rang and rang and rang. No answer. She had to be there. So I tried again. It rang twice then I heard a pick up. And then a weak “hello” Linda, it’s me Cassie, get out of there and go to the police now, you hear me he is on his way, he has killed two people and King and he is going to kill you and me next, so get out okay.” She said she would and now. So I hung up and called the police. I told them who I was and what was going on and what all I had witnessed. They immediately said help was on the way. And for me to pretend I hadn’t called. I said okay. And that the Dr. would surely be back soon. They said they would stake out the place, before they attack. I said “good” I could wait, as long as I knew help was on the way and that they would help Linda too.” As I waited for what ever was going to happen next, I remembered the first time I met Trina. I had just moved here and she was the first neighbor that made any attempt to make me feel welcomed in the neighborhood. We bonded immediately. Coming from a family of four brothers and no sisters, she was a blessing also my best friend in the world. We went to a flea market one weekend and found these bracelets that said “sister’s till the end of time” how true it was. She was funny too. She was a typical blonde too. She could take a joke and she would think it was just made up for her. And when she got Sierra at first she called her Sam, and I had to be the one to tell her Sam was a she. So she named her Sierra, she had always wanted to visit the Sierra Desert. So that is why she named her that, that way she felt kind of close to it any way whither she ever got to see it, she could talk about it. Isn’t that so funny. Then another time we were going to the store for weekend supplies. You know like chips and pop and ice cream. All the pig out foods you know. Well she decided to get the stuff and make our own pizza. That was a trip in itself. We get home and it is time to do the dough. We had flour all over the kitchen and we laughed and said it better be the best pizza we ever had according to the mess. The dough never did raise like it should, but we went ahead and put all the good stuff on it and went to bake it. It said 350 degrees for 20, depending on oven. We didn’t know what that meant, but we could figure it out. It was a gas oven, not electric so we added 10 minutes to the cooking time. Good now we wait. We went into watch some T.V. while it cooked. It sure was smelling so good. And we were hungry and very proud of our task. The timer went off and we went in to check. When we opened the oven, I knew how Lucy and Ethel felt the time they baked that bread. We had pizza all over the oven. It looked like an inner tube exploded. And red stuff was all over it too. We just sat down on the floor and laughed till we could not laugh any more. And what was worse, we would have to be the ones to clean that mess up! Just remembering times like that and knowing there would be no more times like that made me sad. But I didn’t have time to be sad, there was still things to be done. I had to take a mental inventory of everything down here. So I started with the cabinet and everything I saw inside it. Then the table, the chair where Trina was, and the corner and the bucket that Dan was on and around. Then the love seat I was on. All of the cans of stuff whatever they were, and the odors I have smelled since I have been down here. Some like medicine and some like a cleanser and then there was that smell of embalming fluid. It smelled like a weak alcohol with a little bit of pine in it. Kind of sort of you know, sickening smell. Then how many baggies for each body did he use. And large bags too. I had to think. One ex-large baggie for each head that meant there were two, a baggie for each set of toes and fingers that was a total of eight. Then he cut the arms and legs into two parts and those were put into black bags. That was four each and the legs too four each. The torso’s each in a black bag. That was two. So a total of 20 bags all total. My goodness how long was it going to take. I was getting more nervous. Then I heard a car. Was it him? Or the law? If it was him, had he found poor Linda before the law had? Suddenly the door opened and he came down the stairs, alone. I lay there still. I tried not to move or even let on like I knew any thing had changed. He came towards me, and I was scared. Where were the cops? Hurry, I thought to myself, this is it! As he came towards me, he started to apologize for having to kill me. He said “if you had just left well enough alone.” I couldn’t have agreed with him more. How stupid I was to think I could handle all this myself. Cassie, the lone private eye, yeah, right. . .Not!!! As he went to touch my shoulder and lift me up, I heard a thump, then a click. I opened my eyes and there they were the Law. Finally I had help. He was out cold. They had surprised him from behind and knocked him out. Now I was free. The first thing I ask was about Linda. They said they hadn’t found her yet, but they were looking. Where could she be? And did he know where she was? Let’s pray he doesn’t. The man leading the investigation was a detective by the name of Matthew Marks. He is to be the best in these kind of cases. He took me to a side and began to ask me questions I knew the answers too right away. He said I was very perceptive and I said “thanks”. As I was getting ready to ask him about Linda, this other cop comes in to talk to him. He whispered something into detective Marks ear, then detective Marks looks my way. Oh no, I thought to my self, this can’t be good. So then he began to speak. And I said, “It’s Linda isn’t it, they found her and she is dead, right?” “Well yes and no. They have found her, but she isn’t dead.” I listen as he told me the story. “It seems she got scared after you called and she didn’t think she could hide fast enough so she went into your attic and got inside a trunk up there and stayed for a couple hours. When nothing had happened she figured it was safe and my men found her in your car ready to come to the police department.” “She was a very brave woman. And she has told us all she can tell us about how he treated her and what you said he had done to her dog.” It was over. Thank God. I was so tired and hungry and thirsty. Maybe now I could have a glass of water or something cold and wet. So I ask if I could. And they obliged me. And it sure did taste good. It was a Pepsi and cold. Real cold. Just then Larry started to come around, and detective Marks was ready to start his questioning. First he ask Larry why he did it? Of course Larry acted like he didn’t know what he was talking about. Then Det. Marks mentioned the dog hanging in the garage with a slit throat. He said it was mad and had to be put down. Then he was asked about Trina and Dan Dawson where was their bodies and why did he kill them. Again he said he knew Trina because he took care of her dog Sierra. And as for that Dan guy, he really didn’t know him that well. So then Marks ask him about his wife, Linda. Then his face turned red. “Did she tell you all those lies? If she did she will pay. I have told her over and over again there was nothing going on between me and Trina. She is a very jealous woman, and she would say any thing to punish me. Why if Trina was murdered she might have done it? Yeah, that’s it, she did it?” “No Doc, we have a witness, you did it and we can prove it now. Cassie, come here please?” As I stepped out of the darkness, he looked shocked and red in the face. He had been caught and he knew it now for sure. “Now, Cassie tells us she watched as you cut up Trina and Dan’s bodies and placed their parts into baggies. Where might we find those baggies Larry?” He sat with his head down just staring at his hands without looking up at me, again. They took him away and I stayed behind to help with the other things that needed to be done. Like find those bags. And help Linda, first things first. Linda was in the back of the detective’s car so I went to speak to her. She had been crying and I knew this was hard on her so I made it brief. I told her she could stay at my place until she decided what she wanted to do. She thanked me and I told the detective to take her to my place for the night. He said he would. Detective Marks then ask me if Larry amongst his talks with the bodies ever mention any place where he might be taking them. I ask him to let me think. So much had happened he agreed and let me have some time alone. I went to his car and sat and started to relive the conversations he had with Trina. He said Dan was burning in Hell, but he was in that suitcase. Speaking of suitcase, what did they do with it? Was there any thing with it as to a clue of any kind? Now I wanted to talk to that detective. I was ready. I told the cop standing outside the car that I needed to speak to Marks. He said he would get him. When Marks came over to me he said, “Did you remember anything that could help us clear up this investigation?” I said I thought that maybe I had. So I began to tell what I had remembered. First the suitcase had they found it and was there anything inside it? “Yes, and it was empty.” “What else you got lady?” Did they know that the little girl of Dan Dawson’s had been sold. And could they get her back. Yes they knew that too. “ So, anything else Cassie, we are losing good time here. Okay, so can you kind of hurry up with the remembering.” I was trying, didn’t he know that. I was! Just then it hit me. The lake could it be he was going to dump the baggies into the lake? So I told Marks about my theory. He agreed it was a good one. And off he went with his guys. And I was right behind him too. It took about 45 minutes to get to the lake. They had cadaver dogs and some frog men. As they entered the waters they were informed not to disturb any of the bags if found, just bring them up the way they were found. All agreed. The frog men were in the waters about 15 minutes when one comes up with a black garbage bag. One just like the one he had used for some large body parts. They laid it on a stretcher. Then they went back down into the water. Marks announced that no one was to touch or more the bag or any that would be put on the stretcher. “Understood?” Every one said “Yes”. Soon one of the cadaver dogs came and had a small baggie it had been placed in a deep hole by a big rock. And that dog sniffed it out. It was toes. But who’s. It too was placed on the stretcher. Then all of a sudden there were bags every where. How good was I? I only hope they are all there. Oh how cold of me. One of them was my friend. But I knew what I meant. A grand total of 19 bags I thought there were 20, but maybe I counted wrong. No, I hadn’t here come the dog with another bag in his mouth. This time it was a part of a man’s arm. So there were 20 and I was right on the count after all. Detective Marks said I would make a good private eye. And would I be interested in assisting him on some cases that he would have some time. I told him I would have to think about it. My stomach had not quite settled down from this mystery yet. He said he would keep me in mind. And if he needed me, he knew where he could find me. After going to the police department and witnessing to all the body parts and making identification of Dan and Trina, I was free to go home. Home it felt like I had been gone a month but it had only been a few days. When I got home, Linda had a pot of hot coffee waiting for me and a hot bath too. I sure needed that and the bath. So I took my coffee up stairs to the bathroom and soaked for a least an hour. And the coffee was all gone too. So I got out dried off, got dressed and went downstairs. Linda had me a hot meal all fixed and ready to eat. She was a nice person. I could really like her as a friend. After all, it looked like it was just her and me now. The food was delicious. I told her I didn’t think I was ever going to get to eat food again. And I was sure happy she could cook because that was good. She smiled and said “Thanks, thanks for every thing Cassie, the least I could do for you.” Yes she was going to be a good friend. Just when I thought it was all over, something happened that I really wasn’t ready for. Linda started laughing almost as wickedly as Larry did. She was as nuts as he was. The night mare wasn’t over yet! She began to tell me of the night she came to my door. “ I had been in the basement of our house and Larry came down to where I was. He was singing and was in a really good mood. He said that every thing he ever wanted was soon coming his way. Well you see I knew he had been wanting Trina and that she didn’t want him she wanted that Dan guy. So I told Larry he just might as well get over it, she wasn’t going to give up Dan for the likes of him. And I would tell Trina just how he was in and out of the bed. So to speak… He laughed at me Cassie, he did”. As she continued to talk, I felt so sleepy, just like I had at the bottom of her garage. What was happening to me now? And why? Why Linda? What was her role in all of this, if any? I don’t remember any thing until the next morning. I woke up to the sound of pounding on my front door. “Oh no, here we go again. Do I dare go answer it?” “Yes, I dare” It was detective Marks. He said he thought he had better come and tell me himself that the good doctor was released on bail. “What!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, how could they after all he had done and how it was done. They said they had no prints to link him to any of it. And the fact that I said I had been drugged, they said I wasn’t thinking clearly. So I started to tell him about last night and the way Linda was acting. He was interested in that. And the fact that Linda or the Doc can be found this morning is another puzzle. Then came the question. “Cassie, will you help me solve this case once and for all?” I didn’t have to think about it for long. I said “Yes.” Linda was gone, but how. My car was in the driveway. So she either walked to where she was going or someone picked her up, and we probably knew who that was. We headed over to the Vets house. No one or no sign of any one being there since yesterday. But just then a neighbor came from around the side of the house and said, “Are you looking for the Doc and the Misses?” “Why yes we are, we need to ask them a few more questions about what went on here last night. Do you happen to know where they went?” “Yes I do, only because they wanted me to tell the case lady when she came around this afternoon.” “Okay,” said Marks, “can you tell me too.” “Well I guess it will be alright. They are looking at new property over in Austin, ‘bout 60 miles north of here. Does that help you? I don’t have the address, but I do know it is near the local elementary school, you know for their little girl they are adopting.” “Thanks, you have been a great help, Thanks a lot.” So that is what he meant when he said the little girl was being sold. They were adopting her. It was all a plan connived by them both. And murder was in that plan too. So now all the pieces were starting to fit, so to speak. When he couldn’t get Trina to leave Dan he and her couldn’t have a child, he killed her and Dan so they could have Dan’s child. It all made sense now. Boy those two are good. And get this. It’s not the first time Linda has been involved in something this horrible. It seems that ten years ago she and another man sold babies she stole from a hospital she worked in to the baby market. Some 150 babies in a five year span. She didn’t get any time, she turned states evidence on him and he took all the blame. She was to leave and never practice medicine again. Well, in a way she didn’t she just married a doctor. And she knew how to do to get a child. Only this time she killed for it. We were here in Austin and coming up on the elementary school. Marks called for backup from the local law enforcement and state highway patrol. They were prompt too and very discrete. We entered the school and there they were in the principals’ office enrolling the little girl to the school. They didn’t know we were there until the principal ask if she could help us. We just pointed to them and they knew they were caught and give up right then and there. The little girl was turned over to the case lady of the Mason County, our jurisdiction and we all went back home. This time with every thing we needed for an open and shut case. Finally we could put this one to rest… Up on returning to my house, Marks said, “You know we make a pretty good team don’t you?” and I had to agree. We sure did. And I said, “Yes, I guess we do at that.” I turned and placed the key in my door, opened it and went in. This time I wasn’t going to answer a door, a phone nothing until I was ready. Yes, I was hanging up my so called badge for a while. I had enough excitement for a while. I just wanted to relax and read a good book or watch a good T. V. show or something. Just so it wasn’t a murder mystery or a love story. I had enough of both here lately. And either one will kill you if you have too much of it… The end… BY WANDA LOUELLA ROBINSON It was a late day in April, the 15th to be exact. A deadline for taxes and maybe a life. Yes, a life. Someone would be murdered tonight. So who would pay, taxes for a life? And if a penalty, who would pay. Ted Merrick was setting at his desk that evening, figuring out his taxes. He had just added up his total sum of refund, and was quit pleased. He was sure his ex-wife would want her share. They had been divorced only 2 months. She already got the house, a car, and the kids. What else did she expect? His blood! Maybe. As the next day approached, the cleaning lady and housekeeper, Ted had hired after his divorce, was just coming in the back door, when she heard a gun shot. She ran through the house, trying to find Mr. Merrick. She did. He was laying on the floor in the den, where his office was located. She ran over to him, just as he drew his last breath. He handed her a piece of paper. It said “Denise”. That was his ex-wife’s name. But what was it . It only had her name on it. Nothing else. She laid him flat on the floor, then went into the hall to the phone, to call the police. When the police arrived, they ask that she not leave, that the detective who was assigned to this case, would want to talk to her. She agreed to stay. The detective was a new one, his name was Matthew Marks. A ten year street cop, the investigator for homicide cases. So this was a new chapter in his law book. He ask the housekeeper, if Mr. Merrick had any enemies. She said “No, he was one of the most sweetest man she had ever worked for. People looked up to him.” So who would have done this? And why? These would be the questions the young cop would have to find the answers to. He then told the other cops, that they would probably be there all night. Not to get into a hurry about leaving. He then ask the housekeeper, if she would mind staying over too. She agreed. In the room, all was array. It looked as if it may have been a botched up burglary. Or was it. In that room was a desk, sofa, two end tables at either end of the sofa, two lamps, a over stuffed chair and a bookcase, full. On the desk was a phone, papers, pen, coffee cup, half full. Another pen, which was by his body on the floor. Then Matt saw something under the desk. A lady’s glove, only one. Could this be a clue as to who had killed Mr. Merrick? Then there was a broken picture frame. Smashed to smithereens. Just what did all this mean. And was there any way, any one could have planted those things, just to throw the police off. This is another thing to figure out. So much, for just beginning to solve this crime. Matt then gathered up the glove, pen, broken frame and a cigarette butt, he found under the desk too. And Mr. Merrick didn’t smoke. The next day, the housekeeper fixed breakfast for them all, and for her too. They ate and drank coffee all morning. It was going to be another long day. It already had been a very long night. About noon, a lady came by. She knocked, the housekeeper let her in. It was the ex- Mrs. Merrick. She had been called to identify the body of her husband. And to help in any way to solve his death, or murder. The policeman ask her where she was the morning before around 6 a.m. the morning of the shooting. In a laugh like voice, she said “Well, I have three children, and I was getting them ready for school. That’s my alibi. His children,” then she laughed again. Matt sure didn’t like her sense of humor. No wonder they were divorced. He surely didn’t like that lady. But he wondered if she knew more than she was telling? Did she have any idea who would have done this. When ask, she said “what makes you think I would know who did what I had often thought of doing, and I do mean just thought about it.” “Ok” Ok , thought Matt, for now. Then he told her, “You are free to leave, but don’t make any sudden fast trips. Stay in town. We made need to speak to you again, ok lady?” “My name is Denise, ok , don’t forget that , sweetie.” Then Matt knew for sure he didn’t care for this woman. In the days that followed, Matt stayed on the case, day and night. He ate, slept and drank the case. He didn’t go home, and his wife would call, just to check in, and see how he was making progress on the case. He wasn’t, but knew it would hopefully be soon. That evening, two nights after the murder of Mr. Merrick, he got a phone call from the housekeeper, she said she needed to see him. At the Merrick home. He agreed and left to meet her there. As he drove up to the house, he heard a scream. He ran into the house, and there she was, the housekeeper, strangled to death in the hallway. Now who would have wanted her dead, that sweet little lady. Why? Then he saw a jiggered piece of paper by her side. What was it? Was it a clue to her murder? He then saw on it April 15, 200 and that was all it had been ripped out of her hand, and torn in the process. What was on that piece of paper? And what did it have to do with the night of Merrick’s murder? Again, so many questions, and no answers. So let’s just tally up the clues, a glove, a cigarette butt, a broken picture frame, a torn piece of paper, and two dead people. What did they have in common? And why here, the same place? Talk about being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, looks like that was her story. Matt figured whoever killed the housekeeper, had to be fairly big. She was. She was probably around 200 lbs. And stood about 5ft.7. She would have not been easy to attack, unless it was from the back and unexpectedly. So now, Who? Why? How? When? And What? What was the motive behind her death. She was just a housekeeper. Big threat. Yeah, that’s right. Really! Matt decided to check out her room, she often stayed over and cared for the house if he went out of town. There it was, at the end of the hall. Cute little room. It had a small like bed, a stand by it with a lamp and a telephone. A chair in the corner, and a T.V. on the wall, like these hotel rooms have them. A closet, empty, and a tiny desk. In it was a tablet marked “Grocery Pad,” a pen, a phone book, and a box of tissues. Nothing of any importance. So he was back to square on and two bodies. Who is doing these murders? And how do they connect to each other, the only one with the answers was dead. Oh, my Matt thought, where would he go from here. Almost a month since Mr. Merrick’s murder. And the housekeepers too. Still he was clueless as of who and why? Then he got a phone call from the ex Mrs. Merrick. She ask if he would meet her at the house around 3 p.m. He agreed. At 2:30 he left the station. At exactly 3 he arrived at the house. He sat in the car, then he saw her at the window, then disappeared. Then he heard a scream. He ran to the door, kicked it in, and ran through the house calling her name Denise. There she lay on the floor in the kitchen. She had been stabbed. And very much dead. Wow, he thought, another murder, in the same house. Who is doing this? Just then he heard the back door slam shut. He ran, gun in hand, and there in the back yard by the tree, stood a man. A very tall man. Matt said “Who are you, and why are you here at a crime scene, and did you kill Mrs. Merrick?” “I am here because she called me to meet her here, when I got here, I saw you, then her, so I thought I’d better split.” Matt thought to himself. “Yeah, me and you both.” “So who are you, and how did you know her?” Then the man said “I am a private investigator. She hired me to find a Katrina Welch. She had once worked for them, stole her husband, their money and their stocks and bonds. Destroyed her marriage, and her husband.” “So she wanted to find her, and make her pay for all that she had taken for her.” Then Matt said. “So, just where is this Katrina Welch? Is that why you were meeting tonight, to exchange information?” Then the investigator told Matt, that Katrina couldn’t be found, and that he had hit a dead end. Bad choice of words, thought Matt. Real bad. Just then, the investigator said to Matt. “Why don’t we just work together on this, and each one will help the other with any information they gather, sound good?” Matt agreed, worked for him. Besides, he thought it would be great to have such an experienced person along side helping him. So they agreed to let the other know of any clues, or suspects that they may find. But definitely would be great. About two weeks in to having help, Matt got another phone call. This time he didn’t know the caller. And they said they wanted him to meet them at the old abandoned warehouse on Dublin Street. Go inside, and stand by the stairwell, with his back to the door. Be there at 5 p.m. Matt agreed to meet this man. He tried to locate the investigator, but at no avail. So he would go with out him, this time. He got to the warehouse around 4:55, he had exactly 5 minutes to go. Finally it was 5 p.m. He went inside, and stood where he was told to and how, with his back to the door. He had stood there for about 1 hour, then he heard slow footsteps behind him. Then a voice that said “Don’t turn around, just listen. First, I didn’t kill any one, but I do know who did. I was a friend to Mr. Merrick, and the housekeeper. I didn’t know the wife, but I still know who killed them. You see Ted didn’t like the new boyfriend his ex had. And the kids where scared of him. Ted threatened to take the kids if she stayed with him. And then she wouldn’t get any more money from him. The boyfriend, had put a couple bruises on her at one time, and Ted said if he saw any more he would kill the boyfriend. Don’t try to memorize my voice, for this is a recording. I paid someone to read what I wrote them to say. I am afraid if I am found out, I will come up dead and I . Then Matt heard a grunt and a thump. When he turned around he saw the man, who had just been talking, hanging in the air by a meat hook in the back. He was dead. Really dead. Now Matt had four bodies, no suspect, what next? Just then, Matt saw someone in the light from the window, the moon give a bright light through the window up above. It was the investigator. “Well, I see you must have gotten some answers?” “No, I just came to talk to that man hanging there. And now he is dead.” “You mean you haven’t figured this out yet, little guy?” “What do you mean, figure what out?” “The murders?” Then the man told Matt a story, that would make it all clear as to why four murders. This is the story. “ You see, I was Katrina’s husband, and it was all a good plan, until Denise got controlling. We knew what we wanted out of those two, Denise and Ted. So we set up a plan to get them where it hurts. The pocketbook.” “When Katrina went to work for Ted, she started immediately to seduce him. And it worked. Then she got the combination to all the safe’s because she was to make the deposits at night. That’s how we pulled off the money part.” “Then when Katrina fled with all the loot, Denise found me, or rather, I let her find me. Then once in I started to seduce her. Hence the boyfriend. Yes, that’s right. I am the killer of Ted, Denise, and the housekeeper. And now this poor soul. He was just an extra piece for your puzzle. He really did know it was me there that night arguing with Ted, then the housekeeper, the night I killed Ted, came in and I had to hide, so I did in the hall closet. When she knelt down to Ted, I thought he might have told her it was me. But, sorry, I killed her, and didn’t have too, sorry.” “Then Denise found out that Katrina and I was married, she told Ted, he was going to kill me. So I killed him first, and Denise, well you don’t threaten me. And call me a “fool of all fools.” No way! “Now, for you. You are going to die tonight, but first you are going to confess to all the murders. Motive, love, lust, and jealousy. Thank your little old wife will swallow that very easily?” “Now we all no, no clues, no suspects, no weapons, no nothing. Can’t convict any one with all that, a big nothing.” Little did the investigator know, but Matt, when the man hung from the meat hook, he dropped the tape recorder. So Matt taped all the investigator told him. Then Matt said. “Sorry, you are wrong, there is a witness, and it’s not me. It is you. I have everything you just said on this tape, and a dead man can’t lie.” “So, GOTHA!” The man started towards Matt, he shot him in the leg, just to slow him down, then the other policemen came. “Finally, you are here! What took you so long?” “Well, shortly after you told us to meet you here, we got another call saying you had been murdered and was laying in the bay. So we were just down there, heard the shot, here we are.” “Thanks,” said Matt. “Now get that creep out of my sight.” With that they left, so did Matt, but this time he went home. Home, where he hadn’t got to spend much time at all lately. But now he could. The biggest, and the worse case he ever had was finally closed. With a killer, and answers to all the questions he had a month ago. After talking to the investigator the next day, Matt found out that Katrina was dead too, but only by accident. It seems that the investigator and her had gotten into an argument. He had been cleaning fish, and when she lunged at him, as he turned to her, she ran into the knife in his hand. Her body was never found, and he ain’t saying where it is. But at least no more bodies to be found or identified. A year later, Matt was promoted to Head of Investigations at his station. Matt remembered a case from many years ago. The case of the Invisible Killer. It was a gas leak and 10 people died. It was called that because, they were of the Mafia, and gas was used and not known about for 8 years when one of the men in the group of the Mafia squealed. 8 years. Matt felt really good then, his was only a no suspect, no weapon, and reason for just 1 and a half months. With that he can hold his head up high. Look for Matthew Marks. He is not just going to fade into the sunset. There will be more murders and more reasons to look him up. At least his cases aren’t boring. • Read Louella's Poetry...at our "Poetry Corner"  MY DAYS ARE MY MEMORIES
BY WANDA L. ROBINSON This is a story, of a little girl, who searches for her memories. She finally finds them, they were always with her. Come along with her, and you just may find some of your memories. Along the way........... One day, while in school, Lily was asked by the teacher, to find her memories and write about them. Then on Monday she would share with the class. “Share my memories?” What were her memories? And how would she find them? So, she sets out to find her memories and exactly what it is to have a memory!! She asked her friend Peggy “What’s a memory?” Peggy didn’t know, and besides, it was Lily’s project, thought Peggy. Then Lily ask this little boy on the playground, if he knew just what a memory was. He didn’t know either. So there she was, lost and didn’t know where to even start to find this thing called a “Memory”. Later, that day, while setting at home, Lily thought she would ask her mother just what was this thing a Memory. Her mother told her it was something she was to make herself, store it in her heart and in time her mind would let her remember it. That was a memory. Said Lily’s mother. That is where you will find a memory, is in your heart. “Just for myself, how will I get this Memory in my heart?” “Where do I start?” Her mother told her, “You live every day of your life making them, it is up to you what they are, and where they happen, and with whom you share them with.” “A memory can be sad, but it can also be very happy too. Really, just how ever you make it. It will be your memory.” Well, Lily was more confused than ever now. Where ever would she find one, and if she did, how would she know it was a memory? Just how would she know for sure? So, Lily continued her quest for a memory. The next morning, bright and early, Lily gets up, and dresses, and comes down stairs to the kitchen. No one else was up yet, just the old dog, Scrubs, lying on the oval rug, in front of the door. Sun hitting his body and warming him up. Was this a memory? Lily goes on her way, to find a memory. On her way, she saw birds flying in the sky. So gracefully, she thought to herself “Oh, how beautiful, and so colorful. Then she saw a cat, watching the birds too. It tried to catch one of the birds, but wasn’t quick enough. Oh, how much fun just to sit and watch. “Did I just make a memory?” Lily thought to herself. Then she saw the fire trucks going east up the road, Lily thought to herself. “Some one is in need of a prayer. So she ask God to be with whoever was in need. And she knew he would. Now, she thought again, “Is this a memory too?” Later that morning, that beautiful Friday morning, she saw one of the bus drivers at school, checking the bus for any problems. Lily went up to him and asks if he knew how to make a memory. “No! Now get, I am too busy to play games.” Lily was confused, why was he so grouchy and at her even. So she goes on. Now the day was just about over for school, and she was nervous, thinking that the teacher would ask her how she was doing on her assignment, but she didn’t. So Lily was glad about that. She didn’t want her teacher to think her dumb or anything like that, and she was not happy with herself either. She was being slow with this assignment. But she couldn’t help herself, first she had to find a memory, then she could write about it. That night at home, Lily helped her mommy make a birthday cake for her daddy. It was his birthday, and they had surprises for him after supper, and boy was he going to be surprised. It was now 5:30 p.m. and her father wasn’t home yet. Where could he be? He is usually home by 4:30, at 5, the latest. So where was he, and why wasn’t he home yet. They waited a little longer. About 6:30, the phone rang, Lily’s mother answered it. There was silence at first, then Lily heard her mommy scream, “Oh no!” “When? How? Oh, no, even Lily knew it was something awful but what? When her mommy got off the phone, she told Lily they had to get to the hospital. “Daddy has been in a very bad car accident, and was there at the hospital, and he needed them. Now. So off to the hospital they went. A few hours had gone by, and Lily and her mommy were still waiting to see a doctor. Finally, a doctor stepped out into the hallway. He had been in Lily’s daddy’s room. He looked over, and saw Lily and her mommy. He then went over to them. And this is what he said. “Your husband, Mrs. Dawson, was in a terrible car accident, and the people in the other car died. Your husband’s last words before slipping into a coma was “I didn’t mean to kill anyone.” ‘Well, he didn’t, he was not to fault, the other car was full of drinkers, they were very drunk, and had no control of the car. A witness said your husband even tried to get out of their way, but didn’t in time, and over the road and into a tree he went, and they went over the hillside. So he thinks he was the cause of the deaths, and so he is in a coma, it is called “Survivors Guilt Coma.” His mind has shut down, also because of the seriousness of his injuries, but no serious injury to the head or brain, just bruised bad, but until he wants to remember, he shall stay in the coma. That is why he won’t respond to any one. His brain won’t let him. Any memory he may of had, ever, may be permanently gone. It is all up to him, now. And both of you, if he ever regains his memories, you both can help.” The doctor continued to tell them, to talk to him as if he could answer. Talk about things he did, or things you all done together. The main thing “just talk to him, every minute, of every day, bring him back.” As the days went by, so did her daddy’s health. Little by little, he was dying. Not from any injuries, but from a broken heart. Where were his memories, and how could Lily give them to him? In the weeks that followed, Lily couldn’t go to school, her mommy and daddy needed he so. And the school understood. And they excused her from all classes, until she could return. Finally, that day in the hospital, Lily said, “Mommy, I know now what a memory is. And where it was, I have had them all along, listen” With that, Lily walked over to where he daddy was lying. And this is what she said... “Now, daddy, you will listen to me, I will tell you some of your memories. Then you tell me if you remember, OK?” Lily began to speak. “Do you remember when I was 5 years old, and I wanted to ride a bike?” “Well, I do, and it was fun, but most of all, it was just spending time with you, and only you.” “ I even prayed at night, that every day could be as much fun as that day was, but you work a lot, and me and mommy, we understand. No big deal, okay!” She continues with her memories, then instructed her mommy to do the same. And her mommy did. Later that night, Lily remembered her school project a month earlier. So she decided to do it now. So what if it was late, “better late, than never.” That’s what her daddy always would say. She started to write. She kept writing until she had almost 12 pages. Wow! She thought, all that just about my memories. And with that she folded the papers. And writes on the back of the last page “My Memories.” By Lily Lawson. On Wednesday, she gave all her homework to Peggy, to give to her teacher. Peggy did, and wished her daddy a speedy recovery too. That day, when they got to the hospital, her daddy was awake. Lily and her mommy were so happy. But worried too, would he remember them? When they got to his room, he was setting up in the chair over by the window. He looked up when they came into the room. He smiled, but looked scared, and Lily wondered if he was afraid of them, or what. They soon got the answers they needed. It seems as though he regained his memory, but not the accident. But then the doctor explained to him what had happened, and that he was not to fault. So now he accepted that, and was okay with it, but he thought to himself, who is that little girl and that would just break Lily’s heart if she knew that. When Lily came into the room, she said, “Hi my daddy, how are you? And welcome back” He just looked at her and smiled, she still didn’t know he had forgotten her. Would she ever know? That evening, while still at the hospital, the principal of Lily’s school, dropped by to see how every one was and how the progress with the daddy was coming along. He was surprised to see, Lily’s daddy up and talking again. At that time, Lily and her mommy went to the cafeteria to get a soda and some snacks; they were going to celebrate his birthday, even if it was a month late. The principal then said to the daddy, “I have here, a report your little girl did for homework assignment, and I believe you should hear it. Do you want too? “Yes, oh yes, you see I can’t remember a lot about her, so maybe this will help me to remember her.” “Yes, indeed it may,” replied the principal. So he began to read. MY DAYS ARE MY MEMORIES By Lily Lawson “I have never thought much before, about a memory, I really didn’t know what they were. And that they were so important. But I recently found out, just how important they can be.” “You see, my daddy was in a very bad accident, and the people in the other car were killed, and my daddy, didn’t want to remember the accident, because he thought he was the cause of it, but he wasn’t, the other car full of people were. So he was in a coma, by his choice, not because of the accident. The doctor called it “Survivor guilt coma”. The doctor then told my mommy and me, it was up to us if daddy would ever remember again, so we had to be his memories. That’s how I learned what and where you find them.” “You see, we all have them, it is up to us to keep them near and dear in our hearts. That’s really where a memory lives; it is only in our minds, when the heart wants to remember. I found that out when my daddy couldn’t remember, I just searched my heart and there they were, and there were a lot of them there too. But I only needed one, the one that reminded me how much I love my daddy |