Tag: fiction

writing

Break In – Chapter 6

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

Carol sat at her desk, pouring over the blue leather journal. It dated back several years.

The writer had poured her heart into it, capturing a variety of thoughts, hopes and dreams. As Carol kept reading, she found references to Gary and John which seemed to date back to high school for the writer.

Could these be Gary Smith and John? Carol needed some real facts to tie this journal to them.

John and I went to the movies this evening. When we walked out, his truck had been vandalized. While we waited for the cops to investigate, I swear, I saw Gary drive down the street real slow. You know, like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime. It couldn’t be though; what did Gary have against John? I dismissed it as coincidence; maybe he saw us and just was curious.

Wow, could there been some rivalry there? Carol jotted down the date of the journal. She might be able to verify if this was actually the same John with Officer Tatum from the police records. She continued to peruse the journal for other clues. The entries continued to convince her these were from Johanna.

Gary is outside again, just sitting in his car. Why does he do this? Too nervous to come to the door? I just don’t get it. Dad thinks it’s funny. “Why doesn’t he just come up and ask you out?” he keeps asking. “It’s not like you have a boyfriend right now.” Geesh, Dad, thanks!

Carol noted the fact that Gary seemed obsessed a little with Johanna. There were a couple entries, from a date gone wrong to just plain awkward interactions Johanna noted. It could have just been a crush, though. Teens do crazy things.

Carol continued to dig. Johanna kept some notes about her feelings and her desires. Details about some dates, and other revealing tidbits over a couple years. Some things probably not relevant for Carol’s research however.

Then she read this entry.

John was arrested today. There is no way he did this. We just reunited, but I know he’s better than this!

Carol made note of the date; another one to check with Officer Tatum. She set the book aside. “I have to find out if these line up before going any further,” she scolded herself. “I need some facts before I get too carried way.”

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writing

Break In – Chapter 5

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

Carol arrived at the old Smith place just a few minutes after her call with Shana. When she arrived, she observed the door on the house had already been replaced from the break-in just a few nights before. Carol knocked.

Shana flung open the new door. “Thank you for coming so quickly. Come in, come in,” she motioned to Carol. Once Carol came through the door, Shana stuck her head outside, looked around, then swiftly closed the door.

Carol gave it no real thought. She figured Shana was still on edge from recent events. Carol looked around the room; everything was back in place, except the noticeably missing coffee table.

“Sit, please. Would you like some coffee, tea, or water?” Shana inquired as she headed into the adjoining kitchen where a kettle was already whistling.

“Water, please,” Carol responded, craning her neck to see Shana. “So, why did you ask me over?”

That was Carol, always right to the point. she didn’t hold anything back and preferred to cut through all the niceties. It was more efficient that way, except when it didn’t work.

Shana returned from the kitchen with a tea and a tall glass of ice cold water. She set them both on the side table and walked over to the fireplace.

She jiggled out one of the bricks from the fireplace and reached into the opening. “When I came back home once the mystery was solved, I found this,” she revealed as she handed Carol a blue leather journal. “Read it, let me know what you think.”

Carol opened up the book to see beautiful writing, that likely of a woman. Carol looked for a clue on who wrote it.

Shana offered, “From what I could infer, I believe this may be Johanna Smith’s journal. You need to read it, let me know if you think we should turn it over to authorities.”

Carol arched one of her eyebrows, skeptical, but also intrigued. “Can I take it with me? It will take some time to get through it.”

Shana nodded yes. Carol stood and shook her hand. “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

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writing

Break In – Chapter 3

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

Officer Tatum stormed in to the precinct. “Did you see the headline? For once, I wish they’d just let me do my job!”

Deputy McComb looked over the edge of the paper. “Why are you griping Bill? Because Carol figured out the big question from last night’s break in?”

The paper headline read “Who’s Joelle?” with Johanna’s picture pasted right beside it.

Bill, exasperated, bellowed, “I figured it out last night. Couldn’t Carol at least wait until one of us make a statement?”

“You know her, she always needs to pounce on any story with a mystery behind it. You really should give her a chance,” McComb commented between the sips of his coffee. “She’s a bright one!”

Bill grumbled to himself as he sat down to finish up the paperwork from the night before. “We still need to figure out who broke in to Miss Lee’s place. I need to follow up on some leads,” he scoffed as he picked up his phone.

Across town, John sat in Gregory’s Diner, reading the town gazette. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. Jojo passed away just a few months after he went to jail. After all this time, his pent up anger about how he thought she left him faded away, and a tear streamed down his face.

I need to make this right, he thought to himself. He headed out to the florist for flowers and found his way to Jojo’s gravesite.

When he arrived at Douglas Cemetery, he drove around to the Langford section, expecting her to be buried with her family. He walked up and down the hillside and eventually found himself in the Smith family section.

He found her stone finally, laying the flowers on the headstone. To the right, he saw a smaller headstone with the name Gloria Smith. It had the same date of death as Jojo.

John collapsed between the two headstones to his knees. He sat there, crying for what seemed like an hour.

He started to gather himself when a hand gently laid down on his shoulder. “Want to go talk about it?” Officer Tatum inquired. “You’ll have to ride with me, but it’s time for lunch. Then we can get this all sorted out with Miss Lee.

John looked up. “I never meant any harm. I loved her so much, it tore me apart, Sir.”

Officer Tatum helped John up. “I know son, love has us do crazy things at time.”

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