Tag: Short Story

writing

Break In – Chapter 9

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

John sat in the lounge chair in the corner at the town bakery, eating his breakfast. “Can I have some more coffee, Jessica?”

Jessica reached behind the counter and picked up a carafe and a plate she had on the counter. She headed over to John to refill his cup. “Have things settled down for you, John?” She filled his cup and set down a shortbread for him.

He sullenly looked up, but smiled. “Yeah, I’m doing okay. Still looking for a bright spot in this whole changed world.”

Jessica forced a smile and patted him on the shoulder. She could only imagine his pain. She looked up and saw Carol come in, then headed back to the counter. “Morning, Carol.”

“Hi, Mrs. Tatum.” Carol put in an order for a pastry and some tea to go. “I’ll be over here. I need to have a word with John.”

John looked up and waved Carol over. She slid into the chair across from him.

“Do you mind me asking what happened when you were in jail? Did you communicate with anyone while you were there?”

He hung his head. “I never wanted to get into it. I lost it. I deserved being behind bars. And, I was embarrassed. How could I have been so….”

Carol interrupted him. “John, you need to stop beating yourself up. Everyone messes up now and then.” Her fingers drummed on the journal in her hand. In that moment, Carol realized the mystery she was trying to solve was how to help John through this journey. “Why didn’t you let Jojo know what was going on?”

John looked up at her intently. “What do you mean? The letter I got from her was to tell me she was marrying Gary. It was why I was so mad. I kept that anger inside me trying to swallow it down. When she wasn’t home to talk it through, I lost it again.”

Carol looked at him intently. “According to her journal, she wrote several times. Did you ever think that letter was meant to get you to respond, not to anger? A chance to tell her what was inside your heart? ” She looked down, but knew it was time to hand the book over to him. “Sometimes, when someone loves someone, they forgive just about anything and they’ll reach out to connect in any way to get a response. It’s hard, but…here.”

She handed John the journal. “I think she would want to be here with you. She just needed to know it was what you wanted, too.”

His hand shook as he took the journal, and looked up with damp eyes. “Thank you.”

Carol stood up and squeezed his arm. “I hope it brings you peace.”

John opened up the book to the back of the journal to look over the last few entries.

I try to be a good wife to Gary, but my heart still loves John. I wish I could tell him.

Her final entry is solemn, almost foreboding.

Gary is a good man, and I’m lucky he’s by my side. However, he knows however my soul isn’t here. It’s out there, wherever John is, if he’d have me.

John’s eyes spilled over. He went to close the journal when a sealed letter, addressed to him, fell out from the pages.

My dearest,

If you are reading this, I hopefully am sitting in front of you, tearfully happy and overjoyed to be with you. If that ends up not possible, you still need to know.

I never stopped loving you.

Even in those times when I was mad at you, disappointed with how things were between us, and we were with others, I still loved you.

I know of some of the bad things that went on in your life, and when I heard of them, I rooted for you to pull through as I always knew you would.

I cheer for you through the highs, too, because that’s what we do when we love someone.

I always want you to feel loved and have a life full of laughter. May your most beautiful dreams always come true for you.

I hope we find our way back to each other one day in this life. If not, may we find each other quickly and get it right in the next.

All my love, Always.

Epilogue:

As I come to the conclusion of this short story, I want to go back and rewrite it. I want a happy ending for Jojo and John. And I’d like to give Carol some grand discovery she can shout to the whole world through her work; hopefully she can be satisfied with making a difference in another person’s life instead this round.

The great thing is, I can always edit and rewrite…so I might.

If you have read this short story and liked it, I hope you’ll enjoy the rewrite as well when I refine the story. Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I welcome feedback so I can grow further on this journey. ~DRM~

0
writing

Break In – Chapter 8

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

Carol was determined to trace down the date of John’s arrest to see if it matched with her diary. She went in to the office and started digging in the archives.

“Carol, stop digging in the past!” Her editor bellowed as he entered the store room filled with volumes of old newspapers. “There’s no point to this.”

She looked up. “I need the whole story! I can’t leave it partially done.” She went back to filtering through the stacks. “I found it!” Relieved, she opened the paper to the Police report section. “Surely it will be here!” She scanned through the pages, but there was no mention of the arrest.

“Carol, we didn’t always get the reports in time to publish the next morning…check the next few days after,” he huffed at her. Under his breath he muttered “Junior reporters!” and shuffled back to his desk.

Triumphantly, Carol cried out “I found it!”

“Great, Carol. But I need the article for today’s paper done before you do any more work on this flight of fancy you have,” her editor ordered.

“Yes sir! Have it to you in a few!”

Now that she knew the information matched up, she knew she could go forward with pulling apart more information from Johanna’s diary. It was a part of the puzzle put together, and freed up some space in her mind to work on the current story. She whipped up the article on the current weather trends for her editor and submitted it, then headed home.

Back home, Carol pulled out the leather blue journal, and began to intently read on.

John still hasn’t written back from jail. I can’t go visit him according to the jail, but I was hoping to hear back from him.

A week goes by in the journal.

Nothing arrived still today. I’m wondering if our getting back together just was a fling for him. Why hasn’t he written?

Two more weeks go by in the journal.

Gary came by today to check in on me. He sat in his car for a few minutes before he finally knocked on the door just like old times. We got to talking and I mentioned not hearing from John. He has some connections at the jail; he’s going to find out if there is some sort of reason behind it. He seems concerned.

Three days later.

I am heartbroken. I cannot believe that John has been refusing my letters. One of the officers told Gary that John is not communicating with anyone. Gary listened to me through all my sobbing. I don’t know how to do this on my own.

A week later.

Gary has been so attentive. He’s offered to stand by my side since John has completely stopped all communications. I’m so grateful to have someone who cares. Maybe it’s better this way.

Carol paused and thought to herself. Why does this sound like a made for TV mystery where the new guy framed the old flame?

She needed some answers from John. She set everything aside for the evening, intent on locating John the next morning.

0
writing

Break In – Chapter 7

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

“Is Officer Tatum in?” Carol asked the officer at the counter and nervously tapped her short nails. The deputy looked her over and waved her back to his office.

“Bill, hey, I needs some information. A little background on this whole fiasco at Shana Lee’s place. Could you help?”

Officer Tatum looked at Carol with a perplexed look. “What do you mean background? Shana dropped all charges, there’s nothing more to cover.”

Carol had to decide quickly how much to reveal to Bill. She hemmed a bit before continuing on. “Can you just help me close out the facts on the original arrest of John and, more minorly, the night his vehicle was vandalized? I want to confirm I have the right dates.” She handed her notes to Bill.

Bill looked her notes over, and looked back at Carol. He knew she was digging for more information for some reason, but hadn’t put why together yet. “Well, I can help you with the vandalization, but John was arrested by the county police, so I don’t have any of that information. You’ll have to head over to the county seat to get any details there.”

Carol smiled, she was getting somewhere with her research. At least she didn’t hit a brick wall.

Bill looked up the case number in the computer. “Carol, this is a very old case. It was a paper file according to the system and was never fully scanned in. Unfortunately, we had a fire a couple years ago, those case records are long gone.”

Carol grimaced. “Does the system at least give a date? Maybe I can find some info out another way.” Really, all she needed was the date to confirm her suspicion that the diary was Johanna’s.

“The file here says March 23, 1999. But that’s the day it was filed. Looks like it was March 22nd, or that weekend at least,” Bill commented. “Heck, that was the year after I graduated!”

Carol looked at Bill. He appeared much older than a man approaching 40. His hair was already mostly grey with just a few remnants of brown.

But that date ties to the journal’s dates. “Bill, thank you. That’s just the information I need!” Carol stuck out her hand and gave him an enthusiastic shake.

Bill wasn’t sure why Carol was, well, ecstatic with just the date. He looked at her puzzled. “Just be careful out there. Not sure what your getting into, but stay out of trouble.”

Carol smiled, but it wasn’t time to reveal her hand just yet. She was still putting together the pieces. “Sure. Will do. Thanks again, Bill!” With that she waved a farewell to him and headed out the door.

0
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.”

0
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.”

0
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.”

0
writing

Break In – Chapter 2

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

Officer Tatum finally ended his day. Aside from the break in at the Smith house today, his little town rarely brought any excitement to his policing duties. He pulled off his cap as he arrived home and hung it on the coat pegs just inside the mud room. He slipped out of his boots and took in a big sigh. The air smelled sweet of sugar, butter and vanilla.

‘Hey honey! How was your day?’ his wife hollered from the kitchen. Jessica’s sweet voice was always music to his ears.

He stood up and turned the corner to see her at the oven, baking away. “Another experiment for the bakery?” he cooed as he tried to sneak a cookie off a tray.

Jessica turned to him. “Billy, get your hands off those!” she teased as he quickly bit into the shortbread. “What am I going to do with you?” she brightly exclaimed as she moved in for a quick kiss.

“Love me, of course! My day was the usual, except a break in down at the old Smith place. We don’t even think perp meant to break in. The poor girl had just moved in this week and she didn’t even know him.”

“Did you catch him?” Jess inquired.

“No. According to the victim, he kept hollering the name Joelle. Do you remember anyone by that name?”

Jessica pondered, “You’d think someone here would remember a name like that. We’re a pretty small town.” Jessica appeared to be racking her brain. “I seem to remember a Johanna Langford….do you think that could be who he was looking for?”

Billy froze solid. Before Jessica, he and Johanna had briefly dated. “It might be… I remember some folks called her Jo L.” He stopped short about how Jojo hated being called Johanna. Jessica didn’t need to know about that. “She ended up marrying Gary Smith and lived in that very house a few months before she passed away a couple years ago. Gary couldn’t handle it and left town shortly afterward.”

Jessica looked at Billy. ‘So she was our age? I wonder if we might know the person who broke in. Why would someone break in to someone’s house when they are already gone?” Jessica paused, thinking for a moment, then asked, “What did she die from?”

Billy recalled to Jessica how she met Gary in some whirlwind romance after her former boyfriend John was dramatically hauled away and placed in jail. Within 4 months, she had passed from complications from her pregnancy.

“I wonder if Gary lost his mind and came back. He did take it hard when she passed away. But why?” Billy put down some notes for him to follow up on in the morning. “Can I please have another cookie?” he sweet talked to Jessica, batting his eyes. Jess just rolled hers as she handed him another shortbread.

0
writing

Break In – Chapter 1

Posted on by Dawn Renee Miller

She stood among the chaos around her, unsure of where to begin. The storm had been brief, but destructive. A chair overturned. The glass top of the table shattered into shards on the rug now wet from her spilled drink when the table broke.

The sirens wailed and lights flashed outside her door. She raised her hand to her face to wipe away the wetness, only to see blood smeared on her arm as she pulled it away. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Why did he do this? Where did that anger come from?

She was perplexed by the whirlwind of madness that came from him. She looked through the door, ripped from its frame when he busted in.

‘Ma’am, are you alright? I’m Officer Tatum. May I come in?’

She raised her head up, showing her tear soaked face. Her right temple dripped blood. She nodded in agreement.

‘Send in the EMT. She needs some attention,’ the officer guided her to the sofa. ‘Careful. Have a seat. First, what is your name?’

‘Shana Lee,’ she squeaked out.

‘Hi Shana. Do you know what happened?’

She really couldn’t recall, other than seeing the flash of upset in his eyes. The rest was a blur.

‘Do you know who did this?’

She nodded no. She didn’t even know his name. ‘He barged in, asking for Joelle. There is no Joelle living here though. He was so angry.’

The EMT cleaned her wound and applied a bandage. ‘We can stitch you up right here.’ The EMT smiled kindly at her as she applied pressure. ‘Did he do anything else?’

‘No. He, he didn’t.’ her muffled voice still shaking. Her hands quivered, her mind still trying to make sense of it all.

Officer Tatum moved through the room, gathering evidence of the break in and damage. ‘Did he say anything else. Any reason why he would unleash this kind of damage?’

Shana shook her head no again and looked around the room.

‘Is there someone we can call to stay with you, or maybe you can go stay with a few nights?’

She shook her head yes, and reached for her phone, looking up her cousin’s number. ‘I just moved here to get a fresh start. I don’t understand any of this.’

0