by Maisy Morgan
“And that was how long ago?” Cindy asked cautiously.
“How old is Tripp?”
“Oh, geez,” Cindy said, covering her mouth. “I didn’t realize that. I might have set you up for failure.”
“Wow, thanks for the pep talk, Cindy,” Mary said, rolling her eyes. “What am I going to do? I don’t even remember what dating was like let alone what being single on a date was like. The last date night my ex-husband and I went on was over fourteen years ago.”
“Well, step one is deciding what you’re going to wear,” Cindy said. “Then hopefully the rest will come naturally.”
“What to wear… right.” Mary said, and then she felt a slight twinge of panic. “Oh no, my dress clothes are still in boxes, Cindy!”
“Okay, don’t panic yet. You have plenty of time,” Cindy said. “You think about what you want to wear, and when you get home, make it your mission to find that outfit. You don’t worry about Tripp or anything. I’ll be by around six thirty this evening to pick him up so that he’s out of the house long before Officer Preston gets there.”
Mary shook her head. “I’m going to get you for this one Cindy.” She crossed her arms giving Cindy the stink eye.
“You’re going to love me for this one,” Cindy assured her. “Nice single men around here are slim pickings. And Officer Preston is a genuinely, nice man. I think that’s just what you need.”
“You just met me. How do you know what I need?” Mary asked with a laugh.
“Because dear, he’s a Southern gentleman. Believe me, that’s what every girl needs,” Cindy said, joining Mary in her laughter. “Trust me, nothing’s better than a country boy. You’ll see.”
Mary wasn’t so sure, but she decided for the time being that she would just have to take Cindy’s word for it. She had to admit the whole thing had her rather intrigued. What would a date be like with a charming, Southern gentleman?
Chapter Seven
Mary finished putting on eyeliner, grumbling to herself as she looked in the mirror. She hadn’t done eyeliner in so long that she had almost forgotten how to do it. She stood upright, examining herself in the mirror. She had elected to wear a nice white blouse and a long black skirt that was rather slimming on her. She was debating whether or not to put on jewelry when Tripp knocked on her door. “Come in!” she called, and Tripp entered, nearly tripping over a moving box set near the doorway.
“Eventually, we are going to have to finish unpacking,” he said with a smirk. He smiled at her slightly. “Wow! You look nice, Grandma.”
“Thanks.” Mary said with a little flattery inside. But she suddenly had a distaste for “grandma” again. She was still getting used to being called that. Since she hadn’t known Tripp particularly well until recently, she had started to fool herself into thinking she was much younger than she really was. “This is very strange for me, I have to admit. I haven’t been on a date in… well, over two decades.”
“Dang, you’re old,” Tripp teased, and she threw her eyeliner at him. He ducked and laughed. “Do you even know what to do on a date anymore?” he asked.
“No, not whatsoever,” Mary said. “I’m going to kill Cindy for talking me into this one.”
“Officer Preston seemed like a cool guy though,” Tripp said.
“I thought so,” Mary said. “And look at you… looks like you’ve got a hot date tonight too.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Tripp said with an eyeroll. “Hannah and I are not going on a date.”
“Her mother is going to see a different movie from the two of you,” Mary said, “so she’s dropping you guys off and then going to see her own movie. That definitely sounds like a date to me. I’ll give you some money so that you can buy her some popcorn and candy since Cindy offered to pay for the tickets.”
“It’s NOT a date,” Tripp said firmly and started to walk out, “Oh, Cindy and Hannah are here.”
“Coming down, and it IS a date,” Mary taunted, following Tripp.
“NO, it’s not,” he argued as the two of them made their way back downstairs.
Cindy was the only one in the house, evidently leaving Hannah to wait in the car. “Go on out to the car, Tripp,” Cindy said. “I’ll be right out.”
Tripp thanked Cindy politely for inviting him to the movies before running off. Cindy stood, arms crossed and studying Mary for a moment. “Maybe you could use a necklace with your outfit. You know, just to add a little something,” Cindy suggested. Then grabbing Mary by the hand and practically dragging her all the way up the stairs back to her bedroom, the two of them sifted through jewelry, picked out what shoes she was going to wear, and changed out her purse. Finally, Cindy gave her nod of approval. “Good luck on your date,” she told her, scurrying out of the house to the two very impatient teenagers waiting for her in the car.
When Cindy drove off, Mary felt like she could breathe for a moment. Cindy was a fun woman, but she had far too much energy for Mary’s liking. While Mary enjoyed having the younger woman as a friend, she was beginning to wonder if she should reach out to other grandma-types. The thought again made her cringe – knitting clubs seemed a bit too old for her. She felt like she was at an awkward in-between stage in life.
Mary packed up a slice of rainbow cake for Preston now that she was ready, and by the time she was through with that, he was knocking on her door. “Wow,” was the first thing he said when he saw her, and Mary laughed.
“Come on,” was all she said in response, heading out with him.
He was driving what was apparently his day vehicle, a nice-looking Chevrolet Bolt. “I hope you like Japanese,” he said with a grin.
“There’s a Japanese place in Brooks?” Mary asked, and he merely laughed in response.
“There are no places to eat in Brooks,” he said. “Unless you want gas station pizza.”
“I’ll pass,” she said. “And by the way, I love Japanese.”
“Great, there’s a hibachi place out in Fayetteville that I think you’re going to love,” he said, and soon they were on their way.
Apparently, in the city of Brooks, when a couple had a date, a good portion of it was done in the car. It was about a thirty-five-minute drive to the hibachi restaurant, but once they got inside Mary grinned and her stomach growled at the smell. They sat around an enormous hibachi table, and the friendly servers brought them their drinks, soups, and salads to start off.
“I come here for the fried rice,” Preston said. “It’s incredible.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” she said.
Once they placed their order, Mary gave the salad a try and was instantly in love with the restaurant’s ginger salad dressing. “This is really good. They have a lot of hibachi places out in LA, but I’ve got to say I’m already very impressed. The soup is amazing too.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he said with a smile.
There wasn’t much room for talking at the hibachi place since several people gathered around one single hibachi table, but Mary had a tremendous amount of fun watching the chef toss an egg around and catch it in his hat. He also threw food for them to try to catch in their mouths, and she learned that Preston was right – the fried rice was some of the best she had ever had. “This place is so much fun,” Mary found herself saying on their way out.
“Well, I hope you know the date’s not over,” Preston said. “Because we’re going bowling.”
“Oh, dear,” Mary said with a laugh.
To Mary’s surprise, bowling turned out to be an excellent idea. The bowling alley was just down the road from the hibachi place, and it allowed for a lot more one-on-one conversation. They sat at a little table beside the ball return machine, and had easy conversation between turns. “So, this rainbow cake is amazing,” he told her after she returned from knocking down seven pins.
“I see you’ve dug into dessert,” she said with a laugh, sitting down.
“Well, you definitely have gotten yourself a regular customer once your shop opens up,” he sai
d. “I’ll be coming to the grand opening for sure.”
Mary smiled. “I hope so,” she said. “You know what, Preston, I’m really glad you asked me out on a date tonight.”
“Really?” he asked with a smile. “I felt like Cindy kind of forced it on you.”
“Oh, she definitely did,” Mary admitted. “But, much to my pleasure, this has turned out to be a lot of fun. Being new to an area can be hard, so it’s such a relief and enjoyable getting to know someone. Plus, it’s icing on the cake since you are just so sweet,” Mary chuckled inside at the pun she unintentionally made.
“Well, I try,” he said, smirking. “So, I hope you don’t mind me being a little forward in asking about you and Tripp. You told me a good bit already, but I just want to make sure I understand the situation there. I just don’t want to say something I shouldn’t.”
“Oh, I understand,” Mary said. “Well, he’s my grandson. I told you that. His mother, my daughter, became pregnant very young. Her father ran off on me around that time, and it was very hard on her. She got mixed in with the wrong crowd, and started doing drugs to deal with everything. I tried to help her, but Tripp’s father wasn’t willing to wait around on her to get clean. I don’t blame him. He did what was best for Tripp, and he decided to take Tripp out of the situation. I still continued to try to help her, but eventually she ran out on me.”
“I’m really sorry, Mary,” Preston said. “Sounds like you’ve had it pretty rough.”
“If I knew where my daughter was, that would make things easier,” Mary said. “But it is what it is. Now I’ve got Tripp to look after since his father was killed in that home invasion… terrible… things are just very complicated right now.”
“I imagine so,” Preston said as his phone started to buzz. He ignored the call. “I know that going on a date was probably just something else that you had to worry about, but I hope you’ve enjoyed…” His phone buzzed again, and he once again ignored the call. “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself.”
“I really have,” Mary said. “Hibachi and bowling – an unusual but very fun combination.”
He laughed. “You should come here for midnight bowling sometime,” he said. “They turn out the lights and turn on the black lights and everything is all glow-in-the-dark neon.”
Mary smirked. “Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun actually. We should—” Preston’s phone started to go off again. “Maybe you should answer that? It seems like it’s important.”
“It may be,” Preston grumbled. “Hello? Oh! Hey, Chief… sorry, I was about…I’m sorry? What! Uh, I’m on a date right now, but yeah, I’ll get there as soon as I can. See you there.” Preston quickly hung up the phone and shook his head. Mary could tell the call was concerning, disturbing, and perhaps somewhat upsetting to Preston.
Mary sighed. “Date over early?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Preston said, standing up. “Chief just called me.” He leaned in a bit lowering his voice. “Pastor Josiah has been killed.”
“What?” Mary yelped, jumping up as well.
“I don’t know much yet,” Preston said. “But I have to get back to Brooks pronto.”
They turned in their shoes and hurried out the door towards the parking lot. Halfway back to Brooks, Preston said something about taking her home first, but she turned him down. “No, my house is on the opposite end of town. You head there first. I know you need to get to the crime scene quickly.”
“Are you sure?” Preston questioned.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
They eventually wound up on the side of Highway 16, a mostly deserted part of the road between the town of Brooks and the town of Senoia. The scene near the woods had already been taped off. Preston told Mary to wait by the car, and she sat on the hood of his vehicle and watched him hurry off towards the other officers who had arrived at the scene first. She could see that a body was covered up a short distance away, and crime tape had the whole area roped off. There were markers put up already where crime scene photographers were carefully snapping pictures of what first responders to the scene had found.
After a while of sitting, Mary decided to look around. She felt like the police had taped off a rather small area, so she proceeded to cautiously walk around the outside of the actual crime scene tape. She looked around for a bit and then noticed something shimmering in the grass. When she kneeled down, she spotted a locket. “Hey! Officer Preston!” she waved. “Come here, I think I found something!”
Preston and another officer came hurrying over, and Preston kneeled down to take a look. “It’s a locket… not too far from the body…” Preston stated. He used a glove to pick up the golden locket, and the other officer held open a bag for him to place it in. “It’s got the initials ESH on the back. We’ll check into Josiah’s family and see if it might belong to someone in his family. If not, this might be a lead to whoever killed him. Good work, Mary. Wait, look here…” Preston pointed, and sure enough there was a large footprint near where the locket had been found. “That’s way too big to be Josiah’s. That could belong to our killer. Let’s get a mold of that.”
“Will do, Detective,” the officer said.
Preston nodded approvingly at Mary. “Good eyes, Mary. I might just need to keep you around.”
Mary smiled slightly though her mind went back to Pastor Josiah who was still lying out in the grass a short distance away.
Chapter Eight
Slowly rolling out of bed the following morning, Mary awoke with a slight crick in her neck. She had slept a bit restlessly thanks to the rather maddening night she’d had. Learning that Pastor Josiah had been killed mere hours after the incident at the Brooks Day festival had been rather shocking, and it had plagued a good bit of her dreams. Tripp had gone to bed without her saying anything about what had happened as they had both arrived back home rather late. She knew it was probably something the whole town would be discussing and that it would be best to inform her grandson before they headed to the shop that day.
As she made her way downstairs, she started pondering what to make for breakfast, and with little hesitation decided on pancakes. Mary started pulling out all the ingredients that she would need when her doorbell rang. She jumped slightly, not expecting someone to come knocking on their door so early in the morning. She hurried through the house and peered through the peephole only to see Pastor Josiah’s wife standing on her front step. “What in the world…?” Mary said, opening the door up to Ms. Jenna.
“Good morning!” Jenna exclaimed, brushing her gray hair out of her face a bit and holding up a perfectly round apple pie.
“Good morning?” Mary questioned not really knowing what to say. “Umm… would you like to come in?” She stepped aside, allowing Jenna entrance.
Jenna pranced on in, still holding the pie. “I hope I’m not intruding. I know it’s a bit early for a weekend, but it is Sunday. I wasn’t sure if you would be up or not. I just wanted to bring by a little neighborly welcome package. It’s apple pie – I hope you like apple.”
Mary smiled a rather nervous smile. “Yes, I do love apple pie,” she said, following Jenna into the kitchen.
“Now, I don’t know whether or not you have found a home church yet,” Jenna said. “But the church my husband used to pastor is excellent. Pastor Michael’s sermons are just wonderful.” Mary was baffled and confused at Jenna’s casual demeanor.
“No, I haven’t given it too much thought just yet,” Mary said. “We haven’t been here too long. We are still trying to get the house put together and the shop up and running.”
“I imagine so!” Jenna exclaimed.
“I didn’t realize you and I were neighbors,” Mary said still stumped. “I mean, Brooks isn’t that large of a town.”
“Across the street, third house down,” Jenna said. Mary scratched the back of her head, staring at Jenna feeling quite perplexed. Jenna looked at Mary for a moment, picking up on the woman’s discomfort. “Di
d I come at a bad time?” Jenna asked.
“No, nothing like that,” Mary said. “I just… is this some sort of coping mechanism or are you still in shock and disbelief?”
Jenna frowned. “My dear, I know I was rather embarrassed at the park yesterday, but that’s between my husband and I.”
“Jenna, I’m talking about what happened last night with Josiah.” Mary stated frankly.
Jenna stared back her blankly for several moments before at last coming clean. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about if I’m being honest. I wasn’t home last night. Did Josiah get himself into some sort of trouble?”
Mary covered her mouth. The last thing she expected to have to do first thing in the morning was break the news to some poor woman that her husband had been killed. “Ms. Jenna, um…” Mary stammered. “I’m so sorry, but… maybe you should sit down?”
“Dear, you are frightening me. Is everything all right?” Jenna asked, pulling up one of the bar stools by the kitchen island and sitting herself down at Mary’s request. “What’s going on, Mary?” It was at this point that Mary knew that Jenna had not been using some crazy coping mechanism, and definitely wasn’t in shock or disbelief because Jenna really didn’t know about what had happened to her husband; her deceased husband.
“Jenna, I assumed they would have reached out to you and told you, but Josiah was found dead off Highway 16 last night – someone killed him,” Mary explained. Jenna’s face went pale.
The woman shrieked a bit and seemed to start hyperventilating. “My husband’s dead? What are you talking about? What happened? When?”
“Jenna, where were you?” Mary asked. “Have the police really not contacted you yet?”
“No!” Jenna wailed, and now she began to cry. “I… I was at my niece’s last night… I was so upset with Josiah that I ran out. I wasn’t up for talking about the affair just yet. All I got out of him was that it was a long time ago, but I didn’t want to hear it. I turned my phone off and went and stayed with my niece in Newnan. I didn’t… I think I’m going to faint!”
