Wednesday Story Day – AKA Hump Day

~ John W. Howell

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we had a rather odd conversation between Alice and Harriet. Alice made a recommendation to Harriet to fire the lawyer. It looks like she and Harriet have something to hide. I see the private detective is going to the sheriff’s office. This could be a juicy convert station, and I think we ought to go and catch what they are saying.
“It is very nice of you to see me.”
“You’re the private eye hired by Jason McDonnell, why wouldn’t I see you? We are on the same team. By the way, I never got your name.”
“The name’s Frank. Frank Plano.”
“Nice meeting you Frank. You want some coffee?”
“No thanks Sheriff. I would like some information though.”
“Sure enough. Have a seat.”
“Thanks. You don’t mind if I take a few notes do you?”
“Go right ahead. I do that myself so that I can remember the conversations. I use a recorder as well. How about you?”
“I don’t think a recorder is necessary. So let me come right out and ask why you have an interest in investigating a case that is outside your jurisdiction?”
“Yea, that’s a good question, Frank. You don’t mind if I call you Frank do you?”
“Not at all. May I call you Seth?”
“Sure that’s my name.”
“So to the question Seth. How come?”
“Here’s the deal. This kid comes to town like he owns the place. He gets cozy with a couple of the women in town, and all the time he has a couple of murdered parents. He is somewhere and comes home. Hours later he calls 9-11 with some lame excuse about not knowing they were dead. He gets a bundle of insurance money. His sister goes missing and who knows where her share of the insurance went. When I did a background check on him, I found all this out. I called the local law enforcement guys in Kenosha, and they were doing squat. To me, that wasn’t right, so I decided to gather the evidence and force those lazy sons a bitches to press the case. What else do you need to know?”
“So you gathered some evidence.”
“Well, not enough I can tell you.”
“So you decided to go for a confession?”
“Yeah, that was pretty stupid. But, hey, no venture no gain you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. So what is your next step?”
“There’s this pharmacist who seems to want to talk about a lot of things. He tells me the sister was a druggie.”
“And he supplied the drugs?”
“Yeah looks that way.”
“Not a very reliable witness I would say.”
“Why not?”
“Looks like he would say anything to stay out of trouble.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“What would you do to stay out of trouble, Seth?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m wondering if there is another reason you are pursuing this case.”
“You accusing me of something?”
“Oh, maybe it isn’t just you. Maybe there are more of you involved.”
“Okay, that’s it. You pick your ass up off my chair and get out of my office.”
“A little close to the bone. Sheriff?”
“I would watch myself while you’re in town, Mr. Plano. A lot of folks around here don’t cotton to strangers. Now get.”

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Published by John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

44 thoughts on “Wednesday Story Day – AKA Hump Day”

  2. Seth is not keen on being in the hot seat which does make me wonder about a coverup. My goodness, the plot thickens and tempers boil. Good writing, John. 🙂

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  13. Hi John. This episode was the highpoint of dinner. (Sorry Lean Cuisine…), and I agree with DL about the layers.
    If the PI meant to see how far he had to push Seth to get a rise out of him, well — mission accomplished.
    Hmmm… How far back was that episode (or 2) that went into detail about the sister, and I think one about the pharmacist… Must review… Calls for another glass of Shiraz.
    Hugs!

    Liked by 1 person

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