"There's been a murder."
"What?" Anne screeched. "Not here in Roulette."
Callie snuggled closer under Doug's muscled arm. "Yes, Anne. In OUR town. Can you believe it?"
"Who? Where? What happened?" Anne's mind battled between wanting to know every detail and hoping Doug would suddenly shout "April Fool's."
Doug cleared his throat. "You understand I can't tell you lots of details, but I especially want you girls to begin taking better safety precautions. Start by locking your doors – cars, apartment and the business."
"So, what can you tell us?"
"A couple of teens sneaking off to neck in a dark alley stumbled on what they initially thought was a pile of clothing. Upon further investigation, they found Robert Ettermen, dead."
Anne gasped. "No, not Mr. Ettermen. Why would someone kill that kind old man? He didn't have any money. Maybe he just died?"
“No, Anne, it was definitely murder,” replied Doug.
"It's awful. I'm sure Mr. Ettermen never hurt anyone. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. Remember how he always took in the abandoned cats and dogs?" A tear slipped down Callie's cheek.
"Everyone hurts someone at some point in life," added Reid.
“Oh, Reid, that's a terrible thought,” said Callie.
Anne nodded. “Yes, it is awful, but the truth. Remember, the Bible says that “all have sinned.”
Anne looked up at Reid and noticed his pallor and stiff-as-a-board stance. She hoped he wasn't upset with her for referring to the Bible, again. More probably, it was talk about a murder in the area that bothered him.
Her first sight of him stretched out in the casket flashed across her mind. She stifled a laugh as she remembered her and Callie's initial imaginings that Reid might be a murderer. Of course, their second meeting when he was returning her scissors hadn't exactly allayed doubts about his character. It wasn't until they began to play basketball together that they got to know the real Reid.
The REAL Reid. Did she know the real Reid?
The minute the question entered her mind, she realized how very little she did know about Reid. She began a mental list of the few details he had shared: he's in town temporarily, he loves basketball and plays like a pro, he is doing research – on what, she had no clue. All in all, his bio read like an expurgated Reader's Digest version. Skimpy. Very skimpy.
He's handsome and causes my heart to flutter. He doesn't trust in Jesus and calls the Bible drivel. If for no other reason, Anne needed to guard her emotions. “Be a witness and give testimony of Jesus, but don't get attached to the man,” said her brain to her heart.
As for his being a criminal, what a joke. As Doug continued to talk about the murder, Reid looked more like a man that was about to pass out or throw up or both. If his knees shook upon hearing about a crime, then she could be certain he'd never commit one. She needed to keep her imagination in check.
****
Reid scuffed his size twelve tennis shoes in the gravel. His stomach flip-flopped as Doug began his narrative on the murder. Reid only half listened to Doug's words, but he heard enough to know he needed to end this conversation and get busy covering his tracks. He had some damage control to put in place.
The trick would be taking his leave from this threesome without causing undue speculation. The discovery of a murder in their little burg was big news and would likely be the hot topic of conversation for a long time. What bad luck. This increased the difficulties of his job and endangered his entire project.
He glanced at his watch. “Oh, hey. I have a call coming in a few minutes. I'll probably see you tomorrow.” Unless the bottom falls out and I'm heading out of town by dawn.
Reid turned away only to be snagged by Doug's strong grip on his arm. He tensed.
“Thanks again, buddy, for helping with the teams tonight. You were a lifesaver.”
Reid swallowed the lump in his throat and shrugged off Doug's thanks. “No biggie.” Liar!