Miss Emily Meeks was an institution in town. She had been the librarian for as long as anyone could remember. Her fine mousy brown hair barely reached her shoulders and was sprinkled with gray and her huge grey eyes were hidden behind a pair of gold rimmed glasses. She had traded her severe gray dresses for light gray pant suits. She always wore a pair of sturdy black shoes, which allowed her to be on her feet all day.
She had a routine you could set your watch by. Every morning at 6:30 she stopped at the Oak Grove Cafe for two eggs over easy with bacon, hash browns and whole wheat toast. She also had tea with cream. The waitresses knew her favorite jam was strawberry. She chatted with the other customers and read the Detroit News. By 7:15 am she had all the local gossip anyone needed to start their day and walked on to the library. She did her inventory, placed orders and did research for the locals until the doors opened at 9 a.m. Yep, you could set your watch by Miss Emily.
It was a surprise to everyone when the library didnt open one Monday morning. Constable Buck Wise was called and set out to retrace the steps Miss Emily took every morning. The waitresses on the morning shift hadnt seen Miss Emily and were wondering if she was ill. One of them had planned to check on her at the end of the shift. Constable Wise made his way to Miss Emilys, hoping to find she had stayed home with a chill.
Miss Emily had a small house on the edge of town. It was a bit run down, but she kept her flowers well tended and they seemed to take over the yard. Constable Wise radioed that he was going to enter the premises as the front door was wide open.
Although hed known Miss Emily for as long as he could remember, hed never been in her little house. He knocked firmly on the door frame and called out, Miss Meeks, its Constable Wise. Is everything all right? Getting no response he walked slowly into the house.
He could hear the TV blaring. Things were overturned, and strewn about. He found Miss Emily slumped in her chair in front of the TV. Shed found horror in her death.
He quickly exited the house and radioed for the coroner. While waiting for the arrival of the coroner he began to walk slowly around the outside of the house, looking for clues, looking for anything, avoiding a return to the scene for as long as he could.
Buck Wise was a veteran of the Detroit police force. Hed seen his share of murder. He was a stocky man about five feet ten inches tall. Hed worked out regularly while he was on the force. He didnt want to be part of the donut brigade. He took pride in staying fit. His dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes made him attractive in the look of old western cowboys. But those who knew him knew he was a kind and gentle person. Hed moved his family back to his hometown of Oak Grove to shelter them from murder. That had been seven years ago.
Murder didnt happen in his little town. That was why he had come back here. He hated the murder, and crime in the city. He wanted a quiet place to raise his family. One where people knew each other and murder just didnt happen.
|