Tuesday Tales 2024-2-20 Wood

Welcome to Tuesday Tales, powered by a small group of authors, where word prompts inspire passages in the books we’re writing. Today’s prompt is wood. My snippet is from a cozy mystery set in fictional Glisten, Georgia. When you finish reading, make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.

“I know Robin Gilmore. She and I were close as kids and have remained best friends over the years. And I had met Dovie a few times. Of course, I remember Mrs. Upshaw from the old days. I hadn’t met, or at least don’t remember, the others.”

“Was Robin Gilmore part of the committee?”

“No, she was visiting me.”

He asked for the names of the people who had attended the meeting, and I rattled them off as best I could. “Robin can give you all the last names or fill in anyone I forgot,” I said. I sure didn’t need him to conclude I made any purposeful omissions.

He ran over questions about what the visitors said and did again, ending with, “What was the unusual word used by Luella Wyler to refer to Vonna Lacey?”

My mind was a blank, and both Detective Pelier and I glanced at Roy.

“Wormwood,” Roy said.

The detective made a note. He went on to ask if I had anything else to report about the argument in the kitchen, the alleged threat Kitty had made toward Jack, my walk in the woods, finding the body, or any other pertinent information.

Roy cleared his throat. “I didn’t have an opportunity to brief you, Detective, but there is new information. Peri learned of it directly before coming here today. She called me and, on my instructions, Officer Parrish secured the room. “His gaze swept to me. “Tell him about the break-in to the study.”

I did so, including the preliminaries of Dovie showing me the room the previous day and giving me the spare key. For the first time, the detective’s expression was other than wooden. A gleam appeared in his eyes as if Christmas hovered on the horizon.

I, however, was well aware that Halloween was coming first.

He asked, “When you and Mrs. Douglas left for Blairsville, Robin Gilmore’s plan was to see everyone out, lock the door to the tearoom, and then go?”

“Yes, she had to get back to work.”

“Leaving Luella Wyler alone at the Inn?”

“Of course. Luella lives there and was still in the kitchen, baking.”

“You have no way of knowing if anything was actually taken from the study?”

“No, but if anything was taken, it was obviously well hidden and hard to find. The intruder left the room a shambles.”

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the piece inspired by the word wood. If you haven’t done so already, check out the other excerpts at Tuesday Tales.

Cheers & Happy Reading!

Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories

All rights reserved, copyright @ 2024 Flossie Benton Rogers