Welcome to Tuesday Tales, a weekly blog featuring authors posting excerpts from works in progress based on word and picture prompts. I’m pleased you stopped by today. This week’s picture prompt is sewing. Enjoy the other talented authors of Tuesday Tales.
The drive to the outskirts of town took longer than usual due to an eye-rolling detour. Eye-rolling because–although construction signs and orange barrels forced westbound cars into the center suicide lane—there were no workers in sight. As usual. With a sigh, I placed a thumb just above my nose and pressed upward. It was a technique Robin had taught me to relieve tension before it blared into a headache. Crawling through traffic tended to give me a king-sized one. It was one reason I had left Jacksonville. Robin maintained I was high strung and should visualize a peaceful place in my mind to visit when tense. Somehow it didn’t sound like the best idea while driving.
I had told Naomi I’d be there when she opened at nine. By the time I pulled into a make-do spot on the grass, it was a good twenty minutes past. The other parking spaces were already filled. Only two out of the four shops in the mini plaza were currently in business. Either Naomi’s shop, Sew What, was jam-packed or Vape On was. I’d bet on the latter. I reached for the handle, prepared to hear the loud cowbell that rang when the door swung open. Only the handle didn’t turn. The door was still locked. I rapped loudly and peered in. Nothing.
She must be in the back room at the sewing machine, engrossed in fabric. I decided to walk around to the rear of the building. The sidewalk didn’t continue past the front, and my toes got dewy plodding through tendrils of ox-eye daisies. The back door stood two inches ajar. I entered, calling out her name.
There was no answer, and in a moment I knew why. When I saw it, ice shards trickled down my spine. I stood for several moments, taking it in and trying to breathe.
Naomi sat at the sewing machine, one cheek on the console, facing me. Her eyes were open, staring blankly. One arm hung down, with blood dripping from the fingertips. There was a pool of red on the floor. A butcher knife protruded obscenely from her back.
Trembling all over, I took a step toward her, simultaneously pulling out my phone for 911.
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the picture prompt sewing. Thanks for stopping by. Read the other amazing excerpts at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2020 Flossie Benton Rogers
Oh my gosh what a suspenseful snippet!
Cathy, I’m so glad you felt the suspense– thanks for the comment!
Holy cow! What a distressing development! Nicely done.
Thanks for the god words, Vicki!
Chilling! But suspense built up so beautifully, Now I need to know why anyone would want to kill a lady sewing??
I’m glad you could feel the suspense. Thanks, Jean!
Absolutely chilling!
Thanks, Mae!
What a cliffhanger! Great job! Now there’s a mystery and a murder to solve.
It was quite a shock to me, too. Thanks, Susanne.
OMG! That was heart stopping. Who would kill a seamstress? I can’t wait to read more! Great job!
Thank you for the kind comments, Tricia.
Aw man, here I was reading along and loving the name of the Sew On store and then, BOOM!! Poor thing, stabbed in the back. What a twist. Jillian
Yes, hopefully we can find out who dun it!
Oh, NO! That is a scene I did not expect. As horrible as her discovery is, you pulled it off really well. Including the tension from the drive. Great job.
I’m glad you think it was pulled off well. Thank you, Trisha.