Milk Carton Murders 32

SETUP: After the meeting with the Underwoods, and Dave's stint at church when the Underwoods show up (and some other stuff I can't tell you), Pepper calls him to meet her at the Lamont Cafe'. They are discussing the case. Remember the Boy Scout pine wood derby car Dave made as a kid when Samantha was a foster child at his house? Some of you asked if it was important, I said yes. It seems a little piece of balsa wood was stuck inside the stuffed dog that was in the coffin with Samantha, a toy Dave had won at the county fair and given her over twenty years ago. Pepper speaks first and tells him there was something carved into the soft wood. They have already figured out there is some connection to the Friends of Foster Families Program or the Wiscoy Dairy where many of the suspects involved in the foster program worked.

 Pepper flipped through her pad. “On one side it said, ‘Sammy Briggs August 22, 1987’, and underneath it, ‘Remember me. September 28, 1987.’”

“The August date had to be the week of the fair,” Dave surmised,  “probably the day I gave it to her. The September date is after she left us, way after. Do you think that was her last day?”

“If not the day, than close to it,” Pepper agreed, “and she might have guessed something was going to happen. What she carved on the other side was even more unsettling."

Dave squelched the other voice in his head from coming to the forefront of his mind. “I almost don’t want to know, but go ahead.”

Pepper looked up at him. “It said—the milk man is evil.”

***

I accidentally deleted my last post of The MCM, and along with it went all your wonderful comments. Although I retrieved the post from my history, did a copy/paste to redo the post the comments are gone forever. My apologies to those who took the time to leave them, and if I missed getting to your blog in return.

The link to the other Weekend Writing Warriors is here. You're bound to find something to pique your interest.

The Sunday Snippet writer's on Facebook are here. Between the two there is something for everyone. Thank you for any comments you leave me. Much appreciated!

I'm being a NaNoWriMo rebel and using the goal stats to get my back title, as they say, Kindleized. Is that a word? If not it is now. It's an 1860s true crime called Bread & Butter: The Murders of Polly Frisch (co-authored with my friend, Ellen Bachorski). It needs a go over to fix some typos and punctuation. I see things now that I didn't 13 years ago when it was first published. Wish me luck and good luck to all of those on the last week of NaNo!

*** 

BLURB:

When three small coffins are unearthed near the Wiscoy Creek during a routine dredging operation, it’s the last thing DAVE ROBERTSON, of the Lamont Weekly Times, expected. Pinned to the skeleton’s clothing are pictures from milk cartons of missing girls.

Dave is stunned to find that one of the girls is Sally―a foster child his parents had cared for through the Friends of Foster Families (FFF) program. Cold case files reveal the girls disappeared over 20 years ago. Knowing his house was the last place he saw Sally alive, he can’t help but suspect his dad.

How can he write the biggest story of his career if his father turns out to be the killer? If the voice in his head would shut up and let him remember, he might figure it out before he loses his mind and his dad is charged with murder.

Full blurb and snippet recap here.

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Milk Carton Murders 31

SET UP: Last week Dave Robertson (my MC) tagged along with Inv. Pepper Black to question the Underwoods. Shelia Underwood seems a bit nuts and her husband answers the questions about their time as foster parents, his job at the carton plant at the dairy and Shelia being a case worker for the Friends of Foster Families over two decades ago. Dave finds out that Randy (who works with him at the newspaper) is their adopted son. He never knew as their last names are different. Dave figures Randy is going to be pissed at him come Monday for dragging his parents into the investigation of the 20 year old case of the three dead girls. This scene is Sunday when Dave goes with his dad to church, something he doesn't normally do, and low and behold Randy is there with his parents. We're skipping the almost brawl in the church isle. :)

As always, the words in italics is the "other" voice in Dave's head.

Dave’s dad leaned over to him and whispered after they had been seated, “This is the first time I’ve seen the Underwoods in church in … well … I can’t remember how long, several years anyway.”

What do you think, Davy---came to atone for their sins?

Dave gave his head a shake to clear the thoughts. “I didn’t realize that," he whispered back, “but then again, I don’t always make it here with you.”

The mass was the usual Catholic format. Now if it was a Born Again worship service, Dave would expect Sheila Underwood to jump up and run to the front hysterically asking for forgiveness, to be saved, and Father Bart would whack her on the forehead to cast out her demons, but no such luck. The sermon was on keeping the children on the path to God–couldn’t get more appropriate than that. It was almost, dare he think, predestined that the Underwoods–the black sheep–would decided to come back into the fold on the day the sermon was about children. Did they understand at all that they had set those children on the path to God in the wrong way? Most likely not.

***

Poor Dave, huh? He can't decide if his dad did it, or the Underwoods, or heck, maybe even himself as his mind has blocked things from his past---and then there's that voice. Whew. 

The link to the other Weekend Writing Warriors is here. You're bound to find something to pique your interest.

The Sunday Snippet writer's on Facebook are here. Between the two there is something for everyone. Thank you for any comments you leave me. Much appreciated!

I'm being a NaNoWriMo rebel and using the goal stats to get my back title, as they say, Kindleized. Is that a word? If not it is now. It's an 1860s true crime called Bread & Butter: The Murders of Polly Frisch (co-authored with my friend, Ellen Bachorski). It needs a go over to fix some typos and punctuation. I see things now that I didn't 13 years ago when it was first published. Wish me luck and good luck to all of those doing NaNo!

*** 

BLURB:

When three small coffins are unearthed near the Wiscoy Creek during a routine dredging operation, it’s the last thing DAVE ROBERTSON, of the Lamont Weekly Times, expected. Pinned to the skeleton’s clothing are pictures from milk cartons of missing girls.

Dave is stunned to find that one of the girls is Sally―a foster child his parents had cared for through the Friends of Foster Families (FFF) program. Cold case files reveal the girls disappeared over 20 years ago. Knowing his house was the last place he saw Sally alive, he can’t help but suspect his dad.

How can he write the biggest story of his career if his father turns out to be the killer? If the voice in his head would shut up and let him remember, he might figure it out before he loses his mind and his dad is charged with murder.

Full blurb and snippet recap here.

Read More

Milk Carton Murders 30

SETUP: How about we take a look at some of the other suspects, shall we? Shelia Underwood was a foster parent 20 years ago and later, a social worker—who seems a bit nuts now. Her husband Jeffery worked in the print shop with Dave's dad Hal at the dairy. Dave hates Shelia but he really doesn't remember why.

Dave and Investigator Pepper Black are at the Underwood's house to ask some questions about the cold case of the remains of the three girls found at Wiscoy Creek. The girls were part of the Friends of Foster Families program. Dave is allowed to tag along with Pepper if he keeps his mouth shut (the reason is explained earlier in the story). Shelia sits in a chair staring out at the yard through the French doors, her husband Jeffery besides her. Dave is standing next to Pepper who speaks first.

“I’m working on a cold case and I’m hoping you can help me with it.”

“A cold case—a cold case of what Miss Black? There’s no alcohol here if that’s what you mean," Mrs. Underwood snapped, "not with the children in the house, if you’re implying we’re up to something.”

Mr. Underwood signaled them, and whispered, “Please excuse my wife, she hasn’t been well.”

“Children ma’am? Well I am here about some children, but they're ones that died about twenty years ago,” said Pepper, keeping her focus on Shelia.

“I don’t understand Miss Black---how can we help you with that?” asked Jeffery.

Sheila tilted her head and stared at Dave a moment, her words spat out like venom, “Why is that boy here? Never listened, always hiding. He was such a bad boy, that one was."

***

The link to the other Weekend Writing Warriors is here. You're bound to find something to pique your interest.

The Sunday Snippet writer's on Facebook are here. Between the two there is something for everyone. Thank you for any comments you leave me. Much appreciated!

*** 

BLURB:

When three small coffins are unearthed near the Wiscoy Creek during a routine dredging operation, it’s the last thing DAVE ROBERTSON, of the Lamont Weekly Times, expected. Pinned to the skeleton’s clothing are pictures from milk cartons of missing girls.

Dave is stunned to find that one of the girls is Sally―a foster child his parents had cared for through the Friends of Foster Families (FFF) program. Cold case files reveal the girls disappeared over 20 years ago. Knowing his house was the last place he saw Sally alive, he can’t help but suspect his dad.

How can he write the biggest story of his career if his father turns out to be the killer? If the voice in his head would shut up and let him remember, he might figure it out before he loses his mind and his dad is charged with murder.

Full blurb and snippet recap here.

Read More