FanStory.com - Super Handyman Openingby davisr (Rhonda)

Summary of the book so far:

Young Echo Jones is overlooked by First Responders as she hides in a wheat field during a house fire. Both parents presumed dead, she escapes into an ancient forest behind her home. Alone and afraid, she meets up with a young boy from mysterious origins that tends to her while searching for help.

20 years later, Echo is working for a newspaper called the Taylorville Sun. Among other duties, she investigates a serial killer who has now struck in her small town, and the opening of a new super store, Super Handyman.

End of last chapter:

"Yes, and seriously, be careful about the articles you're writing on the serial killer," Claude said. "These guys often fixate on one particular paper and start bringing the story closer to them."

"Are you saying it's my fault a woman got killed here in Taylorville?"

"No, Honey, he's only trying to tell you to watch out," Frankie said. "You started writing that series about a month ago and then next thing we know, there's a dead body in our county. We just don't want you to become his next victim."

"Lots of other papers have been writing about him, too." Echo said. "He's the biggest news for miles around."

"I know," Claude said, "but I think you've probably done a better job of getting inside his head. You know how it kills me to give you a compliment, but you're a very talented writer."

"Thank you," Echo said. Claude was right; he wasn't one to throw praise around needlessly. "I'll be careful, and I'll have those stories to you by Monday morning."

"Great."

"Oh and don't forget the Christmas party tonight," Frankie reminded her. "Bring a date if you have one."

"I don't, unless Brian wants to take me."

"Brian has a date," he answered, cutting his eyes over at her and winking, "but I can probably find you an old college buddy if you're desperate."

"I'm not," Echo winked back. "I'd rather bring the serial killer."

"You can bring Forest Boy," Sara Beth chuckled.

"Get a new line."

Echo slipped through the office door, letting it close behind her with a bang.

****************************

New Chapter:

Echo sat in her 25-year-old Impala and surveyed the impossible crowd in front of Super Handyman. She shook her head and subconsciously stroked the steering wheel. This car, her comfort and transportation, had been a posthumous gift from her parents. In it, somehow, she felt a connection to the mother and father whose faces she barely remembered.

A booming voice blared from a speaker on top of the fancy hardware store and stirred Echo from her moment of reverie.

"Howdy Folks, welcome, welcome, welcome! Come inside to view the best prices and values in the state of Georgia. Hardware is only the beginning of what you'll find. Welcome, welcome, welcome!"

The message repeated as Echo eased out of her car. Before closing the door, she grabbed her notebook to jot information she might gather. She resisted the immediate urge to describe the crowd in front of her as terrifying. Instead, she wrote, "eager."

"Welcome, welcome, welcome..."

"I get it, just let me through the doors." Echo wormed her way through the crowd, flashing her media badge like a shield. Why would someone want to open a new store in the middle of Christmas Season? Weren't regular shoppers frantic enough?

Once over the threshold, Echo was hit with a blend of carnival food, tinkling bells, swirling game wheels and lots of loud music. In spite of misgivings, Echo found herself charmed by the festivities.

At the center of the store, surrounded by a fence made of tires and shovels, was the most extravagant Santa display Echo could ever have imagined. The Man in Red, Himself, was perched in the middle of a fishing boat full of tools. His charming, yet rotund, bride sat beside him handing out candycanes.

Right outside the boat pranced five very live reindeer enclosed in a makeshift corral. They looked happy, the customers looked happy, everyone looked happy. It was all great fun, whether you were a home improvement enthusiast or just a bored Taylorvillite.

Echo took special care to write down the names of employees and volunteers when she had a chance to talk to them. She had learned early on people liked seeing their names in print, and that pleased people bought multiple copies of newspapers.

Is that what her boss, Claude, meant when he said the psychopath she was writing the series on would pick a newspaper to start bringing the story to? It was something to think about while she wandered around Super Handyman.

For another hour, Echo filtered between the aisles noticing and being noticed. Finally, after taking all the fun she could endure, she concluded she had enough information to intrigue the good citizens of Taylorville and the entirety of Taylor County.

With her notebook and purse clutched tightly in her hands, she wriggled her way back out and headed for the Impala. Just before she got there, she happened to notice a man out of the corner of her eye. Was he staring at her?

She lunged into her car and locked the door.

As she started the engine, she took time to write his description in her notebook. Maybe it was nothing but coincidence, but one couldn't be too careful. When finished, she inspected the summery.

Tall, dark brown or black hair, light eyes, muscular build, dark clothes. Was that the best she could do? Well, she simply couldn't think of anything else to write. If she saw him again, she would add more. Besides, she was probably just being paranoid. Even if it was the serial killer, wouldn't it be in his best interest to keep her alive, and wouldn't he be doing a better job hiding from her?

She put her car in reverse and pulled out of the congested parking lot. At that time, her thoughts returned to the conversation she'd had with her colleagues in the newsroom, and to the Christmas party invitation from Frankie.

Why had she been so flippant about taking a date to it? She knew Brian wasn't going to ask her, and so did he. She was too standoffish with men to get close enough for an intimate relationship.

Was it the fire from her childhood that prevented her from connecting to people in a personal way? Was she so afraid of losing loved ones that she was scarred for life, or was there something more?

Had Sara Beth been closer to the truth than she wanted to admit? Could the memory of a boy so perfect and complete keep her from finding another man who lived up to his memory? And why was she able to remember his face when she could barely remember her own parents'?

"This is silly," she said aloud. "I've got a real job with a real task ahead of me. I've got to get to Bessie Johnson's to interview her about the body she found. Real, real, real...."

By the time she pulled into Bessie's driveway, she had decided to let go of the past and embrace her future. She planned to stop measuring every man she met against an old memory, whether she believed it real or not.

Deep green eyes, a kind smile, an ability to take over and protect a total stranger, even the ability to make toys like a master toymaker, were all to be put away. Nodding with self-satisfaction, Echo parked her car in a very neatly kept driveway and got out.