FanStory.com - Reckoningby davisr (Rhonda)

"Okay, Bessie, I'll do my best to be more careful, but I don't always want to work for a small town newspaper, you know. Someday I want to work in Atlanta."

"Well, good luck, but don't mess with this serial killer guy, or the only article you'll have in the Atlanta Journal will be your own obituary."

"Understood. I'll do my best to be careful."

"Please do, you're still so very young. Take hold of your life and someday we can talk about your young'uns instead of your cat."

Echo couldn't help but chuckle as she watched a bright smile crease the old face.

"Alright, Bessie, see you next Tuesday for your ads."

"See you." Bessie rose slowly from her recliner to follow Echo out.

Echo thought about her conversations with Bessie as she drove off and finished several errands. She was a strange old bird, but was more perceptive than anyone she knew. If she was worried about her involvement in the serial killer articles, maybe she should be, too. But, like all young and ambitious people, Echo didn't pay much attention to warnings or choose to exercise prudent caution.

New Chapter:

By the time she made it back to the Taylorville Sun, Echo had all but decided the series she was writing was quite safe and that she had a divine calling to finish it.

With a smile on her young face, she climbed out of her silver Impala, and headed toward the building. Her eyes danced as she thought of the prospects of working for an Atlanta newspaper. This series was her chance to get noticed. Mind, she wasn't glad Sherry Roe had been killed, far from it, but she was happy to be part of the process of getting her and the other victims avenged. If she gained notoriety in the process, so be it.

With a sort of skip to her step, Echo approached the front of the building. She heard the sound of festive Christmas music vibrating through the old wooden door and it made her smile in anticipation. She hadn't had time to go home and change since she'd run those errands after leaving Bessie's. She still wore her pretty red dress, though, which would have to serve as party attire.

Just before she went inside, she noticed an envelope resting on the porch. On the front was a typewritten label. Curiously, she picked it up and strode inside.

Brian was sitting in his swivel chair, a plate loaded with holiday goodies on his desk. He looked up when she entered. "What've you got?"

"I'm not quite sure," Echo said. She sat on the edge of his desk, not far from his plate. She reached over and took a pickle and popped it in her mouth. "I found this envelope on the ground outside. It has my name on it."

"Well, tear it open and let's see what your secret admirer has left you."

Echo cut her eyes over at him in an attempt to stem his sarcasm. She wasn't sure if it worked, but, after opening the envelope, she simply didn't care.

Inside were three color photographs. Two were of Sherry Roe, one before her murder and another after. The third picture was of a young woman in a bright red dress, a coat draped over her arm and looking at a display in Super Handyman. There was a scribbled note at the bottom... Nice legs. Echo let out a scream.

Claude dropped the plate of food he was carrying and rushed over to where Brian now held the pictures, his face displaying pure horror. "What's going on?"

Silently, Brian held up the photos. Claude took them and walked over to a lamp. He thumbed through the set, his eyes opening wide in disbelief. Finally, he dropped them on the table and shook his head.

After a pause, he said, "I'm calling the police."

Frankie rose from her seat and joined him. With a gasp, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"That's Sherry... and... and...you, Echo. Oh, Echo, we need to get the Atlanta police involved, too."

"Who sent those?" Sara Beth asked. She peeked over Frankie's shoulder and cocked her head like a little blonde puppy. Her lavishly attired body exuded expensive perfume, her carefully coiffed hair, opulence. "Is that from the serial killer guy or something?"

Echo nodded and sank into her chair. Her heart was beating so hard it was physically painful. Dark questions pranced a macabre rumba in her head as she tried to sort things out. Maybe, just maybe she had misjudged the danger of her series.

A loud knock on the office door jolted the entire staff, and at least one of them screamed. Claude looked dramatically around the room, then went to answer it.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Uh, Junior," a voice answered. "Frankie invited me to your office party. I'm afraid I'm a bit late."

"Oh my gosh, I forgot." Frankie leapt to her feet. She swept her brother aside with a diminutive arm and opened the door. A tall young man with dark, wavy hair walked through.

Echo's eyes flew to the man's face. His eyes were brown, not green. She let out a sigh that would have been audible but for the Christmas music vibrating the air. Everyone in the room relaxed.

"This is my neighbor, Junior," Frankie explained. She looked pointedly at Echo. "He happened to be free tonight, so I invited him to join us."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Junior said formally. "I've heard so much about you." Like Frankie, he looked straight at Echo.

"All good things, I hope," Echo said. She cringed at the euphemism that flowed automatically. Normally, she was more eloquent than that.

"All good, I promise," Junior said. He reached out to shake Echo's hand.

Sara Beth slipped deftly between them. She took Junior's hand and guided him toward the buffet table. "Here, let me show you where the food is."

With a backward glance at Echo, Junior followed the usurper where she led. With all she had been through, Echo decided to yield the battle and its spoils to Sara Beth.

~~~~~~~~

"They're sending an officer over," Claude said. He replaced the phone on his desk and, at long last, headed to the buffet table for a new plate. "It's not Atlanta, but our guys can take a statement and get a description of the man you saw watching you today."

"Thank you," Echo said. She joined her boss at the buffet. It had been a long time since the lunch Bessie had fed her, and telling everything she had learned that day had been hungry work.

"I see Sara Beth stole your boyfriend," Brian said when Echo returned with a loaded plate. He pointed at Junior, who was seated at Sara Beth's desk. Echo shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"She's welcome to him."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call one of my old college buddies?"

"Not if my life depended on it," Echo said. "And, I don't see you with anyone. Did your date cancel at the last moment, or did she have to be back at the Nursing Home by 8:00?"

Brian just laughed, forgoing the chance to strike back. Sara Beth wasn't so nice.

"Where's your forest boy?" she asked. "I thought he might, at least, show up."

"Why do you care?" Brian asked. "Do you want to take him from Echo, too?" He got a round of chuckles from everyone except Sara Beth and Junior.

"I'm not saying I want the forest boy," Sara Beth said. "I was just looking out for Echo."

Echo popped another dill pickle in her mouth. "I'm not the one worried about him."

Sara Beth sort of grunted a reply, and then began playing up to Junior again, hoping to drive Echo into a jealous fit. It didn't work.

Echo finally relaxed enough to look around. The office had been transformed from a normal everyday newspaper room into a warm holiday extravaganza.

The artificial Christmas tree sitting unadorned in one corner of the office for nearly a month, now sported shiny bulbs of all imaginable colors. Lights danced about the imitation limbs inviting eyes to linger and hearts to stir.

Garland hung off every structure in the room, twinkling lights gracing their shiny frills. Echo's heart was moved beyond the worries of the day and she felt content. She may never get the job in Atlanta, but she had friends and that truly meant something to a child who had grown up without parents and siblings.

Another dramatic knock on the door shattered her euphoria. Once again, Claude answered it, and once again, he let in a stranger.

"I'm Officer Tony Bradley," the stranger said. He was tall, muscular and wore dark clothing. A woolen hat was pulled down to his ears.

"You're the man who found Sherry's body, aren't you?" Echo blurted out. Enough was enough for one day. First, the pictures and now, the very man Bessie suspected of murder.

The officer hesitated, his head bowed, his face hidden in shadows. He turned slowly toward her. Blue green eyes bore into hers.

"It wasn't my finest moment," he replied.