work in progress

Joan paused in the doorway of the living room, trying to remember why
she had gone in there. She looked around the large spacious room, the
furniture was new but wall paper had been something she had not gotten
around to replacing. It must have been over forty years old, the old
woman she bought the place from a month ago was a shut in recluse, never
went outside, but to retrieve the mail from down the end of the long
driveway.

Her gaze stopped on the coffee table and she notice the news paper
laying there. "Oh yea, that's what I came in here for". She muttered out
load. The headline on the front page read "forth slaying in less than a
months time.". The article states that this is the fourth in a series of
unexplained deaths to occur in the tri-county area. All of the victims
were women in there late twenties to early thirties, lived alone and in
rural areas.

Now that gives me the creeps. Joan thought. The phone rang making her
jump. She walked over to the table by the big picture window over
looking a small grove of oaks, it was the beginning of October, the
leaves were in full color. She sat in the over stuffed arm chair, and
answered the phone buy the third ring.

"Hello?", she said with a slight tremble in her voice. "Joan, how's it
going?" Holly said cheerfully. "Could be better." "Everything OK?" Yea,
I'm fine, the phone made me jump. I was reading the paper." Joan's voice
regained composer.