The Total December Experiment

  gets too complicated. I’m just going to give you the

  basics.”

  “In Astrology, there are 12 birth signs; one assigned to

  each month. The month in which a person is born, determines

  which birth sign they have. Each sign has certain

  characteristics that belong to it and those characteristics

  become a part of that person.

  Now, every Astrology chart has 12 houses. The chart is like

  a pie that’s been cut into 12 slices…each slice is a house.

  Each house has a planet that rules it plus each sign has a

  planet that rules that. At the time of birth the sun, moon,

  and all the planets are in a certain position. The time of

  birth decides the order the signs are in-1 through 12. By

  the way, the cusps of the signs move in a counter clock

  wise pattern. The time of birth also establishes which sign

  and which house each planet occupies. At the time of birth

  all the planets, signs and houses react with each other in

  a good or difficult way depending on the type of angle

  between each one. The strength of each planet can be

  enhanced or depleted according how the other planets, etc.,

  relate to it and how the houses and signs relate to it.

  An Astrologer puts all this information together and reads,

  or interprets it. That gives a sort of guideline to the

  person, their lifestyle, financial resources, and so forth

  and so on.

  See !…it’s simple ,”as she dimpled a grin at him.” There’s

  a lot more to it, of course.

  That’s just the bare bones.”

  Gary fought to pull himself out of his trance of utter

  confusion, boredom, and the feeling that he was sadly

  lacking in intelligence, thus unable to comprehend the ‘

  bare bones.’

  “ Ms. Harris, can we approach this another way ? Look at

  these symbols and tell me what they stand for.”

  He handed the drawings to her and mentally crossed his

  fingers.

  “ Well, this one , of course, is the same as mine. The sign

  of Libra. The second one is for the sign of Cancer…this one

  for Aries, and the last for Virgo.OK ?”

  “ How is this supposed to help me, Ms. Harris ?”

  “ I don’t know if it will. You said these were found at a

  murder scene in Erin?”

  “ One of them-the rest were found at other crime scenes.”

  “ You mean four different places…four murder victims ?”

  “ Afraid so.”

  “Was one the woman on Live Oaks ?”

  “Yes.”

  Manda shuddered, stood and walked to the window. After a

  moment of staring at nothing, she asked quietly,“ Which of

  the symbols was with her ?”

  “ Ah, the one you said stands for Virgo.”

  Manda thought for a minute, “ What was her birthdate ?

  Maybe it’s the same as the symbol found with her.”

  “ We don’t know her birthdate. We haven’t been able to

  identify her.”

  ”Then I don’t see how I can help you, Detective.”

  “ We do have an identify on the last victim, Ms. Harris.

  Maybe her birthdate will match up with her sign. Her

  birthdate was ..um…July 14th.”

  “ Cancer, her sign was Cancer. Does that match, Detective

  Haworth ?”

  “ Glancing at his notes, he replied,” Yes, it does. What

  could that mean ?’

  “ One answer is that the person who killed her knows

  something about Astrology.

  Without more information, I can’t help you much. If you can

  get the full birth information on the woman who’s signs

  match, I can cast a chart on her.”

  “What all do you need?”

  “ Month, day, year, place and time.”

  “OK, I’ll get it for you.”

  Manda sat back down in the chair and leaned her face into

  her hands, scrubbing her face with them in an attempt to

  erase the stress. She smoothed her hair back behind her

  ears, clenched her fists under her chin, and looked up at

  him. Manda noticed a change in his demeanor. He had planted

  both feet on the floor and leaned forward. His face

  registered tension.

  “ Why do I feel that there’s more to come in this

  interview, Detective?”

  “ Because there is, I’m sorry to say.”

  “Ms. Harris, where were you last Sunday ?”

  Gary watched her closely as she squinted her eyes with

  concentration.

  “ I was here most of the day but I did go for a walk that

  afternoon. Wandered around town about an hour or so. Went

  to the public beach for an hour or so. The rest of the day,

  I was here in my room. Why ?”

  “ Did you speak with anyone Sunday or Sunday night ?”

  ‘Only to say hello to other people walking down town or the

  employees here. I did talk to Mom that evening. Why ?”

  “ Bear with me a minute,please.”

  “ Where were you a week from this past Saturday ?”

  Manda scowled and opened her mouth to object but he had

  anticipated her and stopped her with an impatient wave of

  his hand.

  “ Please answer, Ms. Harris.”

  “ I was on the road, Detective. I left Gary, Indiana,

  Friday around noon and I was on my way here.”

  “ Where did you stay Friday night ?”

  “ At a motel in southern Indiana.”

  “And Saturday ?”

  ‘I drove through the rest of Indiana, through Kentucky and

  a little way into Tennesse. It was a nice drive. I took the

  scenic route all the way. I hate interstates.”

  “ And Saturday night ?”

  She smiled remembering the Mimosas. “I stayed at this

  beautiful little inn – Mimosa Lane Bed & Breakfast.”

  “ Where is it located…what town ?”

  “ It wasn’t in a town. It’s country around there and I

  don’t remember the name of the closest town. If you can

  show me a map, maybe a name will ring a bell. Wait a

  minute, I still have the route trip-tic AAA gave me. Maybe

  that will help.”

  She rummaged through her purse and pulled it out. She

  studied it for a moment.

  “ I’m not 100% sure but I think it might have been close

  to…a town called Erin.”

  He handed Manda a grainy photograph. ”Do you recognize this

  woman ?”

  Manda studied his face as she reached for the picture. He

  looked grim and her stomach fluttered with unease. She

  looked down at the snapshot, glanced up at him with a

  anxious frown and looked back at the picture. She responded

  with hesitation. “ This is the woman who owns Mimosa Lane,”

  her voice little more than a whisper. “Susan.”

  “ What’s this all about, Detective Haworth ? You’re scaring

  me. Is something wrong ?”

  “ I’m sorry, Ms. Harris, but she was murdered Sunday

  night.”

  He watched as shock bleached the color from her face. She

  sat frozen for a few seconds; her eyes widened and her jaw

  dropped.

  In the same low whisper,” You’ve made a terrible mi
stake.

  No one would hurt Susan.”

  She began to slowly shake her head in denial while her eyes

  filled with tears.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Harris. Can I get you anything ?”

  He noticed that she had begun to tremble. He went to the

  bathroom and dampened a hand towel with cool water, then

  helped her to the bed, where she lay down and clasped the

  towel to her forehead. He dragged the coverlet over her and

  sat on the edge of the bed.

  “ Do you want me to call someone ?”

  She shook her head no, rolled to her side toward him and

  curled up in a ball. Not knowing what to do, he began to

  pat her shoulder. She reached for his hand and, finally,

  began to cry. He held her hand as she cried until there

  were no tears left.

  Ten minutes or so went by during which he continued to hold

  her hand. Then she let go of his hand, rolled onto her back

  and threw her arm over her eyes.

  “She was about to have a baby,” Manda said in a dull voice.

  “She had him- he’s fine. Her mother and husband are caring

  for him.”

  “ I met her husband. How is he doing ?”

  “ He’s having a very hard time. The doctor has him on

  medication.”

  “Do the police have any clue who did it?”

  “No, not yet, Manda”

  “ Were the two of you old friends?”

  “ No, I just met her that day and I left the next day close

  to noon. It’s just…she was so nice, so sweet, so happy. Her

  husband was really nice too. They were a really cute couple

  with everything going for them. A whole life ahead of

  them.”

  “She and I had breakfast together Sunday morning and had a

  good chat. I really enjoyed her.”

  “ Their home was a paradise. It was obvious that they put a

  lot of work into the house and grounds…flowers everywhere.

  Beautiful…just like Susan was beautiful.”

  “Manda, did you notice anything unusual while you were

  there? Were there any visitors…phone calls, deliveries,

  anything at all?”

  “ Not a thing. Everything was perfect, Detective. Peaceful

  and quiet.”

  “Manda, if you remember anything, no matter how small, call

  me.”

  “I will. If you find out anything, will you let me know?”

  “If I can, I will. I have to leave now. Will you be ok?”

  Manda nodded, with her arm still over her eyes.

  Gary stood to leave.

  “Detective Haworth….”

  “Yes, Ms. Harris ?”

  “ I saw part of a news segment that showed a picture of a

  blonde woman. It was an odd picture. She had her eyes

  closed. I didn’t turn the TV on in time to catch the story,

  but she looked familiar. Later that night, just before I

  fell asleep, I realized that she looked a lot like Susan.

  Who was that woman ?”

  Gary looked down at Susan who was still lying with her arm

  over her eyes.

  “ It was a photograph of the young woman who was recently

  murdered. We hoped to get an identification by showing her

  picture.”

  “ Was she the woman found on Live Oaks ?”

  Gary hesitated,”Yes, she was.”

  Gary watched as a shudder traveled through Manda’s body.

  She said nothing, however.

  “Can I do anything for you before I leave ?”

  Manda slowly shook her head.

  “ I’m sorry to disturb you further, but I need you to lock

  your door behind me, Ms. Harris.”

  She slowly stood and followed him to the door. He looked at

  her red swollen eyes.

  “If it’s ok, I’d like to call you later to see how you’re

  doing.”

  She nodded .

  He walked into the hall and waited until she closed the

  door and he heard the lock engage before he headed for the

  elevator.

  DECEMBER 2004

  #

  Manda lay on the bed and thought about everything that had

  happened since she’d left Gary. She felt totally drained.

  With no more tears to shed, imaginings began to bounce

  around and collide in her brain.

  God, I wish I was old enough to order wine or something

  alcoholic. I sure could use it.

  She rolled over and reached for the phone. As she listened

  to it ring on the other end, she kept repeating, “Be there,

  be there, be there.”

  She blew a sigh of relief as she heard the receiver lifted.

  “Hello,” said a man’s voice.

  “Frank, is Mom there ? I need to speak with her.”

  “No, she isn’t Manda. Can I help?”

  With despair tingeing her voice she said,”Oh Frank. I

  really need to talk with her. Please have her call me as

  soon as she gets home…no matter how late it is.”

  “Baby, you’re going to see her first. She’s on an airplane

  heading your way. Her plane took off about 20 minutes ago.”

  “Really ?? That’s great…wonderful….THANK HEAVENS ! What

  time is she getting in ? I’ll pick her up.”

  “ Well, she plans on just calling a cab. She didn’t want

  you to know ahead of time; she was afraid you’d try to talk

  her out of it. She’s been real worried about you. You know

  how she is; she gets these ‘feelings’ and she won’t quit

  worrying until she checks things out for herself.”

  “Is everything OK, Manda ? You do sound a little strange.”

  “ I’m fine, Frank. Just very busy and overwhelmed by

  everything. It’ll be great to see Mom.”

  “She’ll be relieved to see you too, honey. She’s due to

  land at 10:45 your time. Delta,

  flight 20074.”

  “ Thanks Frank. You take care of yourself, OK ?”

  “I will. You give her a big hug and kiss for me and tell

  her to stay out of trouble,” he chuckled.

  “Don’t worry, I will.”

  “Bye, Frank.”

  “Bye, sugar.”

  Manda hugged herself with relief. Grown up she may be; but

  right now, seeing her Mom would feel very comforting.

  DECEMBER 2004

  #

  Manda, feeling better knowing comfort and company was on the way, tidied the room and then then took shower,letting the water spray on her face to ease the burning of her eyes. She took her time and gradually the warm water began to relax her body and wash the cobwebs from her mind. She dressed in comfortable clothes and sat down with the local map to find the route to the airport. She decided to leave early. She didn’t want or need to feel rushed. After putting the map and flight information in her bag, she left to pick up her mom.

  #

  He had walked up and down the block and past the entrance to the hotel several times. There was no particular reason other than a vague feeling of need. As he approached the entrance again, the door was pushed open by the doorman and SHE walked out, approaching a car waiting at the curbside. He ducked behind a column of the portico and watched as the valet stepped out of the car and helped her behind the wheel. After a few seconds to fasten her seatbelt, she moved into the traffic and disappeared from view.

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