Pamela Lafave is shocked to hear the boisterous conversations at the Coffee Mug when she stops for a latte Tuesday afternoon. Five old retired guys and a woman are sitting around a table with the morning’s copy of the Weekly Journal. An old guy wearing a Detroit Tigers baseball cap is stabbing his index finger on an article in the paper. He says, “Mary Jane says she was raped and then strangled.”
A bald man says, “That’s not what I heard at the Corner Bar Sunday night. Deputy Wilson said they found Martha Crawford’s body in the woods near the gift shop at Perch Point. He didn’t say anything about rape or murder. He should know.”
The elderly woman says, “I heard from Violet at the Cut and Curl salon that Mary Anderson stopped by at noon on Monday and Mary said Martha was murdered, and not to believe the rumors she was raped.The medical examiner’s report isn’t out yet.”
Pam decides to get her latte to go. The loud comments continue while she waits.
Detroit Tigers man yells, “Well, if it is rape and murder our Sheriff better solve it fast. This village isn’t going to stand for a murdering rapist running around free.”
“I doubt the bumbling sheriff will solve anything. From what I hear he depends on Deputy Wilson or Sue Johnson, his secretary to tell him what to do,” answers the bald man.
“Violet says some lady who’s a retired detective solves the hard cases, and tells Sue Johnson. Sue then tells the sheriff. That’s how he does it,” the old lady insists.
A fat old man with a white beard says, “I’ll bet it’s one of those sex offenders living in our county. We should run them all out.”
Detroit Tigers man says, “I’ll bet the sheriff finds DNA evidence on the body. That’ll make it easy to find the rapist.”
The fat man says, “It’s the medical examiner who finds DNA, not the sheriff. And even if he finds DNA it doesn't mean they can match it to anyone. What are they going to do? Get a DNA sample from every man in the county?”
Pam’s latte is ready. She pays for it and walks out shaking her head. She wonders, ‘Will I be sitting around that table gossiping in 20 years?’
Pam walks across Main Street and into Erin’s Cut and Curl beauty salon. Erin is between customers. Pam greets her, pauses to pet Martha’s cat Gracie, now living at the salon, and says softly to Erin, “I just came from the Coffee Mug. The regulars there are in a dither over the tragic killing of Martha Crawford. What are you hearing?”
Erin replies quietly, “Every customer who’s read Mary Jane Bloom’s column in today's paper is incensed. Mary Jane didn’t do the town any favors with such a sensational story. She makes it sound like our quiet community is being overrun with sexual deviants. My customers want this criminal caught and caught quickly. Mary Jane’s story has made women believe they aren’t safe, even in their homes.”
“That’s what concerns me after hearing the comments at the Coffee Mug. People get disturbed and flood the sheriff with calls demanding action. The worst part is they’ll start accusing anyone they can think of. They’ll make a claim with just enough credibility the sheriff will have to check it out. The sheriff and his deputies will be led on so many wild goose chases they won’t be able to step back and investigate Martha’s tragic death properly,” says Pam.
“Are you going to help him, Pam?”
“Not if I can avoid it. You know he resents me getting involved, if he knows. I hope he can solve it by himself. Martha was becoming a good friend. I kept seeing her when she was volunteering at various places. I finally met her at the Perch Point gift shop. I found out she loved books and talked her into volunteering at Doc Arra’s museum. We all loved having her join our group. She was so sweet and helpful.”
“Everyone in PIneville is familiar with her volunteer work, even if they don’t know her name. She’s mentioned often by my customers. We’re all going to miss her. Sue Johnson comes in every week at the end of the day for a trim or have her grey temples touched up. She’ll tell me how the sheriff is progressing with the case. If you want, I’ll tell you if he needs help,” offers Erin.
“Okay, I’d rather hear what Sue says than read Mary Jane’s columns,” replies Pam.
“Before you go, how are your dates with prosecutor Allen Quick going?” Says Erin.
“I didn’t know the news of our dating got around yet.”
“You know, Pam, not much happens in Pineville that doesn’t get talked about in my salon,” replies Erin. “This time we didn’t her it from gossip. Alan told Jolene he had a date with your when he wa getting his hair cut Saturday morning.”
“I should have guessed. I can imagine he likes the special treatment he gets from Jolene. We’ve only had a few dates. So far it’s good. I like his dark eyes and it pleases me he’s getting some grey in his black hair before me. We’ve found we have some common interests; especially in Italian food and art. Allen has a good sense of humor. With the local news focused on Martha’s murder we naturally talked about it last night. We began sharing funny stories about criminals from our past. I haven’t been able to share these stories since Billy died.” says Pam.
Pam waves goodbye to Violet and tells Erin to say hello to Jolene for her. Pam knows Jolene cuts men’s hair in the back of the salon where the men can’t see or hear the women having their hair done. She says goodbye to Erin and leaves for home.
She decides she needs a few groceries from the IGA. The afternoon’s events have upset her. It is bad enough knowing Martha was brutally murdered and possibly raped. Now seeing the town so outraged is doubly disturbing. She doesn’t feel like cooking a big dinner so she picks up some hamburger and fresh buns. Driving to the old Lafave farm where she has lived since returning to Pineville she thinks, ‘Maybe, with three warm sunny days after the big rain Saturday night, a tomato will be ripe in my garden’. That thought finally brings a smile.
She realizes she’s glad she won’t have to cook her hamburger on Grandma Lafave’s old wood-fired kitchen stove. She kept most of the Lafave’s furnishings when she moved to their vacant farmhouse because she loves the childhood memories they bring. She disposed of some things quickly, like the old wringer washing machine. She plans to keep the living room chairs and couch for a few more years, even though they are well over a hundred years old. She enjoyed the wood fired cook stove for a few years, now she’s glad she finally has an electric stove.
Wednesday evening Pam goes to Doc Arra’s museum for the weekly work session digitizing and cataloguing the collections of American frontier memorabilia the doctor left for the people of PIneville. She’s a few minutes late. They usually meet and greet in the entry hall of the doctor’s house and then go off to resume the task they were doing the week before. Tonight the other board members are in the dining room talking rather than working. Pam joins them and finds the conversation is about Martha Crawford.
The retired history professor Sam Weiss is saying how much her help will be missed. He says, “She could decipher Doc’s handwriting better than any of us. Without her we’ll have trouble figuring out what Doc’s notes say.”
Peter Brown says, “Everywhere I have had a plumbing call this week the people talked about how much she did for our community. Those who read Mary Jane Bloom’s column are really upset. They want the sheriff to catch whoever did it quickly.”
“I hope he does for everyone’s sake. The women working with me at the Courthouse are frightened to go anywhere. Almost no work is getting done. Everyone is standing around talking about Martha. I hope you are going to help the sheriff, Pam,” says Mary Anderson.
“I don’t intend to unless he asks, which he’s not likely to do,” replies Pam, “do you know if the medical examiner’s report is out, Mary?”
“Word around the Courthouse was it went to the sheriff late this afternoon. The medical examiner is being cautious. He sent the sheriff a paper copy and hasn’t backed up his digital file on the common server yet. We couldn’t see what he concluded. I guess he doesn’t want rumors starting before the sheriff has time to organize the investigation. I’m sure he’ll back up his report in a day or two,” replies Mary.
“That’s smart. The sheriff will have a difficult time. Rumors will make it worse. I am afraid people will deluge the sheriff with unhelpful calls after the outrage Mary Jane Bloom’s column caused,” says Pam.
“That’s already happening from what I heard today. Sue Johnson’s phone has been ringing constantly,” Mary says, “it’s a good thing she knows practically everyone in the county. She can sort out the crank calls from any that might be helpful. It’s going to be a tough time for her as well as the sheriff.”
Pam turns to Rev. Penny and says, “You’re quiet, Joe. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I’m just sad over losing Martha. It’s horrible to think what she must have gone through. And it’s such a loss for our community. I don’t feel like working tonight. Would it be alright if I say a prayer for Martha and go home?”
Everyone agrees. Fr. Joe says a short prayer and starts to leave.
Peter says, “I don’t want to work tonight either. Let’s all go home.”
Heads nod and they go to the door as Peter sets the alarm.
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