"Seasoned Greetings" - Part 2

As Carol and Sue returned from the ladies room and to their husbands, they did so with their investigative hats on, and eyes and ears wide open. They mingled with friends and neighbors, but all the while, keeping theirs eyes on Joann, and everyone else, for that matter. They noticed that Joann was paying an unusual amount of attention to Sherman and Allison, which seemed odd, considering that everyone knew Joann wasn't all that fond of Allison, but then again, Joann wasn't fond of anyone,... except Sherman. After laughing and joking with them, Joann excused herself from Sherman and Allison's company to go to the kitchen to check on the hors d'oeuvres, which were a huge hit, as usual. Despite Joann's unappealing personality, she was an amazing cook, which is something everyone could agree on, as her party food was disappearing like hot cakes!

Carol and Sue, however, couldn't seem to understand Joann's fixation on Sherman and Allison. It just seemed strange, after all, Joann wasn't crazy about most people, so why Sherm and his wife? ... and all of a sudden? Carol and Sue were beginning to think this was part of the strange feeling they got from Joann, upon their arrival to the party. Something was going on between the three of them, but what? The plot seemed to thicken...

Carol and Sue began mingling on their own and wandered into the kitchen, where Joann was preparing her homemade cocktail sauce, which was famous within the subdivision. Joann, seemed especially friendly toward Carol and Sue, which was very odd, because Carol and Sue were Joann's forever tennis rivals at the club. The rivalry was fierce, to say the least.

Carol began asking Joann about her sauce, what was in it?, did she come up with the recipe, herself?, and so on. Joann was actually pleasant and willing to share her sauce secrets with the girls. She put a small amount in a bowl and asked Carol and Sue to be taste testers before she brought it out to the buffet table. They gladly obliged. "Oh, Joann, it's delicious!" The two were genuinely in love with Joann's culinary abilities. So, as Carol and Sue made their way out of the kitchen, Joann began to put the rest of her plan into place. She retrieved a box of Reinhardt's Rodent Killer out from under her sink, and began to sprinkle just the tiniest bit into the same bowl of cocktail sauce that Carol and Sue had just tasted from. As she made her way back to the party, she was looking for Allison, she needed her to be the third tester of this very special sauce."Allison, darling, would you be a dear and come with me to the kitchen? I need a taste tester for the cocktail sauce that will go along with the Shrimp cocktail" Allison was happy to help. Joann figured having Carol and Sue taste from the same bowl would be a good cover, as well. So as the two entered the kitchen, Allison began thanking Joann for being so kind to her. You see, Allison had felt like some what of an outsider within the development and Joann's "kindness" this Christmas Eve, made a real impact on her. With this genuine display of gratitude, Joann suddenly began to develop a conscience. She had never had anyone tell her anything like this before. No one had ever thanked Joann for her kindness, not even Betty... but that could be because she never showed any. The stone casing around Joann's heart began to melt just the slightest bit. She thought to herself, "how can I knock off this lovely lady? How can I steal the husband that she so deeply loves?" So, as Allison was about to dip a shrimp into the bowl, Joann grabbed the bowl and said, "wait , Allison! Umm, I forgot to add my secret ingredient. Joann moved that small bowl out of the way and toward the back of the counter. She then had Allison taste from the larger, non-poisoned bowl. Allison loved the sauce and Joann was in a state of tremendous relief, that her plan was foiled by her own, new found ability to see the good in someone other than herself. So, the two made their way, with the Shrimp cocktail, out to the buffet table and that was that. All was good in the Sunview Subdivision this Christmas Eve.

However, as Sherman mingled, he found himself in the kitchen talking tee times with some golfing buddies, and noticed that a small bowl of cocktail sauce sat alone on the counter. As much as he loved Shrimp cocktail, he knew Allison loved it even more. So he decided to be a real gem and bring her, her own personal sized shrimp cocktail bowl. Allison was thrilled and as she and Joann talked, Joann didn't realize that this was the poisoned bowl until Allison was putting a lovely, plump, shrimp into her mouth. Suddenly Joann went white and fainted, everyone rushing to her aid. However, while all the focus was on Joann, Allison quietly passed away, right there on Joann's green shag rug. No one noticing until Joann had come to and everyone knew she was fine. Then the real horror began.  Sherman lost the love of his life, Joann lost a potential true friend, and the subdivision was in shock. How would the development deal with this awful tragedy? Nothing like this had ever happened in Sunview, before.

As days passed, and the subsequent investigation showed no foul play,  Allison Goldberg's death was deemed, "due to natural causes." However, within the subdivision, all suspicion began to fall on Joann, right away, even though everyone enjoyed the Shrimp cocktail...

"Seasoned Greetings" - Part 1

Meanwhile, back in the 70's... It was the second week of December and Joann was preparing for her annual Christmas Eve Open House. Each year, for the past 5 years, Joann has invited the entire subdivision to attend her very festive and anxiously anticipated, open house. And although Joann didn't have many true friends in the development, due to her prima donna attitude, everyone really enjoyed her parties. She had quite a knack for entertaining.

This particular holiday season was a bit different for Joann, however. She had a goal in mind for this years festivities. That goal was to steal Allison Goldberg's husband, Sherman. Joann was about to show, in full effect, the true depth of her ruthlessness.

Joann had been married once before, to a highly sought after CPA. Jack was a great guy, with a mesmerizing personality, albeit, a little too mesmersizing. Joann didn't take kindly to Jack's many late night business meetings. Well, one beautiful, sunny, April morning, Jack left for work but never returned home. The interesting thing is that his secretary was never seen again, either. Oddly, however, Joann is still in possession of Jack's wallet and car keys. Suspicion swirled for a time but eventually simmered down and things went back to normal in the subdivision.

As December 24th crept closer and closer, Joann was devising her plan. It seemed she had no conscience, whatsoever, as she put up the tree, the garland around the fireplace, and carefully put her lights up on the outside of her Sunview home. It was all truly exquisite and yet, something was rotten in Denmark. As she spent days cooking and baking, she was determined to have everything just right, especially for this years shindig. She couldn't afford to have anything out of place; everything had to be perfect, and perfectly executed.

By now, it was Dec 23rd and Joann's closet friend, Betty, stopped to see how things were going. Betty was a very sweet and endearing lady and no one in the neighborhood could understand their friendship. It just didn't make sense; Betty was too nice. Regardless, though, they were friends. Betty asked if there was anything she could do to help, but Joann quickly said, "No! No, Betty, but thank you. I have everything under control." Betty then, knowing that Joann's cooking was out of this world, asked what was on this years menu. Joann responded with, "well, let's see, we're having, cocktail meatballs, brown sugar coated cocktail sausages, deviled eggs, roast beef for sandwiches, my famous lasagna, and a few other delectable, savory, treats and of course, an array of delicious desserts!" At this point, Betty's mouth was watering in anticipation of this wonderful holiday spread. Though, she quickly asked Joann if the Shrimp cocktail, with her special homemade sauce would be on the menu, as well. Joann replied, "Oh, but of course, Betty. It was such a hit last year, I wouldn't want to disappoint." Now, knowing the menu, Betty had to make her way to the grocery for some holiday prep, as well. She and her husband were having family over on Christmas day.

It was now Christmas Eve and Joann was more then prepared for the open house. She had time now to relax and methodically go over her plan, concerning Allison and Sherman. Joann was convinced she would getaway with murder, so to speak... or could that be more literal than anyone would realize?

It was 6:30pm on Dec 24th as neighbors began arriving. Carol, Bob, Sue, and Doug walked down together. It was a chilly night, so Sue was wearing her Plum colored pants suit, while Bob sported his dark brown corduroy sport coat, forest green turtle neck, and plaid slacks consisting of dark browns, tans, and beiges. Sue was wearing her festive fitted, red velvet blazer and Doug had on his favorite light blue leisure suit. They greeted Joann with a warm, "Merry Christmas and thank you for having us" and began to mingle amongst the other guests and neighbors. However, Carol and Sue quickly excused themselves from the company of their husbands to make their way to the ladies room. They had to discuss, in private, the strange feeling coming from Joann this Christmas Eve night. Something was off, but oddly, they couldn't put their finger on it because Joann seemed especially friendly and welcoming, which was without question, out of the ordinary. Something was up and Carol and Sue were determined to find out what it was...

Two Boys, Two Gangsters, and a Tale of Intrigue - Part 2

It was about 8 o'clock, Saturday morning and with shovels in hand, Brian and Todd began digging. They were determined to dig up, whatever this was, by the end of the day. In their minds, they were hoping that it really was the Maddox brothers' Model A, but were trying not to get their hopes up, though that was a very difficult thing not to do.. after all, they were 11 year old boys with stories of gangsters and intrigue flying through their heads. As they continued to dig, they soon saw a grill, then a door, then a hood, and finally, there it was... they had discovered the elusive and legendary, Maddox getaway car! When the brothers had originally buried the car, they did so with it on it's side. I suppose that meant a shallower hole and less of a likelihood that the car would be found. The boys couldn't have been more thrilled! This was the most exciting moment of their lives; better than Christmas morning or even their Birthdays! It didn't even seem real, though it was... very real.

Brian and Todd were ecstatic over their find! For a moment, they discussed what they should do next, and came to the conclusion that they would continue to keep this under raps, at least for the time being. So, now that they had the getaway car, what of the supposed briefcase full of stolen money? 

Brian and Todd threw their shovels aside, jumped down into the hole and began to feverishly search the car. They knew it had to be there. After all, according to the story, the briefcase was never found.  As they rummaged through the entire car, they found nothing. Needless to say, they were very disappointed. However, there was one area of the car that they didn't search because it was was still surrounded by a bit too much dirt. So, on the outside chance that the engine might hold the briefcase, they grabbed their shovels, once again, and began digging all around the edges of the hood. They finally got enough mud out to be able to open the hood, and as they did, they couldn't believe their 11 year old eyes! Their it was, the briefcase that once belonged to the infamous Maddox brothers. Of course, they immediately tried to open it, but because it was so old and had been buried for so long, the lock was sealed shut. They were going to have to sneak it home and try to open it there, because they certainly couldn't chance leaving it in the woods. They also didn't feel that they should leave the car exposed. So, they gathered branches and debris and disguised it as best they could. They took the back way home, so as not to be seen buy anyone and made it back to Todd's house. They borrowed his dad's screwdriver and after trying for a good while, they finally pried the lock open. At that point, the boys looked at each other with much anticipation. They couldn't believe this moment had actually arrived! They were about to see, with their own eyes, the stolen money from the famous Cornville Bank and Trust heist! Wow, this was the most exciting day of their lives! 

As Brian and Todd slowly began to open the briefcase, the look of excitement, on their faces, quickly turned to disbelief. There was no money inside, only a small piece of paper with something written on it. It read, "Southwest terminal 357 A." When they read this, they were not only disappointed but confused. What did this note mean and where was the money? They sat for hours behind the garage, trying to come up with some explanation, but couldn't. They finally decided to move on to some other adventure. Sure they had found the Maddox brothers getaway car and briefcase, but what good was it, if there was no heist money. They decided to keep this their secret, never to tell anyone. They made a blood pact, without the blood of course. 

Fast forward, many years later, in 1969, Todd was working in a nearby town as a welder for a ship building company and Brian was an apprentice at an architectural firm in a neighboring state. The two had lost touch to some degree, just because of life, but did speak occasionally, always mentioning how they have to get together soon, but never do. They hadn't spoken of the Maddox adventure in many years.

One, hot, sunny, summer morning, Brian arrived at the demolition of an old railway station. This particular station had been abandoned for many decades and was to be removed to make way for a new, modern, shopping center. As Brian was walking through the old, crumbling, building, he was taken back to his and Todd's many adventures, as kids. He walked every room and hallway of this station, feeling like a kid again, exploring old ruins. The last room was a locker room. He thought, possibly, it had been used by the employees of the train line. As he was perusing the lockers, he saw one locker with the number "357 A" on the door; the "A" barely hanging on, by a small nail. He immediately remembered that same number being written on the note inside the briefcase. He thought for a moment and realized that this particular station had been known as the southwest terminal, for this particular line. He thought, could it be? It can't possibly... but, what if? The locker still had a padlock on it, but when Brian touched it, because of it's age and state of dilapidation, it fell right off. With his heart pounding and a knot in his stomach, Brian slowly opened the locker door and suddenly, a look of complete shock came over his face.. He couldn't believe his eyes... and immediately ran back to the company trailer to call Todd...

Two Boys, Two Gangsters, and A Tale of Intrigue - Part 1

Brian and Todd were best friends. Their sixth grade school year had just come to a close, and the summer of 1955 was beginning. They couldn't be more excited to have 3 months off of school. The adventurous possibilities were endless.

Their first day of summer vacation happened to be a Saturday. Todd showed up at Brian's house around 8:30 am. They hung around on the front porch for a while, trying to figure out what to do, but they had no idea what this particular Saturday actually held for them.

They decided to hop on their bicycles, start riding, and see where they would wind up. They soon found themselves near the old paper mill, which had been closed down for the past 15 years. They lived in a small town where there were not many big businesses, and the few that once thrived, had fallen by the wayside over the years. They parked their bikes and began exploring. Even though they had been inside many times before, somehow the intrigue of an abandoned building never got old. After roaming around the ruins of the paper mill for about an hour, they decided to continue their Saturday morning adventure. Back on their bikes, they headed towards Johnson's Woods.

Johnson's woods was a massive piece of heavily wooded property which had once been owned by Albert Johnson. Albert had passed away many years before the boys were born and the property was inherited by Albert's children, who lived out of state and payed little to no attention to the property. They had bigger fish to fry, with their city living lifestyles. So the woods were basically a playground for the kids around town.

When they reached the woods, they dropped their bikes and started on their way. As Brian and Todd roamed the thick brush, imagining themselves as cowboy and Indians, cops and robbers, and Robin Hood and his Merry Men, they stumbled across something peculiar. The sun happened to hit what looked like a very small, shiny, piece of metal, submerged firmly in the ground. The boys tried to pull it out but it was packed too tightly for them. They grabbed a couple of small tree branches and began to try to dig around it and quickly discovered that the more they dug, the bigger and deeper this thing got. They decided to ride home and sneak a couple of their dad's shovels out, rode back and continued their digging. As they dug deeper and deeper, what had caught their eye a little while earlier, seemed to be the headlight of a car, an old car. They thought that was pretty neat, but decided they should head home. It was getting near dinner time and didn't want their parents asking any questions. This was a pretty cool discovery the two sleuths wanted to keep under raps.

The following day, their two families were getting together for a backyard BBQ at Brian's house. Brian and Todd's dad's were standing around the grill, cooking up burgers and hot dogs, discussing the current baseball season and their dreams of being business owners, out from under the thumbs of their bosses. Maybe someday. Their wives were getting the table, baked beans, and potato salad ready, and discussing the latest town gossip and the new beauty parlor, in town, while Brian, Todd, and their siblings played badminton in the yard. Everyone was having a wonderful time and for a moment or two, Brian and Todd weren't giving their discovery much thought. However, when they all sat down to lunch, their dad's happened to bring up an old story they had heard many times from older town residents. As the two men tried to remember the details, the tale emerged for the first time, for Brian and Todd.

As the story goes, there were two gangsters back in the late 1920's. They were brothers who had taken the wrong path in life, obviously, because of their chosen profession. Their names were Jack and Jimmy Maddox. They had a fairly normal childhood, according to lore, but dropped out of school at any early age and in order to help support their parents measly incomes, they began to pull small robbery jobs. Soon, they realized that they were quite good at this new found money making scheme and began promoting themselves to bigger and bigger jobs. To make a long story short, in 1928 they pulled their biggest heist yet, the Cornville First Bank and Trust. This was a long time savings and loan and very respected institution. I suppose their confidence level must have been very high in going for such a prestigious establishment for their first bank job... and as it turned out, it would be their last.

The robbery, itself, went off just fine. Just as planned, without a hitch.  However, they didn't expect their getaway to fail as it did. Oh, they got away, alright, but they didn't get far enough. They made it as far as old Johnson's woods and were able to bury their Model A, yes, the entire car, which was quite a feat in and of itself, and supposedly, the briefcase of stolen loot went in the ground with it. Though their seems to be no one living who ever actually saw that briefcase. As of this year, 1955, it's a theory, a myth, hopefully to be proven or disproven by these two, 11 year old gumshoes, if in fact, what they have discovered is the actual car that their dad's were speaking about. And what of the Maddox boys? Well, after successfully burying their getaway car, the two were still on the lamb and had no choice but to continue their getaway on foot. They evaded cops for two days, but when discovered, they made their last stand in a subsequent and historical shoot out, and lost. No one was ever able to get any information on the car or the money.

As you can imagine, the boys were fixated as their dad's were spinning this exciting tale. They would look at each other every few minutes, and with a sort of mental communication, they were letting each other know that they would speak of their discovery to no one. It wasn't until the following Saturday that they were able to get back to the woods and their excavation. That was the longest week of their life!

Saturday morning, bright and early, they were back at it... and what they found was stunning!

To be continued...

The Mystery Man - Part 2

Suzette didn't live very far from the Beckhold's. She arrived just as light was breaking, around 5:45am. She was sure to park her 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook a good distance from their home. Even though it wasn't very noticeable, being dark green and in average condition, she couldn't chance having her cover blown. She would have never guessed that having read all of those detective magazines would come in handy, but it sure was, now.

Suzette waited patiently, in dark sunglasses and scarf, for Mrs. Beckhold to exit the home. She knew Mr. Beckhold usually left fairly early for the store, but she wasn't very sure of Judith's schedule. Mr. Beckhold left around 7:15 and his wife followed, about 9:00am. The hunt was finally on.

As Suzette followed a few cars behind Judith, their first stop was to check in on Judith's mother, Louise. Louise was quite elderly and Mr. Beckhold would often joke that she may out live them all. Judith spent about 30 minutes inside Louise's home, as Suzette waited patiently, four doors down the street. The next stop was the post office, where Judith was mailing several letters. Suzette couldn't help but wonder if one of those letters might be going to the mystery man, but there was no way of knowing this. The third stop on Judith's list was in the neighboring town at a very inconspicuous, small, office building. Suzette wondered what sort of business Mrs. Beckhold could possibly have there. It was a much older, out of date building, and not much really went on there, anymore. Things were beginning to get interesting. Judith spent about 45 minutes, inside the building. She then got into her car and drove around to the back, and to Suzette's complete shock, the mystery man was waiting for her! He walked over to her window and Judith handed him an envelope, they spoke a few words, Judith drove away, and the mystery man got into a car which was parked behind the building, as well, and drove away in the opposite direction. Suzette was a bit stunned. Her mind racing through scenarios. Was Mrs. Beckhold in some sort of trouble, and paying this guy off for her involvement in some kind of sinister affair? Or even worse, was she planning a hit on Mr. Beckhold?! What reason could she possibly have for this? The Beckhold's seemed to be a perfect, successful, and happy couple.

Suzette continued her surveillance on Judith, but the unusual actions seemed to be over and done with, for now. Suzette decided to drive out to the creek, near her home. She always seemed to do her best thinking there.. and boy, did she have a lot of thinking to do!

She began to put the facts together. Mrs. Beckhold was first seen at the Jr. high football game, speaking with the mystery man, near the concession stand, in a dark corner. Next, Suzette saw the same man on the 11 o'clock news, speaking with President Eisenhower, and entering his limousine. And now Judith was seen speaking with and handing an envelope to the same man, at a very old and nearly obsolete, office building. Something sure smelled like rotten fish and Suzette was determined to get to the bottom of it. Mr. Beckhold's life could depend on it!

That night, as Suzette was lying in bed, her mind still spinning with "what if's", she came to the conclusion that this man must be some sort of international spy and Mrs. Beckhold must be entangled in some sort of sinister pursuit.. and seeming to be a willing participant, as well. Mr. Beckhold didn't seem to aware at all of what was going on, which was intriguing in and of itself. The two were so close, how could he not be aware of this? Suzette decided that the envelope given to the mystery man must have been payment for a hit job on Mr Beckhold. Judith must need him out of the picture in order to further her involvement in this international spy ring. And it had to look like an accident! Remember, this was a small town and neighbors talk.

Suzette knew that she must get word to the local police of what was going on. She spoke to the chief and he appeared skeptical, to say the least. Letting her know that he thought her overactive imagination was getting the best of her, but she insisted. She began to lay out all of the "evidence" and slowly but surely seemed to begin to get the Chief thinking.  The more Suzette talked, the more concerned he became. The Chief finally relented and told her that he would have his men get right on it, and thanked her for the tip. She felt a bit better, but knew she had to stay on top of this. Lives we hanging in the balance! The following day, she heard a news report on the radio, that the President of the United States was coming to town for meetings with local law enforcement. Suzette knew this could not be a coincidence and that the mystery man and Mrs. Beckhold must have known this in advance. Was the hit on the president? Was he actually the one who would be targeted and not Mr. Beckhold? Suzette didn't know quite what to think at this point, except that something terrible was about to happen to someone! That night, she noticed the Chiefs patrol car parked several houses down from the Beckhold's, and thought, finally, he's doing something about this! Her heart was racing because she felt like time was running out. She parked even further down and began to sneak toward the home, noticing that there were more vehicles than usual parked throughout the neighborhood. Suddenly, she was stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the mystery man sneaking into the backdoor of the Beckhold's darkened home! She frantically looked all over for the Chief and suddenly heard a very loud scream, from what sounded like multiple people. What is going on? she thought... she was now in a full blown panic. Something must have happened to someone! Was it the president? Was it Mr. Beckhold? As she peered through the window she saw the lights come on and huge crowd of people gathered in the home. It's an entire gang, she thought! Then she saw Mr. Beckhold, the Chief, the mystery man, and even the president! They were laughing and hugging, and carrying on. Her heart suddenly sank from embarrassment. She quickly realized that this was no sinister plot against anyone, but a very well planned and orchestrated surprise birthday party for Mr. Beckhold! Suzette was ready to turn her journalism hat in. She felt like a failure. The Chief noticed that she looked quite down as he put his arm around her and explained what had happened. The mystery man, whose name was actually Henry Wallous, Mr. Beckhold, and President Eisenhower, all played football together in high school. They were the rat pack of 1909. He explained that he knew all along of the plans for the party, but couldn't reveal that to Suzette when she came to him. He did however, tell her what terrific detective skills she showed and her persistence with the case was admirable. He thought she'd make a great investigative journalist someday. Needless to say, this put a huge smile on Suzette's face. She continued with reporting and eventually did land that big city reporting job, but gave it up some years ago to pursue a career as a private eye, which seemed to be her true calling.

The Mystery Man - Part One...

Suzette was a rouge, freelance, reporter for the Regal Times, in the bustling city of Hanover, New Hampshire. Well, maybe more like "Journalism student" and "small town", but Suzette aspired to be a big time reporter for a big city paper, someday. For now, however, she would settle for covering the high school's home coming parade, football games, and who won the garden of the month trophy.

It was was nearing new year's eve and the year was about to become 1959. It was hard to believe that the 50's would soon be coming to a close, but they were. Suzette had spent the past two years reporting for the Regal, as a journalism student and truly enjoyed it, but she was beginning to become bored with her small town, neighborhood articles. She wanted something big, a real scoop, as they say.  One night, as she was covering a Jr high football game, she noticed a man that she didn't recognize, lurking in a dark corner between the concession stand and the restrooms. Her imagination began to run wild. Who was he? Where did he come from? What was he doing there? Was he meeting someone? If so, who? All of these questions and more, began to race through her mind. As she was dreaming of a "big scoop", she noticed a woman, resembling Mrs. Judith Beckhold. Judith was a very nice, mild mannered  lady who was married to James Beckhold, a very successful, local business man. They owned the local J&J food market, in town. Everyone knew and loved them. They were very warm and welcoming people.They were in their mid 50 and a very attractive, active, and sociable couple. So, it seemed very odd to Suzette that Judith would meeting a strange man in a dark corner, at night.. and why at a football game, where they could be seen? Of course, maybe the whole thing was on the up and up, but maybe it wasn't. What if Judith was cheating on her husband? Scandalous! As the two talked for a moment, Suzette watched as closely as she could and suddenly they went around the corner and couldn't be seen any longer. Suzette became frustrated and decided to investigate further. She snuck around the rear of the concession stand, trying to keep herself from view. They stood close to each other and seemed to be whispering. But what about? There's was no way Suzette could get close enough to find out, and she didn't want to get caught, so she went back to the game, but all the while, debating in her mind how she could find out more.

Suzette went straight home after the game, the St. Steven's Eagles being the winner that night, and she turned on her Television. The 11 o'clock news had just begun, and being a reporter, she loved to watch, keeping herself up to date on the latest events around the world and around the corner. So, she kicked off her shoes and indulged in a bit of snowy black and white, for her rabbit ears seemed to be on the blink. As she was thinking about what a great anchor she would make, a story came on concerning President Eisenhower. Film, from the week before, was being shown of him getting into a big, black, limousine at the U.N., just after having had talks with some other world leaders, on the state of the cold war. Suzette didn't think much of it, until suddenly, she saw the president stop a strange man. Suzette was stunned; she couldn't believe her eyes!! It seemed to be the same man that she had seen at the football game, sneaking around with Mrs. Beckhold! The president and this mystery man spoke for just a moment and then the two entered the presidents limousine and drove off. Suzette's mind, again, began to race.Who was this man?? Was he some sort of double agent? An international spy? A secret operations agent? And what did he know? Did he have top secret information? Was he receiving top secret information from the leader of the free world? Was he involved somehow, in the cold war talks? Suzette's mind and curiosity were at top speed, but she didn't quite know what to do with it all. So, she went to bed, but didn't sleep.

The next morning, she got up at dawn, and drove to the Beckhold's home. She was putting on her Gumshoe hat. She decided that she would do little surveillance on Mrs. Beckhold.

To be continued...

Stay tuned.

The Sparkling Tiki... An Unforgettable Weekend

The year was 1961. She pulled up to the Sparkling Tiki Motor Inn, excited about some much needed rest and relaxation. She exited her 1957 Belair Sport Coupe and entered the motel office to see about a vacancy for a few days. She was in luck... she got a room.. room number 11. She drove to her door, parked, and brought herself and her luggage inside. The room was lovely. The Sparkling Tiki was a fairly new establishment. The room had it's own telephone and TV, complete with the latest in Rabbit Ears, and best of all, a brand new restaurant had recently opened, right next door! The Polynesian Room was of course, Polynesian themed, which she found very appealing.. She couldn't wait to have dinner there, it would be her first time enjoying Polynesian food, but for now, it was nearing lunch time. She was walking back across the parking lot to the office to inquire about a nice diner to get a bite to eat, noticed the pool area, and decided to take a detour. She loved the water and wanted to see what awaited her over the next couple of days. She made her way to the pool fence and there he was. She was stunned by his good looks and aloof demeanor. He was lying on a lounge chair, engrossed in what looked to be a captivating novel. He was tan, wearing white swim trunks with a navy blue stripe down each leg, and was the spitting image of Cary Grant. For a moment, he looked over the top of his book. They made split second eye contact and the butterflies, that had made themselves at home in her stomach, took flight. She immediately blushed, turned around, and headed back toward the office.

He was all she could think about. That evening at 5 o'clock there came a knock at her door. It was him. Her heart soared! She didn't think he noticed her, but boy, did he! He asked if she would like to accompany him for dinner at the Polynesian Room. Well, she certainly wasn't going to turn that offer down. She calmly said, "why, I'd love to, give me just a minute", but inside she was as giddy as a teenager, thinking, this is too good to be true. Was the Cary Grant look alike really asking her to dinner? Yes, he was! They moseyed next door and got a table at a window with a beautiful view of the highway and the gas station, across the street. It was a breathtaking sight as the sun began to sink down, behind the Esso sign.

The two enjoyed pleasant conversation, and a lovely dinner, but sadly, he informed her that he would be leaving the motel the next day. She was disappointed but would never let it show, though she felt they had made a powerful connection. She was hoping the feeling was mutual. She definitely felt a spark, well, more like fireworks, between them. After dinner, they strolled the parking lot a few times, laughing, talking,  and divulging more and more about themselves. He was a real estate broker on his way to a convention, though he expressed that he wished he didn't have to go so soon, but time was pressing. He had to be packed and on the road in the morning if he was going to make it to his destination on time. Despite the fact that he would be on his way in less than 12 hours, she was on a cloud just knowing that he wanted to stay. She wanted him to stay, too. She was smitten, and apparently, so was he.

As time continued to pass and it grew later and later, he knew it was time to walk her back to her room. As they stood at the door, making small talk, she kept thinking that she wished he would stop talking and just kiss her. She would certainly never make that move herself, and as she was just about to give up hope that he might, he did. He leaned in and very gently kissed her goodnight. It was a kiss that she would remember for the rest of her life. They said goodnight, she went inside and he, being on a cloud himself, but acting very calm, cool, and collected, strolled back to his room, as well. He thought to himself, "wow, what a girl!" The feeling was mutual and they both knew it.

As much as both of them didn't want the morning to arrive, it did. And as he packed his 1958 Fairlane, he kept wishing he didn't have to. "Maybe I can skip the convention", he thought. But his spot was already reserved and paid for and to boot, he was a guest speaker. He was stuck. So, as he was reluctantly ready to hit the road, they said their goodbyes. He told her he'd see her again, and as much as she wanted to believe him, she knew it wasn't true. Not that he was deliberately lying to her, because in his heart he believed it, but she knew life and distance would get in the way and though her heart was breaking, she was thankful for their meeting and time spent together. It was bittersweet as they kissed goodbye. He asked her for her telephone number and promised he would call her when he returned home from his convention. She wouldn't hold her breath. With a big smile and an aching heart, she wished him safe travels and happy motoring, which brought a chuckle from them both, and she watched his Fairlane drive off into the fast approaching sunrise. She was sad. He was sad. She would continue her life. A week later, she was home, and back into her daily routine, though her mind was still set on the weekend. prior. As the following weekend was coming to a close, her telephone rang. She picked it up, assuming it was one of her girl friends, looking to go a movie or something, and when she said hello, she heard a very familiar voice. It was him, and her heart soared...