Mystery at the Castle: Chapter Four: Reckoning

Today I'm sharing the conclusion of our current Progressive Story Project. Just as a reminder, this project is an exercise in creative writing. A group of writers craft a piece of fiction together, not by discussing the story, but by adding a section of the story to whatever those before us have written. The point is for each writer to contribute to but not control the story.

Our current story is called Mystery at the Castle. Before continuing on, here are the links to the first 3 chapters:
Chapter One: Friends for Life
Chapter Two: Suspicion
Chapter Three: The Past is Present

It's bittersweet for me to publish the culmination of these stories. Although I am excited to share how this piece ends, it's also the conclusion of a fun collaboration. 

I want thank, once again, all the talented writers who have gifted me with their time and effort and artistry in creating this piece of fiction. At the end I've listed them all and, where appropriate, provided a link to their blogs. Be sure to stop by and see what else they have to offer.

Chapter Four: Reckoning

Kimberly of When I Grow Up

"I had a hunch I was following up on," said Jill, breathlessly. "He doesn't belong here! Kath was trying to get away from him."

"Now why would my fiance try to get away from me?" said Phil with a sneer.

The officers looked at each other, confused. No one had mentioned the deceased was engaged.

"Everyone out of here, now!" said Jones. "This room has not been processed yet. You two will need to come with us to straighten this out."

Baylor gave Phil a shove toward the door while Jones took Jill by the elbow. The other women took the hint and left the room, heading for the stairs.

When they got to the hallway, Jameson was standing there. He cocked his head to the side. "Who's he?" he asked. He thought the man looked vaguely familiar and not in a good way.

"This is Phil," spat Jill. "My long lost step brother."

Jameson looked confused, then his face hardened and his fists clenched. He knew he had to keep it together. "So you were in it together!"

Quickly realizing how this looked, Jill panicked. "No, no. I didn't know it was him. We've never met. I only know because he looks and sounds like his brothers, who I detested."

Phil turned then, "Enough to murder?" he asked with a snarl.

This got everyone's attention. Ash shifted nervously. This was moving into very uncomfortable territory.

Baylor took charge, "We need to ask more questions of these two. I think we need to move this to the station. Jameson, you wait here with the other ladies." He pulled him aside, adding, "And pull yourself together or I'm pulling you off this case."

Jenniy of Climaxed

Jill's mind raced while she rode in back of Detective Schmidt's sedan. One of the other officers volunteered to transport Phil - the only good part about the last few minutes. He was guilty, she knew it, and she knew it was a long con to get back at her. Crazy as it sounds, that entire family wanted to see her suffer for being absolutely honest about her stepfather's behavior, and this was yet another way to hurt her, and oh man had it worked this time.

Phil's subtle accusation worried her. There was no way he could have known what happened that night. She was the only one with Mikey. He'd made sure of that. Kath and Ash had shown up later, but they had all sworn secrecy. They'd all participated in covering up the murder and had promised to be one another's alibi. So how exactly did Phil know anything? Did Kath spill the beans? She couldn't have! What kind of proof could he even have?

She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize they'd pulled into the Newport Police Station. There she was parked right beside the car bringing in Phil. He was staring at her with the creepiest grin she had ever seen in her life, and she realized he intended to end her, one way or another.

She'd felt a lot of things since finding Kath earlier, but the icy cold tendrils of terror that gripped her now were new, and she knew without a doubt that the truth was going to have to come out. Finally.

Detective Schmidt opened her door and directed her into the small department doors. He was trying to explain to her what would happen next, but she couldn't focus on the words. Behind her, Phil was laughing maniacally sending chills up her spine.

and Me! 

There was no way to keep track of all the thoughts flying through Jill's mind. Her friend was dead. Phil had to pay. But Mikey is dead too, justifiable in her mind, but does a price not still needed to be paid? After all, isn't this what she does for a living, expose the deceased's true story and let the justice system sort it all out? But she had not, she had broken the rules by which she professed to live. And now karma had taken a much heftier toll and not on her, on her innocent friend.

Yes, most prevalent was the guilt. Kath had died because of her. Jill could condone Mikey's death in her own mind, vindicate herself, but this one fact is inescapable: she had thought things through from what she was sure was every angle, had rationalized, compartmentalized, even exonerated herself. For years. The truth is that you can never know, never, what path the ripples of your actions, your secrets, can take. You cannot ever know what's in other peoples' minds. Jill had misjudged, she now knew, thought (arrogantly so, she now realized) that she had it all figured out. She had not. You never can. And now Kat is dead.

She had been brought to the station as a witness, for the most part anyway. She knew that she was about to become so much more. She owed it to herself, she owed it to Ash, who shouldered the burden of keeping this secret for way too long, to Kathryn's long time detective friend who truly seems to have loved her, but most importantly she owed it to Kath, who had paid an incomprehensible price for being Jill's confident. All the scenarios that had played out in her mind all of these years and never had she even begun to fathom where this would end. But end it will. Now. Jill closed her eyes, took a deep breath, looked at Detective Schmidt and spoke "I'd like to speak with Detective Jameson . . ."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The End ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'd like, once again, to thank the talented writers who collaborated to come up with yet another amazing piece of fiction. Be sure to visit their blogs and see what else they have to share:

Sarah Nolan
Diane of On the Border 
Dawn of Cognitive Script and Spatulas on Parade 
Rena of Wandering Web Designer
Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom
Kimberly of When I Grow Up
Lydia of Cluttered Genius
Jenniy of Climaxed
Jules of The Bergham Chronicles

and me!

And for today's recipe, let's celebrate another successful collaboration with cake! 

Limoncello Sheet Cake

Limoncello Sheet Cake        
                                    ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box lemon cake mix and ingredients specified on the box (minus 1/4 cup water)
1/2 cup Limoncello, divided
1 tsp lemon zest

1 1/2 heavy cream
1/4 cup Limoncello 
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 box instant lemon pudding mix 
OPT: a couple of drops of yellow food coloring

Directions:
*Grease and flour a 9 X 13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Set aside 1/4 cup of Limoncello. Beat the cake mix, lemon zest and the ingredients specified on the box, using 1/4 cup less water than suggested and replacing it with the other 1/4 cup Limoncello. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake about 25 minutes or until the center springs back to the touch.
*Cool cake completely. Once cool, pierce the cake (not fully to the bottom) all over with a fork. Drizzle the 1/4 cup of Limoncello that was set aside over the cake and allow to sink in.
*Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks start to form. Mix in the final 1/4 cup of Limoncello, the powdered sugar, the lemon pudding mix and the food coloring if using, until stiff peaks hold. Frost the top of the cake.
*Store in the refrigerator.

Mystery at the Castle. Chapter Three: The Past is Present

Welcome again to the latest of our collaborations that we call the Progressive Story Project. These stories are so much fun both to write and to read. The way they work is simple, a group of writers craft a story not by collaborating with each other, but by, one by one, adding our own piece to what those before us have written. The end result is one cohesive story.

This time the story is called Mystery at the Castle. So far I've posted two chapters including the contributions of 9 writers. Be sure to read them before picking up the story today.
Chapter One: Friends for Life and 
Chapter Two: Suspicion 

As usual, the author of each section is to the far right of their contribution. For more of their writing, be sure to check out their blog, linked by their names.

Chapter Three:

Jules of The Bergham Chronicles

{{Flashback}}

Jill, Kath and Ash stared at the body on the ground in front of them. Kath and Ash looked at each other, confusion and fear shining in their eyes. They then turned to Jill, who was just standing there, a look of utter shock animating her normally unreadable face. She looked up at her two best friends, and back at the dead body.

"This is so not good," Jill said, her normal blankness returning to her face. "I am so sorry. This is not what I was expecting when I asked you to come with me."

"Well," Kat chimed in, "I would certainly hope not. Who is this? Do you know him?"

"Yeah," said the now crouching Jill. "I have known him nearly my whole life. It's my stepbrother Mikey."

"Your what??" squeaked Ash. "You have a stepbrother? Since when?"

"Since I was two," Jill said as she stood back up and faced her friends. "Before Robert became my stepdad, I had another one, Barry, who had five sons. My mom and he were married when I was two, and it lasted until I was six. Barry and four of his sons lived with us. I never knew the fifth son, beyond knowing he existed. After my mom was finally able to rid us and our life of him and his boys, she ended up marrying Robert. He had actually been her divorce attorney. Barry did not quietly exit stage left. In fact, it was quite loud and messy. At times it was downright terrifying."

"Where does he play into this?" Kath asked, turning to look at the dead body laying just feet away.

Ash walked over to a nearby wall and leaned against it, her face still showing signs of shock. She thought she had known Jill better than she knew herself. She suspected there were secrets she kept about her childhood, but she certainly did not think it would be anything this big. This was crazy. This was front page news. This was a mess. She returned her attention back to Jill and Kath, who had walked over to where she was leaning against the cold cement wall.

"Well, he was my oldest stepbrother Mikey. He was almost eleven when he moved in with my mom and me," she paused looking at her friends, her face showing the guilt she was feeling for dragging them into this mess. "Dom was the second oldest. He was eight and so quiet you barely knew he was there. Joey and Vinny were the babies. I say babies, but they were still older than me by three years. In the beginning the change was not too bad. All the boys were in school, so my mom and I still had plenty of alone time. I guess things went downhill when Barry got a new job, where he worked from home, and he really turned into a dictator. He controlled my mom and me with an iron fist, and he let his boys do whatever they wanted. Every few weeks, they would all go on a trip, and it would just be mom and me. We lived for their trips. They would go visit their youngest brother. He was the same age as I was, and their mother had been able to retain custody. I never met him, and they never really talked about it. I know his name was John Phillip. I always thought it was weird they always went by shortened names, but the baby brother was always John Phillip. Anyway, once my mom was finally able to get the divorce finalized, I heard Barry and the boys moved back to Maine, to be closer to John Phillip. I heard stories over the years, about the boys getting into trouble, and had heard they all got it all straightened out for the most part. Except for Mikey. Good ole Mikey." Jill stared at Mikey's lifeless body, and you could tell he was anything but good.

"What led to the divorce?" Ash the always nosy investigative reporter asked, as she stared at Jill, glancing briefly at Ash.

"Barry was always a bit controlling," Jill started quietly. "I really never liked him. Other than Dom, I really did not like the boys either. Things were not actually too bad until Barry began working from home. That is really when everything went downhill. He became beyond controlling of my mom and I. We were kept on short leashes. Of course the boys did not have leashes. they also never got in any serious trouble, no matter what they did. Mikey got away with the most. Things got weird, and he did some awful things but I really never saw him in trouble, ever. He started being super controlling of me. It really got bad once I started Kindergarten. He appointed himself my guardian. He would walk me to school and home from school. I don't know how he did it, but he was always around me at school. He would get mad if I played with boys at recess. If he did not like a friend, I was not allowed to play with them. I hated it. My teacher noticed, and she tried to tell Barry what she had been seeing once when he picked me up for a doctor appointment, but Barry told her to mind her own business. A while into the school year, I asked Mikey to leave me alone, told him he was not my Dad. He told me of course he was not my dad, but one day I would be his. I was confused by what he meant, and then he told me I would marry him one day."

Kat cut in, "Ew! What a total creep! I cannot imagine anyone saying that to their stepsister, especially their five year old stepsister! He never touched you, did he?"

"No," Jill said with absolute conviction in her voice. "My mom definitely would never have let that happen. I was so upset after Mikey told me I was going to marry him. The first time Barry and the boys went to see John Phillip after he had said that to me, I told my mom that I did not want to marry Mikey. She wanted to know what I was talking about, so I told her what Mikey had said and what he had been doing. That was the day we met Robert. It took a year, but my mom divorced Barry and saved me from anything Mikey would have done. The first few years were great. We had a rough patch when I was in seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Mikey began stalking me. He kept his distance, for the most part, but he always managed to make his presence known. He got in big trouble, right before the end of my freshman year, and I never saw him again. I received the occasional creep letter and I am fairly certain they were from him. I never saw him, though. Until tonight." Her voice trailed off, and she glanced over at Mikey's body.

"Well," said Ash, concern coating her voice. "What do we do now? I mean, we should probably call a lawyer."

"Why a lawyer?" asked Kat, fear showing in her voice and on her face.

"A lawyer," chimed in Jill "because there is no way we are getting out of this unscathed. There is no way anyone will believe we ended up at an abandoned warehouse, in the middle of nowhere, and just happened upon a dead body. We are screwed. I am so sorry, ladies. I had no idea this was going to happen."

"We just need to make sure we make it out of this," Kat said, her normal confidence returning to her voice. "Not only unscathed, but completely scot free of any accusations and suspicion. We did not do this, and I damn sure am not gong to let this ruin any of our lives. Especially not you, Jill. This jerk caused you enough trouble already."

"I agree," Ash said, grabbing her friends' hands and squeezing them tight. "No way is this jerk going to bring any of us down. That is why we need to make sure nobody ever learns we were here. We need to do this right, and we need to do it quickly."

That was the night that not only solidified their friendship, but made them the Tres Amigas, closer than any of their other sorority sisters. It was the night they all gained a secret, a big dark secret. One that had seemingly remained hidden. At least until now.

Sarah Nolan 

{{back to present day, a few hours later}}

Jill sat by the window, staring out at the dark sky. The feeling in the pit of her stomach was not unfamiliar. She knew that something big was about to happen, something she couldn't control. She closed her eyes, willing the premonition to come. Call it a sixth sense, but she could always tell when something was off. Thinking back to conversations she'd had previously with Kathryn, she tried to figure out who was responsible for her death. She kept coming back to Phil, Kathryn's possessive boyfriend. They'd never met him . . . evidently he didn't approve of Kathryn having friends other than him. Jill knew that Kathryn coming here was going to be an issue with Phil. Was he capable of murder?

Getting up, Jill headed to Kathryn's room in search of her phone. Finding it on the nightstand, Jill sat on the bed and punched Kathryn's birthday, knowing it was her passcode. She looked at the call list but it revealed nothing suspicious. Same with the text and Facebook messages. So far, she wasn't getting anywhere with her phone search. She looked at the wall, wondering what else she could check.

Then it hit her . . .

She pulled up the photo gallery and searched through her pictures, stopping when she saw a picture of Kathryn with a familiar looking man. The face staring back at her caused the memories she'd boxed up to come busting out of their housing. While it wasn't actually Mikey, it was eerily similar. Putting two and two together, Jill surmised that Phil was actually John Phillip.

Her ex-step-family was coming back to haunt her again.

Dawn of Cognitive Script
and Spatulas on Parade

Jill knew it was crazy, but she had to confide in someone. Taking her phone out of her pocket she pulled up "favorites" and then stopped. Did she dare tell anyone? Steph was the quiet one, shy, introverted but very insightful. All the girls were close but no one knew that Steph had become her confidant several years earlier when all the trouble happened with Barry and his boys. Well, the boy really and especially Mikey.

Taking a deep breath, she punched Steph's number. It rand and rang, hmm, no answer. While she was contemplating her next move, the door opened. Startled, she jumped up. Now she stood face to face with the great mystery, Phil.

She froze, he did for a moment, then he demanded, "WHO the hell are you and WHY are you in Kat's room? I demand you tell me right now!"

Oh dear lord, that voice, he sounded just like Barry and Mikey, her suspicion was right. Phil was John Phillip! She felt faint, she felt weak, flashbacks of horrible threats and screams from so many years ago came rushing into her head . . . deep breathing, calm yourself, she tried to gather her thoughts before she spoke and in came Detective Schmidt.

"Well, what do we have here? The guilty parties trying to cover up evidence? Lovers meeting behind the back of a girlfriend and best friend? So, who do we have and just what are you two up to?" Detective Schmidt asked.

"LOVERS? Have you lost your ever loving mind?" Jill spewed out far too loudly and quckly.

Phil looked at her, cocked his head and then a slow very creepy sadistic smile spread over his face. She knew it, he was just like Mikey and he knew who she was.

All of a sudden the room became crowded, the girls who had been held up in Melissa's room, all came rushing in. Now here stood Ash, Charly, Jenn, Heather, Steph and Melissa all looking with questioning eyes at Jill and Phil. The Detective seemed the most interested in this scene.

Officers Jones and Baylor joined the group. "This is the victim's room, we need to know WHY each of you are here, and exactly WHAT is going on."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ For the conclusion of this story, be sure to read Mystery at the Castle, Chapter Four: Reckoning ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Before you go, don't forget to check out today's recipe: 

Delmonico Ham Casserole 

Delmonico Ham Casserole        
                                                   ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

8 medium sized new potatoes

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

2/3 cup half and half

1 TBSP sweet hot mustard

1# pre-cooked thick cut ham

1 green onion, sliced

4 oz jar of pimentos, drained

3/4 cup asparagus, steamed and chopped

salt and pepper to taste

paprika

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 X 11 pan Whisk together half and half and sweet hot mustard.

*Slice all potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Layer half of them into the casserole dish and sprinkle with half of the green onions and pimentos. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with about 1/2 cup of the shredded cheddar. Drizzle 1/2 of the whisked liquid over the cheese.

*Next evenly distribute the ham and asparagus into the dish, then another 1/2 cup of the cheese.

*Layer the remaining potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle the rest of the liquid, the remaining cheese, then green onions and pimentos. Sprinkle with paprika.

*Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Mystery at the Castle. Chapter Two: Suspicion

Last week I reintroduced you to the concept of our Progressive Story Projects. They are stories composed by a number of writers, each building on what those before them have created. This is our 7th story. I hope you'll read them all.

I also, last week, published chapter one of our current story, Mystery at the Castle. Today I'm happy to present the second chapter of that story. As always, to the far right, I've given you the name of and a link to the website of the author of that segment. 

Be sure to read (or you may want to reread) Chapter One: Friends for Life. 

Chapter Two: Suspicion

Rena of The Wandering Web Designer

Jill swallowed hard and visibly pulled herself together so that when she spoke it was pure coroner who was relating the facts of the deceased. Not Jill, whose friend was dead by the bar and another who had been unconscious next to her on the floor.

The rest of the ladies were removed to another room until they could give their statements, but Jill stayed to help in any way she could. "I just can't believe it," she said mostly to herself. The detective looked over at her and said, "tell us what you know about Kathryn".

"I met Kathryn on my first day of college over 15 years ago. We were both lost and so confused," she said looking back at the girls they once were. "She was so considerate and loyal she wouldn't hurt a flea! Who could have done this to her?" she asked even though she knew they didn't have the answer yet.

"Is there anyone you can think of who would want to hurt her? Someone who didn't like her? What about the other ladies? Do you think one of them could be involved?"

"No way! We've all been friends since college. I would trust these ladies with my life, we're sorority sisters." Jill said confidently. 

"Does everyone get along well, your sorority sisters?" the detective asked her.

"Well, we all have our quirks and pet peeves, but underneath the bickering and jealousy there is love and a very strong bond."

"So which one was bickering and which one is jealous," the second detective asked her.

"What I meant was, we are a strong group with strong personalities and sometimes those personalities clash, but we'd never hurt each other."

"Well, we'll talk to each one and get their statements. I understand you all have weekend reservations so you're free to go up to your rooms, but we ask that you don't leave the premises until we say so."

Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom

"I am Detective Jameson from Newport PD. Please state your full name for the record," the policeman told her as they were sitting down at the wooden table in one of the castle's meeting rooms and switching on the camera that was going to be recording the interview. 

"Heather Deen Laughlin."

"Tell us how you met Kathryn."

"Just like everyone else here. We went to Cambridge College together. My roommate dropped out after the first semester, that's when Kathryn moved in with me. We've been best friends even beyond graduating. I studied psychology, Kath was a business major. We couldn't have been more different where personalities and interests were concerned, still we had a strong bond. Kathryn's first job was for Prudential Financial, I think she worked for some Risk Management hotshot for a while, until she got promoted into the International Insurance Division. She had jobs all over Europe, and whenever money and time would allow it, some of us would actually take trips to visit her wherever she was working at the time. It was very exciting. I remember one time in December we flew to Munich, Germany, and we strolled through the most charming Christmas Market, we had Gluhwein and Lebkuchen, that's gingerbread . . . , Heather trailed off.

Detective Jameson, with the straightest face he could keep, told Heather as interesting as the Christmas Market bits were - they did not contribute to establishing a profile of the victim, which ultimately was the reason for their "chat", so could she please stick to the relevant facts: jealous or vindictive people, enemies, (ex-) lovers, boyfriends, husbands . . . ? 

That's when Heather gave him an overview of Kathryn's love life. It was a short story: college boyfriend, long time ago, affair with coworker that ended amicably, and Phil, aka the Jerk, she met at a business convention last year.
  "So this Phil character, you thought he was bad news?"

"Very much so. I have never met a more controlling and jealous person. You see, Kathryn had always been an ambitious, independent and strong woman. And all of a sudden this guy thinks he can order her around, tell her how to dress and whom to meet or not. I remember the time she was so happy about the Gucci dress she scored: it was really classy, and she wore it with her Manolo heels but no, Phil thought it was too revealing and suggested she put on something more conservative. When she wanted to go out with a group of coworkers, he basically requested a list of people to see if any guys were going to join, and if that was the case, he either joined her or told her not to go by coming up with surprise opera tickets or some other bribe.

Kathryn felt somewhat protected and courted at first. "That's how much he cares. He just wants me to be safe, I'm his princess," she kept assuring me. As time went by her perception began to change though, and she got tired of justifying her every move. This trip to Rhode Island must have been a very welcome change of scenery."

Kimberly of When I Grow Up 

There was a commotion outside the door. A male voice said, "You can't go in there, there's an interrogation going on." There was the click of heels and the door burst open. Ash strode into the room, her Fendi leather trench coat billowing behind her.

"This deposition is over," she stated forcefully. "Heather, don't say another word." She turned to the officer, "I believe there is a conflict of interest here. I hear you brought Kathryn back here after drinks in town last night. The caretaker said you both stumbled in around 2 am and that you snuck out just before dawn."

"I thought you were told to not leave the premises. The caretaker's cottage is a mile down the drive. We posted officers at all the doors. How did you get around them?"

"I didn't leave," she said smugly. "I know Kathryn's fondness for good bourbon and knew when I passed that bar in town that she would have been there. It just took some internet sleuthing and a phone call." Of course he didn't know her background included investigative reporting or that she had spent several years covering court cases in New York City. "So, what happened to our friend?"

The officer paused, then sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea. She called me when she got to town and asked me to meet her. We go way back," he explained. "My family lived next door to hers and we went through grade school together. I met her at the bar and she told me about a business deal she was worried about. It seems her boss may have violated international laws and she wasn't sure what to do. After a few drinks, we reminisced and then Ubered back here. I slept on the couch. I had to be at work, so I left early to go home and shower first. I took the call when it came in. We're a small force, so I really had no choice about responding. I should have told the captain when she came in, but I've known Kat my whole life; I need to find out what happened."

Ash looked skeptical but didn't challenge his version of last night's events. It all sounded plausible, but she had to ask a question to be sure he was telling the truth.

Winter Coffee Nog

Lydia of Cluttered Genius

{{Flashback}}

Ashley was as nervous as could be for her first assignment. She and Jill were working together officially for the first time since they each finished college and their training.

"Jill. What is there's a dead body?" Ashley asked.

"I'm counting on it," Jill answered, a smile spread across her face. This was what she lived for. And having one of her best friends on the scene and in the conversation with her would make it that much more fun.

Ashley and Jill approached the scene, flashed their credentials, and ducked under the caution tape. There, they found a white mound on the ground surrounded by orange cones, labeled number tents, and the shuffle of men's dress shoes.

"Ash, you're going to be ok. You're here to get the story, and you're the best investigator I know. Don't worry!" Jill patted Ashley on the back and moved over to the dead body. Her game face was on, and Ashley knew better than to interrupt. She reached into her bag and pulled out her Stenopad and pen.

Glancing around the faces at the scene, she settled on one. In disbelief, she made her way over.

"Kat. What in the world are you doing here?" she asked Kathryn who had her arms wrapped around her and was standing right beyond the yellow tape.

Kathryn didn't answer her. Instead, Ashley noticed how she rocked slightly on her feet. Her shoulders were shaking. She didn't look good.

"Kat. KAT. What's going on?"

"It's him," Kat said. "I know it."
 

Jenniy of Climaxed 

"While you're here, Mrs. . . . uh?"

"Ashley Devereaux. Ms. Ashley Devereaux. But I prefer Ash if it's all the same to you."

"Okay then, can we go ahead and get your interview squared away? Surely you know questioning everyone who was here is procedure."

"Who is going to question you then?"

"Fair enough. But I will be giving my official statement to my superiors at the station. If you'd prefer, you can do the same."

"Is that some kind of threat, Officer?"

"It's Detective."

"Quaint. They actually need a detective in Newport?"

"Ms. Devereaux, this hostility is completely unnecessary."

Ash paused, staring him down trying to make him break, but he didn't so much as blink. She was the one, actually, who looked away. She turned to look out the windows over his shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest. Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks. She hated to cry.

The silence and tension were thick like a wet blanket making everyone uncomfortable. The detective stood his ground, though. He knew people like her. If he bowed to her now, she would railroad this entire investigation.

"You're right. I'm being completely over the top. I'm angry, upset, terrified . . . this is one of my closest friends lying dead in there on what was supposed to be our annual girls' weekend. I have had zero time to process it, so I'm doing the only thing I know how to do - aggressively attack it for the truth."

That didn't go the way he'd hoped.

"Listen, I feel like we've both gotten off on the wrong foot here. Let's start over. I love Kath. I always have. We've never been in the same place at the same time to be together, and this time it just might have worked out, and now this. I'm hurting too, full disclosure. We're all hurting. But I can assure you that my personal feelings for Kath will absolutely not impede my ability to do my job. If anything, it will fuel me to do even more to find out what happened and who might've done this to her. We don't have to be enemies in this."

Ash's posture completely changed. She was absolutely being unfair. She knew it. When she turned enough to meet his eyes, she could see tears just as real as her own. "I want to do everything possible to help find who did this. Where do we start?"

"I know how you all met. I've heard the stories. I know the background. I know about the relationships. I know she was getting ready to break it off with Phil and was scared of his reaction, so that's going to be one of my first tasks. But I also know Kath had some secrets. She danced around telling me for years now. I know at least some of you know what happened to make her so jumpy and paranoid the last few years. If it could have even a remote chance of being related to what's happened to her now, I need to know. Please."

Ash felt a cold rush over her. This was absolutely not what she thought he was going to ask. How could Kath have been so stupid as to hint at what had happened with a cop?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Read on! Chapter Three: The Past is Present ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Winter Coffee Nog

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup hot brewed coffee  
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup Eggnog
1 oz spiced rum
1 oz Kahlua
1/2 tsp vanilla

whipped cream and nutmeg for garnish

Directions:
*Stir the sugar into the coffee.
Mix together the Eggnog, spiced rum, Kahlua and vanilla. 
*Pour the Eggnog mixture into the coffee and stir.
*Garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Mystery at the Castle. Chapter One: Friends for Life

It's been over a year since I shared a Progressive Story Project so let me re-introduce you to the concept. A Progressive Story is a collaboration, a challenge, and to me personally, a gift. I'm grateful to be able to coordinate and publish them.

A diverse group of bloggers, each with their own personal focus, their own voice and individual style of writing, come together to craft one story, one cohesive piece of fiction that I then get to share here on my blog.

The way it works is that one participant writes a piece of a story, then each subsequent writer adds their contribution and passes it on to the next. In this way, everyone impacts but no one controls the piece. Where the story goes is up to us all. The challenge is to write a cohesive story. And thanks to some very talented friends, we've done that many times already. This is the 7th time writers have come together to collaborate on this project. Be sure to check out all of the previous stories:

Our first story was a holiday fantasy called A Holiday Story.
Next came a darker piece, Storm Past.
For our third project, we chose to revisit A Holiday Story and added four more chapters.
Sincerely Sarah was a story of personal strength.
Take Aim was about compassion, standing up for yourself and for others.
And Skin Deep was about choices.

Which brings us to today, chapter one of our newest story, Mystery at the Castle. To the far right at the top of each segment is the name and link to the blog of the writer of that section.

Chapter One: Friends for Life

Karen of Baking In A Tornado

'Why am I doing this?' she thought for about the 100th time. But she knew why, she loved her girlfriends. They'd been friends since college, 15 years now. Although she got together with a few of them here and there throughout the year, this once a year event is something none of them ever missed. No matter what, all 8 girls, women now actually, came together for a weekend of renewed friendship and uninterrupted fun.

'I just cannot believe Kathryn chose this', she thought, also for about the 100th time, since she'd heard the plan. 'Yes, each year one of us gets to choose and plan the entire weekend and yes, this is Kathryn's year. But renting out a castle on the coast of Rhode Island and planning a murder mystery weekend? Really? I mean it's not like Kathryn doesn't know what I do for a living.'

Still thinking that Kathryn could have chosen a different activity, yet knowing that it is always more about being together than anything else, Jill entered the formal dining room for dinner, surprised that she was the first to have descended the grand staircase for the kickoff of their weekend together. Looking around the room, Jill located the bar and headed in that direction. Not easily surprised, she actually was a little taken aback when she saw someone slumped in a chair behind the bar. 'Ah', she thought as she got closer, 'this is how it starts, a fake death. Let the mystery weekend begin.'

But the fictional mystery weekend was, in fact, not beginning. That was not an actor or a dummy. That is a real person and she was actually dead. If anyone would know, Jill would. After all, she's been a coroner for 10 years now.

Sarah Nolan  

{{Flashback}}

Kathryn and Jill were sitting in the courtyard outside of their dorm, grasping their cups of hot coffee in their hands to help ward off the bitter cold air.

"A coroner? Really? That's such a creepy profession!" Kathryn said, scrounging up her nose at the thought of dealing with the dead.

"It's not creepy, it's a necessary part of life. More than that though, it's a chance to help tell someone's story who no longer can. If I can help just one Jane Doe find peace, it will all be worth it," Jill said, thinking back with sadness. No one knew the reason she picked this profession, not the real reason. That was her cross to bear and she didn't want to share that with anyone, not even her closest friends.

"Oh Jill . . . you and your crusade to save the world. You know you are going to change it one day, right?" Kathryn said, shaking her head.

But Jill wasn't so sure about that. Because to change the world, she had to risk her secret being exposed and that wasn't something she was willing to do. Her family's lives depended on that.

Diane of On the Border 

The instincts honed over ten difficult and rewarding years kicked in.

'Touch nothing, Jill!' she reminded herself sternly. 'Just take everything in . . . '

She pulled out her phone and stabbed '911', then, with it pressed to her ear, crouched down to get a better look at the silently slumped figure.

She sucked in a short, shocked breath and her phone fell from numbed fingers. "Kathryn?" she whispered. "Kath?"

Jill didn't know how long she crouched there, staring at the face of her friend. The wide, sightless eyes. The blue lips. The protruding tongue.

A voice from somewhere nearby finally penetrated the fog that seemed to have grown around her.

"911. Please state the nature of your emergency. Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? This is 911. Hello?"

Jill started blankly at the phone on the floor, then shook her head and picked it up. She again pressed it to her ear and tried twice to produce a voice from her constricted throat. "He . . . Hello?"

"This is 911, Ma'am. Please state the nature of your emergency."

Jill made numb lips move. "My friend's dead. Kath. She's dead. She planned this to be a murder weekend and now she's dead." Vaguely, she realized she was babbling, but nothing seemed to be connecting in her brain at the moment.

"Could you please repeat that?" the voice on the other end asked calmly. "Did you say someone was dead? Please give me your address."

Jill blinked. Address? Where were they? "It's a castle," she said, finally. "Kath arranged it. I . . . don't know the address."

"Please keep talking, Ma'am. We've triangulated your position and officers are on the way."

"Tell them it's a castle. And Kath is dead. Strangled."

"Did you say strangled, Ma'am?"

"I hope Kath let someone know the weekend schedule or this reunion is really going to be a bust!" someone said.

Jill turned her head, almost dropping the pone again. "Charly!" she squeaked.

Dawn of Cognitive Script and Spatulas on Parade

Dropping the phone Jill stared at Charly, dressed to kill of course, in her Gucci suit and Coach purse. She said "well . . . did she let everyone know WHERE this God forsaken place is? Wait, what's wrong?" She moved toward the bar.

"NO! STOP! Jill said. "You can't come any closer."

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Charly said, pushing Jill aside. She stopped dead in her tracks. "What, what the heck? Okay Kat THIS shit is NOT funny! Get UP NOW!" she yelled.

Jill grabbed her arm before she could grab the slumped over corpse that was their friend's now lifeless body. "No, don't Charly. It's Kat. She's dead, for real. This is no game."

THUD, and now Charly was on the floor at the exact moment the double doors flew open and in came the gang, all bright eyed, bushy tailed, giggly and clueless to what they were walking in to.

Jenn, Ash, Heather, Steph and Melissa came into the room like they were taking over the Paris runway. Jill rolled her eyes, was she the ONLY practical one?

She hopped off the floor and over to greet them before they compromised the scene any further. "Stop, please stop, don't move." Looking puzzled they saw Charly on the floor. Ash jumped and clapped her hands "ooh goody the fun has already started! Who did it, the butler with a knife, the maid with a broomstick, oh wait no, there's no weapon," she giggled.

"This is NO laughing matter and it's not a game! PLEASE listen to me for once!" THIS got their attention, for rarely did Jill assert herself when they were all present.

"Okay, we will not move, but what is going on? Why is Charly on the floor and is that Kat in the chair? What happened?" Melissa asked.

Sirens could be heard outside, then footsteps, it was all so fast. Four armed officers entered the room and walked around the ladies. "What happened here ladies?" asked the first officer. He looked at Melissa, then Jill. "Well, is someone going to speak up or not?"

Melissa seemed very offended and replied "WELL, WE were trying to find out when you burst into the room and shoved us aside!"

'Oh Lord' Jill thought, 'we're all going to jail!'

Jill stepped forward and began to explain to the officer. When she had finished, the EMS workers had arrived and Charly was sitting up on the floor with an oxygen mask. The other ladies were looking awful pale and Jill felt as if she was in a horrible nightmare and desperately wanted to wake up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Read on! Chapter two: Suspicion ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oh, and I don't forget today's recipe, Fruited Butternut Squash.

Fruited Butternut Squash

Fruited Butternut Squash

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and chopped 
2 TBSP maple syrup
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP melted butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup cranraisins
1 small can mandarin oranges, drain and pat dry
1/2 cup pepitas (can substitute chopped pecans)

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
*Cook the squash in the microwave for 3 minutes. If it's not fork tender, return to the microwave for another minute or until it is.
*Mix the maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, salt and pepper into the hot squash. Mash completely, then add the cranraisins and mandarin oranges.
*Transfer to the prepared casserole dish and cover with tin foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the tin foil, sprinkle the top with pepitas (or pecans) and return to the oven, uncovered, for 3 minutes.