Once again I would like to thank Julie Demers for everything.
Touch of Grey
Mary Anne and Mona had been baking all day for Dawn's meeting. They had a huge spread of various meats, fruits, veggies, cheeses, and cookies. There was so much going on that it was a calming influence on Mary Anne. She wasn't sure Morbidda was a witch, like everyone wanted her to be. Maybe she was just a lonely old lady that kept to herself.
Dawn was sitting the stuff out on the bar outside. She was in an extremely good mood, despite the creepy dream she had the night before. She was singing along to The Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey" and couldn't wait for everyone to get there, especially Claudia.
Claudia and Dawn met up every year for Burning Man and Coachella but never got in a long visit like this one. Jessi was also coming, she was having Becca fill in for her teaching a dance camp at Stoneybrook Day.
At 11:30 people started arriving. Altogether it was Mary Anne, Dawn, Mallory, Claudia, Shannon, Robert, Karen, and the last to arrive were Bart and Alan.
Dawn took charge and began talking as soon as everyone was settled and eating.
"Thank you all for coming today on such short notice. The first thing I want to discuss is Bart and I are going to be holding a session of campfires at the park for neighborhood kids. We will be telling ghost stories at each campfire and roasting marshmallows and serving Kool-aide. If anyone can help us run the camp or wants to be a guest storyteller, we are going to go pass around a sign-up sheet. Write your name and any details of what you are planning to contribute."
Karen spoke up." My store could be a sponsor. I'd be willing to make up some kits for the kids with Butterbeer, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, chocolate frogs, and other party favors. We could go down to the radio station and get it advertised on the air."
"You can count me in for a story or two. After working on the history project I'm going to need some time to unwind." Said Mal.
"I can design some merch for the kids. T-shirts and duffle bags. And sign me up for a story too." Said Claudia.
"Mona and I will make special magic sprinkles you can put on the fire to make it change colors!" Said Mary Anne
"I will bring my guitar and play some scary tunes!" said Ben.
" Put Robert and me down for glow stick sets. We can put them in the kits."
Jessie said," Put me down for a story and I can bring some special effects from the dance dept to make it more spooky too!"
"Put me down for a story. I will make sure the firepit is clean and ready to go each night before the kids arrive. I also may have some extra lawn chairs for kids to sit on." said Alan.
" Awesome you guys!! Now second on the agenda is the uranium case. We need to organize to try to solve this mystery. Mallory and Claudia will be headquarters for anyone who wants to come over and keep an eye out for Morbidda Destiny and what she is up to."
At that moment Bart and Alan had to leave to go back to work. Bart told Dawn he would be back later to work on the campfire project. Mal and Claud filled everyone in on their discoveries from the previous night and planned to go interview Alan around quitting time.
Dawn filled them in on Barts's theory about the chemistry sets being from one or more of the schools. Jessi and Ben said that they would check their schools for clues.
Karen said she would look for past purchases by Morbidda at the store and write down any future ones. Then Karen made her excuses and left. She was going clubbing that night.
As soon as she was out the door and down the street the girls started talking about her. "Did you see the picture she posted on Instagram?" Claudia asked. No one had and she showed them. "She sure is a partier, isn't she?"
"She's not doing much else these days," Jessi said. "She doesn't keep regular hours at the witch store and she goes out clubbing every night. All the single guys in town treat her like she is Stoneybrook's answer to Paris Hilton. They've even taken to calling her The Heiress in the gossip column of the paper. She and her little group of friends are like the Brat Pack. And their favorite thing is to go to Junk Bucket shows."
Jessi was looking at the Instagram photo. She recognized everyone in it. Hannie Papadakis, Nancy Dawes, Maria Kilbourne, Ricky Torres, and Bobby Gainelli. But there was another person (well at least part of another person). They were all sitting at the booth with their arms around each other but the person on the right was just part of a shoulder, arm, and hand. "Hey, I wonder who is in this picture. They have an SHS football ring on and it's from your class."
They all wondered, too.
Claudia, Mallory, and Ben headed out to interview Alan. Jessi stayed behind and listened to Mary Anne, Mona, Shannon, and Dawn talk about trying to find out who moved into the house with the SHS letter sweater.
She decided to head home taking the route Mary Anne, Dawn, and Shannon did on their walks. She saw Alan Gray outside the Prezioso house on the way.
Just as she looked back to the road she saw a figure dash across the road. Jessi hit on her breaks just in time. It was Morbidda Destiny who didn't even blink an eye and kept on going across the street and straight up to the park. Jessi just sat there in her car in the middle of the street and got her bearings. Then she turned to the residential side of the street and up to the 3rd floor of the letter sweater house. The light was on and there was a shadowy figure of a man in the window.
The man stood there a moment looking down at Jessi with his curtain pulled back. The SHS football ring on his finger caught the light and glistened. And he smiled to himself.
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