The force is with you

“Joseph, you’d better get down here right now,” Meredith told the phone, her Yankee accent pronounced as always in times of stress.

       “I’m sorry about the dogs, Mom. I just forgot. I’m really busy right now. We’ve got the Staties here, and I’m showing them the lie of the land.”

       “Well you can bring them too,” she said tartly. “We’ve got a bloody murder lying on the land right here next to the toolshed. And they tell me you’re the Chief of Police for this island.” She punched buttons on her phone until it seemed to shut off. Didn’t have the same satisfaction as slamming down the receiver.

          “That should fetch him,” she told Bobby.

          They hauled the dogs inside and waited at the house. Not that there was long to wait.  The island was only three by seven miles, and the police station was five minutes away.  Meredith put her feet on the footstool, leaned back in her favorite wingback chair and closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get up. It had already been a very long day.

         “By the toolshed,” she called when Joseph came to the door. “And if you damage my rose garden any further, there’s going to be another murder!”