Hate the Title, pt. 10

Rachel’s poring over the picture of Jack Harshore proved unneeded.
When the
two ladies walked through the door, he was sitting at the front desk.
Tessa
leaned over to Rachel and whispered, “Don’t talk too much, just play
along,”
and headed toward the desk. “Hello, sir,” she began casually. “How
are you
today?” He smiled at her. “Fine, miss. How may I help you?” “Well,
I would
like to look into making a trip to…” she faltered. She had not thought
of
where it was she wanted to go. “We’re not exactly sure,” said Rachel,
“but
someplace warm, say . . . the Bahamas?” Tessa gave Rachel a big smile
for
covering, and continued, “Yes, warm places are what we want. Maybe
Jamaica.”
Mr. Harshore smiled at the two and started grabbing brochures off the
wall. “These will tell you all you need to know about the trips. Just
come
find me when you’ve made a decision, or if you have any questions.”
Rachel
took them before Tessa could and gave her a pointed look as she walked
to an
empty chair in the corner. Tessa cleared her throat, and Mr. Harshore
looked
at her. “Is there anything else I can do for you, miss?” Tessa felt
like her
heart would jump out of her chest. “Um, actually, I was wondering what
you
could tell me about your sister, Martha.” The friendly look on his
face was
instantly swept off. The man stared her in the face. Tessa tried with
all
her might not to blink. “Why do you want to know about my sister?” he
asked. “Were you a friend of hers?” “Uh, no, but I was wondering if
you
could tell me—.” “Or are you one of those reporters who don’t care a
wit
about someone who’s suffered a loss?” Tessa felt terrible for the poor
man. “Sir, I’m just trying to help. I want to find out who did it.”
Mr.
Harshore fell instantly silent. Tessa could see his eyes begin to
tear, and
said, “Your sister didn’t deserve what happened, and I want to make
sure we
find the one who deserves some consequences.” Mr. Harshore looked at
Tessa,
smiled, blinked back a tear, and let out a long sigh. “If it will
help, I can
tell you what I know.”
Hi, everyone! I'm back! OK, so that was a lot longer than a week. But
my
excuse is that our [stupid, stupid, stupid] computer would not let me
get
online. It has always been against me.
So, I have decided to break my story into chunks, sort of like a
series. That
way, you people can finish this one sooner, and decide whether or not
you wish
to continue. Hopefully, it will be like Harry Potter, and you won't
want it to
stop. Between these serial installments, I'll post my random Betsyish
posts.
Soon, I'll be asking for guesses as to who is to blame for the murders.
If
anyone wins... I don't know, I'll think of something. I'll also try to
come up
with a title I like.