Chapter 9
Day 24 - Prompt - Cookie Cutter
The next morning I got up in a good mood. I felt we made progress figuring out who murdered Maria Lakes. I turned on the TV to the local news. Nothing interesting, so I tossed the remote on the couch, and walked into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee. As I sipped my coffee I looked out the kitchen window. Across the street I could see Doyle locking the front door to her bungalow, and run across the street toward my house. I sighed. My admiration for Doyle was weaning. I wasn't sure who she was anymore. I thought she was a shy woman who blushed all the time. Now I wasn't so sure. Doyle had layers. She was like an onion, to cut into the inner core would bring tears to my eyes. And sure enough, she knocked on the door.
"Come in." I called, as I dug a extra mug from the cabinet. It was time to tell her how I felt, and that I wanted to see the real Doyle. I wanted her. God, I wanted Doyle more than any other woman in my life. She was a brunette, just as I like. Black and blonde heads could be beautiful, but they never held that magical quality of beauty that makes my loins burn for procreative power. But when she walked into the kitchen, I saw the way her hair sweep from underneath her beret and fell on her shoulders, and framed her high cheek bones, elevating her narrow jawline, contrasted by full lips, that rose to a small nose that curved upward to wide set eyes, devoid of wrinkles. The facial symmetry was perfect in every aspect, and everything I had planned to say lodged in the pit of my stomach.
"Hi," she said. And her smile tingled the depths of my soul, causing the urge to build.
I swallowed "Coffee?"
"Sure." and joined me at the table. She took a sip of coffee, and glanced up at me, biting her bottom lip.
"What?"
She glanced away. "Um... about yesterday. If I made you... you know."
I shook my head, and arched an eyebrow. "No. Made me what?"
"Well..." she was looking for the right word. "Um... I noticed on the way home you were quiet."
I had been quiet. I had been confused and upset. I hit a woman in my car for crying out loud. I can still hear her rolling over the hood of the minivan. Then the look on Mindy Lyons when I offered help sent chills down my spine. She looked at me like I was evil or something, and then stood up, refusing my help like I was going to hurt her. Then she ran off.
"I was a hard day," I said.
"I know, and if I done anything to upset you, I'm sorry. I have no attraction to Mat Stone. I was just... you know."
"Flirting," I said, and now that I think about it, it upset me more than anything else. That was the moment I realized Doyle was deeper than I ever suspected. She was no longer the beautiful painter girl who lived across the street, but something complex, and it terrified me.
She dropped her head. "I was trying to get information. That's all."
I nodded, and an awkward silence passed between us.
After a few long seconds Doyle spoke up, breaking the tension. "I've been doing some thinking. I believe the killer is a cookie-cutter type of person. Someone who flies under the radar. Predictable, and does the same routine everyday."
"Like Mat Stone."
"Exactly," she said. "His a cookie-cutter type person if I ever seen one."
I like where she was going with this. "He reminds of someone who would like simple pleasure."
"Think about it, he's traditional. I seen the photo on his desk, he has a wife and kids. Does the same routine everyday. Has a life of security, and the police would never suspect him. He's flying low under the radar."
"Good thinking, Doyle."
Doyle opened her mouth to speak, and then stopped. Glanced over her shoulder to the living room, cocked her ear and listened. "Oh my god," she said.
"What?"
She jumped up and ran into the living. I followed her, and flashing on the TV was breaking news.
"President and CEO of Spacecore Industries, Mat Stone was found brutally murdered this morning in his condo near Crestwood-Hinda Heights. The body was discovered this morning by house keeper Bethany Meek. Authorities have given no details. And are to hold a press conference later this afternoon." The reporter paused, and put her finger to the ear piece in her ear. "We have just learned on good authority that Mat Stone was brutally murdered by a paper weight..."
I held nothing us what the reporter said as the air lodged in my throat. I glanced at Doyle, and her face paled as she looked back at me. We both understood what it meant. We were at Mat Stones office yesterday. It was a matter of time before the police came knocking. Even though we had given false names and pretended to be freelance journalist, are faces were on every security camera at Spacecore Industries.
"What are we going to do?" I saw fear in Doyle's eyes. "They'll think we did it."
I ran hand through my hair. "We have to find the killer."
"How? We thought it was him." Her bottom lip trembled as her face turned green. "I'm going to throw up," and shoved her fist in her mouth to fight down the vomit.
"I think I know who the killer is," I said.
She looked at me, her eyes pleading for an answer. "Who?"
I swallowed. "Mindy Lyons."
Note
I forgot to set the timer, so, I just wrote until the end of the chapter. It was a short chapter anyway.
The prompt was a hard one to work in the story, so I hoped it worked. I know I have always heard that predictable people were called cookie-cutters, because predictable people often do the same thing everyday in the same way, much like a baker cutting cookies with a cookie-cutter. So, I hope it was believable. I know the action waned this time around, so sorry.
I love doing the #freewrite. As a writer I find it very good exercise to sharpen skill. For me, writing is one those endeavors that you can always improve skill, and for me at least there is plenty of room to grow skill.
If you read it, wow! Thank You.
I made no corrections to errors. Only corrected misspelled words, and inserted markdown tags. I also marked the word when I first used today's prompt.
Links To Previous Parts of The Green Door
part 1, part2, part 3,part4, part5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14,part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 23,
If Rather Read by Chapter Here Are The Links
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
The Story Prompts - The Green Door
| Prompts | Prompts | Prompts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Describe Your Front Door | 7. Your Greatest Journey | 13. Roadblocks |
| 2. History | 8. Hazardous | 14. Stetson |
| 3. Sleeve | 9. Plan | 15. Sequence |
| 4. After Midnight | 10. Lucky | 16. Warm Water Bottle |
| 5. Not Yet | 11. Cyberspace | 17. The goat ate my |
| 6. Camel | 12. Habitat | 18. The Big Freeze |
| 19. The Big Freeze | 20. Bubbling | 21. Orbit |
| 22. A Red Scarf | 23. In The Limelight | 24. Cookie Cutter |
I want to give Thanks to the @freewritehouse
I want to give Thanks to @mariannewest for the freewrite challenge.
Follow. Upvote. Resteem.
@shanedustin
@shanedustin
On the basis of her name alone, I’d have to suspect that Mindy did it!
It’s the midweek prompt delivery team here with the challenge for today: https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-467-5-minute-freewrite-wednesday-prompt-wild-and-woolly
Fantastic description.. And the story got exciting...