OK. We are on our way! This is the second chapter which leads you further into the story. Now you have the chance to either outline or write the next chapter (instructions at the end).
Chapter 2
By the time Sarah returned to the car the police and an ambulance had just arrived. She quickly told Pauline that the woman appeared to have vanished again and that she didn’t have the faintest idea where she could have gone. Before they had a chance to speak about this in any more detail, the police approached the ladies.
Sarah immediately recognised Detective Chief Inspector Morgan who had attended the scene when Sarah’s mother discovered a body at the bottom of their garden three years ago. He was accompanied by another man who DCI Morgan introduced as Detective Constable Michael Chase.
“Good evening ladies,” said DCI Morgan. Turning to Sarah a look of recognition enters his eyes. “Hello again Sarah. I was hoping we wouldn’t meet again under circumstances such as these, but here we are. What seems to be the problem?”
“Pauline and I were driving down the road after an evening out in Totnes when I spotted someone running into this wheat field. Thinking it might be someone in trouble I stopped and followed the person into the field to see if they needed any help at all. It took me some time but eventually I stumbled across the apparently lifeless body of a woman laying on the ground. Although I suspected that she was dead, I thought that perhaps she could have suffered a stroke or a heart attack, so I came straight back to the car and rang for the police and an ambulance.”
“Can you show us exactly where this woman is?”
“That could be a problem. When I returned to see if I could do anything for her, she had gone. Either she got up and moved away or someone else has moved her.”
“I see. Are you absolutely certain that she was there in the first place? Are you sure that you weren’t imagining the whole thing?”
Turning to Pauline, he asked her if she had seen this woman enter the field.
“No,” replied Pauline, “I wasn’t really looking at the time that Sarah spotted her as I was searching for something in my handbag.”
“OK Sarah, let’s see what we can find. Can you show us where you first saw her?”
Sarah led the two policemen and the two paramedics back into the field and showed them where she had first seen the woman. The wheat stalks had been flattened by her body, so Sarah could be very definite about the exact location.
“And you’re absolutely certain that you saw this woman here are you? It is very dark after all. Are you sure it wasn’t the body of an animal that you mistook for a woman?”
“100% certain,” replied Sarah.
This exchange of information between Sarah and DCI Morgan prompted DC Chase to suggest to his boss that they ought to at least search the field and see if they could locate the woman. Sarah felt a small amount of relief at this suggestion. It was obvious that DCI Morgan doubted her, but she was certain that the woman was not a figment of her imagination. She could still be out there somewhere in need of help.
The four men search the field in its entirety, taking a good while to do so, but turn up nothing. However, just as DCI Morgan is about to call off the search a shout goes up from one of the paramedics that he has found her. They quickly hurry to the spot, but by the time they get there the paramedic has already performed a perfunctory examination and discovered that she is, in fact, dead.
As the cause of death cannot be determined straight away, the police are forced to treat the area as a possible crime scene and call in extra personnel. Sarah takes the opportunity to take a few pictures of the body, but the police ask her to stop. They seem to think that she must have a macabre streak in her, but Sarah is already considering the likelihood that she might want to investigate the night’s events further.
While these events are taking place, Sarah can feel that DC Chase is watching her very closely. Although he is new to the area he has already heard of Sarah and Darren and how they solved a previous murder. They had both become very well known in the area after their adventure, with all manner of stories circulating.
The woman appears to have been in her early thirties and of medium build. Judging by the fact that she is wearing a burgundy track suit and trainers, the initial belief by the police is that she might have been out jogging and suffered a heart attack. They suspect that she might have been unconscious, but still alive, when Sarah first saw her, but that when Sarah had returned to her car to ring the emergency services she had partially recovered and managed to walk a bit further before collapsing and dying.
DCI Morgan summed it all up by saying “It would appear that this poor woman fell ill, likely a heart attack, and died before help could arrive. However, we cannot be certain until the pathologist has made his examination and confirmed the cause of death. There’s nothing more we require of you two ladies tonight, but we may need to talk to you again in the future, in which case we will contact you. Thank you for your help tonight.”
Sarah and Pauline returned to Sarah’s car to continue their journey home. They were about to drive off when Sarah noticed DC Chase approaching the car. He appeared slightly nervous about speaking to them, but Sarah ignored this to avoid embarrassing him.
“Are you sure you ladies will be OK travelling home alone at this time of night?”
“We’ll be just fine,” replies Sarah smiling at him “but thank you for your concern.”
As they drive off Sarah notices in the rear view mirror that DC Chase watches them drive away, waving as he did so.
“I do believe that Michael Chase has taken a fancy to you Sarah,” said Pauline with a smile on her lips.
“Don’t be silly Pauline. He’s simply doing his job,” said Sarah, feeling her face go red at Pauline’s suggestion. Just as well it was dark in the car!
Over to you. What will happen in chapter 3? If you wish to suggest an outline you can put it in the comments section below, but if you think that your submission is too large for that you can send it to me via email at [email protected]
As you can see from the above, just one person took part in this experiment so I need to treat it as a failure. No problem. That's how we find out what works and what doesn't. I shall write the rest of the book myself and publish it here - just don't know when.
Are you writing "live" right now? I love that you dare to do that. I can't help you with an outline, though. Firstly, I'm not that into cozy mysteries, and second, when I outline, I need to have the whole picture in my head before I detail outline a chapter.
No, I'm not writing "live". I have an outline prepared for the complete book, but only two chapters written. That is how I am able to run this experiment. If the experiment fails then I will write the rest of the book myself and post the chapters here.
I don't have a full outline. I would like to see the next chapter include her boyfriend discussing the dead body with her. I think that the Tea Room, should also be included with people stopping by to get the latest scoop.
Thank you.