.
Wait!
There was this one guy!
Why didnât I think of him? I guess because he doesnât live in Peterborough. So, why does my killer have to live in Peterborough? Good question.
Four of us from Timâs went to Toronto to celebrate last New Yearâs Eve. The others were older than me. We rented a hotel room right down town, just off Yonge Street. Party central.
I knew I was in over my head, so I was wary.
We went out for a light dinner. Sushi. Apparently, you always eat light before clubbing. Then we went back to our room for a few drinks. I donât drink, but no one noticed. Then we went out.
No trouble getting into Club Bizarro. I look older than I am if I want to. I danced mostly with my friend Helen. We laughed a lot. Helen drank a vile blue concoction. One was enough. Otherwise, we nursed Shirley Temples. With irony: kids pretending to be grown-ups pretending to be kids.
A guy cut me out on the dance floor like a sports car swerving to cut off a bus. Not that I look like a bus. I was looking good.
He said his name was Basset. Said he went to universe-itty . The way he said it, I knew he was lying. Said he was single. I knew he was lying about that, too. He was trying too hard to have fun.
I dumped him. So he shifted his attention to Helen. Okay by me, except I had no one to dance with for a while.
Helen went to the restroom. Basset followed her. I followed Basset. He was trying to make out with her but thatâs not what Helen wanted. By the time I got through the door, she was crying.
I grabbed Bassetâs hand and twisted his arm around his back so hard I could hear his shoulder pop. He collapsed. Helen and I returned to the dance floor, but we figured it was time to leave.
We didnât pay any attention when Basset came out of the washroom. He was talking to a bouncer when we got to the front door. The bouncer was a big guy, of course. He stood in front of us. We werenât going anywhere.
Basset wanted to lay assault charges against both of us. We had to wait until the cops came.
The cops knew exactly what had happened. They werenât born yesterday. So, they had all of us give them our names and home addresses right there. Basset got scared, of course. He wanted to punish us, but he didnât want his wife to find out that he had been in the ladies restroom in Club Bizarro.
He dropped the complaint or whatever it was. But not before he wrote down our information. He said âfor insurance purposes.â The cops gave him a ride to the hospital. I guess I hurt his shoulder pretty bad.
About two weeks later, I got a letter by snail-mail. It had a note inside with one word: Cow!
I was kind of proud of that note, although the message was pathetic. I mean, cow . I suppose, when everyone swears, a non-swearing insult is meant to really sting. It didnât. I carried it around for a couple of weeks as a trophy. Then, when I was housecleaning my purse, I threw it in the garbage.
But it wasnât Basset who shot me. If he did, he would have come after Helen, too. And he didnât.
Then why bother thinking about him? Because the whole episode was an exciting action-packed adventure. Thatâs why.
Helen came in to see me when I was in the first coma and still on life support. She hasnât been back, but David would have told me if anything had happened to her. Like, if sheâd been shot.
Anyway, Iâd know.
I have a sixth sense for things like that.
Nine
Rebecca
A little girl of seven or eight disappeared under the folds of Rebeccaâs petticoats, carrying her boots. With another girl holding her hand for balance, Rebecca stepped into one boot, then the other. The little girl laced them up. They were farm boots, but no one would see them.
The girl emerged from under the dress and looked up. âWhen I get big, Miss Rebecca, Iâm going to be beautiful just like you.â
Rebecca blushed. Someone stepped in front of her with a fragment of
Wait!
There was this one guy!
Why didnât I think of him? I guess because he doesnât live in Peterborough. So, why does my killer have to live in Peterborough? Good question.
Four of us from Timâs went to Toronto to celebrate last New Yearâs Eve. The others were older than me. We rented a hotel room right down town, just off Yonge Street. Party central.
I knew I was in over my head, so I was wary.
We went out for a light dinner. Sushi. Apparently, you always eat light before clubbing. Then we went back to our room for a few drinks. I donât drink, but no one noticed. Then we went out.
No trouble getting into Club Bizarro. I look older than I am if I want to. I danced mostly with my friend Helen. We laughed a lot. Helen drank a vile blue concoction. One was enough. Otherwise, we nursed Shirley Temples. With irony: kids pretending to be grown-ups pretending to be kids.
A guy cut me out on the dance floor like a sports car swerving to cut off a bus. Not that I look like a bus. I was looking good.
He said his name was Basset. Said he went to universe-itty . The way he said it, I knew he was lying. Said he was single. I knew he was lying about that, too. He was trying too hard to have fun.
I dumped him. So he shifted his attention to Helen. Okay by me, except I had no one to dance with for a while.
Helen went to the restroom. Basset followed her. I followed Basset. He was trying to make out with her but thatâs not what Helen wanted. By the time I got through the door, she was crying.
I grabbed Bassetâs hand and twisted his arm around his back so hard I could hear his shoulder pop. He collapsed. Helen and I returned to the dance floor, but we figured it was time to leave.
We didnât pay any attention when Basset came out of the washroom. He was talking to a bouncer when we got to the front door. The bouncer was a big guy, of course. He stood in front of us. We werenât going anywhere.
Basset wanted to lay assault charges against both of us. We had to wait until the cops came.
The cops knew exactly what had happened. They werenât born yesterday. So, they had all of us give them our names and home addresses right there. Basset got scared, of course. He wanted to punish us, but he didnât want his wife to find out that he had been in the ladies restroom in Club Bizarro.
He dropped the complaint or whatever it was. But not before he wrote down our information. He said âfor insurance purposes.â The cops gave him a ride to the hospital. I guess I hurt his shoulder pretty bad.
About two weeks later, I got a letter by snail-mail. It had a note inside with one word: Cow!
I was kind of proud of that note, although the message was pathetic. I mean, cow . I suppose, when everyone swears, a non-swearing insult is meant to really sting. It didnât. I carried it around for a couple of weeks as a trophy. Then, when I was housecleaning my purse, I threw it in the garbage.
But it wasnât Basset who shot me. If he did, he would have come after Helen, too. And he didnât.
Then why bother thinking about him? Because the whole episode was an exciting action-packed adventure. Thatâs why.
Helen came in to see me when I was in the first coma and still on life support. She hasnât been back, but David would have told me if anything had happened to her. Like, if sheâd been shot.
Anyway, Iâd know.
I have a sixth sense for things like that.
Nine
Rebecca
A little girl of seven or eight disappeared under the folds of Rebeccaâs petticoats, carrying her boots. With another girl holding her hand for balance, Rebecca stepped into one boot, then the other. The little girl laced them up. They were farm boots, but no one would see them.
The girl emerged from under the dress and looked up. âWhen I get big, Miss Rebecca, Iâm going to be beautiful just like you.â
Rebecca blushed. Someone stepped in front of her with a fragment of
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