http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMM4oYOSOB4&feature=related
I have taken to sitting out in front of Zoe's cafe recently, even when it isn't open. I like the location. It gives shelter from both the wind and the rain - I still can't get over how much more changeable the weather has become since the earthquake. There's also a comforting nostalgia about the cafe itself with its retro decor, the transistor radio, the wonderful traditional food - and, of course, the wonderful traditional owner.
I was sitting outside Zoe's late one evening when a girl I vaguely recognised came along. She dipped under the shelter of the umbrella at my table to avoid one of those sudden rain showers and we got talking. It was Sapphire Emmons, who I hadn't seen since before the flood at Deadend. She said she's staying with her friend Lynx now, in a house which is very near mine.
There's a poster of Laura Dreadlow on the window of the cafe, and our conversation drifted around to that poor girl. Sapphire had moved in with Lynx at about the time Laura's body was found. I don't think the two had ever met, but it was clear she had already picked up quite a bit - and not just from the newspapers.
Sapphire told me that Lynx had thrown a housewarming party the week before she arrived (on April 9th, I think she said). Laura had been there. Naturally I became more interested when she said that. She then talked about another friend of Lynx's, a girl called Laz, who was also staying there. She said Laz wears a snake around her neck, which might help to explain why my cat has been behaving so oddly recently. And she also said that Laz had hit Laura at the party, causing Laura to lose a tooth.
I caught up with Sapphire again a few days later at Lynx's house - number seven - and was introduced to a baby-blue-haired Laz, complete with snake. There was certainly something disconcerting about her. I wasn't able to find out any more about Laura or the party, which was a little disappointing, but I'll try again when I get another chance.
I don't really expect this will help me get closer to my real goal of finding out if Laura and I are related, but the more I find out the more I'm becoming drawn towards her in ways I cannot explain. I have an uneasy feeling I may be left wishing I hadn't heard of Laura in the first place, which I sincerely hope won't happen. Whatever she may have been or done in her short life, she surely deserves much better than that.
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I should have seen something out of the corner of my eye, or heard the footsteps on the gravel, but I was so engrossed in my work for the therapist that I missed it all. My head was pulled sharply back by the hair and a wire wound around my neck. I was under no illusions of what would happen if I were to disregard the accompanying threat.
It all happened so quickly. I was marched into the empty cafe and forced down behind the counter. My arms were bound with clingfilm and the binding didn't stop until I was wrapped in the clear plastic from head to toe. The wire was removed but I wasn't breathing any easier, the film making me so hot and uncomfortable. I was only dimly aware of a male voice. It wasn't long before I passed out completely.
It was Zoe who found me, for which I was thankful. How long I lay there I honestly don't know. Even when the clingfilm came off it was quite a while before I was able to breathe easily.
I was beginning to wonder what the incident was all about, when I noticed something my assailant had left behind him. Jam. Lots of it. All over Zoe's fridge door. Zoe did mention the flavour, but I can't recall what it was or if that held any significance. It took me a few moments to realise that it wasn't just a random pattern, either. There was a message spelled out -
"Too many cooks can spoil the broth,
Too many looks will boil my wrath -
let the dead lie in peace"
I have no idea what it meant other than it seemed to be a warning, of sorts. Neither Zoe nor Dr Hobie (who I hadn't noticed entering the restaurant) knew either. Zoe's police background took over at this point as she carefully preserved what she could of the evidence. I was in no condition to take in much of what was going on, so after a strong black coffee I went home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q910HEkDOmE&feature=related
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