Free A Killer Read by Erika Chase Page A

leave and hadn’t let on about it.
    Sally-Jo had also been eager to remain at Molly’s house, partly, Lizzie suspected, because of their friendship. Even though she’d lived in town for ten months now, Sally-Jo didn’t do a lot of socializing, spending most of her free time fixing up her house, an old wood-framed two-story left to her by a great-aunt. Excellent if sad timing. The house was actually bequeathed to two of the six Baker girls, but Sally-Jo eagerly grabbed the opportunity to move in and away from the tightly knit family. Nothing like seven hundred or so miles to ensure happy family relations, she often said. Lizzie envied the thought of having sisters, but five did sound like overkill.
    “I have a short writing assignment for you tonight, basedon the book of photography that you read last week,” Lizzie explained as soon as the four students in her group were seated and somewhat attentive. She noticed right away that Stephanie Lowe hadn’t made it to class. She hoped everything was okay with her. She hadn’t seen nor heard from her since book club. Troy Nebock, another of her students, was a no-show, also.
    A hand shot up from the club chair in the corner by the window. Lizzie acknowledged Sonny Dolman with a nod of her head.
    “I didn’t git around to getting a library card, miss, so I couldn’t take out a book.” He looked very self-satisfied.
    Not a big surprise. “I have a book right here, Sonny, that you can use.” Sonny was doing well enough to be in the advanced group, but he liked to provide these little bumps along the way. The smirk left his face, and he tapped his left knee with his pencil. He sat slouched with his knees poking through the threadbare legs of his jeans, his thin black hoodie partially zipped up, showing off the top part of a purple T-shirt with skeletal designs on it. His long black hair was held back in a ponytail, allowing Lizzie to actually see his face for a change. He glanced over at the only other male in attendance, Dwayne Trowl.
    Dwayne shrugged and held up his hand, although his arm remained lowered. He appeared to be wearing an identical T-shirt, although an unbuttoned multicolor flannel shirt covered his. His jeans were more intact. “What say we write about something real? Like that there murder right outside this here house last week?”
    The two girls in the class shrieked and started talking at the same time. Sonny gave Dwayne a high-five sign.
    Lizzie took a minute to consider the suggestion. That topic might work out better than their thoughts about a photograph. At least it would engage their attention and hopefully, their imaginations. Although a bit more advanced a task than she’d ordinarily choose to do at this point, it wasworth a try. And she’d find it much more interesting to read the finished works.
    “All right. Let’s give it a go.” Her gaze moved around the room. “Get your pens and paper ready and I’ll give you the facts. Then I’d like you to write a page-long story about it. Tell me what you think led up to this murder, who this man was, and what happened. But be sure you incorporate all the points you’ve been checking for when reading.”
    She gave them a few minutes to get ready and then gave them the facts: that the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society was holding its first meeting; that a stranger was found wandering in the entry hall; that he asked to use the phone to call for help for his disabled car; that his body was found in his car, where he’d gone to wait for a tow; and that he’d been shot.
    “Okay. That’s what happened. Now, I’d like you to make that into a short story for me. It’s due on Wednesday, so start working on it now. Ask me questions; I’m here to help with words, sentence structure, how you format this on a page, whatever you’d like help with. Are there any questions?”
    There weren’t any, so she again instructed them to get started. She sat thumbing through her notes