It wasn’t supposed to be serious. We’d stayed late at the block party and had a few too many drinks. It was all a joke. But then on Monday, Barty rang me up and said, “So, we set the meeting place for the gym at the YMCA tomorrow around six. Bring Shannon if you want. I’m not bringing Denise, but John said he’s told Martha and she wants in.”
Such an innocent sounding phrase. She wants in. I didn’t want to bring Shannon, but I supposed she’d hear about it one way or another and it only made sense to include her from the beginning.
And that was how the six of us ended up around a card table in the gym the next night discussing murder.
“Jim, what’re your thoughts?” Levi said and shuffled a deck of cards.
I wasn’t sure how I’d ended up as the unofficial leader of this gathering, but everyone was looking to me to start the conversation.
“Well… we thought it would be best if Norman wasn’t around anymore.” I didn’t like the idea of saying died. Or got killed. Or whatever else they were thinking. Without the beers in my belly, I didn’t have the same courage.
“Right.” Martha rested her elbows on the little card table and steepled her fingertips. “Because of the news from Little Bridge?”