Sequestered with the Murderers by Dr. Tanner (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

Duffy’s murder. There was one person at the counter and one person in line. While waiting, I walked over to the brochure rack, and I scanned over the brochures. One particular held my interest. I began reading information on the Oakmoor Bed and Breakfast, which was located in Attribute. I had fallen in love with Bed and Breakfast lodgings after staying at one in Charlottesville years ago. I was so engrossed in the information that when I did look up, two more people were in line. I decided to go eat dinner and talk to the man at the registration desk when I returned. I first put the parking pass on my Jeep dashboard, and then I walked across the street to the diner.

The outside of the Attribute Country Diner looked somewhat like an Applebee’s. It had a giant white sign on top of the building with its name printed in green. There were light bulbs around the sign. The sign was so big I guessed it could be seen for miles. To the right of the giant sign was another equally giant sign that flashed on and off the words “Open 24 Hours.”

I walked into a room with a hostess stand five steps to the left of the door. The sign beside the stand read, “Hostess Will Seat You.” A long sit-down counter was directly in front of the door, approximately fifteen steps away. Booths and a few tables were on both sides of the sit-down counter. The layout was completely different from my restaurant and reminded me of the Pancakes & Pancakes layout in Danville.

The room was buzzing with people talking and music playing. The food smell in the air was enticing. I read the menu hanging behind the hostess stand as I waited for someone to seat me. The menu’s sandwich section advertised American cuisines such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, grilled cheese, and other simple and quickly prepared sandwiches. I read the menu’s dinner section and saw that roast beef was the Sunday night special with a free slice of pie. I had made up my mind to order the roast beef just as the hostess walked my way.

“Good evening. Will there only be one in your party?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to eat at the counter or a table? I’m afraid all the booths are taken at the moment.”

“The counter will be just fine.” I didn’t want to be conspicuously sitting at a table all alone. I wanted to mix in and not be noticed while asking questions. After I sat down at the counter and the hostess placed a menu on the counter before me, a handsome male waiter placed a glass of water and a napkin in front of me.

“My name is Trussel. I’ll be your waiter tonight. I’ll give you a few minutes to look at the menu.”

“No need. I’ll have the roast beef special and a glass of iced tea.”

“I love a woman who knows what she wants,” Trussel said flirtatiously. “I’ll be right back with your tea.”

As soon as Trussel walked away, four people walked to the counter and sat in the last four empty seats. That told me that my plan of asking him questions about Duffy was not going to work. He would to be too busy waiting on customers to spend any suitable amount of time answering my questions. The two separate couples sitting on both sides of me were cordial and said hello. But that’s all they said. Neither couple seemed approachable, so I didn’t even try.

I ate my delicious roast beef dinner and apple pie in silence. I left the diner at 7:55 pm. No one was at the hotel registration desk when I walked in. I felt a little crushed at not getting any information on Duffy from the diner. I didn’t have the energy to walk to the desk and ring the bell on the counter. I went to my room and spent an hour talking to Gam before going to bed.

CHAPTER 5

On Monday morning, I arrived at Brightness Bus Tours at 8:50 am. I parked up front close to the building, then stared at the large Greek Revival three-story house that stood grandly in the middle of trees surrounding it in the back and both sides. The house was white with eight tall columns on the front of it and two gable windows sitting side by side on the roof. A brick walkway and steps lead to the double wrap around porch. The house was beautiful.

I opened the door and walked in. A doorbell rang as I entered the foyer—a decorated foyer like a travel agency with large pictures of travel destinations on the wall. In front of me was a long hallway. To the right was an open door that appeared to be someone’s neat and tidy office, and to the left was an office with a White woman sitting at a desk who smiled at me as I peered into the room.

“You must be Vett Brayborn.”

“Yes, I am, and you must be Louise,” I said, looking at the nameplate on her desk that said Louise Bellville, Receptionist, and recalling that Sty had said Louise made my hotel reservation. In her early-to-mid-sixties, she had large blue eyes, brown hair, small facial features, and a very pretty smile.

Her scrutiny of me was brief. “I am indeed Louise. Welcome to Brightness Bus Tours.”

“Thank you. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“And you, too. Everyone is here. I hope you have not had breakfast. We have a nice breakfast spread in your honor. Let me walk you to the conference room,” Louise said as she rose from her chair. She was my height. When she reached where I was standing, she gestured left for me to follow her.

“How was your trip? What a sad time for you to visit our office.”

“The trip was wonderful, and Mother Nature decided to keep the rain at bay.” I didn’t feel comfortable talking about Duffy’s murder because