WHAT IS TRULY HAPPENING?

Mary listened again to the message with disbelief. It sounded like Peter but she wasn’t sure. She needed to go and find him. They had a lot to discuss and figure out what was truly going on in that company where she had been working. Before she could leave, her phone rang again.
“Hello, Peter is that you?” she asked before it finished the first ring.
“Mary, are you alright?” it was Mr. Hughs.
“Yes sir, I am fine.”
“Why did you answer the phone so hurriedly? You sounded a bit distraught.”
“I’m worried about my friend Peter. He was supposed to call me this morning.”
“Oh, so you have plans for today then?”
“Yes, I do have plans. Why do you ask Mr. Hughs?”
“I was wondering if you would like to go to lunch. I have a great business relationship with the manager at Chez Monique.”
Mary wondered for a second if that meant he got his meal cheap. Her next thought was that he always took his women to Chez Monique. What was with this guy anyway? I wonder if he has a set schedule of events for all his lunch dates.
“Mary, are you still there?” Mr. Hughs asked.
“Yes, I’m sorry Mr. Hughs. I was wondering about my schedule and whether I could move some things around in order to go to lunch with you.”“You seem to be keeping yourself quite busy for someone whose business is having problems.”“What was that Mr. Hughs?”“Nothing, I mean you know your business where you work. You may be out of a job.”“Oh, don’t worry. I’m looking into different avenues for work. I’m not sure if I’m set out to be a secretary my whole life.”“Oh Mary, you are much more. You are an administrative assistant.”
“That is very kind of you to say Sir.”
“Please stop calling me sir. You may call me Earl.”
“Mr. Hughs, I mean Earl, I would be happy to meet you for lunch today.”
“Great, now I’m thinking that maybe 1 p.m. would be a good time for me. How about you? Does 1 p.m. work for you?”
“I think so. I’ll see you at 1 p.m. at Chez Monique.”
Mary hung up the phone and sat down for a second. Her mind flew to all the stuff that had been happening lately. She remembered that she was unable to reach Mr. Hughs yesterday. She also felt that he had been the target. However, now she was not so sure. He obviously knew that she was named owner of the business. He did backtrack pretty quickly, but he knew. She figured she may learn more from him at lunch. She tried Peter’s cell phone again.
“Mary, where are you? I’ve been looking for you since early this morning.” Peter said upon answering the phone.
“I’m at home. I’ve been at home the whole time. Where have you been and what is up with that strange message?”
“I’ve learned a lot since we’ve last talked including the reason of that strange phone call. Please do not do anything until we have met. I’m at the police station right now. I’m almost done filling out my report. I’ll call you when I’m leaving. Do not answer any calls not coming from me.”“Well, that is too late. You could have called me earlier.”
“Why is it too late? I did try you earlier. Oh, Mary that means everything has started. It may be too late.”
“There you are now saying it’s too late. What do you mean?”“First, tell me what you meant.”
“Well, Mr. Hughs has just called asking me to go to lunch with him at Chez Monique.”
“That’s impossible. Mr. Hughs is dead. It was his wife the whole time. At least, that is what they are claiming. She was brought in sometime last night after finding him. She got greedy and wanted everything. It is the basic story. Mary, none of this has anything to do with you. Mr. Cragicze has everything to do with you though.”“I thought you just said that Mrs. Hughs killed him.”“No, she took advantage of his death to kill both Kim and Mr. Hughs. Mr. Cragicze is a completely different story.”
“Peter you are making no sense.”“I know Mary. It took me a bit to get my head around also. I just want you to stay where you are. You are not receiving any real phone calls. That means you are already in serious danger. I will be there soon. Please, hide until you know for sure I am there. Here is the code, Womb wrap.”“What does womb wrap mean and why do I need a code?”
“Mary, trust me, whoever is coming to get you can copy my voice. We need a code so you know it is me.”
“How can I trust you are the real Peter?”
“I do not know. I hope you do though.”
“Well, I did call you. I will take that chance.”
“I will be there in 5 minutes.”
He hung up the phone and Mary looked around her small house for a hiding place. She had to admit she was a little frightened. However, she didn’t seem to feel as frightened as she ought. She looked at the pantry in the kitchen. Something twigged at her memory. She seemed to remember a secret about the pantry. She opened the door and moved the food off the shelves. She placed them neatly on the floor not wanting to leave a trace of where she had gone. She moved the third shelf and the whole pantry moved to reveal steps going down. She went inside and shut the pantry door. She had no idea if Peter would find her. She just hoped that wherever the steps led, she could hear what was going on upstairs. When she got to the bottom, she saw in the corner a machine. It sort of looked like a strange car.
“Oh, my space ship, I was wondering where I left that.” Mary said when she got closer. Right then, all her memories rushed flashing back to her. Just at the right time, she thought, Mama always knew the right time.

Trouble with Dessert-Part 7

Pete felt like he had another knock on his head. He looked at the kindly lady. Then he started shaking his head trying to wake himself up from this unreal dream.
“Can you take her back with you?” said the lady.
‘Nope, not a dream,’ Pete thought to himself, “take her back with me?” he asked out loud.
“I know that you are both the same species. I need you to take her back to earth. She is very vital for the continuous of your species. We knew you would be showing up soon. The time for her to take action is rapidly approaching.”
“Vital for our species, back to earth, time rapidly approaching…” Pete mumbled to himself. He put his hands over his face, hoping that when he opened his eyes that he would be in his bedroom.
“I’m sorry Pete. This is a lot to take in at once. Someday maybe I will explain,” came the little voice of the miniature Mary.
“No Mary. You must never explain. It is too much for the human race to grasp.”
“I know Mama, but he looks so sad. I just want to help him.”
“You will, but not with knowledge. That will not be of any help to him.”
While this conversation was going on, Pete just numbly sat and watched the two talking. The two turned to him.
“Are you finished eating? If so, you must be off. The time has come,” said the Grandma lady.
“How?” Pete gasped out.
“I’ll show you,” Mary told him.
Mary got up from the table and ran towards the kindly Grandma like lady. They hugged for a couple minutes.
“I’ll miss you. Are you sure I can do this all on my own?” Mary asked.
“Yes, we are confident you are ready. I will think of you always,” the grandma replied.
“I can never see you again?” Mary whispered with a slight wail.
“No, that is not possible,” the Grandma gave her another hug and then said, “you must go now Mary. You know where we are located just look up into your sky whenever you may need strength.”
“Yes, Mama,” she turned to Pete, “okay, I’m ready. Follow me and we’ll take are trip back to earth.”
Pete stood up and looked toward the kind lady. He smiled and thanked her for breakfast. He figured the best thing to do right now is just to go along with the dream. He could sort out all the symbolism when he woke up in the morning. He followed Mary down a long corridor. He seemed to have many doors but when Pete touched one of the walls, his hand sunk in like if it was made of Jell-O. Jell-O reminded him of Mary Adams on earth.
“Mary, do you know…” he started to ask.
“No Pete, I promised to give you no information.”“ I know, I respect that however this has to do with something that happened on earth.”
“I realize that Pete. Now is not the time even for earth answers. I promise one day this should make some sort of sense to you.”
Pete looked at this little girl. She looked to be about the age of seven. Yet, when she talked to him she sounded much older. Pete decided to try a different question.
“How many years have you been here?”
Mary looked up at Pete. She gave him a scrutinizing glance trying to decide whether or not to answer him. She apparently felt that this question wasn’t too much for Pete’s human brain because she told him, “about 20 years.”
“20 years????” Pete exclaimed.
“Mama was right. Information is too much for you and other humans. You cannot seem to see things out of your small world cycle.”
Pete was about to explain himself. Something about the way she said that last part made him feel guilty for being human. He never viewed himself as narrow minded before this instance. He opened his mouth but before the words were out, Mary started talking.
“Okay, Pete. Here is the door for earth,” after saying these words Mary immediately opened the door and walked inside. Pete followed her inside or outside. Pete couldn’t figure it out. Again, he attempted to talk to Mary. This time however everything went black. Pete struggled to open his eyes. It did not seem to be as easy as it used to be. When he finally overcame this mountainous obstacle, he looked about him. It was dark. He looked up and saw the night sky full of stars.
“Earth?” he asked Mary. She didn’t answer back. In fact, he didn’t see her anywhere. She had disappeared as quickly as she appeared. Pete didn’t have time to reflect on that fact because he heard a noise he was very familiar with as a human, a honking horn of a car. He quickly moved out the way to a sidewalk. He wondered what to do now. His cell phone started to ring. He hadn’t realized it had been with him the whole time. He pulled it out and answered it. He heard ringing and then Mary’s answering machine pick up. He decided he might find answers by leaving a message.
When he opened his mouth, he noticed his voice sounded foreign to his own ears. All he was able to croak out was, “Mmmaawwee, iss me,”

Trouble with Dessert-Part 6

Blog #6
Mary and Pete decided to meet again later. Pete had to go back to work and Mary had to swallow the information she just received. Mostly, she didn’t do anything for the rest of the day. She went to bed still in a state of utter disbelief. Her dreams were varied and a trifle scary. When she woke up she realized that she never met up again with Pete. That was strange. They planned to meet, yet no time was specified. She looked at her phone to see if she had missed any calls. She actually did miss one.
“No wonder,” she murmured to herself, “they called me at 2 a.m.”
She called her voicemail to retrieve the message.
“Mmmaawwee, iss me,” slurred an unknown voice.
Then there was nothing.
“That’s odd, who was that?” Mary asked herself.


Pete looked around at his surroundings. Nothing looked at all familiar not even the objects. He wasn’t sure if they were meant to look like strange art work. His head was throbbing and he still couldn’t seem to feel his tongue. He tried to think back to the last night. It only caused his head to ache even more. He tried to shift his body in a more comfortable position.
“BANG!BANG!”
Pete jumped up onto his feet. He tried to find something to use as a weapon. He was not completely sure, but he thought that what he heard was a gunshot. Slowly, the door creaked opened.
“Are you alright in here?” asked a small voice.
Pete was astonished. Standing patiently waiting for his reply was a little girl.
“Yes, I think so,” Pete answered her.
“Mama is wondering if you are ready to eat yet.”
Pete did feel a stirring in his stomach when she said eat. He nodded his head. The girl stood looking at him. He was not comfortable with little kids. He wondered if maybe he should ask her some sort of question. What do you ask a child? Thankfully, the girl couldn’t stand the quiet any longer.
“Aren’t you going to ask about the bang?”
“I was wondering about that,” Pete admitted truthfully.
“That’s lunch!” the little girl told him proudly.
“Lunch?” Pete was even more confused.
“Yep, come on now before breakfast gets cold!” she ordered him.
He silently followed her down a long, thin hallway. There were no pictures or even color on the walls. If he didn’t know better, he would swear that the walls were stainless steel. Finally, they arrived at a kitchen like area. Like all the rooms before this, the kitchen did not fit anywhere that Pete has ever seen.
“Mary, come sit down and stop pestering our guest,” said a voice deep within the recesses of the kitchen.
Pete looked at the little girl named Mary. Something flashed in his memory, something he was trying to tell Mary. He remembered going on his way to work when he was knocked on the head. This sounded too much like all the crime movies he watched as a kid. How did he end up here though?
“I’m sorry sir; I know this must be confusing. I’m sure you’ll feel better after you eat breakfast,” it was kind and gentle sort of voice.
Pete looked up and almost let out a screech. He held it in as much as he could. Facing him was something so unnatural to all his sensibilities. He figured it was female judging by the voice. However, the body was not like any he had seen. It was almost human like, except it was pale grey and very slender. There were no features like eyes, hands and arms. It did seem to have a mouth and one foot. Finally, he realized he was standing there gaping wide mouthed and big eyed.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot to assimilate my human body,” said the creature. After the words came out, she turned into an elderly kind looking grandmother type person. “It will all make sense soon I promise. Just go sit down next to Mary and eat.”
“Mary?” Pete asked.
“Yes, she arrived here when she was just out of her womb wrap. I’ve raised her like one of my own. I know it was wrong. I just couldn’t leave her alone with nobody to take care of her. Listen to me, just rattling on and not letting you eat. Please, enjoy.”
During this time, Pete made his way to where Mary was sitting. He sat down and the woman brought him a plate of stuff he couldn’t even begin to describe.
“So, you named her Mary?” he asked the kindly lady.
“Now, that was on here womb wrap, the name Mary Adams.”

The Trouble with Dessert-Part 5

Blog #5
Mary and Pete spent many more hours trying to figure out exactly what the company actually did. They never found anything substantial. When Mary went home, she called into Mr. Hughs telling him that she would be taking the next couple of days off. He informed her that the police had already shut operations down for a while.
"How long is awhile?" Mary asked.
"I’m not sure. All they really would say is that it may take awhile collecting all the evidence they need."
After talking to Mr. Hughs, she called Pete to arrange what they were going to do the next day. They headed to the Better Business Bureau to see if M.A.J.O.R. was registered there. It wasn’t.
"What does M.A.J.O.R. stand for anyway?" Pete asked Mary, "Maybe it is listed that way."
"I’m not sure. I never asked.""Why not? Aren’t you curious?""Not before now, I just worked to pay my bills."
The lady behind the counter just watched them during this conversation like she was watching a tennis match. Finally she spoke up, "I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have other people waiting for my help."
"We are so sorry, Ma’am," Mary told her dragging Pete away, "now what?" she asked after they left.
"Well, I would say that finding out what M.A.J.O.R. stands for before we endeavor to proceed further."
"That would be a good idea. I would have asked Kim. Unfortunately, that is not an option.""What about the other girl? The one you caught with Mr. Hughs."
"She doesn’t trust me right now. I know, Mr. Hughs himself.""Do you think he would tell you?""Why not, it’s Mrs. Hughs that we think is behind all this. He’s just a pawn.""All right. I must say, we aren’t sure of all our facts yet. He could be the main character behind everything that is happening.""Pete, can you stop sounding like a policeman from a book?""Just make the phone call."
"Fine."
They both waited quietly waiting for Mr. Hughs to answer his phone.
"Maybe he’s not in?" Pete said after about 30 seconds"It’s his cell-phone.""You have his cell-phone number?""It’s his business cell-phone."
"Oh, so maybe the police have it in custody."
"It’s possible. The voicemail isn’t even picking up though. I think you may be right. Yet, I called him on this phone last night."
"Just hang up. We’ll have to think of something else."
"Pete, do you mind if I ask how you got the day off?"
"I didn’t.""Then how is that you are here helping me?"
"I told the chief that I knew one of the suspects personally and that I would interrogate her personally.""Who do you know?""Err…um…you."
"ME?? How could I possibly be a suspect?"
"Mary, you are taking this too personally. Everyone who works for M.A.J.O.R. is a suspect."
"I guess that would be true.""Plus, you are a secretary for Mr. Hughs, who is a primary suspect. You could tell us many things.""Like what? Where he travels?""That would be helpful. We are getting off the subject though. We need to now what M.A.J.O.R. stands for to proceed any further."
"Again with the proceed any further. Why don’t you just ask your chief?""That’s brilliant, Mary!"
Pete grabbed her on the arms and kissed her cheek. Then, before she could respond, he grabbed her cell-phone out of her hand and began dialing.
"Pete, why don’t you use your cell-phone?" Mary stuttered out.
"Shh-shh." Pete started talking to someone on the other end. He asked about M.A.J.O.R. then he waited while he was put on hold. Then apparently the other person returned because Pete started talking again. Then he stared at Mary, "okay. Thank you very much. Tell the chief I’ll be at the station in about 15 minutes."
"Okay, what does it stand for?" Mary demanded.
"Mary, I just lied to you.""Why? How?"
"You are more than a minor suspect. You are a prime suspect.""How in the world did I become a prime suspect?"
"The acronym of M.A.J.O.R."
"I’m afraid I don’t understand.""It is Mary Adams Junior Operations and Relocations."
"Oh My, I’m Mary Adams!"

The Trouble with Dessert-Part 4

"I always thought that she talked more then was good for her," said CiCi the next morning.
"CiCi, the woman just died. Have some respect for her, please!" said Mary
"I never really understood why we had to be nice to people we didn’t like once they died."
"I thought Kim and you were friends."
"No, she stole my man from me!"
"What man?"
"Ah, nobody. It is nothing to do with you. Yes, I am sorry about the death of Kim."
CiCi seemed to a 180 all of the sudden. Mary knew she needed to find out who this man, though she had a good idea as to his identity.
"Please, Miss Jinkins can you come with me," said a police officer. She seemed to be friendly enough. She just asked Mary how well she knew Kim. Since Mary only saw Kim at work, the questioning was soon over. Mary called Pete to tell him that she was done. They made a plan the night before, to meet up and continue with their original idea. However, it was a little changed with the death of Kim. How did she fit in with Mr. Cragicze? Of course, maybe his background would help them out a little bit.
"It was suppose to be Mr. Hughs," she said as soon as she saw Pete.
"Hello, I am good. Oh, really that is what they asked you?"
"Stop it, the questions were basic. How well did I know Kim? Did I know who her boyfriend was?"
"Do you?"
"What?""Do you know who her boyfriend was?""No, but I believe it might have been Mr. Hughs," she went on to tell him about what CiCi had said. "remember, that is who he was having lunch with the day Mr. Cragicze died."
"True. I think maybe we should just check into Mr. Cragicze a little bit before we completely rule him out.""Why are you so bent on this murder being about Mr. Cragicze?"
"I don’t know, maybe because he was the one killed. You don’t put some one in a bunch of Jell-O and not know who they are."
"That’s true. It doesn’t seem to make sense."
"Let’s go see if we can find out something that will help."
Pete took her to a corner coffee shop.
"What are we doing here?""They have free Wi-Fi."
"Ah, the Internet. Wait, why didn’t we check the Internet last night?"
"I thought about it, however after you found out about Kim it didn’t seem appropriate."
"Ah, thank you for that kindness."
"I did, though, go home and check it out some stuff myself. Basically, Mr. Cragicze was a workaholic. All his life, he’s excelled at what ever he does. He seemed to want one thing. That was to own the company."
"Why? Why not start his own company if he was so good?""That is what we are going to find out right now.""What about family and personal life?""He had neither. His sole purpose was take over.""From the beginning, all the way through high school and college. Or was it a goal once he started working for this company?"
"I am not positive, but I believe that it was from the beginning. Maybe not high school, yet definitely by college."
"Now, he’s ‘dating’ the other owner. He had almost accomplished his goal," Mary whispered the last few words.
"I know. That is another reason I believe he may have been the intended target."
"I am starting to think the same thing. Mr. Hughs was just love, on the other hand Mr. Cragicze is greed. It’s hard to say which is a stronger motive."
"It depends on the depth of either emotion. Mary, do you know exactly what your company does?"
"Honestly, not really. I just arrange travel and business things for Mr. Hughs. Kim handles actual company business, uh! That could be the connection!"
"Look at this," Pete turned the laptop in Mary’s direction.
He had been researching the whole time they were talking.
"That is the company’s WebPages. What does it say we do?"
"Look close, it doesn’t say exactly,""We are going to revolutionize this world with our bold innovative ideas," Mary read to herself, then turned to Pete, "the doesn’t tell us anything."
"I know. I think it is a front for something else.""What?""I don’t know. I am willing to bet though that it is something not quite right."
"You don’t mean criminal.""That’s exactly what I mean."

The Trouble with Dessert-Part 3

"I wonder if the wrong person died," Mary was talking to her best friend, Pete, later that evening.
"What do you mean?"
"I think that maybe Mr. Hughs may have been the target."
"You are basing that on your own opinion. You have no proof."
"Says the policeman."
Pete worked for the local police department. He worked a desk job, but he took the policeman’s handbook very seriously.
"I mean it, Mary."
"It doesn’t make sense."
"Why not? Mr. Hughs wanted Mr. Cragicze dead."
"Not more than his wife."
"That is true. Maybe there is a bigger picture here. We are basing this on a small part of Mr. Cragicze life. Does he have a wife?"
"I’m not sure."
"Mary, you need a lot more information."
"Easy. I can go find out some background stuff on the Internet."
"Fine. It won’t tell us everything though."
"How do you figure?"
"What kind of person was Mr. Cragicze?"
"I don’t know. I didn’t see him very often. Mostly, he just came into see Mr. Hughs. He was always polite to me."
"What we need to do is find out a little bit of background information on him, then go talk to those who know him."
"We?"
"Yes, I want to help you. Don’t worry, I won’t interfere."
"I am not worried about that. What about our jobs? We do still have to work."
"That is true. I’m up for some vacation or I could use up one of my many saved sick days. Did you know that you could lose those if you don’t use them?!"
"You are getting a little off subject."
"Sorry, you can say you need time to get over the horror of seeing Mr. Cragicze’s dead eyes looking up at you."
"Thank you for bringing that image back to my mind."
"Good, go make that call now before it leaves."
"Such sensitivity on your part."
Mary went and made the call. She wasn’t going to admit it to Pete, but he came up with some good excuses. Mary felt a little strange calling Mr. Hughs with all that happened that day. She got over it though.
"What is it?" was his angry answer.
"Sorry, Mr. Hughs it’s Mary."
"Who?"
"Mary, your receptionist from the office."
"Oh, what do you want?"
"Well, I just wanted to request a few days off. I’m not doing so well after what happened today."
"That’s impossible."
"Excuse me? Mr. Hughs, I normally work like a dog for you because I need the income. However, I am not going to be subjected to seeing such a horrible sight and then expected just to come into the office the next day. As if nothing had happened!"
"Mary, the police are requiring that everyone comes into the office tomorrow.""Why we all gave our statements today?""Yes, but that was before the second murder."
"Second murder? What second murder?"
"Some receptionist was stabbed at her desk."
"Please, Mr. Hughs, what was the receptionist’s name?"
"How could I know? Alright, hold on let me ask my wife."
Mary waited while Mr. Hugh’s grumbled out a few words to the other person that was with him. Mary doubted highly that it was his wife.
"Mary, are you still there?"
"Yes, Mr. Hughs."
"She isn’t sure what the receptionist’s full name. She just knows that her first name was Kim."

The Trouble with Dessert part 2

"Do you think Mr. Hughs killed him?"
"What?"
"Mary, are you in there? I guess the shock is getting to her."
Mary finally focused in on the voices around her. She was back in the break room surrounded by her fellow workers. She had just finished talking with the police. She had told them all that she knew. She didn't share any of the gossip she heard. She felt that it was just gossip, no need to bother the police with non-facts. The others around her all displayed a mixture of concern, curiosity and plain boredom. She looked at Kim, who had been talking to her.
"I'm sorry, Kim. This is all just overwhelming me right now.""I understand. Why don't you go home? I'm sure Mr. Hughs cannot complain. Listen everyone, move out of Mary's way. She needs to go home." Kim started shooing people away.
Mary started to follow Kim's lead when she saw an unfamiliar face.
"Oh, excuse me Mrs. Hughs. I'm helping Miss Jinkins to get out of here," Kim told the new arrival.
"If you don't mind, I would like to have a word with Miss Jinkins," said Mrs. Hughs.
Kim looked back towards Mary. Mary nodded agreement and followed Mrs. Hughs down the hallway. She had never met Mrs. Hughs before even though she had worked for Mr. Hughs for 5 years. He never liked to talk about his wife. Probably because he tried to come on to everyone in a skirt under a certain age. Mary wasn't sure what that age was either. She studied Mrs. Hughs on the way to her office. She was a very good-looking older women. Her hair was still its natural color of auburn. She had a very peculiar color of eyes. She was thin, but not too thin, and tall.
"Sit down anywhere, Miss Jinkins," Mrs. Hughs said after going inside the office and closing the door. "Can I get you anything?"
"No thank you," Mary replied shyly.
"I know this may seem awkward so soon after Mr. Cragicze's death. Were you in the office today when he talked to my husband?"
"Yes, but only for part of it. At one point, Mr. Cragicze asked me to leave."
"Yes. That is what I believed to be the case. Thank you, Miss Jinkins. That is all. Don't worry about your job. I'll make sure you are taken care of."
Mrs. Hughs opened the door. Mary was about to walk out when she thought better of it. This may be her only chance to ask Mrs. Hughs questions.
"Mrs. Hughs, I hope you don't find this offensive. However, I heard a rumor earlier today that Mr. Hughs may be losing his job. Is that true?"
"I am not sure whether it concerns you, on the other hand, it may have affected your job. My husband was close to losing many things. Please, I need to talk to the police now."
Mary nodded and went out. She headed downstairs to her car. After getting in the midst of heavy traffic, she realized she didn't eat. Of course, she had lost her appetite. Now, it was back with a vengeance. She decided to stop at the first place she came to and forget the expense. She could put her lunch for once on a company ticket. Was it a coincidence that the first restaurant was Chez Moniques? She wondered if Mr. Hughs was still there with his latest. She didn't know if she would be shocked either way. She walked into the restaurant. There was a long line. Of course, it was the best restaurant in town.
"Do you have a reservation?" said a highbrow voice.
"Yes, I was to meet Mr. Hughs."
"His reservation was only for two. There are already two people there.""Well, then there must be some mistake because I was to meet him. If I can just go have a word with him, I'm sure everything can be straightened out."
"No, I will call him....Miss,"
Mary had headed towards the direction the Maitre D had looked. Sure enough, there was Mr. Hughs. She was in shock but only because eating with him was CiCi. The receptionist who received the call from Mrs. Hughs to call the attorney. Now it all seemed to add up together.
"Miss Jinkins, may I inquire why you are here?" Mr. Hughs said as she approached the table.
"Sorry Sir, I'll escort the young lady out," replied the Maitre D who had followed her.
"Wait, I came to inform Mr. Hughs of a event that I did not know if he wanted it broadcast publicly.""Go ahead, what is it Miss Jinkins?""Mr. Cragicze was found dead today at the cafeteria.""Serves the old coot! Show people never to eat in that cafeteria! Ha-Ha," Mr. Hughs joked and grinned towards CiCi, who was looking very uncomfortable.
"If that is all Miss Jinkins, please return to the office. I need to make sure we get that report down," Mr. Hughs continued.
"I'm not returning to the office sir. Mr. Cragicze was murdered and I found him. I'm taking the rest of the day off. By the way, you seem to be the prime suspect so don't be surprised to see the police arrive after me."
Mary loved the look of horror on both Mr. Hughs and CiCi's face. Not to mention the Maitre D's face. Of course, now his look of disgust was towards Mr. Hughs and not Mary.
"Mr. Hughs, I believe we need this table, so if you are all through," he left the rest of the sentence hanging in the air.
Mr. Hughs angrily got up and stormed off, leaving CiCi behind at the table.
"There Ma'am, I believe the problem is solved," the Maitre D helped Mary sit down and then brought her back a menu.
"Eat well, it's on Mr. Hughs check," CiCi said after getting over her shock. She started to get up to leave."Please stay, I hate to eat alone," Mary begged her.
"Alright, I will probably be out of a job anyway.""Why?""I work for Mrs. Hughs. From her phone call this morning, I think she knows that I'm having an affair with her husband.""Why did you send the gossip around if you were the mistress?""I didn't.""Then who did?""It was Mr. Cragicze. I heard him telling Kim right after leaving Mr. Hughs office. I told Abey about that phone call. He told me not to worry about it, soon his wife wouldn't be a problem."
"What did he mean by that?""He said that soon he would control the company.""Did he elaborate on that?"
"He just said he was taking care of Mrs. Hughs and her loverboy.""I wonder who her loverboy was?"
"I know that one, it was Mr. Cragicze."