The Ice Cream Man

Chapter 3 - Pop Goes the Weasel

"I still can't believe it," Violet said. "It's all over the news too! Nothing like this ever happens around here!"

"I know," I said. "It's insane."

"Well, I know that my mother didn't really appreciate the cops coming to our house 10 at night to confirm your alibi..." Jamie growled.

I gave him a derpy smile. He sighed an rolled his eyes.

We sat inside of our local diner. It was very homey and 50s themed. Lucy's Diner is what it was called.

"Hey, there's Tiara," Violet said.

I turned around in my seat to see her walk inside the doors. I smiled at the sight of her green eyes. She spotted us and shyly waved as she cautiously walked over. God, she was cute.

"Hey Tia," I said as she took as seat next to me in the booth. "You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. That's what they actually used to call me back home."

"Haha good," I teased. I playfully punched her. She giggled shyly.

"I heard on the news last night what happened," Tia said. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah, it's right next door to me too," I informed.

She put a hand on her heart. "Oh my god! Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. But I didn't know about it until Jamie's mom told us last night. And by then I had like a hundred missed calls from my mom..." I nervously laughed.

"Did you get in trouble?" Violet asked.

"Well, duh," I said. "The police actually suspected me!"

The girls got shocked looks on their faces as Jamie nodded in agreement.

"Why?" Tia asked.

"Well, if you were a cop, wouldn't you find it suspicious if there was a double murder and the boy living next door wasn't replying to his mother for hours?"

Her eyes widened and she nodded. "I guess I would..."

"Lucky for me, I was with you guys and Jamie the whole day, so my alibi checked out."

We were silent for a moment.

"But the real question is, who killed them?" Tiara asked.

We all kind of looked at each other, none of us daring to actually say it. I finally spoke.

"I think it was the ice cream man."

They looked at me.

"The ice cream man?" Violet asked. She lightly chuckled. "You're so out of it."

"No, I'm being completely serious here," I argued. "Jamie agrees with me."

Violet looked at him annoyingly. She gave him a look of a sarcastic "really?" He started to babble and protest but she brought a finger to his lips.

"Say no more...say no more."

"Well..." Tiara said. "What makes you think that it was the ice cream man? The police don't know anything about how the children got poisoned in the first place."

"Tia, you haven't lived here that long, but if you've lived here as long as we have, having two, really creepy things happen in one day, just is not a coincidence."

She furrowed her brows.

"I mean, we've never so much as heard of a burglary in this town," Jamie added. "This is a bit suspicious, you could say."

"Now that I think about it, it sounds more legit," Violet said before taking a large sip from her milkshake. She flipped her long, dark hair behind her shoulders. "I mean, what are the odds that a no less than terrifying looking ice cream truck shows up out of no where, and in that same day, the Brunson twins get poisoned?"

"You're not making a very good case," I teased.

"A good case isn't always the right one," she said with a serious look in her blue eyes.

Suddenly, the t.v. from overhead got turned up by a waitress who was sweeping the floor.

"We take you back to the town of Queensville, Rhode Island, where an Amber Alert was sent out early this morning."

The four of us looked at each other.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked.

"Shelby Stevens was kidnapped earlier this morning. The last she was seen was when she went outside and ran down the street, for she heard the ice cream truck," the anchor woman said.

"Oh, hell no, this is not happening," Violet whispered.

"She was wearing a white tank top and pink shorts. She's 7 years old and has red hair and brown eyes. If anyone knows of her whereabouts, please contact the police or the number shown below."

The camera cut to a view of her neighborhood and street. Violet's eyes widened.

"Hey, dude...that's where I live!"

"Seriously?" Jamie asked. That neighborhood definitely looked familiar to me. I had been to Violets house a few times before, and that's what her neighborhood looked like.

"Yeah," she said. "This is getting a little too freaky for my taste..."

"Did you hear what she said?" I asked. "She ran out after hearing the ice cream truck. The ice cream truck." I leaned back in my seat. "It is so obvious."

"Should we tell somebody?" Tia asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the most ominous sound my ears had ever heard.

I slowly turned my head to look out the window and onto the street. Driving by, was the same ice cream truck from no more than 24 hours ago, playing a juvenile song.

"Pop goes the weasel!"