Trampled Crops [MURDER MYSTERY]

Chapter 17: The Appointment

Piper returned to the funeral looking a little bit shaken. Rop seemed to notice fairly quickly. "Hey, Purps, what was that?? I had to lie and say you just couldn't handle all the grief and you had to go for a second. Did you figure something out?? C'mon, Purps, talk to me!"

"Look, Rop, I found something, okay?" Piper said, flustered. "We can talk about it in a sec, but not here, and not now. I think I've just cracked the case."

"Oh! Well, great, then!" Rop looked surprised. "When can we--"

He was interrupted by a voice behind him. "What're you two talking about?"

They both turned to see it was Gretchin.

"Oh, Gretchin! Hey!" Rop waved anxiously. "We were just talking about Emu. Oh, poor Emu. She didn't deserve any of this..."

Gretchin looked around at the crowd. "Hm. It seems I've missed it, haven't I?"

"Yeah, just barely. But, I mean, everyone'll be happy to have you around, at least."

She frowned at him. "I don't know, like, anybody here."

Piper stole Rop away for a second. "Hey, I'm gonna need to have everybody in one closed space tomorrow morning. Is it fine if we use your house?"

"No, I don't see any problem at all and Preston should be fine with it, but you still haven't told me what you're up to."

"We'll talk about it at my office. I need to make a quick announcement."

When the crowd started to move back towards the town, Piper got on top of a rock and managed to get everybody's attention by waving her arms around. "Hey! Hey, everyone! Let's all meet at Rop and Preston's house at ten o'clock a.m. tomorrow, alright? I have to make a few announcements, and everybody needs to come."

After she made sure everybody was on board, she and Rop headed for Piper's office, where they exchanged everything they had learned, including what Piper found in Stacy Magnet's basement. Rop was just as shocked. "I... Wow! I wasn't expecting that at all..."

"You understand why I think I've figured it out now?"

"Y-yeah... That makes perfect sense. We're meeting back up at eleven a.m. tomorrow, right?"

"Ten. We're meeting up at ten o'clock. And you're sure you're okay with me using your house?"

"Well, I'll have to check with Preston, but I doubt he'd have any problems with it. If anything, he enjoys having guests over at the house."

"Alright, because, I'm just saying, this will, very likely, not end very pretty."

"I understand." Rop headed for the door. "Alright, Purps. I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

"Alright. G'night."

Rop headed back towards his house through the chilly air. The rain had long died away, and he carried his umbrella at his side. And, just before he opened the door, just for a second, there was a smirk on his face.