In a Town Called Blooming Orchid

Chapter One: The Death of Jewel McGregor

     The small town of Blooming Orchid, Kansas was absolutely aghast. Never had such an ominous mystery took place. The town had always been a jolly, inviting place where everyone knows everyone. Then Jewel McGregor was murdered. Suddenly, nobody knew anybody; and they could no longer trust who they thought they could. Deep, dark secrets had been hiding in Blooming Orchid for a long time, and it took the death of one old woman to crack them wide open.

     The second the news of Jewel's death was out, mayor of Blooming Orchid, Tom Merryweather called together a town meeting. Like it was planned. However, he did have a knack for setting up events, so no one was that surprised.

     "Good morning, Blooming Orchid. We have gathered a town meeting today in remembrance of our dearly departed Jewel Ruth McGregor," The mayor spoke with an out-of-character, sad tone to his voice. "Jewel was a very dear friend of mine. And I will miss her as much as the rest of you will, but I am not the one speaking today. It is my greatest honor to give the floor over to Anthony McGregor, Jewel's only son. To give a speech in memory of his mother,".

     With that, Tom Merryweather stepped to the side and a handsome young man stepped up in front of the microphone. This man's name was Anthony McGregor. Anthony was an aspiring actor and had always despised the small town life he had, preferring big city lights and fame. He was very outward in his hatred, in fact he would speak of it so often he began to become one of the most disliked people in town, but his dashing good looks and way with words kept him from being completely shunned. Everyone thought he was gone for good when he moved away to New York City to work for a modeling agency, but he returned to Blooming Orchid on discovering the news of his mother's death.

     Anthony's eyes were a vivid shade of blue. They were his most noticeable feature, he inherited them from his mother. However this comparison was more accurate than ever after Jewel died, as her lifeless eyes matched his quite a bit more.

     "Jewel was a mother. She was a sister, and an aunt. But most importantly, Jewel was a friend to all," Anthony spoke precisely and sharply, although slowly. "She was also the best flute and piccolo player in our town's award-winning orchestra. She was full of love and compassion and gave everyone she talked to the most warm feelings of pure joy. We are here to remember my mother, who dedicated her whole life to make others feel welcome and have a friend in her. Truly, Blooming Orchid will not be the same without my mom,".

     Anthony had a cold tone to his voice that sent chills down everyone's spines. He spoke with an emotion no one could identify. Not anger, sadness, confusion, nor guilt. No one could decipher what this man was feeling, however, it was certainly not the reaction a son should have to the death of his mother.

     Anthony had been giving his speech for a while. Many people in the crowd were in tears, others had already begun tuning out Anthony by now, but he was able to grab everyone's attention once again with his somewhat ominous closing statement: "And to conclude, we will find who did this, and my mother will be avenged. This is not what I hope will happen, this is not what I want to happen. No. This is what I promise will happen. Have a good day,".

     Anthony audibly sighed at the end of his speech and stepped off the podium. The crowd erupted in a slightly reluctant applause. This was not the same Anthony McGregor they all knew. Some were suspicious, and some were empathetic. No one approached him afterwards.

     For the next few days, the town seemed more quiet and empty than usual, like a ghost town. Everyone was afraid to leave their houses with a murderer on the loose.

     Jewel had died two days before Thanksgiving, and the Blooming Orchid Symphonic Orchestra had their annual concert on Thanksgiving day that they had been preparing for cancelled due to the loss. However, the orchestra's conductor Knightley Paraneau had promised that they would do their annual winter concert, no matter what happens; December 2nd was the first rehearsal in preparation for it.