It’s mystery month on JPC Allen Writes, and like I did last year, I’m inviting you to write a mystery with me. I’ll post photos in the hope that you will join me to write a collaborative story. What is a collaborative story? It’s a story in which authors take turns writing it. I’ll post a photo each week and write a few paragraphs for a story about it. Then whoever wants to write a few more paragraphs can do so in the comments. By the end of the month, we’ll have a story!
To read other collaborative stories, click here.
Here’s the beginning:
The chilling fall breeze flung the ends of my hair against my cheek and I brushed them away as I stared at the vacation house across the lake. I hadn’t expected the site of a murder-suicide to look so … cheery. Painted bright yellow with smoke curling from its chimney, it didn’t look any different from the other vacation homes nestled between the shore of the lake and the steep hills blazing with autumn colors.
I shook my head. My imagination had run away with me. After the crime, the house wouldn’t have turned black and had vultures circling it.
Two people stepped out on the little deck that ran along the front.
I gasped.
Ducking behind a tree, I held up my camera and zoomed in for a clearer look. My heart thumped wildly when I recognized the faces. The coroner and the victim’s father. In this small town, everyone knows everyone, and even the tourists that rent these hunting lodges are as regular and predictable as the sunrise. I stare for a minute longer, but it’s definitely Mel Teak and Mr. Dunham, the dad of Jer Dunham, who everybody knows died here last week with his dad. Except, not, apparently. I flick my camera to ON, but before I can start snapping pictures, the screen alerts me that the battery is dead. Again. It only got cold two weeks ago, so I haven’t adapted to my winter practice of keeping a battery charged and in my pocket. Drat. What next? Call 9-1-1? Follow them myself?