Paranormal Mystery

As soon as the deputies left, Nick went out to the garage and grabbed a shovel. “Nick!” called Rosita.   “Where are you going?” “I’m going to plant a cherry tree, just like I told you.   It’s going to take me a while, so I thought I’d get started now.   May as well.   I don’t know where Matt’s stupid girlfriend is, so there’s nothing I can do to help.” Rosita shook her head.   She loved her son, but she didn’t think she would ever understand him.   She wasn’t sure anyone understood him, including himself.   “Where are you going to plant it?” she asked.   “I don’t know.   Probably somewhere behind my studio.   If I ever put a window in that building, I’d like to have something other than dirt to look at,” he said. “Actually, Nick, that’s a nice idea,” said Rosita.   “What kind of cherry tree is it?” “It’ something called a Kwanzan Cherry Tree,” he answered.   That’s what they told me to plant.   I’d ne...

By two o’clock AM, Matthew and Rosita had searched the entire house.   They even ventured into the basement, which felt unusually cold for that time of year.   There was no sign of Tiffany.   Matt thought she probably went home with one of her girlfriends and fell asleep on a couch, unbeknownst to the friend’s parents.   He wasn’t in a panic yet.   Nick didn’t even bother getting up to help.   He was still asleep at eight o’clock when the sheriff’s deputies showed up. The doorbell only rang once.   Matthew saw the Sheriff’s SUV coming up the driveway.   He answered the door and invited the two deputies in.   Rosita had just made a pot of coffee and invited the two men to have a cup while they talked.   Neither Rosita nor Matthew had ever had a reason to be crosswise with the police, so they were perfectly calm when the questions started. “When was the last time either of you saw Tiffany?” “Who was she talking with the last t...

The next morning, the phone rang in the Benson household at one o’clock AM.   Rosita picked it up.   It was Tiffany’s mother.   Did Rosita know where Tiffany was?   She hadn’t made it home.   She told the people who brought her to the party that she had a different ride home.   Did Rosita know who she’d left with?   Would Rosita please check with Matthew to see if he knew anything about her whereabouts? Rosita rushed into Matthew’s bedroom and woke him.   She explained that Tiffany’s parents were trying to find her.   “Mattie, do you have any idea where she might be?” asked Rosita. Matthew was still half asleep, but he did his best to reconstruct what he knew – or didn’t know.   “I was going to take her into Nick’s studio to show her the cabinet I’d made, but then Joe interrupted me with that lame question about the pool.   I don’t think I saw Tiffany after that.   We kind of shut down the party after the argument, an...

  CHAPTER EIGHT Oregon City, OR July 14, 2007   On a Saturday following the end of the school year, Matthew had a mid-summer party at his house.   Rosita rented two large tents, one for food and the other for music and dancing.   Parents were invited to the party along with their sons and daughters, so Rosita didn’t have to worry about keeping an eye on all of the kids.   There were enough adults to keep their eyes on all of the goings-on.   Matthew figured that about 60 of his friends had shown up, so along with the parents, he thought they had around 150 guests. Rosita couldn’t have done all of the cooking for this large a crowd, so she’d hired a local caterer to use her recipes in providing the food.   Her Chilean style food was a hit, and empanadas and tamales were served as long as they lasted.   Large plates of corn-on-the-cob disappeared fairly early.   By sundown, the only thing left were small amounts of refri...

  CHAPTER SEVEN Oregon City, OR October 25, 2006               Life had been going reasonably well for Rosita and her sons since the untimely death of Daniel.   Nicholas was now nineteen and Matthew was fourteen.   Nicholas was becoming fairly accomplished as a deejay and small-time music producer, or at least it seemed so from the money he was making.   He had graduated from high school in the spring.   Rosita was certain that the high school teachers were thrilled to have him out of their hair.   He graduated with a solid C- average, and had spent no time endearing himself to any of the adults at the school. Interestingly enough, though, since his father had died, Nick seemed to have taken on a new and more sociable personality with people his age.   People started to drop by his studio at all times of the day and night.   Maybe it had been his father’s cruel ov...

  I stopped in the hotel office to grab a bagel before making my way down to the Bridge Tender.   Believing that Megan was really going to be okay, I took the time to watch the waves rolling in as I walked down the Promenade.   A couple of seagulls took an interest in my bagel, so I finally gave them what was left of it.   My appetite wasn’t what it usually was.   Maybe this would be similar to the famous ‘Divorce Diet’ that women talked about.   All of a sudden you lose twenty pounds after your husband leaves you.   This could be the ‘My Daughter Has Disappeared and It’s All My Fault Diet.’   It made me feel sick. Continuing on, I tried to take notice of the stores and restaurants.   There really weren’t any until I turned down Broadway Street.   Right there near the corner was a coffee shop.   I went in to get the strongest cup of coffee I could find.   Thankfully, they had what I needed.   And who did I run in...