Stacy Matthews - Dear Mary 01 - Think Twice Before You Order by Stacy Matthews

was here at nine o’clock, and we had a lot of work
ahead of us. We went into the kitchen to get some coffee to take with us.
Charlie showed me the address list he had compiled. I asked him how exactly we
were going to approach these people. He said we had to be very careful, we
didn’t want them thinking we were cops. He would do most of the talking, and I
could take notes. It made me feel better knowing I wasn’t going to have the
chance of screwing this up. We went over the list and headed out. I really do
love Charlie’s car. One of these days he going to let me drive it, I’m sure of
it.
    The first house we went to was very impressive, it was huge.
It was in Mission Hills, which is where a lot of wealthy people live. Looking
at it from the road it looked to be about seven or eight thousand square feet.
It had a stone and iron fence surrounding the entire property. From the street
you could see a guesthouse about fifty yards from the main house. According to
the list, the house belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Hennessey. We parked a little way
down the street and walked up to the front gate. There was a call box to the
left of the gate, Charlie pushed the button, but no one answered. I was
standing there minding my own business and leaned against the gate. It opened.
We took a quick look up and down the street, and didn’t see anyone, so we went
in. There was a very long driveway going up to the main house. I swear it was a
mile to the front door. I definitely need to start walking more or eating less.
I’m voting for walking more.
    We knocked on the door and rang the bell, no answer. We
decided to go around to the back. There was a sunroom at one corner and an
enclosed porch at the other. The back door was locked. Charlie tried looking in
the windows of the main house, while I went to the guesthouse. I knocked; no
one there either. Charlie said he couldn’t see much,
but he could see a pile of mail on the kitchen table. About three weeks’ worth
he guessed. Nothing else looked out of the ordinary, so we went back to the
car. We went to two more houses in the same area. Both of those houses were
similar to the first. No one home at either place. It was when we came to the
fourth house on the list that the fun started. We went in the back door and
stood at the kitchen counter. Then the lights went out. You’re not going to
believe this next part.
    I woke up to Mrs. Houtz and Mrs. Edmonds splashing water in
my face saying “Sid, wake up.” I did and had a terrible headache. I heard
Charlie telling someone I was coming around, and he would be over after he got
me to the ER and then home and settled. I asked what happened, and Charlie said
the only thing he was sure of was that someone hit us in the head from behind.
He woke up when Mrs. Houtz and Edmonds splashed water in his face. He still had
his wallet and watch. He thought whoever knocked us out hadn’t been there to
burglarize the house, but may have been hiding there. Charlie turned around and
calmly asked Marple and Fletcher how they knew we were at that house, and if
they had seen anything before they came in and found us. They looked at one
another and then at Charlie. They had been back and forth to Mrs. Edmond’s
house moving clothes and what not, and on one of their trips over to Mrs.
Edmond’s house they saw Charlie and I leaving in his car. They had seen us
leaving the night we were dressed in black and going to Dr. Niemeyer’s office.
They didn’t follow us that night, but thought it would be a good idea to follow
us this morning and see what we were up to. They were pretty sure it had
something to do with Grandpa and Tatiana, but they wanted to find out.
    Charlie and I looked at one another. They had been following
us since we left the house, and neither of us had noticed a car following us.
No wonder we got knocked in the head. I could tell Charlie wasn’t going to tell
them anything, and was trying to think of something to distract them. I moved
my