Encounter with the E-mailer
by J. Provine
Alex turned and dashed away. The man looked at him, thought a moment and then dashed off in the other direction. Then Alex stopped.
Why would a man turn and run like that? It must be the killer! It must!
Alex turned and began to chase the man in the ski mask, but he was already out of sight. Soon Alex heard the sound of squealing wheels as a car sped off. He stopped and looked around him. Then he noticed the coat the man was wearing. And the hat and ski mask as well.
He doesn't want to be traced by this, Alex thought, picking them up. Just like in all of those mysteries!
Alex quickly rummaged through the coat and the hat. He pulled out a small key, a ticket stub, and some gum. Munching on the gum, Alex looked at the key and ticket stub.
The key was a normal key, like the type you'd use on a lock, or perhaps a motel room. As he flipped it over, he read the faded print on the other side: Aunt Doris's House of Boarding. Alex's head jerked back as he didn't recognize the name.
Then Alex looked over the ticket stub. It seemed to be a receipt for a phone bill. It read: "Phone calls: 1.50 pounds, Internet hookup: 5.30 pounds, Internet time: 1.25 pounds, total: 8.05 pounds."
Internet Access? Alex questioned himself. Now why would he need that? Too bad I don't know what company this is... but I can check this "Aunt Doris's House of Boarding".
Later, at Aunt's Doris's House of Boarding:
Alex arrived just as an aging woman was sitting down to tea. She stood and came to the counter directly in front of the door.
"Need a room?" she said, getting out a book and a pen.
"Uh, no," Alex said, not quite knowing where to start.
"Then why come to a house of boarding?" she giggled.
"I, uh, am returning this key!" Alex said, getting the key out of his pocket.
"Oh, deary! I've been missing that key! The owner said he lost it when he left this morning," she said, taking the key from him.
"Do you know where he went?"
" 'e said something about a castle in Scotland," she said, handing him a folded brochure with the picture of a castle on it. " 'e took one of these with him."
Alex Now: