Early this morning, at 9 Yea-Low Ring, one of Joe Hawk's original wild dogs stopped by. His name is Dooshee, and he is now very old. His dog mate, Mathilda, was too old for puppies, so Dooshee walked the village for other candidates to pass on his genes. Before the family woke up, the Yea-Low's dog Libby invited Dooshee to join her in the dogs house. Libby was one of Cairo Hamming's first puppies. She had no puppies earlier, and she found it was on time because the house owners had TWO cats already, and any dog would agree that a house should always have more dogs than cats...
Well, old Dooshee walked back home to his wife, Mathilda, and Libby laid down to rest.
A little later the family woke up. Alex Yea-Low wanted to show something to his wife Dorothy.
Old Gabriel Greench had created four garden gnomes, giving one to each region's main house. They were naturally painted to match the colours red, yellow, green and blue. Something to be passed down the generations? The reactions were mixed, but still polite.
A busy day was coming up for all.
Dorothy got ready, had a piece of bread with some fruit from the Greench Farm, and then rushed off for work. Her brother Randal Redward was resting in the only patient room at the Health Care center. She worried for his mental conditions, as his head could have been damaged when falling off his horse few days earlier.
Oh... he was no longer there!
In the center of the village, Agnes Y. J. Hawk accidentally ran into Bridgette B. Greench.
The two women hardly knew each other. Bridgette was basically a social person although she could be shy at certain occasions, while Agnes worked at the graveyard when not hiding at home. And in the background Randal is leaving the Health Care center - Dorothy just about missed him!
Bridgette had heard about Agnes marrying the old Joe Hawk, and having two kids. She just had to ask how things were going.
Agnes had nearly forgotten all about how Beetle brought home the serum, she never really asked him where he got it. They had poured the serum into Joe's coffee, to trick him to bed and make him believe he made Agnes pregnant. Recently someone had obviously tricked Agnes in the same way. Agnes suddenly got a rather mean idea, she was looking for a way to get rid of her old man...
Agnes left and Bridgette noticed Randal Redward walking by. He was not properly dressed, and it might look like he just left the Health Care center in a hurry.
Randal enjoyed when locals contacted him like this, expecting him to solve their case. After all he was head of their community, and he would of course do his best.
Bridgette noticed how Randal Redward didn't look quite well. For a second she regret involving him at all.
Randal got the weirdest expression on his face, and Bridgette stepped back.
Meanwhile, the little Hedgewall family had attended the school library, in order to read. They have a toddler and a baby, and Beatrice is pregnant with their third child. She had expected the place to be busy, because currently there is actually a good number of kids and teens on the island.
Yoseph loves to read, and he still dreams of becoming a writer. He works a few hours daily at Our Delightful Bookstore. He was surprised, too, that no kids used the school library.
Following Yvonne Yea-Low, Constance R. Hamming had assisted the kids for a few years, but when she inherited the Consignment store, there was no time left for teaching. Beatrice wanted to suggest that Yoseph could replace Constance Hamming, but it might be even better if Yoseph brouht the subject up for the Council - was it time to have a regular school?
So, if Reynar and his younger brother were not at the school library, where were they? In the mountain of course, they had climbed up to their secret light project. The volcano was pretty far off, and it had calmed down greatly. The two boys were not afraid to go up there.
Reynar was a pretty good big brother, and the two boys spent quite some time together. Especially on the secret project. By opening the top of the huge box, a mirror would reflect sunlight, sending a tall line of light up into the sky. It worked best during sunset, when the sun still had some power, and the sky got darker so the light line was easy to see.
If a big brother climbs into a volcano, wouldn't a little boy follow? Was this really Reynar's plan?
Randal had finally reached his destination, 5 Redward Heights, his dead parents' home. Back on the hospital bed, he had been thinking of ways to protest to the trial that his excluded brother Christopher recently initiated and partly won. According to law, protests must be raised within 7 days, and today was Randal's last chance. Then he realized that he never searched through books and papers that his parents left behind, for some written testament making it clear that Christopher was totally cut off from inheriting them.
He searched, but found no testament. Instead Randal found a note with his Father's handwriting. It was some sort of a schedule, saying stuff like Remove all pay items. Call Joe to check noise at Warehouse. Call someone to randomly run into Joe near the Warehouse.
Randal had forgotten those details! His dead Father, Roger Redward, had removed pay items that was placed to pay the community for using the Warehouse facilities. And he had tried to make Joe Hawk standing out as a suspect. The plan was never fulfilled, but now Randal would finally complete it!
After all Joe Hawk must have stolen those matches on the first day when the settlers arrived Maccaroni Island. Randal did not remember anything of that, but had been told regularly, how the matches that his Father had left to dry, after swimming over here, suddenly were gone! He thought it was Joe Hawk all along.
The matches, as well as the Warehouse thefts, would be a great addition to the Serum theft! And Randal's Father would finally have his revenge! Ironically, Randal would make sure that Christopher would help completing the task. Christopher worked regularly at the House of law, it would be his duty to arrest Joe Hawk.
Bridgette Greench had promised Randal half of any money from winning a trial, after covering the obvious serum costs. Still Randal wasn't satisfied. If he could only find some testament to nail Christopher! Why didn't Father, or mom, write it down?
He noticed the old photo on the wall, showing the four elderly settler women. Bianca Blumington, Yvonne Yea-Low, Rita Redward and Greta Greench. Randal's mom in front, as always. They all posed in front of the old community administration hut, before it was replaced by today's Village Hall.
Randal wondered if his mom, Rita Redward, could actually see him now. If she could, he knew she would try to help him. She could very well be in this room, trying to point him to the spot where they hid the note he was looking for. Maybe they didn't write it on a piece of paper? Paper was rare back then. Maybe they wrote it on a piece of wood?
Randal cuddled up on the tiny couch. He liked this room. In a short while Yamir would grow up and take over the Redward Ranch, then Randal and Corinne could move in here... across the road...
Then he fell asleep.
