The Jig is Up by MK Scott

Author:MK Scott [Scott, MK]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, mystery
Publisher: Sleeping Dragon Press
Published: 2023-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

The sun broke through the clouds as Dougie, Mark, and Donna stood beside a brick base that served as a pedestal for the missing knight statue. Jagged pieces of cement jutting upward told the story of a statue that had been cemented in place, and then violently separated from its place. Mark cleared his throat—often it worked to bring attention to whatever he had to say, other times it served as a stalling measure, but sometimes, he just needed to clear his throat. Unsure which one it was, Donna chimed in as both men stared at the base. “Do you think it could be a joke?”

“A joke?” Dougie echoed the words with his mouth agape and his eyes wide. “What fool would take Fergus as a joke?”

Mark raised his eyebrows and stuck his hands in his pockets, waiting to see how she might placate the upset Dougie.

“Well, I…” she said and wondered if it was too late to clear her throat as a stalling technique. “I know you don’t find it funny. There was this six-hundred-pound cement bear back where I live. High school kids would steal the bear, take it to various places, such as football games and local hangouts, dress him up with hats, flower leis, and sunglasses, and take photos of him. They’d send the photos to the bear’s owners with messages like ‘I needed to get out of town’ or ‘Out on the town with friends.’ The bear owners usually put requests in the local paper for the return of their bear.”

The flush faded from Dougie’s face as he asked, “Did they get the bear back?”

“They did.” She flashed what she thought was an encouraging smile. “Maybe he’ll be back in a couple of days, or maybe you’ll get a postcard.”

“There you go,” Mark commented, throwing his wife a grateful look. “There’s not much more I can do. Have any of your neighbors had issues with…” He glanced down at the ground before he said, “…Fergus?”

Dougie rested his hands on the small of his back as he turned and gazed at his neighbors’ houses. “Not many are big on statues. Mrs. Flannagan has a couple of lions she likes to dress up. In football season, she often dresses them up in green-striped Shamrock Rovers jerseys.”

“And?” Donna prompted, noticing a sudden smirk on the formerly despondent Dougie’s face.

“Someone removes the jerseys, folds them up nicely, and redresses them with a proper Auld Reds jersey.”

Mark coughed, possibly guessing the culprit in the matter, but saying nothing. Not as tactful as her husband, Donna broke eye contact with Dougie before querying, “You wouldn’t be the one redressing the lions in your preferred football jerseys?”

“Me?” He coughed and muttered, “Sheila! That woman can’t keep a secret. She probably told Mrs. Flannagan. I thought the woman gave me a smug look when she was out walking that joke of a dog.”

Not wanting Sheila to get the blame, Donna explained, “Sheila didn’t tell me anything. It’s the way you related the story with a secretive smile that told the tale.

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