For those just tuning in, this challenge is about taking a story idea from bare bones idea into a fully fledged story by writing consistently every week day for fifteen minutes. The sentence I end with on one day, is the sentence I start with on the following. Part one was Bob’s story and has nothing whatsoever to do with the story below. Part Two follows a character named Penelope. I have a few basic sentences to act as road marks on her journey. I am loosely calling that an outline. We will see where she ends up by the time the story is done. For now, we start Part two of the 2025 Fifteen Minute Writing Challenge.
Day 71: As she finished eating, Penelope debated going out to the estate.
As she finished eating, Penelope debated going out to the estate. She tidied up from her meal, washing out the pan she cooked the eggs in as well as the rest of the dishes. While she wanted information, she thought it might be best to wait before going out to the estate. Thoughts not only of her mother’s crash but of the grocery store incident made her cautious.
“It could have been an accident that killed my mom,” she said. “The brake line could have been cut some other way.” She narrowed her eyes. “But why wouldn’t that be investigated?” There were notations marked about the line being cut and someone had looked into the details, but there was nothing beyond that. No follow up. She wondered if she could ask Mrs. Merriweather.
“I still don’t know if she is really a friend. And I have no idea if the grocery store was intentional.”
As far as she knew it could have been an accident. Penelope dried her hands and narrowed her eyes. She wondered if she would be able to check. One of her friends worked as a journalist. She and Kathleen had been close once, but it had been a while since they talked.
“I hate to call her now when I need something from her.” Penelope supposed that made her a rotten friend. “Maybe I can apologize for being rotten when I call and see if she is interested in helping me.
It was something more than reading that she could do and as much as she enjoyed reading through the journals, Penelope found she wanted something a little more proactive.
‘I also wonder if I should look at more recent journals instead of the older ones.’ While Amelia’s journals were giving her some information she could use, more recent ones might tell her who she should each out for and who might be a friend.
Penelope stretched the towel out on the oven door handle to dry. “Dress for the happy hour group, Call Kathleen and once I am back from the Happy hour, I will look at more recent journals.”
Penelope nodded liking her new plan of action. She walked into the bedroom and exchanged her lounging where no one could see her clothing for clothing she didn’t mind being seen in outside of the house. As she clipped her hair up on top of her head, the phone rang.
Penelope walked the few steps needed to pick it up and saw it was a number she vaguely recognized although she couldn’t place it.
“Hello?” She asked.
“Hello Ms. Douglas? This is Alvis Fairchild from the bank,” he said. “I do hate to bother you, but there has been a complication.”
Penelope frowned. “What sort of complication,” she asked. She wondered if there was a piece of paper she forgot to file when she changed everything over.
“Oh no, it is nothing like that,” he assured her. “We have just had someone try to draw a rather large sum of money from your account. While the electronic notices have been sent to your devices, we thought it best to call you as well.”
“Oh,” Penelope said. She wondered how large a sum of money had to be involved for the bank to contact her directly.
Ten til Midnight 