Soon, people would quit paying attention to Roger and how or if he was mourning Hope, but it had only been a couple weeks since the funeral, so he had to keep up appearances. Roger liked to sleep in and drive over to the cemetery after a leisurely brunch, but today he forced himself to get there at 9am when they opened. It was weird that cemeteries had visiting hours, Roger thought as he strode to the stone. No new flowers yet—good!
Roger leaned against a tree and opened a dating app as he waited. He couldn’t actually date yet—people would freak out—but he could talk to new women. There were plenty of pretty ones who were happy to get to know a wealthy man who no longer had to work at age 37. One of the prettiest had been eager to chat, and Roger told her all about what a horrible witch Hope had been and how relieved he was to be single again. Ah, here was a new message from her, titled “Good Morgan,” a funny phrase she used.
Holy crap, what was Frank doing here?! Roger quickly stuffed his phone back in his pocket and walked over to the gravesite where the older man was placing a fresh bouquet. “Lieutenant?”
“Mr. Clark,” Frank stood up and greeted him. “How are you doing?”
“Good!” Roger said, immediately regretting it. “I mean, you know… under the tragic circumstances.”
Frank nodded. “Of course. And it was a tragedy, wasn’t it. You know that Hope was a distant cousin of mine, from the wealthy side of the family, obviously.”
Crap. “No, I didn’t know.”
“I was at the funeral,” Frank said. “In the back. Moving elegy you gave for your young bride, Mr. Clark. Poor thing, being an orphan, and now this. You weren’t even married a year, were you?”
“Not quite a year.”
“And drowning in the bathtub.” Frank shook his head. “Who would have thought?”
“She fell asleep.” Roger felt sweaty even though the air was brisk. He noted that Frank seemed perfectly comfortable in his rumpled old beige raincoat.
Frank sighed. “So unfortunate no one found her until the next day.”
“Yes, I wish I had woken up to check on her. I will never forgive myself.” Roger began edging away. “Nice seeing you, Lieutenant.”
“Oh, one more thing, Mr. Clark.”
Roger turned around. “What?”
“Good Morgan.”
~*~
Little bit of Columbo fan fiction I wrote for Fandango’s Story Starter #238.
Columbo with a Dutch accent? Must say I didn't see the ending coming at all. Now Roger will lose hope after already losing Hope. What a nasty character.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting!
ReplyDeleteGreat storytelling, Paula, with an unexpected twist at the end. Thanks for joining in.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fandango!
ReplyDeleteI liked the story! Speaking from professional knowledge, cemeteries have opening hours because they have caretakers and ground staff. You don't want people walking in at all hours when there are no staff there, as they might steal expensive slabs of marble or granite (this happened at work). There is also the issue of vandalism, and health and safety (again at work, an elderly woman tripped over a grave and hurt herself; if there had been no staff, she might have been stuck there for hours, and it's cold there).
ReplyDeleteI don't get the Columbo connection, never having seen the tv show, which I assume is what you're referring to but I did enjoy that twist at the end. Got a giggle out of that...
ReplyDeleteGood info, Daniel. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Grace ❤️
Columbo was such a good show.
ReplyDelete