The Boy Who Cried Murder

Chapter 4

The next morning bright and early, Sandra got out of bed, shoveled down breakfast, and left the house. She met up with Will around the corner.

"Hey, Sandra!" he greeted her. "You ready to get an insider's view?"

"Yeah, let's do it," she replied.

Will asked out of the blue, "Last night, did something happen? You were super scared for some reason."

Sandra was taken by surprise. "How'd you know?"

"A bit of..." he dropped his voice "...psychic intuition."

"Oh. I keep forgetting how perceptive you are," replied Sandra. "You're right, something did happen when I was out on a late walk." She recounted her story of the previous night's events, and her speculation on what it could mean for their investigation.

Will was shocked. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said. "We have to hurry up. Our two days are running out, and we need to get solid evidence we can present to the police and get whoever it is locked up behind bars."

"You're right," agreed Sandra. "Shall we?"

Will nodded. The two of them walked side by side to 1679 Broken Lantern Way, a brick townhouse on the far side of town. A few potted cacti were set out on the front porch as a prickly greeting. Will reached up to the peeling door and clanked the lion door knocker three times.

The door swung open to reveal a woman who seemed to be in her mid-forties. She seemed quite surprised to have visitors. "Hello, there. Can I help you?"

"Does Leonard Watts live here?" asked Will politely.

"Yes, he does. Are the two of you here for a community service thing?" When they shook their heads, she added, "My apologies, it's just that Leonard doesn't often get visitors." She smiled warmly. "Come inside, and I'll make tea."

They followed her into the interior of the house and were seated at the high chairs at the counter. The woman, who told them her name was Mrs. Rosenfeld, started a pot of herbal tea and then went downstairs. "Leonard!" she called. "You have visitors!" Turning back to the children, she added, "He'll be up in just a minute."

Sandra, feeling awkward at being in a stranger's home, settled her gaze on the oversized fish tank along the wall. There were a variety of types, including goldfish, zebrafish, betta fish, and others. She unfolded a piece of paper next to the tank, which turned out to be a description of all the fish and their names. Majesty, the blue beta. Pixie, the silver minnow. Sir Lovington, the clownfish. I wondered if it was Watts or Mrs. Rosenfeld who had come up with all the names.

"How are you related to Mr. Watts?" asked Will. "Are you his daughter?"

"Oh, no, I'm not family. He's my tenant, I've been renting out the basement to him for years. Poor man doesn't have anywhere else to go," she answered. "It's so nice of you to come visit him."

"We actually came to ask him some questions," Will said.

Before she could reply, the door to the basement swung open, and out walked none other than Leonard Watts, former scientist, current neighborhood weirdo.

Mrs. Rosenfeld set their cups of tea in front of them. "Ah, speaking of, here comes the man of the hour."

Mr. Watts himself was dressed in a strange ensemble: a pristine lab coat over an old marathon t-shirt, and a woman's flowered skirt that reached all the way to his ankles. A pair of bifocals hung around his neck. In spite of looking utterly ridiculous, he held himself like he was a king.

"Yo, sup, bros," he said with a toothy grin. "Did I do it? Did I sound like a teenager?"

"Um, yeah, you were pretty spot on," Sandra said agreeingly, though with his tacky attempt at being "hip" it couldn't be farther from the truth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Watts. My name is Sandra, and this is Will."