It was a windy night when Tim came home early from the Grange meeting. The farmhouse was dark as he pulled in the drive, but by the time he came into the kitchen, the house was ablaze with light, and he heard Edna's voice in the living room.

"That you, honey?" she called.

" 'Course it's me, who did you think it was?," he asked, as he noticed the coffee machine was on and opened the kitchen cabinet, looking for a mug.

"Oh, good," Edna said, as she poked her head around the swinging door to the kitchen. "You found the coffee. We were just having some."

"We got company?," Tim asked.

"Dennis dropped in, looking for you."

"He knows I have Grange meeting Thursday nights."

In the living room, Dennis was adjusting the TV, some ice skating show. Dennis lived across the road and he often came over in the winter to skate on Tim's pond.

"What did you want to see me about?," Tim asked.

"I was wondering if you could give me the name of the roofer you had last spring."

"Swenson, his name's Swenson, -- in Rockwell City."

Tim couldn't get past the idea something funny was going on. Maybe it was the weather. They'd cut the meeting short tonight because of the storm coming up.

"If you've got a leaky roof, you'd best get home, Dennis. Big storm is on its way."

"Yeah, well, I'll be going. Thanks for the coffee, Ed." Dennis looked around for his coat and found it slung over the Lazy Boy in the corner.

Standing at the door, watching Dennis walk down the drive, Tim suddenly called out, "You want any information, you just phone me. Anytime, Dennis."

Turning, Tim caught sight of the expression on Edna's face and didn't like what he saw. Reluctantly, he came to the conclusion,
_  _  _  _  _  _     _  _  _      _  _  _  _      _  _  _  _  _  _ .

 (6 letters plus 3 letters plus 4 letters plus 6 letters)
 

 Copyright 1997 J.J. Schnebel
All rights reserved

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