by T. W. Fuller

Created on: June 10, 2009

Except from - The Emerson Country Murder Mystery - working title...

For Tina, her life started to crumble very early on. She had been valedictorian at her high school, and gave a rousing speech on the importance of education, and how her ancestry, having been descended from Henry Emerson, the County's namesake, had inspired her to live up to the same greatness she had grown up hearing about. She explained to the crowd of graduating seniors the value of education, of carrying that knowledge on to college, and into adult life. She became particularly emotional in telling her peers about her plans to enter Emerson College to obtain a Master's Degree in American history, for which she had been granted a scholarship, and continue a tradition that many of her family, past and present, had pursued. She thanked the school, and her teachers, for helping prepare her for her life ahead. She had especially thanked her father, praising him with many kind and loving words. He was in the crowd, listening, and those around him saw the tears well up in his eyes. What they could not perceive, what they could not possible contemplate was that his tears were not tears of happiness. He loved his daughter more than life itself, and would gladly give his life to save her, if ever that time came. The tears in his eyes were a result of the great pain he was compelled to inflict upon Tina, and the regret he had for having to do it; for knowing that the time had now come to save her life, and inwardly comprehending he could never tell her why.

Tina had less than a week of summer vacation to enjoy, reveling in all she would do at Emerson College. Then the letter came. It had come from the college, and Tina opened it immediately, thinking it was more good news. As she read it, the expression on her face, which her father had been watching in secret, from behind a corner wall, showed signs of confusion and bewilderment at first. Then angst. When she had screamed out for her father in a loud and shrill cry, he knew the special bond he shared with his daughter was about end. He prepared himself as best he could.

She told her father the college had found several mistakes on her application, questions she had answered improperly that they had not been quick to catch. A copy of which she was supplied with, and now waving in his face, angrily. For his part, he tried to act surprised. She pleaded with her father to investigate what happened. The hand writing wasn't even hers, she said.

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