The next morning, Daphne showed up to see if the contest was still going to be in progress while she judged the show this afternoon. The acting sheriff, her next – door neighbor, Deputy Mitchell was on the scene once she arrived.
"Good morning, Daphne," he greeted her.
"Good morning," she returned.
"I heard what happened about last night," she told Mitchell.
Sheriff Edwards had been out-of-town for a few days to go on a jury duty here in Las Vegas.
"The news is all over town, Lynda. Even made this morning's headlines," he told her as he shoved it quickly in her hands.
She saw the front page. So Mitchell was right and he wasn't joking, either. The headline read: CONTESTANT DEAD.' She always had hated this kind of thing when victims like the contestant who had entered this contest murdered.
One of the contestants in this year's pageant, was shot the previous night. She had recently entered this contest that was going to continue in the next few days. Daphne Blake, one of the judges, had been a judge to all the past years until today had been involved in the past murders that took place. The bullet that was aimed at the contestant was small. The police have no new information at this time. For now, the contestant's name is to remain unidentified.
The writer who wrote this short piece of what happened last night used the name Jessica Anderson. Jessica was well – known. Daphne wanted to help solve this mystery. Sam and Michelle had school today, so there was no reason to have them around this kind of violence. Not today, anyway.
She decided to ask Mitchell if today was still on.
"Is today's show still going to continue?" she asked.
"I'm afraid not, Daphne. It will have to wait until this is solved," he said, pushing his long bangs out of his face.
His hair was a light – red color. The sign of him needing a haircut was bangs in your face.
"Do we know anything about the person who shot her?" Daphne asked.
"Nothing yet. It's a bit too early to figure this one out. When we have an answer, we'll let you know."
"Thanks. I'll stay tuned."
After that, she drove away. She got back in today's cold weather when she parked her car in front of a bakery. The bakery, Jones and Brown, was small. Costumers would come in and stay if they pleased.
The bakery had a drive – thru. It was nothing fancy. Daphne had never been through it herself. She waited in line for her turn. She was hungry for a donut and wanted coffee to go along with it. Her turn had arrived. Lucas Jones was behind the counter this morning.
"Good morning, Daphne. What can I give you today?" he asked in a professional tone of voice.
Lucas had the bakery's work clothes. The shirt said 'Jones and Brown Bakery' with a matching apron both were the usual boring white. He wasn't tall for his age, she could tell.
"We heard what happened about last night, Daphne. This pageant started a couple of days ago, didn't it?" he asked, pulling a glazed donut with sprinkles.
He handed her the donut and then headed to pour the coffee.
"I heard about it on the radio myself last night, Lucas. I tried to get more info earlier, but no avail."
"We're curious as much as you are, Daphne. Good luck to you on this case," he told her as she paid $3.75.
"Thanks, Lucas. I'll need it."
"Good day, Daphne," he called as he watched her leave.