A/N During quarantine, Perry Loves Della & I did an epic rewatch of all 12 seasons of MSW. A few (dozen) story ideas came to mind. This is one of them.

Try to retcon as inconsistently as you want, but Seth Hazlitt was not in Cabot Cove for season one - or at least not for the early season one episodes set in Cabot Cove. Final Curtain he mentions being young in Cabot Cove. Curse of the Daanav he mentions running off when his brother & Molly eloped together. Unfinished Business he mentions living in Portland. In Home Care & Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble he does name drop a few now adult babies in town that he delivered, but he also mentions having paid off a 30 year mortgage somewhere, at some point, yet as of Indian Giver he was a renter of his office/residence in Cabot Cove.

Thank you Perry Loves Della for betaing.

I Met A Man

Chapter One

"I think this crick in my neck may be permanent at this point, but that last chapter is finished and with a whole twelve hours to spare!" Jessica sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Amos, for letting me use the Sheriff's office facsimile machine."

"Not at all, Miz Fletcher. You know I am always happy to lend a hand, especially for you."

Deputy Noah Paisley - the one actually running the machine - gave him a look.

Jessica winked at Noah knowingly.

"I know New York is long distance. Amos, please have Letitia send me the bill."

"That's okay, Miz Fletcher. How about I won't bill you for the long distance charges and we'll call ourselves square after all your help with Daniel O'Brien."

"And with those Earl sisters." Noah added.

Amos shrugged one shoulder and made only a slightly disgruntled sound of assent.

Noah tacked on. "And those Russian dancers."

"Now hold on just a minute!" On that one, Amos argued. "That murder took place in Boston! And she's the one that brought those Ruskies here!"

Jessica smiled good humoredly. "Your offer sounds more than fair to me, Amos."

Feeding the last of the pages through the machine, Noah asked. "Does this mean I can tell people I was the first to read J.B. Fletcher's latest book?"

As the machine started to make its distinctive high pitched sound that meant that it was transmitting, Jessica chuckled. She corrected him with a smile. "That's just the last chapter. It's one of twenty-eight. The other twenty-seven were hand delivered to my publisher at the start of the week. I suppose you could read it, but would you really want to read just the last chapter? Wouldn't that be a little anticlimactic?"

"Wouldn't it just be all climax?" Noah asked.

"Not exactly." Jessica laughed. "Clearly you were never in my high school English class. There is a difference between climax and resolution."

"It's all Greek to me." Amos proclaimed.

Still rubbing her neck, Jessica sighed and said. "I'm just glad it's finished. I haven't pulled an all-nighter like that since my college days. When I leave here I am going to stop by the diner. I am going to order not one, but two slices of the strawberry rhubarb pie and then I am going to ride my bicycle home, I am going to crawl into bed and I may very well sleep straight through until Sunday!"

Amos made a face. "I don't go in for their strawberry rhubarb pie on account of I'm allergic to strawberries."

Jessica nodded sympathetically. "I have the same problem, but with radishes."

"Their pecan pie, now that's a mighty fine pie. Why I would put it up there almost as good as yours, Miz Fletcher. Almost mind you." Amos was quick to clarify before adding. "Of course, they are a bit more regular about having it available on the menu than you are ..."

Jessica smiled, but before she could reply, the phone started ringing.

"Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Tupper speaking."

Amos turned to Jessica with a look of wonder. "It's for you, Miz Fletcher."

Jessica laughed at Amos's expression. "Ah! Now you know how I feel when Flossie calls my house looking for you!"

Jessica explained. "I gave my editor the number here and asked her to call to confirm that all the pages went through. I hope you don't mind."

"Ah." Amos handed over the phone.

"This is J.B."

Amos & Noah exchanged an impressed look at hearing the fancy name she wrote her books under.

As she listened to her editor over the phone, Jessica's good mood and expression of accomplishment faded. It was replaced by one of concern and then downright horror.

When she hung up the phone, Amos asked. "Everything okay, Miz Fletcher? The pages not go through?"

"The pages went through all right, but having skimmed the pages as each one came off the machine, my editor informs me that the same poison I used in my story was just used in another sent to my publisher last week!"

Amos's eyebrows furrowed together. "You don't think someone somehow got a hold of your book and copied it?"

"Oh no! They couldn't have. I only just finished typing it an hour ago. No, more likely someone else read the same National Geographic article published last month and types faster."

"Oh. Well what's that they say about great minds thinking alike?"

Jessica shook her head. "It isn't exactly regarded that way in literary circles."

Deep in thought, Jessica bit on one of the ear pieces of her glasses for a moment before shaking her head. "Forgive me, Amos, but I am going to take advantage of your hospitality once more."

Picking the phone back up , Jessica dialed back her publisher's office. "Pull the book. I'll have to rework it."

Amos and his deputy both tried to listen in, but the sound from the phone was a lot like when one of the adult characters on a Charlie Brown cartoon special spoke.

Mrs. Fletcher sounded exasperated."Yes, I know I just sent you the last chapter, but it can't be the last chapter now."

The hand that wasn't holding the phone went up to touch the top of her head. "You can't publish it like that! You just told me that Nita Pearson's new novel has the same poison!"

Amos & Noah tried to not be too obvious that they were still listening.

"Marilyn, why would you tell me that if you weren't going to let me fix it?"

Mrs. Fletcher's voice rose another octave. "Because you thought it was a funny coincidence?"

Noah and Amos exchanged a look as Mrs. Fletcher changed her tone. "You tell Mr. Winfield that if he prints this, that it will be the last novel of mine he publishes!"

Mrs. Fletcher frowned as the voice on the other end of the line squeaked out something.

"Well then you tell him that the book after this one will be the last one he publishes because I will not be signing another contract with him!"

Her saucy stance of defiance didn't entirely match with her next words. "Yes, I will hold."

When an irate looking Mrs. Fletcher glanced his way, Amos said nothing and tried to look busy at his desk.

She coiled the phone cord around her finger while waiting.

She wasn't kept waiting long.

"Yes, I realize you already sent the other chapters to the typesetter because I promised you I would have this last chapter to you by no later than 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, but-"

Amos couldn't hear the words being said, but it was clear the person on the other end of the phone wasn't doing a very good job of placating Mrs. Fletcher ...

"- Yes, I realize that this is entirely my own doing and I am being completely unreasonable!"

… but they were failing.

"Fine!" hanging up the phone, Jessica threw up her hands. "I can't believe this! This is a complete disaster! They are going to print it as I sent it unless I can send them a new ending by tomorrow at 8 a.m.! I couldn't possibly get them a complete rewrite by then! I am going to be the laughing stock of the publishing world!"

Amos tried again to console her. "I still say great minds -"

"- Oh Amos! It's alright to think alike, but not publish alike. I need to come up with a new poison and rewrite this last chapter."

"What about just putting it as 'To Be Continued'?'" Amos suggested.

Jessica didn't answer. She just sank back into the chair she had been sitting in so triumphantly only a few minutes earlier and put her head in both hands.

Amos tried to help. "Have you tried that new doctor fellow? The one moving into old Doc Townsend's place? He says he doesn't officially open shop until Monday, but I saw him over there this afternoon getting the keys from Eve Simpson and bringing in some of his boxes."

Jessica picked up her head. "Amos, you're a genius!"

Sheriff Tupper beamed, but his smile soured a bit as he heard his deputy snort and mutter under his breath. "Now that's not something you hear everyday."

Standing, Jessica picked up her coat. "I'm going to head over there right now to see what he might recommend as a poison!"

"His name is Seth Hazlitt." Amos told her.

"Seth Hazlitt? Seth Hazlitt?" Jessica paused. "Where do I know that name from?"

Sounding quite disapproving, Amos supplied the answer before she could place the name on her own. "He's the fellow from Portland who delivered Mrs. Terhune's baby while Doc Townsend was on holiday."

"Oh yes." Now Jessica remembered. Picking up on his tone, Jessica asked. "Amos, surely you aren't holding him responsible for her dying a few months later from the cancer she held off on getting treatment for because she found out that she was pregnant?!"

Amos gave a little head tilt and told her. "Let's just say there's something about this fellow that I find a little fishy and I'm not the only one."

"Oh?" Jessica asked.

"Like I said, Eve Simpson was there when I was over there introducing myself to him and welcoming him to Cabot Cove. He claimed he grew up here in Cabot Cove before moving to Portland, but I'm not sure that I believe him."

"What exactly makes you not believe him?" Jessica asked.

"Fellow says he went to high school with Eve Simpson, but when Eve Simpson heard him say that, she swore up and down that she'd never seen him before in her life."

"Mmm." Jessica made a little noise while turning the idea over. "Tell me something, Amos. This Dr. Hazlitt, his hair wouldn't happen to have a bit of salt mixed in with the pepper, would it?"

"No," Amos told her. "I wouldn't say a bit. He's got more snow on top than White Cap Mountain."

Despite the predicament she currently found herself in, an amused Jessica just silently stared at Amos until with an, "Oh!" he put it together.

Amos told her. "I'll call ahead and let him know you're coming over. Explain the situation to him."

"Thank you, Amos! You're a lifesaver!"

Amos had the operator, Letitia, connect him. "Say listen, Doc. This is Sheriff Tupper over at the Sheriff's office. I'm sending a real fine lady over to see you right now."

"Sheriff, as I already told you, I am not yet open for business! Tell the lady she can call on Monday and make an appointment with … with ...with the girl who answers the phones."

Amos frowned at the sass he was getting. "Now don't give me any of that, Doc! She's having herself a real emergency and I told her you could help her!"

"If she is having an emergency, send her to the hospital!" The doctor instructed him.

"Doc, she hasn't got time for that!" Amos argued. "Now, isn't there some kind of oath you folks are supposed to take about helping people in their hour of need?"

After a brief pause, Amos got an answer a little more to his liking. A chastised Seth admitted. "Yes."

"Good. Now I don't want to hear any more bellyaching from you." Amos told him. "Her name is Miz Fletcher. Now you take real good care of her, you hear me?"

That settled, feeling quite satisfied with himself, Amos hung up the phone.

tbc

A/N Okay time to let me know. So far does the idea work for you or not so much?