Chapter 2
Jack closed the door to the flower and seed shop, and the little bells hanging from the doorknob rang for the second time. He looked around. There wasn't all that much selection, but he didn't mind. He needed to garden a little to get his mind off of the morning's events.
"May I help you?" asked the lady behind the counter. Jack stared at her pink hair for a few seconds before replying.
"Uh… Oh, I was thinking about buying some vegetable seeds."
"Oh! You're the one who took over the Funky Farm huh? Good luck with that!" she said with a smile.
"What crop do you think would be the best choice?" Jack asked.
"Personally I would grow potatoes. They grow fairly fast, and are the second highest seller. Price wise of course." She added.
"Okay, I'll take two of those." Jack paid the $4.00 and walked out of the store. Across the path was the bakery. Jack decided to go over there to get a nice, fresh… un-poisoned… meal. He opened the door to the sweet smell of cakes baking in the oven.
"Hello." Said Jack to the man behind the counter. He turned around.
"Hi! What can I get you?" he asked.
"Oh. A pastry I guess. Any kind, I'm just hungry." Jack sat down at a seat near a window. He stared outside while the baker got the pastry ready. His mind drifted back to the magnum he had found earlier. He had buried it again, just to be safe, but now he was wondering whether or not he might need it if the man who tried to kill him came back again.
"Here you are!" The baker set the pastry down in front of Jack. Without hesitating, Jack started to gobble it down. "Need anything else?" the baker asked.
"Uh, no thanks." Replied Jack, mouth full of cherry, "Hey! Who's that?"
"Oh that's Karen. She's the vineyard manager's daughter. You should go talk to her, you'd like her a lot." Replied the baker.
"You know, I think I will. I need to make friends in this town anyways." Said Jack getting up.
"You should bring her a present so she'll lighten up. Otherwise she can be very cold." Suggested the baker.
"I think I will. I'll take another pastry. To go. How much do I owe you?" asked Jack.
"Four dollars." Jack handed it over, pocketed the pastry and headed out the door. The first thing he noticed when he got out was that it was starting to get dark. 'Man time goes quickly here.' He thought to himself. He looked around for Karen. He saw her down the road heading towards the bar. Since it was getting dark, there was nobody else on the street.
He called out, "Karen!" she stopped and turned around.
"Who wants to know?" she asked, slowly walking towards him.
"My name's Jack. I'm new to this town." Jack replied.
"Really. So you'll be leaving soon?" that hit Jack below the belt, hard.
"Are you always this cruel?" asked Jack.
"Yes." Said Karen as she started to walk back towards the bar.
"Wait!" called Jack after her, "Well, I guess it's useless now, but I bought you a pastry." Karen stopped and turned around. She had a curious look on her face.
"Oh yea? You bought it for me?" she asked, "What kind of pastry?" she walked towards him cautiously.
"Oh, I think it's strawberry." Replied Jack.
"Really?! I love strawberries!" said Karen as she bounded over to him. Jack handed the pastry over to her. Karen took a bite.
"Mm. It's good, but I don't think it's strawberry. It tastes more like apple to me." Jack froze, "Hey, why's there already a bite in this pastry?" he had totally forgotten about the poisoned pastry in his pocket. The one he had handed over to Karen.
