PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll
The detective cradles the mug of tea in both hands. His fingers are red, sore at the tips where’s he’s gnawed the skin. The smell of bonfires that followed him in now fills the room.
‘Was your daughter at home all night?’ he says.
I hold his gaze. ‘She went upstairs after school and didn’t come down until dinner.’
He takes in my dishevelled hair, my own bitten nails that I sudden want to hide.
He nods. ‘We’ll need to talk to her.’
‘Of course,’ I say, knowing her suitcase is gone along with half her clothes.
Run, my love.
Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s Friday Fictioneers. See here to join in the best prompt I know and to read the other stories.
Word Shamble 
I hope he’s made the right choice in letting her run from the police. I can’t help but think she may have been involved in arson…!
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She may have been … Then again, she may be an innocent in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thanks for reading Iain 🙂
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I loved the touch of the bitten nails
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Thank you Neil 🙂
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Dear Lynn,
I like the tension between the parent and the detective. But is the mother(?) protecting a fire starter? Well constructed scene.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much Rochelle. Yes, not sure if the girl is guilty or an innocent caught up in something. Either way, she’s running. Thanks for reading 🙂
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Intriguing and disturbing story!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thanks Susan 🙂
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Like Neil, I really like the detail of the bitten nails, and also how the arson is hinted to in a kind of subtle way.
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Thanks so much. Glad you liked it and thanks for reading 🙂
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Ah, interesting twist! And as always, intriguing description.
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Thanks Joy. How’s NaNo going?
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Well, I’ve been off NaNo for ten days. Half of them due to focusing on work and other activities and half due to going on a vacation with a friend visiting from DC. We drove out to Joshua Tree National Park and walked around the desert a while (which was surprisingly gorgeous) and then went to Temecula for wine tasting, lots of eating, and for her to run a half-marathon (and me to cheer her on). It was huge fun, but I’m looking forward to cleaning up my emails this morning and then turning everything off and diving back into my new novel!
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Ah, yes, you said you’d have a hiatus halfway in. Glad you enjoyed your ime away so much – sounds lovely. Now, clear out that inbox and back to it! Hope the rest of the month goes as planned Joy
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The gnawed nails is a masterly touch. As ever.
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Thank so much Sandra 🙂
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Now you’ve got me biting my nails – run girl, run!
Click to read my FriFic!
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I think she’s innocent, so yes – run! Thanks for reading Keith
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I didn’t think of arson at all. It was the word bonfire, I suppose. I imagined the girl running away from maybe an abusive father under cover of bonfire night when the police would have been busy elsewhere, and the mother is covering up for her.
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Hadn’t thought of it like that, Jane. Interesting idea. Mother is definitely covering up, as you say, but whether the daughter is innocent or guilty … Thanks for reading
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That’s what a good story teller does—sows the seeds of curiosity and lets the readers run with their own ideas.
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Thank you Jane 🙂
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🙂
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Great twist, Lynn! I hope the mother can cover for her daughter for long enough for her to escape.
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Let’s hope so – if the daughter is innocent, of course … Thanks for reading Penny
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Of course she’s innocent! 😉
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Ha! I thought so when I wrote it Penny 🙂
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Running with fire will get you burned. Hope she runs into a life redirection.
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Let’s hope so Susie. Thank you for reading 🙂
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There’s so much tension in this scene, even the characters are biting their nails. I love it!
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Thank you Russell 🙂
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Such an intriguing setup, leaving us craving for more.
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Thank you very much, Glad you liked it 🙂
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In this case a lucky runaway. Good tale
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Thank you so much and thank you for reading 🙂
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It can be a parent’s first instinct to protect their kids. But is she wrong to do so? Love the question this piece poses. Enjoyable read (as always!).
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Ah, well, you know I’m not so sure myself! But as you say, when it comes to it, a parent will protect first, ask questions later. Thank you for the kind comment Karen
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Huh. Did she do wrong? Was she set up, an innocent victim? Interesting story, well written.
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Thank you so much. I think I’ll have to leave it to you to decide if she’s innocent or not … 🙂
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Great scene, Lynn and wonderfully written, as always.🙂💕
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Thank so much Moon, you’re very kind 🙂
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good story. It is a moral dilemma for a parent. Not being a parent I think she should stay and either prove her innocence or suffer the consequences if guilty. I know after reading a few books like the Dinner, that not many parents agree with me.
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Dear Irene
I hope you don’t mind me putting the opposite point of view.
As a parent I would say that I would (possibly) follow your course of action if I had complete faith in the criminal justice system to determine who was innocent and who guilty, and if I believed that any punishment administered would improve my child’s chances of not re-offending. As neither of these are the case – I would protect my child every time.
With best wishes
Penny
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Yes, very true, Penny. Sadly in these days when good representation in court is hard to come by for those without a few million in their back pocket, there is no guarantee of a fair hearing. A sad state of affairs
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Penny of course you can put your view and yours is common to all the parents I’ve had the discussion with. Perhaps my view would be different if I had children.
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It’s a funny thing parenthood – you can be totally blind to your own child’s faults and threats to them can bring out the inner lioness! I’m sure you’re right, though perhaps the daughter thinks her innocence would not be believed. Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment
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I think a mother has to protect her daughter no matter what’s the reason… hope that she’s innocent though.
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Me too Bjorn. Thank you for reading
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Superbly written, as always, Lynn.
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Thanks so much Neel and thanks for reading 🙂
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This provokes so many questions! Well written.
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Thanks so much Clare 🙂
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You’re welcome! 🙂
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I wonder why the police suspected her – maybe she had a history… but that doesn’t automatically make her guilty. You could follow the story up by tracing her actions which finally lead her to proving her innocence and finding the culprit, but that would be too obvious. Better to leave the mystery.
Immaculate writing, as usual.
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I think she is innocent, but perhaps the circumstanstial evidence is overwhelming – perhaps she’s being framed too. Yes, perhaps best left to the imagination 🙂
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There goes another fictional character – floating around in space, doomed to be forever ignorant of her past and her future…
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Yes, kind of sad, isn’t it, all these diembodied souls created for one short purpose and then disposed of. What cruel creatures writers are 🙂
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And flash fiction writers with a penchant for the dark side are the most cruel of all… mentioning no names 😀 😀 😀
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Haha! 🙂
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Thank you Jane 🙂
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Your descriptions, as always, are stellar… I have to agree with the bitten nail and know that, as a parent, regardless of innocence (and I’m not sure there was a crime or not) will do everything to protect their child…
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Thank you Dale and I think you’re right – most parents would, guilty or not
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It would be difficult not to
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Funny, i thought the parent was a father.
Hope he did the right thing.
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I think it could be a mother or father, Dawn and rest assured, I think he did 🙂
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She may be innocent but running is bad. If the dad is shielding a budding arsonist it will only get worse. Good writing, Lynn. —- Suzanne
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Very true, Suzanne. Hopefully, though, his instincts are right and he’s protecting an innocent. Thank you for reading
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