The Anderson Girls were still talking in the spare bedroom. It was now about ten o’clock. At that point, the girls were talking about Elliott’s house in comparison to the mansion that they lived in.585Please respect copyright.PENANAYYY7k0d6S7
“I can’t believe the backyard doesn’t have a pool,” Dory said. “What kind of house doesn’t have a pool?”
“Well, there is a giant mud puddle back there,” Callie said
“The mud puddle can be a pool,” Elsie said. “If you’re a poor person.”
Callie and Elsie laughed together.
“Look at this room!” Dory said. “You call this a bedroom? It’s freaking small!”
“Yeah, our rooms are about five times bigger than this!” Robbie said.
“The closet in here is so puny, it’s pathetic,” Elsie said. “It would never be able to hold all of my dresses.”
“I feel sorry for anybody that spends the night at Elliott’s house,” Dory said.
“Yeah,” Lily said. “Some mayor that he is. He can’t even provide a decent room for somebody who would want to spend the night.”
“Who would want to spend the night here?” Dory asked. “This bed is as boring as hell.”
“Yeah, and it doesn’t even have a canister!” Heidi said.
“Not only that,” Dory said. “But the colors are boring. What kind of bed has plain white sheets and plain white pillows?”
“Apparently that one does,” Poppy said.
“I’ll tell you how a bed should be,” Dory said. “It should have colored, decorated sheets and pillows. There should be several pillows, not just two. The pillows should be extremely soft. And yes, it should have a canister.”
“And if you’re a little girl like us,” Callie said. “The canister should be draped on the side in pink. And it should be covered in stuffed animals.”
“Just like our beds!” Robbie said.
“Yeah!” Molly yelled. “Just like our beds!”
“Shut up, Molly,” Dory said. “You just barely stopped sleeping in a crib.”
Elsie giggled. “I wonder what that Sullivan girl’s bed looks like. I bet it’s as boring as all hell. I hope she doesn’t ever invite us to a slumber party. Not that I would mind laughing in her face if she tried to invite us.”
Dory laughed.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Callie asked: “Hey Dory, who do you think did it?”
“Who do I think did what?” Dory asked.
“Who do you think killed Freeman?”
Dory thought for a moment.
“I’m thinking it was Stewart,” she said.
“Why him?” Callie asked.
“Didn’t you hear him bitching about Freeman at the Fourth of July celebration? Apparently, he wants payments for some stupid boat. And, what do you know, as soon as Freeman enters the party, he gets angry about it. Next thing you know, Freeman bites the dust.”
“Yeah,” Callie said. “That makes sense. I agree.”
All the other girls nodded in agreement.
Or, every girl except Heidi. She had a worried look on her face.
“What’s wrong, Heidi?” Elsie asked.
“What if it was Daddy?” Heidi asked.
All the girls stared at her in horror.
“How could you think that?!” Callie shrieked.
“Daddy hates Freeman,” Heidi said. “Because he found Freeman sleeping with Mommy several years ago. Daddy has wanted revenge ever since. He could have gotten his revenge tonight.”
All of the girls gasped.
“Dory,” Callie said. “Do you want me to hit her?”
“No,” Dory said. She climbed off of the bed and walked over to Heidi.
“I’ll do it myself,” Dory said. And with that she struck Heidi in the face.
“Owww!!” Heidi squealed. With both hands on her face, she fell over and squirmed on the ground in pain
“Ow! Ow! Owwwww!!”
“DON’T EVER CALL DADDY A KILLER!” Dory screamed.
She climbed back onto the bed and lay back down.
Heidi yelped and squirmed for about a minute. Then, she sat up. Her face had a large red mark on it.
All the girls stared at her in anger. Molly crossed her arms.
“I’m sorry,” Heidi said.
“You should be,” Dory said. “Daddy bought you three dresses, two stuffed rabbits, and a golden necklace at the store yesterday and today you are calling him a killer. You ungrateful little bitch.”
Heidi stared at the floor.
“Stewart killed Freeman,” Dory said. “And if you don’t think that, then you need to have your head examined.”
"Hey Dory, can we go for a walk or something?" Elsie asked. "Maybe go and pick on Dennis some more?"
"Yeah, we've been sitting here talking for like two hours," Callie said. "Let's go move around a bit."
"Nah, I just got comfortable," Dory said.
"Aw, come on!" Elsie shouted. "I'm tired of sitting down!"
“My butt’s falling asleep!” Lily shouted.
“So is mine!” Poppy shouted.
"So is mine!" Molly shouted.585Please respect copyright.PENANAcau17DKWiW
"What does this mean?" Dory asked, pointing at the ribbon in her hair.
"You're the leader," the girls all said groaning.
"That's right," Dory said. "I am the leader and I say we stay in here until I say otherwise. If you decide not to listen to me, we're going to have a serious issue. A very serious issue. Do I make myself clear?"585Please respect copyright.PENANAdPQ59Co5Ac
The girls all nodded. Callie grunted under her breath.
“I need to use the ladies room,” Dory said, climbing off of the bed. “I’ll be back in a minute. If anyone sits on the bed, I’m going to smack every one of you."
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