(Note: this isn’t exactly what the prompt says, but same difference.)

My dog, Charlie brings me our town’s newspaper, The New News, (cheesy, right?) everyday. I wake up every morning with him slobbering all over it and my face, so I should know.

I know nobody reads newspapers anymore, but my friend writes for it, so I don’t get a choice, you know?

Also, I like to play games.

Hailee doesn’t actually “write” for the newspaper, she just makes up the crosswords. Which I only play because she usually has hidden messages for me in them. (I “uncover” them by putting water on the paper.) Now, they’re usually stupid like “Your dumb dog farted on me when I babysat him last night.” But lately, they’ve been weird.

She’s been saying things like “You remember where my address is?” or “Call me.” But when I go to her house or call her everything seems normal.

Today, I flip to the crossword and I already have my water ready.

I pour my water on there and nothing shows up.

She’s probably just been saying all this weird stuff so she could do this and laugh in my face because I was worried about her.

But honestly, I am worried.

I call her.

She doesn’t answer.

I caller her again.

She doesn’t answer.

I finally decide I should go check on her.

I’m probably just paranoid.

I knock on her door.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

She doesn’t answer.

I don’t know what to do. I’m worried about her, but maybe she’s just not home?

My gut feeling says she’s not just “not home”.

She can’t be.

I know that if I call the cops they won’t do anything.

So I’ll go to them.

I go to the police station. “Yes ma’am?” The man at the counter says through the glass between us.

“Um, yes, sir, well it’s probably not really that serious at all, but I have a friend, her name is Hailee, and see, she works for the newspaper and she usually sends silly little messages to me through it, but lately they’ve been kind of worrying, and so today she hasn’t been answering me at all and she won’t answer when I knock on her door, so maybe just check on her?”

The officer looks at me like he’s seen a ghost. Maybe I was talking too fast?

“What’s her last name?”

“Hailee’s?”

“Yes, Hailee.”

Oh, I’m stupid. How could they check on her if they don’t know exactly who she is?

“Oh, sorry. Her last name is Fawn.”

“Hailee Fawn?”

“Yes…?” What’s so wrong with that?

“She’s been dead for two weeks.”