The Loft

Written for MLMM Monday Wordle;
the prompt words are shown below.

cheers ~ choir ~ grand ~ ill ~ man ~ place
reserved ~ rest ~ stool ~ together ~ turn ~ twinkle

Retired police chief Stan Robson pushed open the door of the dusty old tavern, nothing grand about it, just a small place that hadn’t changed in decades. The stool at the end of the bar was reserved …. had been for thirty years, according to the yellowed note taped to the back.

“That was Eddie’s spot,” the bartender said, giving the glass he was wiping an extra turn, just for good measure. “Old choir director. Folks say he vanished right around closing time, and never came back.”

Stan had heard the rumors: Eddie had made himself ill with guilt over something, some said, though no one agreed on what. The twinkle in his eye had dimmed those final weeks, like a man carrying a secret too heavy to set down.

He ordered a drink. “Cheers,” the bartender muttered, though his eyes stayed wary.

Retired or not, Stan was curious about the disappearance. Digging through old records in the church choir loft, he found it …. a nondescript ledger, buried under mounds of account books and papers …. names, numbers, and a note written by a shaky hand. Eddie hadn’t vanished. He’d been silenced, right after threatening to expose the choir’s stolen funds.

The town wanted to rest easy, forget the past, but Stan couldn’t ignore what he’d found. Tomorrow, he’d bring them together …. every remaining choir member …. and finally ask the question no one wanted answered.

NAR©2026
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This is “Dirty Laundry” Don Henley

MLMM Monday Wordle #487

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}