Lanterna Rally

Author: K. Lyn Kennedy

Publisher: BK Wright

Published: 2019-09-22

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 1618455095

Local. Physician. Mysteriously. Murdered. The headline caught the attention of everyone at Knotty’s, a high end hair salon owned by Gary Turner and Gordy Baxter. A detective out to prove his worth bumps Gary to the top of the list of suspects just because of a little white lie. Gary and his buddy Gordy had dreamed of opening a bed and breakfast as a side business to their bustling cardiology practice, but that dream landed flat on its butt when the house they purchased was teeming with termites. They lost a pretty penny on that little venture. Instead, they opened a hair salon, Knotty’s, where Gary is the head stylist. It’s a time sucking money pit, and the murdered doctor agreed to help them out but later reneged, forcing Gary to make a secretive deal with an eccentric friend. But that friend is mysteriously found dead as well. If Gary killed the doctor as well as his friend, he would be off the hook for paying them back. But Gary is no murderer. It’s not in his nature. Or is it? There are suspects aplenty in this murder mystery… a bitter ex-wife, a vengeful ex-companion of the male persuasion, and a number of pretty boys the slain doctor called friends. *** Gary and Gordy flipped a coin to decide who would turn the lock. Gary won, of course, with his lucky two-headed silver dollar. With Gordy right behind him, Gary cleared his throat and flipped the switch, instantly flooding the room with white lights that twinkled with specks of blue, green, purple and pink. “Damn, Gary! This homage to disco you’ve created could cause a stroke.” “I will take that as a compliment,” Gary retorted, continuing to survey his domain. That was nearly a year ago. Gary and Gordy had talked for years about opening a side business to their bustling careers as cardiologists. Gordy thought Gary was crazy when he talked of opening a salon. “Do you know anything at all about cutting and styling hair?” “Of course I do. Well, I’ve watched. Okay, I grew up around it. Plus, I do know what looks good on me,” he said, as he ran his hand through his short, styled locks. “And you know how I love a good hair product. With my own salon, I can get anything I want… wholesale!” Gordy shook his head but decided to give it a chance. Naming the salon caused a bit of a tiff between the lifelong friends. Gary wanted to name it Twisting Turner or Baxter’s Buns, but Gordy preferred something a little more staid, like No Fuss Beauty Salon. “Gordy, my man,” Gary said, as he took him by the arm and led him around the sparkly salon, “with no fuss, there is no beauty,” raising his voice with each syllable. “Well, it’s got to have a name,” Gordy retorted, none too happy that his idea had been outright rejected. “And it has to be sexy, stunning, and jaw dropping, just like me,” Gary added, crossing his arms. Brainstorming led to sleepless nights, name calling, and one time the two friends spent two whole days avoiding each other. Finally, they decided that since Gary was the face of the salon and the one who had gone to the effort of becoming a stylist, the name of the salon would be his choice, no matter how tacky. “Hmm,” Gary said, as he stroked his imaginary goatee. “I’m thinking… I’m thinking… Scissors.” “That’s it? Scissors?” He gave Gordy a sneer. “Blades?” “That sounds like a place to get sliced and diced.” “Coronary cuts.” “You’re joking, right? We’re not at the hospital.” “Hmm,” Gary murmured, as he stared out the window. “Damn it to… I’ve got it! The salon will be named Sassy’s, a salon experience.” “But, Gary, that implies that Sassy is a person and the salon was named after that person.” “Hmm… so it does, so it does. Give me another minute.” Gary’s mind was flooded with ideas, though many of his ideas were not appropriate for a salon or any other professional establishment. “I’ve got it, yes indeedy I do. The name of the salon will be Knotty’s. Underneath the name, the words ‘A Cut Above’.” Gordy liked the idea. It was naughty in a good way… a different spin on the word. A Cut Above was the perfect addition to the main name. Their salon would be a cut above the rest. Gary would demand it. And their dream became a reality.