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ROGUES: TALES FROM THE VALLEY Another empty house blown up, and something smells funny In which the detective is suspicious, Dawn is shaken and Jasmine anxious to get on with the show Comment By Lyda Woods For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Lyda Woods For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 3, 2014 at 6:23 PM By Lyda Woods For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 3, 2014 at 6:23 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Laying out the dots, looking for connections • Talking turkey: What's in a nickname? • Squeezing psyches in the aisles at Shop’n Kart • ROGUES: Tales from the Valley: Sherry and Dawn prepare for a psychodrama weekend... • Escape from the mummy like a Marx brothers' comedy • Search for Sherry leads through Talent • Babycakes comes along on a trip to the hypnotist • Sisters talk about something other than their late, maybe not-so-great dad... • Barely bearing a brother's poetry • Yoga class ends with a bang, not a whimper • Sibling rivalry spices lunch, but affection sweetens it » Social News Part 7 of the fictionalized adventures of two sisters, Sherry and Dawn, one Medford-bred, the other Ashland-loving, and their adventures across the Rogue Valley. Find prior chapters at www.dailytidings.com. After the explosion in Talent, the police screeched down the street, sirens blaring in the gritty dust steaming off the crumbling house. Detective Mark Penny asked Blue and I to join him next to his police cruiser for a chat. “Do you have any idea who is doing this?” I asked. “Let me ask the questions, please.” Penny’s bass voice was full of warning. “Has anyone been hurt?” Blue asked. The detective glared at her. “No. Despite three bombings, no one has been hurt. Now it’s my turn. Why were you here?” His face took on a hard sheen and the burnt air filled with tension. “We’re looking for my sister, Sherry. She was going to show this house but she disappeared. She’s been missing for a week. We’re retracing her steps.” A breeze blew a swath of odor toward me from the broken house. What was that smell? Under the charcoal and melted tar, I could sense something like sweaty garlic and patchouli. My nose tingled. “What’s her full name and yours?” Penny asked me. “Jones. Sharona like the song. I’m Dawn Sequoia, her older sister. Are we suspects?” “Everyone is a person of interest right now.” After more questions and no answers from Detective Penny, he let us go. Back at home in Ashland, Blue promised to find out more about Sherry’s clients while I was late for rehearsal at the Ashland Elks. My hands shook as I packed up props for dress rehearsal. I sat down, drew a deep breath, and took stock. I was a suspect. Sherry could be dead for all I knew. I had almost gotten blown up. My nose was acting up and my gut was a quivering gelatinous mass of anxiety. But I couldn’t miss rehearsal. The Ashland Elks own a huge four-story building on Main Street. On Halloween night, our interactive mystery, “Scarlet Ribbons,” a disco-whodunit, would open in the cavernous dining room, alongside a stuffed elk named Teddy, whom we were treating as a character. Several Elks members were collaborating with us on lights and music, and some were taking roles as “high-participation” characters. I was directing the show, which I’d written and then customized for the Elks. Jasmine greeted me in costume as I rushed into the dining room loaded down with voodoo dolls, wigs, shoes, bongos, a boom box and glitter scarves. “We just finished running our lines for Act One.” She grabbed the gold platform boots, to match her flowing, tie-dyed caftan. The psychedelic colors glowed next to her mocha skin. “Great. Let’s work on the clue tours, starting with the voodoo one.” I gave dolls to each actor as we stood in a circle. Jasmine, who was playing Herculeana, the world-traveling spiritualist, led the group, with the other actors pretending to be audience members. “Tonight we will practice white magic to soothe ourselves after the hideous murder you just witnessed. Let’s start by charging up our dolls.” We ran through the activity and thenm, while actors worked on other clue tours, I pulled Jasmine aside to get her input on my morning adventures. “Dawn, that is seriously scary. Do you think the bomber was there, watching you?” “Why do you think that?” “I suspect they make sure no one is near the place when it blows. How else are they managing not to hurt anyone?” “Makes sense. I didn’t see anyone watching though.” “Maybe Sherry saw someone. Maybe that’s why she’s missing.” Next week: Nerves are jangled at Ashland's Halloween parade, more because of quitting smoking (cigarettes) than scary spirits.   By Lyda Woods For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Lyda Woods For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 3, 2014 at 6:23 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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