CHAPTER 1
"Don't drop that!" Lynda Floyd shouted at her youngest sister Sinda, who had placed her grape juice can too close to the edge of the windowsill. Cheri Floyd, being 11 years old and the middle sister, just grinned at the delicious thought of her 8-year-old sister Sinda getting into more trouble. Cheri also smiled at Lynda, the oldest of the 3 Floyd sisters. Lynda was 13 but acted much older. She always took charge when Mother was at work.
Presently, they were in their mother’s office at High Tech Electronics in Richardson, Texas, just north of Dallas. Cheri loved to come to this office building because every floor was filled with all kinds of computers and electronic devices. High Tech was well known for its innovative computer software products that were developed in the “Silicon Prairie” and sold worldwide.
Cheri's smile widened as the juice can began to slide off the windowsill. There was justice after all! It's not that Mother and Dad liked Sinda best, but she sure got the lion's share of attention. Cheri's smile turned into a scream as the juice can hit the floor. The purple liquid flew out of the top and splashed on some of her computer magazines she had placed on a table too close to the window.
"Oh no! I just spent all my allowance on those magazines! Quick! Someone get a towel!"
The two older sisters raced for paper towels from the nearby bathroom in the hall. Sinda just stood there. Her body seemed frozen but her mind was racing. “Mother will sure get mad and maybe ground me again for maybe a week, maybe a month. And I won’t be able to see my friends and maybe I can’t watch TV either. “
Lynda and Cheri were now mopping up the wet carpet. Lynda gave Sinda some towels and told her quite sternly to get busy and help clean up the mess she made. Sinda hoped her sisters would not be mad for very long. She depended on her older sisters to help her out of trouble and Sinda had to admit that she always seemed to be in trouble.
The girls' mother Jean Floyd sighed as she looked at the mess and at her beautiful daughters. They had just moved to Texas from California six months ago and she hoped that she had done the right thing. The divorce had been rough on all of them and a move wasn't good news either. Still, she had received a fantastic job offer as a computer software technician at High Tech Electronics. The girls would spend summers in Coronado, California, with their father Larry who was a private detective.
Her parents were not happy with her move to the Dallas area. They thought she should come home to Tempe, Arizona, where she was born, raised, and went to college at Arizona State University. How could she raise three young girls all by herself? But Jean insisted and here they were. She concluded that it wouldn't be easy and wished there was a parents’ handbook with lots of advice.
“Can ya use a mop, Mrs. Floyd?” Mother’s memories were interrupted by JT Nelson. JT, the company security guard, came into her office holding a bedraggled mop that had once been new and white. “Thanks, JT, I’m afraid the girls made a bit of a mess by the window sill,” commented Mother.
“We will clean it up,” said Lynda, “Mother, you have enough to worry about today. Don’t worry about this mess.”
JT gave the mop to Lynda while scrutinizing the girls. His eyes narrowed when he realized that Lynda and Cheri were looking closely at him also. JT was at least 6’ 5” tall with dark, wavy hair. He always wore boots, jeans, and a belt that had his initials on it. His appearance reminded Lynda of the cowboys she had seen on television. Lynda had heard from Carlena, the company receptionist and gossip, that Nelson was a widower. She thought he might be a good date for Mother and might have a son who looked just like him.
JT smiled.
“Duty calls. I’ll leave a note for the custodian tonight to clean a tad better in that area.” With that said, JT walked so quickly out the door that he almost ran into Sinda, who was now standing near the door. His cowboy boots clicked hard along the hall floor.
Cheri whispered to Lynda, “He looked at us kinda funny. I’m not sure I like him.”
“I know what you mean,” Lynda whispered back, “He seemed suspicious of us or something.”
The girls looked at one another. What was that all about?
The Floyd Sister Mysteries is a series of stories written by two sisters, Sinda Floyd Slagle and Cheri Floyd Mills. Sinda lives in Reno, Nevada and Cheri lives in Dallas, Texas. The mystery series is loosely based on their childhood with older sister Lynda Floyd Stiles who lives in Wylie, Texas.
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