Chapter 2

The Mystery Continues...

How much longer could Pres. Dean hold it together?

Would he unravel over the loss of the gavel? 

Where was the gavel?

An investigation was launched and the search began.

Back to the beginning, the night it disappeared, who was seen lurking near the podium where the gavel had been innocently set to rest?

Sadly the crowd was suffering from amnesia. No one could remember, or so they said...

Next the newspaper reporter was questioned. What did she really know? Had she seen the perpetrator? Did she know the source of the ransom note? Despite various methods of torture (all within the boundaries set by the Geneva Convention), she wouldn't spill the beans.

The recipient of the donation (local Salvation Army volunteer Jennifer) was questioned (no torture this time, she was an innocent after all). She received the donation from the victim and called the newspaper the same day to let the reporter know that the ransom had been paid. After that she was out of the picture.

Next stop the nearest federal representatives, we needed professional help. Through fog, rain, sleet, and snow they trudge to deliver our mail (most of the time). We went to the Post Office. We sat down with veteran Postal employee and local Postmaster (mistress?) Darla Lee. We went over the facts, we delved into the records, we searched high and low, and once we'd found a working pen we sat down and tried to figure out what the heck was going on. A few tootsie rolls later we had discovered the package had been sent out, delivered to the wrong address, returned, and sent out again, this time with a tracking number. She wasn't willing to disclose the name of sender, but she did have some very interesting information. The package had been delivered in December. But delivered where and into whose hands. That remained a mystery.

A mystery that we still had not solved....

C Ponderosa Lions Club  2007/2008