a tale as old as time

"you can never go wrong with a good book. bonus if it's a little smutty," she grinned. "aw, thanks, beautiful. lovely to meet you too and what a way to meet, huh? great question. i feel like we should keep it food themed... marinara sauce? or is that too big a mouthful?"

"rita, you little minx" she laughed at the cheekiness of the other woman. "it does feel a little long." belle thought the conundrum over for a moment "how about meatball? sticks with the italian theme"

"Ooh, like good-cop, bad-cop?" Tina asked, suddenly quite thrilled at the notion of getting to be a real bitch to someone under the guise of the other person smoothing everything over. She glanced at the tool in her hand. "Maybe the threat of a hammer to the knee would be enough?"

"not intentionally, but i do believe the best way to inform someone of their inappropriateness is to educate them. they won't action something they don't understand" something about tina had belle thinking that they had two different approaches in mind "again, there's a whole legal thing there. please don't hit anyone with hammers"

"that is my next step. i don't want to come to them just yet, not without a little more to offer. it's always hit or miss, you know? some people will feel like i'm stepping on their toes no matter what my intentions are. that it does, darling," he smiled. gabe doubted it would be so simple but he certainly could hope. he wanted to know everything about this town, though, to turn every stone. "yes, it has been a shock to the system." gabe chuckled at her question. every person he'd met, he'd shaken their hand and given them a card. and yes, many he had noted down as potential suspects. they were cleared later, of course. "i've met a few people, yes. i don't know if you'd call them 'friends', mind you. there's... also a woman."

"i think as long as you're approaching the police with some sort of evidence that is worth them evaluating then i think they'd hear you out. they'd have to. they can't ignore something that would change their case" she offered. it sounded so simple to run into the sunset and live the rest of their lives in peaceful bliss. it would be lovely. they wouldn't have to worry about these poisonings. "a good shock to the system, i hope" she smiled "i take it you're calling them as suspects for now until you can rule them out?" wait, a woman? there was a woman? interesting "and how are you feeling about said woman? clearly she's standing out compared to the rest in your eyes. would i know who she is?"

"Do you have any… advice for how to get rid of them that doesn't involve throwing a hammer at them?" Tina asked. She may or may not have gently suggested to one not-so-innocent mansplainer that he could mansplain how to remove a wrench from his… I'll let you finish the rest.

"i'm not sure. admittedly i'm not the most confrontational person but i do always find maybe doubling up with someone can help. or having a discussion with them to explain why what they're doing is inappropriate." it wasn't much to offer but it was something "i would suggest avoiding throwing hammers, there's a whole legal issue right there that's worth avoiding"

"sounds like a good book you've had your nose in," she grinned. listen, the focaccia looked really damn good. almost as good as her. "i'm rita, by the way. we should probably be on a first name basis in case they quiz us. if we get separated at any time, just shout the code word and i'll come running."

"it does seem to be paying off since i moved here" she smiled and nodded her head "lovely to meet you rita, i'm belle. i'll keep that in mind, what's the code word we're sticking to?"

Once the screwdriver was in Tina's hand, she set to work on mending a particularly annoying piece of hardware. She was rather focused on it, despite Belle looking for conversation, and refused to look up as she spoke.

belle stood next to tina while she was working and happily listened to her talk about the unfortunately names macho men that would try and mansplain something they knew nothing about "that's sounds accurate. it happens all the time with those type of guys in different topics"

"awful, isn't it?" compelling, too. perhaps a little exciting, but gabe knew when and where to express such things. he felt in his bones that the chase was far from over. "thank you, sweetheart, i appreciate your unwavering faith in me and my gut. i hope just the same. in fact, i'd like nothing more than for us to ride off into a gentle sunset and leave behind all this treachery. you are an angel, you know that?" gabe chuckled at her comment, knowing the truth of it very well. "well, thank you. i think i've settled in alright although, i admit, the small town friendliness is something to get used to."

if anyone was going to crack the case, it would be gabe. "always and anytime. have you discussed your suspicions with the police department at all?" she asked curiously. surely they'd be willing to hear out gabe's theory "riding off into the sunset does sound blissfully peaceful, doesn't it?" one could only dream that they'd have such peace in town again "that's good to hear. it is a change from the city attitude, but it's nice to see people show up for one another here. have you made any new friends that you don't have on a suspect board?"

belle smiled down at the little girl that enthusiastically shoved her the bag "thank you very much, miss dandelion. you're a wonderful helper" the young child was adorable and it had belle hoping that someday she might be lucky enough to have a bundle of joy. "would you like to sweep the leaves into the bag for me?"

"nothin' wrong with that, beautiful. me? no, not me. they-," she gestured to the restaurant- "are having a 'make connections', 'single mingle', 'free lunch if you're lookin' for a little something something' thing. and i'm not saying you are, but if you're willing to take a chance on me right now, we can get some free focaccia. what d'ya say?"

belle blushed at the compliment casually tossed her way. she turned to look at the restaurant that was advertising the single mingle lunch. she did want to get out to meet new people and no better time like the present "free focaccia you say...you know what? sure, why not. life is about stepping outside your comfort zone, or so i've read"

Tina was relieved that someone else moved the person on before she threw a tool at him. This was as nice as she was going to get today. He was lucky.

from any onlookers it looked like belle was saving tina from whatever the stranger was saying, but in reality, belle was aware that she was saving the stranger from tina bell.

"i think it's all a little too tidy, belle. i look at the facts presented and i can't help but think we still need to take a step back. there's a bigger picture, there's another picture... a picture within the picture... ah-," gabe scoffed before waving a hand and shaking his head. "maybe i'm losing my touch. how are you doing, sweetheart?"

"i can't help but feel like you're right. it feels too quick to be over. it feels like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop" gabe's inception theory wasn't a bad one. belle was a woman of logic and facts and she was inclined to agree with him. "i don't think you're losing your touch. i think you're onto something. i only hope that no one else gets injured, the people in this town have suffered enough." she sighed "i'm doing well, thank you. helping where i can in between teaching. how have you been other than driving yourself mad it seems"

While Tina and James had ultimately decided not to attend any Halloween events, it was only a blessing in that they were safe at home, not stuck inside some uncomfortable, overcrowded place. That did not mean that Tina was safe from the inner workings of her own brain, of course, but that wasn't a conversation she was going to open with anyone just yet.

belle had been one of the many people to volunteer to help tidy up the town after the storm. she had noticed there was someone hanging around where tina was working looking annoying and she had approached shooing him away

"All wrapped up in a bow..." Gabe mused to no one in particular, looking thoughtfully into the distance before taking a long sip from his complimentary juice box. @happieststarters

finishing up on her blood donation, belle looked up from her book "i take it you've heard the news of the arrest. what do you think?"