Realizing how hungry you are, you look for the establishment that appears to have been around the longest.  The one that fits that description is called Dorrie's Restaurant.  It appears to have started out as part of the old town square, but above old darkened brick is newer red brick, showing where part of the area was added on.  Yet, even that bears the look of age.  The old painted sign says Dorrie's, you think, but age and wear has made it a bit hard to read.

Despite your concerns, you walk in, thinking that if it looks too bad inside, you can be happy with a quick cup of coffee and a few questions.  To your delight, the interior looks brand new!  Though filled with memorabilia from the 50s, everything is clean and fresh, and gives you the feeling that they cleaned minutes before you stepped in the door.

You sit down, and a woman who appears to be in her 60s comes immediately to your table with a menu, a glass of water, and a smile.  Her name tag says her name is Mildred.  The welcome you receive from her, and her age, makes her a likely candidate for your questions.  You are thankful that you didn't come here during the lunch rush, because you know that the chances of speaking to her one-on-one would be slim then.  She leaves while you look over the choices, then returns as soon as you close the menu, and gets your order taken to the kitchen.  She returns shortly with your coffee, and you grab the chance to ask her about the restaurant.

She's anxious to tell what she knows, and before long, you know that Mildred and her husband ran the place until he died 5 years ago, and then their daughter, Dorrie, bought it.  Mildred and her husband started the place in 1965 when they bought what was at that time a burnt out building, and they fixed it up as a restaurant, and named it after their daughter.

You ask what it used to be before she bought it, and she told you it had been a small mission started in the town for the homeless people, to give them a place to sleep and eat, as well as hear the Gospel.  She tells you it burned down in a big fire in 1963, and sat unused until they bought it two years later.  You ask the cause of the fire, and her eyes get large and her face serious, as thought she realizes she's told you more than she should.  She shrugs and tells you no one knows. Then she turns and busies herself with cleaning the table next to you that is already sparkling clean.

You sip your coffee until she brings your meal, then you try to catch her in conversation again.  You start by asking her some of the sights to see in town.  She mentions the usual, bell tower, museum, etc.  Then you ask about the strange old house near the East end of the town.  She pauses, then in a low whisper warns you to stay away from that place.  She tells you Lucy Fire dances with the devil, and admits that most of the locals are worried that there might be a repeat of what happened before.

You try to get more out of her, but she won't tell.  She only mentions that it's great that the town of Branchville has a praying mayor, sheriff and pastor.  She she hopes you're a praying person because it may be the only thing that can break the grip.

Sadly, she doesn't return to your table anymore, and you have to flag down another waitress when you need a refill.  You leave her a big tip anyway, because you know the secrets of this town are those not talked about, and you know the risk she took.

Back to the map
If people won't refill my coffee, I'm outta here!