The Drowned Woman. Terry Lynn Thomas

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СКАЧАТЬ estuaries teaming with wildlife and sea birds and the warm summer sun.

      ‘I should tell you about my family, so you can prepare yourself,’ Zeke said. ‘My father and I don’t get along. I’ll leave it at that. I’ve not seen him in almost four years, so maybe he’s changed. I don’t know. My brother Simon is a ne’er-do-well. My father spoiled him since the day he was born. He hasn’t done a day’s work in his life. Father just throws money at him. Simon gambles, and I would tell you that he is just as bad as my father—’

      ‘But?’ I asked.

      ‘But he has a wonderful wife, Daphne, who is trying her best to force him to grow up. They have a little boy, Toby, who I haven’t seen since he was a baby. My family’s mill has always manufactured textiles, namely velvet for curtains and upholstery. They’ve switched gears since the war and now manufacture silk parachutes. That’s about all I know.’

      ‘Did you work at the plant?’

      ‘Of course,’ Zeke said. ‘We all did – Simon, William, and I. Father demanded it. I returned from Germany in 1939 and moved to San Francisco to work with Wade. He wasn’t happy. I have no idea how things are situated now.’

      ‘You haven’t missed your family? I never hear you speak of them.’

      ‘I miss Granna and Simon at times, but no, I don’t miss my father.’ He smiled at me. ‘My life is with you. I’ve moved on.’

      We had traveled for three hours when my stomach growled.

      ‘Ready for a picnic?’ Zeke asked. He drove off the highway onto a dirt road almost hidden by overgrown shrubs and saplings. He continued about half a mile until we wound up at a gravel parking lot abutting a secluded beach under a steep cliff.

      Despite his injured leg and the cane he now used to walk, Zeke carried the hamper with our food. I knew better than to offer to help him, so I picked up the blanket and followed him along the rocky path which led to the beach. Soon we made our encampment and dug into egg salad sandwiches, potato salad, and canned peaches. The cliff provided a shelter against the wind. The crashing waves served as our background music. When we finished eating, we lay side by side on the blanket, basking in the warm sun as seagulls circled overhead. For that brief moment it seemed as though we had no troubles at all.

      I kissed him. ‘I expected you to forbid me to get involved in Rachel’s murder.’

      ‘I don’t believe in forbidding. I don’t want, nor do I have, that type of control over you. Just stay safe. That’s all I ask. If things get dangerous, I’ll help you. Will you do that?’

      ‘Yes.’ I kissed him again.

      * * *

      From the beach, we headed inland, away from the brisk sea air and into the blazing summer heat. I dozed in the car for the last two hours of the journey and didn’t wake up until we crossed the railroad tracks into Millport. We drove along Main Street, passing a bank, a post office, a pharmacy, a hardware store, a women’s beauty shop, and a diner. People milled along the sidewalks. Some window-shopped, some hurried along at a surprising pace, considering the heat waves which shimmered from the ground. Trickles of sweat beaded between my shoulder blades and ran down my back. When I leaned forward in the seat, my blouse stuck to my skin.

      We rounded the corner and reached a three-story brick building with a row of police cars parked in front. Zeke drove around the block until we found a place to park under the shade of an oak tree. He rolled up his window and took the keys from the ignition.

      ‘I’m here to fix the business I left unfinished three-and-a-half years ago. After that, we are going to leave and – with luck – never come back.’

      We were interrupted by an obnoxious rapping on the driver’s side window. Zeke opened the door and got out of the car. The girl who stood outside moved in to hug him, but he managed to turn his back on her as he opened the back door and took his cane out of the back seat. I got out myself, even though I knew that Zeke would have preferred to come around to open the door for me. We moved toward each other and met by the trunk, the woman following at Zeke’s heels.

      ‘Hello, Sophie,’ Zeke said. ‘I’d like you to meet my wife, Sarah. Sarah, Sophie Winslow.’ Sophie Winslow reminded me of an elf – a mean elf, but an elf nonetheless. She had a pointed nose and big brown eyes which gazed at me with a fair measure of malice. She wore trousers with sturdy walking shoes. Above the waist, she was dressed in a blouse with a collar made of fine lace. A strand of good pearls encircled her long neck.

      ‘Hello.’ She all but ignored me and spoke to Zeke. ‘The cane makes you distinguished, darling,’ she said.

      Zeke moved next to me and enfolded me in the arm that wasn’t holding the cane.

      ‘So is this the new wife?’ Sophie smiled as she said this, aware of my discomfort and taking pleasure in it. ‘She’s had her name in all the papers, I hear.’

      ‘Sophie, when are you going to grow up?’

      ‘I am grown up, darling, and if you stick around long enough, you might discover that for yourself.’ She changed the subject. ‘Daphne’s planned a little reception for you tomorrow night. Mother expects you to come to the house at some point for cocktails and gossip. She’ll want to get a look at Sarah, of course. They all will.’ She faced me. ‘You’ve brought proper clothes?’ She didn’t give me a chance to answer. ‘Never mind. Daphne will help you. She always helps the underdog. God knows, she has a closet full of clothes that she will never wear.’

      Sophie didn’t give either one of us room to get a word in.

      ‘Okay, darlings. Got to run. Kiss, kiss.’ She hurried off, spry and quick, leaving a vacuum of silence in her wake.

      ‘That is Daphne’s little sister,’ Zeke said, as we walked through the blazing heat. ‘Don’t mind her. She’s a little fool.’

      More like a cunning fox. I forced a smile. Zeke held the door for me, and we walked into the police station.

      * * *

      A dark-haired man with a haggard face and tired eyes waited for us in the lobby. He didn’t have a drop of sweat on him, despite the long-sleeved shirt. I didn’t notice his missing arm until he pushed away from the wall. The desk sergeant, an older man whose face resembled a bulldog, looked on as Wade Connor’s brother and Zeke’s childhood friend, Joe, greeted us.

      ‘Welcome, Sarah. I’m so glad to meet you.’ Joe Connor had a warm smile and an easygoing way about him.

      ‘How are you holding up?’ Zeke asked, as he and Joe shook hands.

      ‘No more boxing for me, but I’m managing. I tell myself to be grateful that I only lost an arm. Others fared much worse, believe me. What happened to the leg?’

      ‘No more boxing for me either. One of your brother’s operations went awry.’

      ‘You should get one of those canes with a sword on the inside,’ Joe smiled. ‘Come on. Let’s go to my office so we can talk.’

      We followed Joe down a corridor of smoked glass doors with the names etched in gold letters on the outside. We stopped before one that said ‘Detective Joseph Connor’.

      ‘Impressive.’ СКАЧАТЬ