5 Shadows of a Down East Summer by Lea Wait

Author:Lea Wait [Wait, Lea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9781564744975
Publisher: PRSVR
Published: 2010-12-31T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Clusters, Nebulae, and Comets. Black-and-white lithograph from Burritt’s Atlas of the Heavens, 1836. Hole in margin that could be covered by matting. Thirty contiguous, white-framed drawings of comets (e.g., Halley’s Comet, 1682; Great Comet of 1680), clusters (e.g., Cluster in Libra; Perpendicular view of our own cluster), and Nebulae (e.g., Great Spiral Nebula) against black background. 14.5 x 17 inches. Price: $75.

It was Dr. Simpson.

Aunt Nettie’s heartbeat was irregular. It wasn’t serious, but the doctor thought Will should know. They would probably keep his aunt in the hospital for a couple of days.

“That’s the best place for her, under the circumstances,” Maggie said, knowing the words sounded artificial.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Will. “I can’t stand not being able to do anything. We’ve finished eating anyway.”

They stood outside the restaurant and watched the sun set. Cascading streaks of reds and oranges and blues filled the sky and its reflections in the water before disappearing below the hills on the west side of the river.

“Let’s go back to the motel and get some sleep,” Will said reluctantly. “I have a feeling tomorrow is not going to be easy.”

The wide bed in the motel looked inviting, but the day’s physical and emotional exhaustion had taken its toll. Maggie and Will found quiet comfort in each other’s arms, but the black lace nightgown left on the “crime scene” floor was neither needed nor missed.

Will’s first waking thought was for Aunt Nettie. He dialed the hospital. Her condition was the same.

“Drive me back to her house,” he said to Maggie. “I can get my RV, so we don’t have to be joined at the hip. And let’s hope we can get back into the house to get some clean clothes.”

On the way he gestured to Maggie to pull into a Dunkin’ Donuts. They ordered two bagels, one with salmon cream cheese and one with chive, to go, and a cup of coffee, black. Maggie hoped she could retrieve a diet cola from Aunt Nettie’s refrigerator.

If not, she’d make do with the bagel. They weren’t New York bagels, but for Maine, they’d do.

Yellow crime scene tape was still around the house, and one crime lab van and two sheriff’s department cars were parked in the street. Maggie found a place to pull over further down the street, silently thanking her years of parallel parking experience in New York City. About a dozen neighbors were standing around, watching to see if anything of interest would happen.

“Lookie Lous,” Maggie commented, as she and Will walked past them. “They’ve probably known your aunt all of their lives, and want to know what’s happened.”

“Don’t worry; they know what’s happened,” Will assured her drily. “In Waymouth, anyone at all interested probably knew about the break-in and Aunt Nettie’s being in the hospital before we checked into the motel last night. Which no doubt they now know about, too.”

Maggie stayed on the street, reassessing the joys of small towns, as Will stepped over the yellow tape and knocked at the house’s open front door.

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