A Crooked Cottage by the Sea by Miller John Anthony

Author:Miller, John Anthony
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Published: 2023-04-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Six

Lillian sat at the telephone table in her living room. “He’s leaving for the base early tomorrow morning,” she said, talking to Griff Stevens.

“What did he do all weekend?”

“He relaxed on Friday morning, spent some time on the terrace. And he went into town with Billie in the afternoon.”

“Did they buy anything? I’m just curious.”

“He always buys something.”

“Interesting,” he said. “Like what?”

“The last time they went into town he bought an old baseball card and a small Art Deco clock, something to put on a desk or maybe a bedroom nightstand. I know they were both expensive.”

“Why would he buy a baseball card?”

“He loves sports, although he talks about football more than baseball. He roots for the Washington teams, which I thought was curious since he grew up in Vermont. I thought he’d support Boston.”

“What did he get this time?”

“He bought a ‘30’s lavender vase. It’s unique, twists and turns, but it didn’t seem like anything special. But he told me it’s highly collectable and quite valuable.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed he collects glassware.”

“I think it’s Art Deco items that he’s interested in. But he doesn’t hesitate to spend money. He told me he has a whole room at his house dedicated to his collection.”

“It seems that there’s much more to Derek than what we see.”

“He’s actually an interesting man,” Lillian said. “But it’s hard to pry him away from his work. Unless he’s watching the ball game on TV.”

“What about Billie?” he asked. “Does she buy anything?”

Lillian thought for a moment. “No, not really, only a few books now and then. But she’s only kept one or two—and nothing expensive, like signed first editions. She reads them and then trades them in for credit towards her next purchase.”

“She’s frugal, he’s not.”

“They’re very different personalities, interesting to watch, actually. Billie seems grateful for everything, even simple things like a nice day or a squirrel or a blue jay. She talks about it a lot, how beautiful a flower is, or a scent on the breeze, or the shape of the clouds—stuff most people never notice. And I told you that she loves to talk about her kids. I think she really misses them.”

“I was only curious,” Griff said. He was quiet for a moment, as if plotting their next move. “I’m much more interested in the briefcase than their personalities. Did you see anything?”

“He had some papers scattered on the table while he was out on the terrace. He likes to spend the morning out there, especially on Sunday.”

“Any maps of missile locations?” he asked.

She sighed, recalling what he was reading. “No, he didn’t have any maps this time. He was looking at drawings, diagrams of what looked like a rocket.”

“More missile information,” he muttered.

“I had hoped to get photographs, but I wasn’t able to.”

“How about when they went into town?”

“No, nothing,” she said. “He hid the briefcase on the closet shelf, but it was empty.”

“He may have put the papers in the safe before he went into town.”

“He probably did, because he didn’t take anything with him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.