A Haunted Disappearance by J A Whiting

Author:J A Whiting [Whiting, J A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J A Whiting
Published: 2015-12-16T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Lin practically jogged through town heading for Tangerine Street. A cool breeze off the ocean sent shivers over her skin. When she turned the corner, she could see that a crowd of people had gathered under a streetlight on the opposite side of the road from the house where the young man had been found murdered. She slowed her pace so that she could try to pick up on what people were saying as they passed by her on the dark sidewalk.

Lin took up a spot on the sidewalk at the edge of the crowd. She glanced at the house. It seemed that every light was on inside illuminating the interior so that Lin could see the shadows of police officers and other authority figures passing by the windows. Imagining the scene inside the home caused her to shudder. She sucked in a deep breath, turned, and scanned the people who were standing in small groups chatting and whispering with each other.

She spotted a familiar form leaning against the rough bark of a tall, thick tree. Lin walked up to him. “Hey.”

Leonard turned to her. “Hey back at you.”

“Gawking?” Lin asked.

“Yup. You, too?”

“Yes. What have you heard?” Lin kept gazing around at the people trying to see if anyone she recognized had joined the crowd.

“Not much.” Leonard’s eyes narrowed. “You know who they found in there?”

Lin nodded. “Now two young people are dead.”

“Don’t be so negative, Coffin. They haven’t found the girl’s body. She might be alive.”

Lin held Leonard’s eyes and she cocked her head.

The tall man scowled. “It’s possible.” He shrugged. “Well, isn’t it?”

“No.” Lin scanned the groups of people again. “I wish it was possible, but it’s not.” She looked at Leonard. “Why are you in town?”

“I drive in sometimes.” Leonard’s jaw gave a twitch. “I had a beer down at the docks. It’s somethin’ to do. Gets me out of the house.”

Lin studied the man’s face for a minute. Leonard had a sadness that sometimes came over him when he didn’t think anyone was paying attention. “Do you have any family on-island?”

“Nah. I moved here with my wife. She was a native, convinced me to live here.”

“Where’d you come from?”

“Western Massachusetts. All my family is gone now.”

“Mine, too. Except for Viv.” Lin pushed her hair back from her face. “You know Libby Hartnett from town? She told me that she and I are distant relatives. Very distant.”

Leonard stared at Lin. “Ms. Hartnett? And you?”

Lin eyed him. “Yeah, why?”

Leonard shifted his attention back to the house. “Interestin.’ That’s all.”

“You’ve lived on-island for a long time?” Lin asked.

“For forty years.”

Lin’s jaw dropped. “How old were you when you got married? Five?”

Leonard let out a guffaw and quickly stifled himself when some people on the edge of the gawkers turned and gave him a disapproving look. “I was twenty.”

“You’re sixty? I don’t believe it.”

“You gotta believe it.” Leonard pushed off the tree and stood straight. “Ain’t got my birth certificate on me at the moment.”

Lin smiled and then shifted topic.

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.