An Unholy Death—A Novella by Leslie Budewitz

Author:Leslie Budewitz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mysteries & Thrillers
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Published: 2023-08-09T00:00:00+00:00

∞

The next two days, the threesome, and Buster, fell into a rhythm. Grace proved enormously helpful, having been something of a housekeeper for her father as well as cook and daughter. Paddy left after breakfast Friday morning, Kate’s letters in his pocket. Buster settled into his guard post in the tiny front yard. Kate and Grace washed up and tidied the house, then readied a basket of fresh garden vegetables a churchwoman had brought by for a hearty soup.

Midday, Kate and Grace walked to the shop with Paddy’s lunch, exchanging a few words with the shopkeepers and villagers they met on the streets. After he’d eaten, Paddy took the wagon out to make deliveries, and Kate kept shop with Grace as her assistant. Late that afternoon, Laura Peterman dropped in again, bringing her daughter, Elizabeth, and Kate readily agreed to Laura’s suggestion that the girls walk down to the bay for a bit of fresh air. The two practically bounced as they headed out the door and down Front Street.

“Thank you,” Kate said. “I’d hoped Grace would want to spend time with other girls her age, but she hadn’t mentioned any friends and I’m too new in town to know all the adults, let alone their children.”

“I’ll confess, I wanted a moment with you,” Laura said. “To ask how Grace is doing, and how you’re holding up. But also to confirm a few things for the funeral service and the burial at Lone Pine.”

Paddy had pointed out the cemetery, a few miles north of town, but she’d had no reason to visit yet. “It’s a lovely spot, and the mountains are stunning, but—” Kate broke off, holding her hand to her heart. “Is it fanciful to think he might be lonely there, so far from the land where he was raised, and from his late wife’s grave?”

“One is never alone, or lonely, when one accepts God’s grace. As Reverend Haugen most surely did.”

Kate sighed. “I only wish he’d designated someone to care for his daughter, if he died.” Surely a man who frequently confronted human mortality would have thought about his daughter’s future.

“I have the impression that there were family difficulties. As happens from time to time.”

Would Kate’s letter make those difficulties better or worse? Had she meddled where she ought not?

“The churchwomen will organize a picnic lunch after the burial,” Laura continued. “Since the church hall is being used by the school right now, we can eat at the cemetery after the burial, if the weather holds, or plan to gather in the school, if you’d prefer.”

She had no preference, no reason to have one. It was good of Laura Peterman to ask, out of courtesy for her temporary guardianship of the girl, but she had no idea what to do.

“Which would you choose?”

“I would choose a picnic on the cemetery lawn. It’s the custom back East, and I’ve always enjoyed it.”

“Where back East did you come from?” Kate wasn’t good at identifying accents, probably because she’d been so few places herself.

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.