Blackwater: The Complete Caskey Family Saga by McDowell Michael

Author:McDowell, Michael [McDowell, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Occult, Horror, Fiction, Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Tough Times Publishing
Published: 2014-08-28T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 44

Creosote

One cloudless pink dawn in September 1938, Frances Caskey was sitting on the front porch of her family’s house with her towel draped over her shoulder and a bathing suit on under her dress, waiting for Miriam to emerge from the house next door. No one in the family had been able to determine just why Miriam took Frances to the beach with her every day. It might have been to allay any suspicion that she was meeting a boy in Pensacola, it might have been that Miriam was surreptitiously glad of her sister’s company, but whatever the reason Frances was happy to be taken along. On this particular morning, however, Frances waited but Miriam did not come. Although the two sisters had gone to the beach nearly every day for the past two months, they had spoken little, and Frances did not feel assured enough of their relationship to be able to knock on Miriam’s door.

Elinor was surprised to find her daughter still sitting on the porch when she came down to breakfast about an hour or so later.

“What happened to Miriam?” Frances’s mother asked.

“I don’t know. Do you think she’s sick?”

“I’ll send Zaddie over to speak to Ivey,” said Elinor. “Ivey’ll know.”

Zaddie returned in a few minutes with alarming news. “Miss Miriam packing up! Miss Miriam going away for good!”

At the moment this information was delivered, there was the sound of a door slamming, and Frances, Elinor, and Zaddie turned in time to see Miriam with two suitcases marching out the front door and down the sidewalk toward her roadster. Frances, bewildered, called out to her sister, “I guess we’re not going to Pensacola this morning.”

“I guess we’re not,” returned Miriam. “Do I look like I’m dressed for the beach?” She wore a white dress buttoned up the front and low-heeled red shoes. “Do I usually carry suitcases to Santa Rosa?”

“No,” said Frances. “Where are you going?”

Miriam had already turned back toward the house. She spoke over her shoulder: “I’m going to college!”

No one had anticipated it. Not even Sister had an inkling of Miriam’s plans. Sister stood nervously on the front porch with a cup of coffee, watching as Miriam, now being assisted by Bray, carried bags and packages out to the car. James Caskey came out onto his porch, having sensed that something was up. Sister called over to him, “Miriam’s going off to college this morning!”

“No!” cried James Caskey. “Where’s she going?”

At that moment Miriam emerged with three hatboxes.

Sister replied to James pointedly, “I don’t know. She hasn’t told us yet where she’s going.”

All three Caskey households watched Miriam’s roadster fill up with boxes and suitcases. Frances had gone to her room and changed out of her bathing suit and was now once again on the porch. Danjo phoned Queenie, who arrived in haste. When finally the roadster would hold no more, Miriam turned at the end of the sidewalk and faced her assembled family.

“If y’all must know, I’m enrolling this morning at Sacred Heart in Mobile.

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.