Break Bone Fever by Mary Rae & Wanda Venters M.D

Author:Mary Rae & Wanda Venters, M.D. [Rae, M.D., Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Written Dreams Publishing

Chris walked slowly back to his car, thinking about the interview. He had obtained much more information than he had expected. He had the makings of a big story. Marnie’s intensity about the investigation drew him to her. Among other things—like her good looks and obvious intelligence.

Clearing his mind, he noticed The Grand 1894 Opera House and thought about its history. Opened as an opera house with stars like Sarah Bernhardt, it had descended into a vaudeville theater on its way to becoming a seedy movie house. Now it was being resurrected and restored as a performing arts center.

He turned north to continue his walk on The Strand. Originally named B Street, it was renamed The Strand after an enterprising jeweler insisted on copying the name of the famous street in London. The name stuck and the five-block stretch was a booming commercial center during the latter half of the 1800s. Banks, cotton exchanges, wholesalers, and newspapers were housed in iron fronted brick buildings. The Strand became known as “The Wall Street of the South.” Throughout the nineteenth century, Galveston was the biggest city in Texas.

The Great Storm of 1900 demolished The Island and left 6,000 dead. This devastation combined with the ascendency of a safe, deep water port in Houston brought an end to Galveston’s status as a commercial center. After the hurricane, most of the old buildings were replaced by hulking warehouses. It wasn’t until the last half of the next century that Islanders restored and revitalized the area.

It was a short drive to his home. Well, he wanted it to be his home. Right now, it was a work in progress. He had purchased the house on 18th Street from his cousin two years ago. Hurricane Ike had done serious damage to the Victorian mansion in 2008, but the place had been in the family since it was built. Originally, his family’s money came from the Galveston Cotton Exchange, which one of his ancestors had founded after the Civil War. Much of the man’s financial success allegedly came from cheating the farmers, as well as the buyers, and the state of Texas at each step in the process.

When the port of Galveston lost its dominance to Houston, his family branched out into oil and gas. They also owned and ran the Bay City Daily until the mid-sixties, a bit of family history that had fascinated Chris while growing up and eventually led him to choose journalism as his major.

He padded up the steps to the garage apartment, which served as his living area. He could see a light on in the big house and knew Rosa, the Hill’s retired seventy-five-year-old former housekeeper, and now Chris’s maintenance coordinator, was getting ready for bed. When he reached the top of the stairs, Chris wasn’t surprised to see a covered plate of chile rellenos on his doorstep.

It was getting late. He had one more thing to accomplish before watching the last few innings of the Astros game and piling into bed with a book.

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