Butler Did It by Donna McLean

Author:Donna McLean [McLean, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

NINE

Pearce Allen Simms smiled at Addie McRae and caught her by the hand. They laced their fingers together comfortably and strolled across the fine white sand that lay all around Sparrow Falls Chapel. The thunderstorm that had threatened the lovely summer morning had dissipated before it ever reached the little town, and by mid-afternoon the sky had returned to its usual peaceful shade of pale blue. A hot breeze blew through the tall, longleaf pines bordering the old Scotch burying ground, just as it had done for centuries.

Addie looked across the expanse of spires and stones. “Do you know where Alfred MacGuffin was buried?”

“Toward the back and to the right. There’s a kind of tiny mausoleum back there too, although he was buried outside under a headstone.”

Addie’s emerald green eyes darkened with curiosity. “That’s interesting. Wonder why he would have both?”

Pearce Allen shrugged. “That’s just old man MacGuffin for you. He was the town eccentric.”

He led her on a winding path through the old tombstones and she noticed the abundance of Scottish surnames. For the first time she realized that most of the older headstones were intricately carved, with figures varying from Celtic knotwork to shapes such as thistles, roses, wheeled crosses and ornate letters that she assumed to be Gaelic. Some were not headstones at all but were sculptural figures of angels or lambs, a large basket overflowing with blooming flowers, a wreath carved from stone.

Addie suddenly stopped, pulling Peace Allen to a standstill beside her. She blinked in the bright sunshine, wondering if her eyes played tricks on her.

“What is it?” The young man’s voice was amused.

She pointed toward the edge of the long flat land, where pine trees ringed the cemetery and everything beyond the trees lay in shadow even on a sunny day. “Is there some sort of spotlight on that tombstone over there?” she asked, puzzled.

Pearce Allen shaded his eyes and followed her pointing finger. “Oh, that’s the glowing girl,” he answered, and resumed walking toward the MacGuffin mausoleum as though that sentence explained everything.

The feisty redhead clutched his hand a little tighter and stood her ground. Pearce Allen had taken about half a step before he realized that they weren’t going anywhere.

“The glowing girl?” Addie repeated.

He grinned. “Come on, let’s go have a better look. We’ll never accomplish anything until your curiosity is satisfied.” They resumed their pace, this time heading toward the statue in the opposite direction from their original destination. Simms told her a story as they strolled.

“This happened, oh, a hundred years or more ago. A couple had two children, a little girl about six years old and a baby. I think the baby was a boy. Can’t remember exactly. Anyway, the little baby got very sick, I guess it was smallpox or measles or something like that, back when there was no medication to treat those things. And the couple doted on him, did everything they could to save him. Well, it worked and his life was spared. But sadly,

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