Shadows and Shamans by J A Whiting

Author:J A Whiting [Whiting, J A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J A Whiting Books and Whitemark Publishing
Published: 2025-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

13

The Bay Breeze Café sat just off Main Street, and its large windows offered views of the harbor in the distance. The morning rush had ended, leaving the café more peaceful except for the quiet hum of conversation and the gentle clink of coffee cups. Yellow and orange mums decorated each table, adding cheerful splashes of autumn color.

Shelby and Lucy had chosen a corner table, partly for privacy and partly so they could watch the door for Josie Hip's arrival. Their coffee cups were still steaming when the Harris Estate’s archive manager hurried in, unwinding a purple scarf from her neck.

“So sorry I'm running late,” Josie said, sliding into the empty chair. She was a petite woman in her early fifties, with steel-gray hair cut in a neat bob, and she wore wire-rimmed glasses that couldn't quite hide the shadows under her eyes. “The Estate's morning staff meeting ran long. William Masters does love to hear himself talk.”

There was a slight edge to her voice that Shelby noted. After ordering her own coffee, Josie seemed to deflate slightly.

“Thank you for meeting us,” Lucy said gently. “We know this must be difficult, with Jane...”

“I still can't believe she's gone.” Josie's hands trembled slightly as she arranged her napkin. “The archives feel empty without her enthusiasm, her questions, and her discoveries.”

“Jane always seemed so passionate about her research,” Shelby said, watching Josie's face carefully. “She spent a lot of time in the archives recently?”

“Oh yes.” Josie brightened slightly. “She had such interesting theories about the colonial period, especially about the Harris family's connection to Salem. She was particularly interested in documentation from the 1690s. Jane had developed a strong interest in the Harris family - Prudence and her parents. She was trying to figure out what happened to Prudence after she left for Virginia.”

“Did she tell you what she’d found?”

“No.” Josie shook her head. “Jane always wanted to have some evidence before sharing her theories with people. I guess she wasn’t as far along enough in her work yet to talk about Prudence.”

Their server arrived with Josie's coffee and a plate of scones for the table. Through the café windows, leaves danced across the sidewalk in the October breeze.

“Did Jane ever mention having any conflicts at the estate?” Lucy asked casually.

Josie hesitated, adding cream to her coffee with careful precision. “Well... William Masters could be rather overbearing. He likes to think his ideas are the only ones worth considering. Jane was on the Board of Directors for the Harris Estate. She and William clashed occasionally over estate policies.”

“What kind of policies?” Shelby prompted.

“Jane wanted to modernize our cataloging system to make everything digital.” Josie sighed. “Milton Miles, our conservator, was against it. He's very traditional in his methods. He doesn't like change.”

“Were their disagreements serious?” Lucy broke a scone in half, offering part to Josie.

“They were professional disagreements mostly,” Josie said, accepting the scone. “Milton could be quite rigid about his work. He didn't appreciate Jane suggesting that better documentation would help preserve the collection's history.

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