The Outsmarting of Criminals: A Mystery Introducing Miss Felicity Prim by Rigolosi Steven

Author:Rigolosi, Steven [Rigolosi, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Ransom Note Press
Published: 2014-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

19

In Search of a Sister

Cornelius Prim’s journal had placed Providence’s tenth birthday on February 2, 1996, which meant Providence had been born on February 2, 1986. Miss Prim tried to think through the details.

Until her discovery of the journal, Miss Prim would have sworn on her life that Papa had no secrets from her. The loveliest of men, he was also the most predictable. She knew what time he arose in the morning (5:45, weekdays and weekends), his favorite bourbon, the clothiers he favored, the writers he would purchase immediately upon publication (and those for which he’d wait for the reviews).

Cornelius Prim was a man who’d believed in standards and proper time frames. Today it is acceptable to think about dating again one year after a spouse’s death, but even before her discussion with Celia, Miss Prim was certain that Papa had delayed much longer than that. She’d spent a good deal of time with her father in the years following her mother’s death, often stopping at his apartment to offer baked treats, to help with the housework, or to provide companionable good cheer. She searched her memory for any hints Cornelius Prim may have dropped regarding another woman in his life. She could think of none at all. The first five years after his wife’s death, Papa had expressed no interest in pursuing a romantic life.

Then, in the sixth year, he’d gradually entered society again, accepting old friends’ invitations to join them for a drink or a game of darts at the gentleman’s club on Gramercy Park. Not wishing to stand in his way, and not wishing to make him feel that he must stay at home for her sake, Miss Prim had gradually begun decreasing the frequency of her visits. Ultimately she and Papa had established a tradition of enjoying a Sunday meal together (sometimes with Celia, sometimes without) after a busy week with limited contact between them.

Miss Prim climbed the stairs to her attic and hunted for the journals dated between 1981 and 1986. She found dozens of journals from this sequence of years. She carried them in batches to the parlor, where she arranged them chronologically on the coffee table. Then she brewed herself a cup of tea and began reading them.

The first few journals were concerned almost exclusively with Papa’s business dealings. Miss Prim tried to read them page by page, but the experience was like reading an accounting textbook, and ultimately she began skimming and scanning. Once she adopted this new approach, the pages began to fly by. Not quite the same experience as reading one of the wonderful fast-paced thrillers by, say, David Baldacci, Joseph Finder, or Iris Johansen, but not quite as bad as plowing through the latest long-winded tome by …

Little by little, the tone of Papa’s journals changed. First he began to make notes about having met this friend or that associate for a meal; then he began to ruminate on life, reminisce about his late wife, and make notes for short stories he hoped to write.

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