The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford

Author:John C. Ford
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-07-16T06:43:52.978000+00:00

The exhaustion took over—I lay back on my bed, clothes on, and fell into a deep sleep that did wonders for my overcooked nerves. Daniel woke me up for no good reason in the middle of the afternoon, but I was too relieved at getting through the morning in one piece to really care.

I picked up my room a little and took my spy novel downstairs. Keeping myself on lockdown for the day, I figured, would put my parents’ fears to rest. I planted myself on the back porch for most of the afternoon, a fixture of conspicuous responsibility, until shadows crept over the garden and the backyard fell silent for the evening. The air had cooled a touch, and I was actually thinking of helping Daniel set the table (not that he would have let me), when I heard a familiar-sounding pair of boots clomping across our front porch.

Knuckles rapped loudly on the screen door, and I could hear my mom mutter from upstairs, “Oh good Lord, what now?”

At the door, Tina had a cigarette going. Smoke billowed into the house as she peered through the screen in a T-shirt that said PRIVATE PROPERTY. My dad got there just ahead of me, and from the Botoxed expression on his face, I could tell that he didn’t know quite what to think about the apparition before him.

“Hi there. Mr. N?” Most people called him Professor.

“Errr . . . that’s one way to say it, yes.”

“Tina McIntyre,” she said. “Heard a lot about you.”

The words went straight through my dad’s ears. “Can I help you?”

“Dad, this is Tina. From the paper. Could you let her inside?”

“Errr, of course. Of course, of course, of course. Come in.”

Tina flicked her smoke onto the porch and winked at me as she entered.

“Really good to meet you. I love this kid of yours.” Tina gave my dad a close look as she shook his hand. “Now I see where Chris gets his good looks.”

My dad snorted a variety of laugh that I’d never heard before, and if I wasn’t mistaken, his cheeks colored a little.

“You aren’t hiding any more Newell men around town are you?”

I really couldn’t have imagined things going any better, until I heard my mom’s rapturous voice call down, “Is that Julia I hear?”

“Errr,” my dad said nervously.

My mom’s feet pounded over the stairs.

“Errr,” he said again.

I cringed.

“Now Ju—” My mom’s lips froze as she rounded the corner. “Oh.”

“Dear, this is Tina McIntyre, Christopher’s friend.”

My mom petrified halfway to the door. Her arms hung limp while Tina hugged her. “Great to meet you,” Tina said.

My mom regarded Tina warily as they broke apart. Tina looked around at the historic map of Petoskey and the antique spinning-wheel. “Very nice. Chris says you’re both professors. I can almost feel the brain power.” She made accordion movements around my dad’s head. “It’s like, bzzzzzz.”

My dad swung a chair behind her. “Sit down. Tell us about the work you’re doing over there at the Courier. Christopher seems to be enjoying it.

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