Thicker Than Water by Janet Majerus

Author:Janet Majerus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
Published: 2012-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I awoke with a start. A smoke alarm was shrieking downstairs, there was a terrible stench in the air, and I could hear a man yelling my name.

I sat bolt upright and fought my way out of the mound of covers heaped on the bed. I grabbed my robe and stuffed my feet into slippers. A belch of smoke came through the door when I opened it. I slid and ran down the staircase and came face to face with Reverend Smythe standing at the foot looking distressed. The front door was wide open.

“I made a stupid mistake,” he said.

“What happened?”

“I thought a fire in the fireplace would take the chill off the place, but I guess I forgot to open the flue and then I couldn’t find it, so I threw some water on the fire, and then—well you can see for yourself.”

I picked my way through the smoke into the living room and twisted and pushed the handle on the face of the fireplace. In an instant the smoke reversed and started going up the chimney.

“Go open the kitchen doors, and I’ll open a window in the dining room.”

The Reverend started to say something, but I’m sure the expression on my face made him think better of it. Instead he turned and dashed to the kitchen.

What a mess! The smoke was thinning, but I knew I would have a woodsy smell for quite some time. Fortunately, it didn’t look bad enough that I would have to call in the experts. The smoke alarm finally quit whining.

I stepped out on the front porch. The sun was coming over the trees. Every branch, twig, and blade of grass glistened, and beams of light bounced around the yard like reflections off a fine-cut diamond. How could something so beautiful be so destructive? The scene was splendid; it was hard to be angry, even at an idiot who didn’t know to open the fireplace flue before he lit a fire. I walked back in the house. The Reverend was standing in the front hall. The look on his face reminded me of a puppy who had done something bad on the rug and was waiting to be whipped.

“It’s not so bad, Reverend. Let’s fix us some coffee.”

I filled the pot with water and hauled the mortar and pestle out of the cupboard. We would have to pulverize the beans by hand, since I only had whole beans. “Here, you take care of this,” I said, pouring the beans into the mortar. “We’ll have to rough it till the power comes back on.”

“Please forgive me,” he said. “I’ll pay for any restoration you need. And do you think you could call me John. Every time you refer to me as Reverend, I feel like I should lead us in prayer.”

I had to laugh at that. “John it is. I don’t think the smoke is going to be a problem. Let’s close up the house now. What I need is coffee. After I get caffeinated, we can get that wet wood out of the fireplace and have a real fire.

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