The Angel Makers by Patti McCracken

Author:Patti McCracken
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

Friday, January 19, 1923

The streetlamp was a hazy point of light far up the road. The low row of buildings that stood near it, dreary even in daylight, were gray slabs under the lamp, mottled with the dull shadows of naked tree limbs.

The small light around Anna was weak. There had been no time to clean the soot off the hand lantern, and the little flame struggled to glow. It burned atop the long wick, a tiny bud of fire throwing a hazy glimmer at her feet. A faint smell of paraffin hung in the air. The violent winds of the previous days had died completely, and an arresting stillness had taken their place.

Anna could feel the warmth of Mrs. Kiss beside her. Mrs. Kiss was not much taller than Anna, but she was heavier, and she pressed comfortingly against Anna’s side. Mrs. Kiss had locked her own arm in hers, funneling a strength to Anna that kept her upright.

Mrs. Kiss gripped the lantern and Anna cradled the baby in her arms. He was swaddled, with a little piece of twine tied around his toe to ward off the devil. Anna had hastily fastened it there as an emergency measure. A blanket was draped over him.

She was wrapped in Lewis’s coat. It was much sturdier and warmer than her own, but the stale odors of sweat and brandy were trapped in the fibers of the wool. It was Lewis, lying in wait.

A couple of trusted patrons had been put in charge of the pub for the evening. Lewis had already exhausted his usefulness by fetching Mrs. Kiss. Even if he had been sober enough to make it all the way to Mrs. Koteles’s house, there still would not have been time for Mrs. Koteles to do all that needed to be done in such a short time. She simply lived too far away. For this single duty, Mrs. Kiss had agreed to stand in as the baby’s godmother. It was a matter of saving his soul.

Mrs. Kiss had hurried to track down Pastor Toth. He was usually spotted leaving for his ranch early in the morning, stomping in double-soled boots with his shotgun slung over his shoulder. Like Ébner, he was an avid hunter, who often spent the entire day hunting in the forest and usually did not return until dark. It was well past dinnertime when Mrs. Kiss had finally got to him.

Anna and Mrs. Kiss walked as quickly as they could toward the chapel, passing along the way the night watchman and a band of young bachelors, sixteen- and seventeen-year-old teenage boys, out for the evening. The young men were headed down to the riverbank with a jug of brandy and cigarettes. They sang as they went, their voices floating dreamily back to the square.

Anna pressed her baby to her chest. She listened for a breath.

Inside, the church was dank. The massive stones of its walls emitted a cruel, wet breath into the musty air. The church had

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.