Authors: Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Kelp (27 page)

BOOK: The Body in the Kelp

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“I think once Bird was gone, it was only a question of time for Bill,” Elliot said. “We've known him for years and there was a dark side to his nature. You mustn't blame yourself.”

Tom looked at Faith in annoyance. “You've got the perfect candidate for blame in Eric, and you and your sister, Batwoman and Robinette, are responsible for his capture. Think about that instead.”

“We all trusted him and liked him so much,” Sam mused, “it's hard to understand how so many of us could have been taken in.”

“He would have been some good as a con manâwas in the
case of Matilda, conned the house right out from under her and the rest of the Prescotts, then killed her once he was sure she had changed her will,” Earl pointed out. “No scruples and a lot of self-importance.”

“And what about Sonny? Think how we trusted him ! I can't get over someone from the island being involved.” Pix looked devastated.

Earl grinned, “You summer people are all alike. Somehow you've dreamed up this idea that Sanpere is like the Garden of Eden before Eve got hungry. Nobody lies, cheats, or steals. We just go along our blameless ways. Every carpenter is a master. Every fisherman gets a good catch. Every woman can make good pie crust and raise prizewinning tuberous begonias. Well, surpriseâwe' re just like other people, good, bad, and mostly in between.”

The sergeant was getting more interesting by the moment. Faith wondered whether the combination of boyish charm and good looks plus an interesting philosophy of life was working any magic on Jill. Goodness knew she needed some after Eric.

Sam looked at his watch. “I hate to break this up, but something tells me we're going to be repeating this conversation with some frequency and if we want a good spot for the fireworks, we've got to get going.”

“I think I can find you a spot,” Earl promised. Rank had its privileges.

Quentin and Hope were waiting by the information booth. Hope was eating cotton candy and feeding it to Quentin. The bison had been joined by a raccoon, or rather a mutant of the species three feet tall, wearing goggles and a vest. All four of them looked disgustingly smug and blissfully happy.

Samantha ran over. “Mom, we want to sit in the grandstand. Is it okay if we meet you after?” She pointed back at Arlene and two gangly boys who were stolidly munching fried dough.

“Why is it always âMom'?” Sam complained. “Don't I get a vote?”

“Oh, Daddy, just say yes. They're waiting for me!”

“Yes. But be here at ten-thirty on the dot.”

She ran off and Sam looked at Pix. “By the time I get used to having a teenage girl, she'll be in college.”

Pix took his arm. “Poor you. It's hard when Daddy's little girl takes her hair out of braids.”

“I always liked those braids,” Sam muttered.

The spot Earl found for them turned out to be away from the grandstand, across the track that circled the field where the fireworks would be launched. It was safe, but close to the action and away from the lights of the rest of the fair. Tom fetched blankets from the car and they spread them on the damp grass. Faith lay back and put Benjamin on her chest. The stars were beautiful.

“Should start seeing the Northern Lights soon. It's getting to be that time of year,” came a familiar voice from the darkness. It was Freeman.

Faith sat up. “I'm glad you found us.”

“No, deah,
you
found us,” he replied.

“Hush, Freeman. They're staatin'.”

They were the best fireworks Faith had ever seen. Even better than the Fourth of July in New York City, though she wasn't about to admit that to anyone.

Two large ships lobbed fiery shots at each other on the ground. Then, just as they were disappearing, the sky above was filled with tiers of brilliantly colored light. Huge chrysanthemums that looked as if they were made of gold dust exploded and drifted lazily down toward the sea.

The whole fair was frozen in intense light.

And every time he heard an explosion, Ben crowed with delight and clapped his hands.

Catherine wheels spun at eye level and an immense American flag rose and fell. Silvery fish darted across the sky accompanied by piercing whistles. Niagara Falls stretched from a trickle to full force across the field, the magnesium illuminating the workers who were darting from one side to another. There was something familiar about the tallest of them, Faith realized. In the intense light, his red hair and beard glowed like sparks from one of the aerial shells.

“Why, that's John,” she exclaimed.

“It's a hobby of his. Told me once he'd been doing it since he was a boy. He works for the fireworks company when they need him,” Elliot told her.

John Eggleston looked supremely happy, happier than Faith had ever seen him. Soon his image faded back into the night as the set pieces were extinguished and a hushed crowd waited an instant in total darkness for the end of the show.

The finale was orgasmic and a chorus of ohs echoed across the field as volley after volley rocketed into the sky, sending trails of red, gold, white, blue, and green light shimmering across the darkness. Just when everyone thought it was over, another series would begin. It was perfect.

Faith and Tom were nestled close together, Ben wedged between them.

“I love you, darling,” Tom whispered.

“I love you, too.”

The fireworks continued to tumble across the sky. Tom gazed up, then put his hand on Faith's cheek and gently but firmly turned her face toward his.

“I've been so worried about you these last weeks. I had no idea what was going on. Please, please promise me you won't ever get involved like this again.”

That was easy. Faith put her hand over his, looked him straight in the eye, and swore solemnly, “I promise you I will never find a body in the kelp again.”

After all, how much kelp did one normally run across in a lifetime?

Epilogue

From
The Ellsworth American

Thursday, Sept. 14

MASSACHUSETTS MINISTER FINDS KING'S RANSOM IN AUCTION BOX LOT

Aleford, Mass.âMonday night, the Rev. Thomas Fairchild of the Aleford First Parish Church was surprised to discover a cache of gold coins disguised as checkers in a box lot of old games his wife had purchased for him at the August 17th Matilda Prescott estate auction held in Sanpere Village.

The coins have been the object of much speculation for years. Said to have belonged to Darnell Prescott, who died in 1960, the coins also figured in the recent arrest and arraignment of Eric Gould. Mr. Gould is alleged to have held several people at gunpoint, Mrs. Fairchild included, in the belief that a different box in their
possession held the coins. He is also charged in three separate murders.

The coins, uncirculated 1913 and 1920 Eagles and Double Eagles, had been painted black and red and mixed in with an odd assortment of old checkers pieces. The Rev. Fairchild came upon them as he was sorting out the games.

When reached for comment, the Rev. Fairchild said he was “completely stunned,” especially as he had believed the story of the gold coins to

be “a bit of island lore.” When asked what he planned to do with the coins, valued at roughly half a million dollars, he answered, “That's no problem. My wife and I believe the money belongs to the island, and we are returning it by purchasing the Point for The Island Heritage Trust, saving a small part for a summer house of our own.” “The Point” refers to a parcel of land on Sanpere recently offered for sale.

Faith stopped reading aloud and threw the paper down with a gesture of irritation. Who spotted the box ? Who bought it? And what about all that work on the quilt? By all rights the coins were hers. And Pix's. Though of course Pix was delighted with Tom's plan.

“Now, Faith, you know you agree with me.”

“So what if I do? It would have been nice to dream for a few days. You didn't have to be so definite. We could have let it run through our fingers a while.”

The gold was in a safe deposit box at the Shawmut Bank, and Tom had breathed an enormous sigh of relief when it got there. It was volatile enough having Faith in the house.

Faith picked up the paper again, the bold headline stretched across four columns and even farther in her mind. She looked at Tom, who was obviously not enjoying the rain on his parade, and felt a twinge, a very small twinge, of guilt. “Well,” she reluctantly conceded, “it's all turned out neatly. The Prescotts have their money, the island has its land, and we have a summer house in Maine. I suppose I'll get used to it, darlingâjust so long as we go to the Hamptons first for a vacation.”

Also by Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Belfry

All the characters, places and events of this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to living individuals or real places or events is strictly coincidental and unintentional.

THE BODY IN THE KELP. Copyright Â© 1991 by Katherine Hall Page. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

eISBN 9781466806597

First eBook Edition : December 2011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Page, Katherine Hall.

The body in the kelp / Katherine Hall Page.

p. cm.

“A Thomas Dunne book.”

ISBN 0-312-05392-4

I. Title.

PS3566.A334B66 1991

813'.54âdc20

90-49301 CIP