He looked at his sister-in-law. Charles respected Catherine’s mind, her business acumen.
Rachel, too, stared at her sister. “You’re cooking something up. I can always tell.”
“Mmm.” She wiggled her hand, which to Rachel meant that whatever it was, it was outrageous.
Later, as Catherine and John walked back to their house, Bettina and Serena looked from the kitchen window.
“Too thin.” Bettina shook her head.
“Sorrow. Such a sorrow.”
Bettina nodded. “The fate of women. We birth stillborn children, those that live, you thank God for their lives. Take two brothers. Both come down with the cough. One lives. One dies. Why? I know of no woman who has raised all her children to adults. Not one.”
“Even Mrs. Ewing?” Serena was a child when the mistress had died.
“Even Miss Isabelle. She had a son who lived four days.” She threw up her hands. “You never forget the ones who slipped away. You can still remember their voices, the light in their eyes, the way they smelled in your arms when you held them. You carry them forever.”
She knew of what she spoke, having lost two children. Bettina looked back at Catherine. She was strong. She’d go on. But there’d be questions now in the back of her mind.
The front of her mind was a different matter.
27
January 30, 2017
Monday
“Every city should do this. Our environmental future is too important to be left to mayors or city managers.” Lisa spoke on the phone to a reporter from what locals called “The Daily Prog.” Those who were not liberal—for it was a liberal newspaper—called it “The Daily Regress.”
The young man on the other end of the line fed her an easy lob. “Even Charlottesville?”
“Especially Charlottesville. The University of Virginia is one of the architectural treasures of our nation. What has been allowed to be built in the city is a disgrace. Ugly doesn’t cover it.”
“I see.” And he did. “And habitat?”
“We’re intruding on other species. Building without any consideration for their highways, so to speak, and their food supply. Suburbanites get hysterical about a bear in the garbage can. The bear lived there first.”
Another half hour of this and the young man had more than enough material. Lisa hung up the phone.
Felipe stuck his head in her office. “Need a break? It’s been a madhouse.”
“I could use a potty break,” Pirate suggested.
Lisa glanced at the atomic clock on her desk. “Eleven o’clock. Have I been on the phone that long?”
“We’ve all been answering emails or the phone,” Felipe replied.
“Well, let me walk my guy here. He’s been very good.” She picked up the leash hanging on the back of her chair, snapped it on his collar, grabbed her coat, and walked out. “I won’t be long.”
And she wasn’t. Within twenty minutes she was back.
“Anyone else need a break?”
“I can pick up lunch,” Raynell offered.
The building contained two food places, one a stand-up place and another offering fuller service. Both Lisa and Felipe gave Raynell their orders. Lisa asked for a sandwich for Pirate, as he’d earned a treat.
Once Raynell brought back lunch they repaired to the small meeting room to eat, go over all that had transpired.
“The ad was worth it.” Lisa fed Pirate his sandwich tidbits.
“It will be worth it if we do get invited to the planning meetings.” Felipe thought the cost outrageous.
“We’ll know in time. Those planning commission meetings usually take place once a month.” Lisa bit into a hot sandwich.
“Food.” Pewter raced into the room followed by Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and lastly Harry.
“Sorry.” Harry picked up the fat gray cat, placing her outside the room, closing the door.
“I am starving. I’m going to call the SPCA!” Pewter hollered.
“She has good lungs.” Felipe laughed.
“Sit down, Harry. Would you like half my sandwich? It’s huge.”
“No. I stopped by—don’t stop eating, by the way—I stopped by to tell you your ad has everyone talking, as does the skeleton found in Richmond. Kind of worked in your favor, didn’t it?”
“Not that we wish anyone murdered, but since that happened even before there was a Nature First, we might as well use it,” Lisa realistically answered.
“Yeah.” Harry knitted her eyebrows for a moment. “First Gary is killed.”
“Awful,” Raynell loudly spoke.
“He once worked for Rankin Construction. If he were still with us he might have some insight.” Harry continued her line of thought.
“Like what?” Raynell asked.
“Did anyone have an argument with, say, a foreman, or did anyone steal something?”
“Even so. Doesn’t mean he was murdered. And the medical examiner hasn’t yet established a time when he died or how long he was there,” Felipe said.
“I know, but there’s something about this that just eats at me. Something I can’t identify.”
“Harry, we all lost a friend. Someone who designed wonderful spaces for us. Eats at all of us,” Raynell said.
“I hear you talking about eating!” Pewter banged on the door.
“Well, I’d better go before I have to replace your door.”
“It’s terrible the way you don’t feed that cat,” Lisa teased.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Tucker chimed in.
Pirate replied, “She’s mean to me.”