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Chill Waters

Page 28

by Hovey, Joan Hall


  The body that washed up on the beach turned out to be that of Jimmy Ray Dawson, the Bate’s nephew. From the large gash in his head, it was clear he hadn’t come to Jenny’s Cove alone. The general consensus was that he’d met up with Charlie Morley at some point. Iris thought Jimmy Ray might have lured him here with talk of his uncle’s hidden stash. Maybe Morley decided he didn’t want to share. Or maybe Jimmy Ray just knew too much about him.

  Sadly, it was not to be the end of the horror. While Rachael was recovering in the hospital, the skeletal remains of a woman were discovered buried under the broken and buckled cement floor of Nate Prichard’s fire-ravaged welding shop. Tommy tearfully identified the pale blue coat with its double row of pearl buttons, as belonging to his mother, Rita Prichard.

  Nate must have discovered that his wife was planning to leave him, and followed her that day. And beat her to death. He’d apparently had a more devious mind than Iris had imagined.

  Two weeks later police found the remains of Hartley McLeod buried in the woods. Almost within an hour of finding him, Luke died. As if he knew and passed on to serve his master on a different plane. Some people believed such things were possible. Rachael was one of them.

  EPILOGUE

  Snow was falling outside her livingroom window. A fire crackled and snapped in the fireplace. Carols played on the new stereo, a gift from her children.

  “You always did have the best tree on the block, Mom,” Susan said.

  Jeff, his arm around a very pregnant Nancy, agreed a little too heartily over his mug of rum-laced eggnog. They were all coping as best they could with the divorce. It would take time. Jeff, Nancy and Susan would be spending New Years with Greg in his new condo. Greg’s coming so close to death himself had softened his son’s heart toward him, made forgiveness possible.

  The new brown and white wriggly puppy she’d named Teddy, Peter’s gift to her, was ecstatically wrestling with a piece of wrapping paper, delighting everyone with his antics.

  Betty’s Poinsettia brightened the corner by the door. They didn’t see much of one another now. Perhaps because Rachael was a different person from the one Betty knew, the dynamics of their relationship had changed. But the bond would always remain.

  She was blessed. Even the nightmares were coming less frequently. Now and then, Rachael wondered if it really was her grandmother’s voice she'd heard out there on the water that night, or if she’d merely conjured it out of a sheer will to survive.

  She would never know for sure. And somehow it didn’t matter.

  The End

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  As well as penning Award-winning suspense novels including Chill Waters, Nowhere To Hide and Listen to the Shadows, Joan Hall Hovey's articles and short stories have appeared in such diverse publications as The Reader, Atlantic Advocate, The Toronto Star, Mystery Scene, True Confessions, Home Life magazine, Seek and various other magazines and newspapers. Her short story, “Dark Reunion” was selected for the Anthology, Investigating Women, published by Simon & Pierre.

  Joan also tutors with Winghill Writing School and is a Voice Over pro, narrating books and scripts. She lives in New Brunswick, Canada with her husband Mel and dog, Scamp.

  She is currently working on her latest suspense novel.

  ALSO PUBLISHED BY BWLPP

  Nowhere To Hide

  Listen to the Shadows

  Night Corridor

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