by Lee Harris
When Dodie was feeling up to it, she invited Jack and me to dinner at the most expensive restaurant I had ever been to. Looking at the menu made my stomach do flip-flops, and I think she sensed it, reassuring me that this was quite affordable. We began the evening at her Manhattan apartment, a beautiful home on a high floor with views of the George Washington Bridge, the Hudson River, and even the Statue of Liberty on a clear day or night. And of course, the sunset, since it faced west. A nice perk for a lady who deserved it.
—
The remains of Richard Springer were recovered soon after the night I talked to Chief La Coste. He guided the sheriff over to the place where he and Ken Buckley had buried the body bag just over fifteen years earlier. An autopsy was inconclusive, but the medical examiner thought there was a good chance the person had died of a knife wound. It wasn’t hard to find the dead man’s family once it was established that he was Curt Springer’s brother.
—
There was still one unanswered question, the hug. Why had Eve Buckley hugged Tina Frisch that morning outside the grouper house? I waited a long time to find out. Eventually, I called Mary Ellen Tyler and she got back to me a few days later.
Eve scarcely remembered it when she was asked. But as she and her sister talked, she remembered that Tina had been so sympathetic, so sweet, so emphatic that she had not been anywhere near the Buckley home the day of the fire, that when Eve said good-bye to her, it seemed appropriate to give her a hug.
—
I don’t know if we’ll ever visit Fire Island again. Maybe Mel’s Uncle Max will invite us for another vacation. Maybe we’ll rent a house for a couple of weeks one summer. Maybe we’ll just hang onto the memory and let it lie.
I suppose I will never see Chief La Coste again. But I think of him from time to time. I’ve written him a couple of notes and I put his name on my Christmas card list. What I’m certain of is that I’ll remember that shadow on the dune, that glow of light, that remarkable memory of his for the rest of my life. And once in a while I’ll wonder what other secrets remain in that old head. After all, he said he knew where all the bodies were buried. Plural. Was it a turn of phrase or a statement of fact? I guess I’ll never know.
For the other three-quarters of Nuns, Mothers and Others, Valerie Wolzien, Lora Roberts, and Jonnie Jacobs, the best friends, the best companions, the best boosters a writer could ask for.
The author wishes to thank Ana M. Soler and James L. V. Wegman for their usual excellent information, advice, and criticism, and also Martin and Anita Rich, without whose knowledge of Fire Island and kind invitation to see it firsthand I could not have written this book.
By Lee Harris
Published by Fawcett Books:
THE GOOD FRIDAY MURDER
THE YOM KIPPUR MURDER
THE CHRISTENING DAY MURDER
THE ST. PATRICK’S DAY MURDER
THE CHRISTMAS NIGHT MURDER
THE THANKSGIVING DAY MURDER
THE PASSOVER MURDER
THE VALENTINE’S DAY MURDER
THE NEW YEAR’S EVE MURDER
THE LABOR DAY MURDER
Even after leaving the cloistered world of St. Stephen’s Convent for suburban New York State, Christine Bennett still finds time to celebrate the holy days.
Unfortunately, in the secular world the holidays seem to end in murder—and it’s up to this ex-nun to discover who commits these unholy acts.
LEE HARRIS
The Christine Bennett Mysteries
Published by Fawcett Books.
Available in your local bookstore.
Don’t miss any of the Christine Bennett mysteries!
THE GOOD FRIDAY MURDER
THE YOM KIPPUR MURDER
THE CHRISTENING DAY MURDER
THE ST. PATRICK’S DAY MURDER
THE CHRISTMAS NIGHT MURDER
THE THANKSGIVING DAY MURDER
THE PASSOVER MURDER
THE VALENTINE’S DAY MURDER
THE NEW YEAR’S EVE MURDER
by
LEE HARRIS
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