Mommy's Day by Collins Max Allan

Author:Collins, Max Allan [Collins, Max Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Published: 2011-09-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

At the far end of the living room of the Conway home, by glass doors leading out onto the deck, Jessica Ann—hair ponytailed back, pretty as the May afternoon in her plaid jumper, which she'd worn to school—sat working on a jigsaw puzzle, blessedly lost in it. The girl enjoyed the peacefulness of a room that, despite its name, nobody in this house did much living in.

Her aunt had decorated the home, and the living room was dominated by Queen Anne furnishings—all cherry wood and curved lines and needlepoint. This house was every bit as nice as where she'd lived before, the Sterling house in Woodcreek—maybe nicer; but the brocade wallpaper and deep green upholstery and the antique knickknacks made it very different. Above the spinet piano, just behind Jessica Ann as she worked at the 700-piece puzzle that her Uncle Paul had given her, was a sampler that said, "Down by the Old Mill Stream," and the walls were rife with Wyeth prints and floral watercolors and idyllic Currier & Ives-style landscapes. The Sterling house, decorated by Mommy, had been a knickknack-free zone, and each stark white wall bore a single, simply and elegantly framed print whose colors were coordinated with the roses and turquoise of the drapes and the tasteful yet functional furnishings.

Several other rooms in the Conway house—the dining area off the kitchen, and the master bedroom—were Early American in style, and Aunt Beth seemed to have worked hard at creating a warmth of atmosphere lacking in the Sterling house. Jessica Ann liked it here okay, but thought the place was a little cluttered, and that Aunt Beth was trying too hard.

The picture in front of her was two-thirds complete and depicted a loon flying low over a lake against the backdrop of a sprawling gothic lodge, a resort called Mohunk Mountain House somewhere in New York that Uncle Paul had given a seminar at once. But there were many more pieces to assemble before the picture would be complete.

She hadn't heard Aunt Beth enter. Jessica Ann first sensed her aunt's presence when Beth settled herself on the piano bench, just behind the girl, who smiled back pleasantly at her aunt, whose solemn expression didn't necessarily signal anything special. After all. Aunt Beth had been depressed ever since Mommy got out of prison.

"Jessy," Aunt Beth said, "we need to talk."

"Oh," Jessica Ann said, fitting another piece into the puzzle, making the loon more distinct.

"I'm . . . I'm afraid I have some very troubling news, dear."

After what she'd been through these last several years, Jessica Ann did not take such words lightly; she almost spun toward her aunt as she asked, "What is it?"

Aunt Beth sighed, trying to find the words; in her sleeveless cotton top and little blue skirt, she seemed more a child than Jessica Ann.

"Your skating instructor," she began haltingly, "last night . . ."

Jessica Ann demanded, "What?"

Aunt Beth wasn't looking at her. The concern on her face was mingled with something else,

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