Chase launched a foray into that dangerous silence. I drove by the newspaper building, coming through town, he said. Hasnt changed a bit.
Neither has the town, said Phillip.
Just as thrilling as ever, his sister deadpanned.
Whats the plan for the Herald? asked Chase.
Phillip will be taking over, said Evelyn. Its about time, anyway. I need him home, now that Richard She swallowed, looked down. Hes ready for the job.
Chase launched a foray into that dangerous silence. I drove by the newspaper building, coming through town, he said. Hasnt changed a bit.
Neither has the town, said Phillip.
Just as thrilling as ever, his sister deadpanned.
Whats the plan for the Herald? asked Chase.
Phillip will be taking over, said Evelyn. Its about time, anyway. I need him home, now that Richard She swallowed, looked down. Hes ready for the job.
Im not sure I am, Mom, said Phillip. Im only in my second year at college. And there are other things Id like to
Your father was twenty when Grandpa Tremain made him an editor. Isnt that right, Chase?
Chase nodded.
So theres no reason you couldnt slip right onto the masthead.
Phillip shrugged. Jill Vickerys managing things just fine.
Shes just a hired hand, Phillip. The Herald needs a real captain.
Cassie leaned forward, her eyes suddenly sharp. There are others who could do it, she said. Why does it have to be Phil?
Your father wanted Phillip. And Richard always knew what was best for the Herald.
There was a silence, punctuated by the steady ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece.
Evelyn let out a shaky breath and dropped her head in her hands. Oh, God, it all seems so coldblooded. I cant believe were talking about this. About whos going to take his place.
Sooner or later, said Cassie, we have to talk about it. About a lot of things.
Evelyn nodded and looked away.
In another room, the phone was ringing.
Ill get it, said Phillip, and left to answer it.
I just cant think, said Evelyn, pressing her hands to her head. If I could just get my mind working again.
It was only last night, said Chase gently. It takes time to get over the shock.
And theres the funeral to think of. They wont even tell me when theyll release the She winced. I dont see why it takes so long. Why the state examiner has to go over and over it. I mean, cant they see what happened? Isnt it obvious?
The obvious isnt always the truth, said Cassie.
Evelyn looked at her daughter. Whats that supposed to mean?
Phillip came back into the room. Mom? That was Lorne Tibbetts on the phone.
Oh, Lord. Evelyn rose unsteadily to her feet. Im coming.
He wants to see you in person.
She frowned. Right this minute? Cant it wait?
You might as well get it over with, Mom. Hell have to talk to you sooner or later.
Evelyn turned and looked at Chase. I cant do this alone. Come with me, wont you?
Chase didnt have the faintest idea where they were going or who Lorne Tibbetts was. At that moment what he really wanted was a hot shower and a bed to collapse onto. But that would have to wait.
Of course, Evelyn, he said. Reluctantly he stood, shaking the stiffness from his legs, which felt permanently flexed by the long drive from Greenwich.
Evelyn was already reaching for her purse. She pulled out the car keys and handed them to Chase. IIm too upset to drive. Could you?
He took the keys. Where are we going?
With shaking hands Evelyn slipped on her sunglasses. The swollen eyes vanished behind twin dark lenses. The police, she said.
Two
The Shepherds Island police station was housed in a converted general store that had, over the years, been chopped up into a series of hobbit-size rooms and offices. In Chases memory, it had been a much more imposing structure, but it had been years since hed been inside. Hed been only a boy then, and a rambunctious one at that, the sort of rascal to whom a police station represented a distinct threat. The day hed been dragged in here for trampling Mrs. Gordimers rose bed entirely unintentional on his part these ceilings had seemed taller, the rooms vaster, every door a gateway to some unknown terror.
Now he saw it for what it was a tired old building in need of paint.
Lorne Tibbetts, the new chief of police, was built just right to inhabit this claustrophobic warren. If there was a height minimum for police work, Tibbetts had somehow slipped right under the requirement. He was just a chunk of a man, neatly decked out in official summer khaki, complete with height-enhancing cap to hide what Chase suspected was a bald spot. He reminded Chase of a little Napoleon in full dress uniform.
Though short on height, Chief Tibbetts was long on the social graces. He maneuvered through the clutter of desks and filing cabinets and greeted Evelyn with the overweening solicitousness due a woman of her local status.
Evelyn! Im so sorry to have to ask you down here like this. He reached for her arm and gave it a squeeze, an intended gesture of comfort that made Evelyn shrink away.
And its been a terrible night for you, hasnt it? Just a terrible night.
Evelyn shrugged, partly in answer to his question, partly to free herself from his grasp.