Free The Angel Whispered Danger by Mignon F. Ballard Page A

like you making light of it.”
    “But we’re not, Daddy, honest! Come and see for yourself.” Darby took his father’s hand. “Hurry, before he gets away!”
    Ma Maggie and Violet had left a few minutes earlier, and Leona had disappeared upstairs for a long soak in the tub, she said, so only Marge, Deedee and their families remained. Deedee was telling us about the dress she was thinking of buying Cynthia for the Miss Junior Mountain Sunshine competition when Burdette came back with a peculiar look on his face.
    “I’m not sure what’s going on over there, but it really does look like somebody’s wandering around with a flashlight.” He waited until we herded the children inside. “I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but it bears checking out.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Parker said. “Could be somebody came up from the river trail and decided to camp there for the night.”
    I couldn’t remember that happening before, but I hoped what he said proved to be true.
    It wasn’t. The two men had been gone close to half an hour when we saw their lights approaching from the orchard—at least we hoped it was their lights!
    Marge had bathed Hartley, dressed him in pajamas and was reading him a bedtime story when Burdette and Parker returned, red-faced and out of breath.
    “It was a man, all right,” Parker said, collapsing in the nearest chair. “But I don’t think he’ll be back. We chased him all the way past Webster’s wall and into Remeth churchyard. I’ll bet he’s halfway to town by now.”
    “Good. I hope he keeps on going,” Marge said. “Could you tell what he looked like?”
    Burdette shook his head. “Medium height, I’d say, and he had on a cap of some kind. It was too dark to see his face, but I turned my light on him as he was climbing that cemetery wall, and it looked like he was wearing jeans and some kind of blue shirt.”
    “Blue! I told you,” Darby said. “I told you it’s the ghost of that Yankee soldier!”

C HAPTER S EVEN
    “Who in the world would be prowling around out there this time of night?” I asked Marge. Deedee and family had already left and Burdette was rounding up his boys and Josie in preparation to drive back to town. “What do you suppose he was doing?”
    “Might’ve been teenagers romancing over in that old cemetery.” She grinned. “Remember what the poet said? ‘None, I think, do there embrace?’ Of course, Marvell didn’t know the kids around here.”
    “I hope you’re right,” I said. “Frankly, I’d rather it be a case of good old-fashioned lust. After what happened to Ella, I’m not thrilled with the idea of having somebody wandering about out there.”
    Marge yawned as she gathered up her boys’ discarded shoes. “Burdette says the sheriff’s sending somebody out here to look around. If it’s a vagrant or somebody like that, they might even pass him on the road.” She lowered her voice. “Kate, you don’t really think poor Ella was pushed, do you?”
    “I don’t know what to believe,” I told her. “I didn’t think so at first, but now I’m not so sure.”
    “But why would anybody want to hurt Ella, of all people? The poor old soul is harmless . . . unless you take into account that casserole she made when she mistook canned cherries for tomatoes.”
    I didn’t have an answer for that.
    I didn’t have an answer as to why my daughter made a point of ignoring me, either. “I hope you don’t mind Josie staying with you for a few more days,” I began. “I’m hanging out here with Leona until the others get back from the hospital and I’ll probably end up spending the night. If anything weird
is
going on out there, I’d rather Josie not be around.”
    My expression must have given me away because Marge tossed the shoes aside and wrapped her long arms around me. “Kate, this too shall pass—I promise. That young’un’s just showing her skinny little fanny—making you dance to her tune, but I honestly