Free The Doctor and the Dead Man's Chest by Robin Hathaway Page B

you—”
    â€œAnd I’ll tell you to go watch TV.”
    â€œThat would be like sending a drunk into a bar.” She laughed. “Our TV is in our library, remember?”
    â€œDon’t worry about your addiction,” he reassured her. “You’ll be too busy with your computer to have time to buy books.”
    â€œThe computer makes it easier to buy them.” She handed him a chicken leg. “All you have to do is press a button and you can order a whole roomful of books.”
    Fenimore looked aghast.
    â€œYeah, it’s scary. I have to be careful. It’s almost as bad as those day traders. Beep, beep, whoosh! and you’re the proud owner of two thousand bushels of soybeans!”
    Fenimore shuddered.
    â€œOn the other hand, it’s great for inventory.” She poured lemonade into a paper cup and passed it to him. “Why don’t you get one?”
    â€œMrs. Doyle takes care of my inventory. She tells me when a patient dies or a new one arrives. I don’t need a computer.”
    â€œThat’s what people said about the telephone. Think of it, you could store all your patient’s histories, do your billing and your taxes in half the time, and Mrs. Doyle could devote herself to her nursing duties. Why are you so threatened by it?” She looked at him sharply.
    Fenimore busied himself, stuffing their trash into a plastic bag.
    â€œI’d be glad to show you how mine works,” she went on. “With your brains you’d have it eating out of your hand in no time.”

    He was starting to mellow when the lazy hum of bees was replaced by a high-pitched whine. “Mosquitoes!” he cried.
    Slapping their necks and ankles, they threw the remains of their lunch in the basket and ran for the car. As Fenimore turned the key in the ignition, he said, “Now we know why south Jersey is so underpopulated.”

    CHAPTER 14

    The first Faire in the village of ____ was held October 16th and 17th of 1695 … . The little village was then a large active port … and had been declared a Port of Entry for the Crown with a customs house … . The wharf stood at the beginning of Ye Great Street … . Also at the foot of the street stood a store and the jail. The store was made of local stone … and the second story facing the river had small slotted windows made to slip guns through as protection against pirates that might come up the ____ River.
    â€”from the Cumberland Patriot/The Cumberland County Historical Society . Fall 1999

    T he green fields gave way to marshier ground, threaded by twisting streams bordered by reeds and cattails. They passed a roadside stand attended by two sun-bleached children—a girl and a boy. The girl had pigtails, and they both had freckles. They were selling strawberries in pint baskets. Jennifer ordered Fenimore to stop. They bought three baskets. The children waved until they were out of sight.
    When they crossed the road that led into Winston, Jennifer caught sight of the wide main street lined with old shade trees. “It’s so peaceful,” she said.
    â€œIt’s hard to believe, but this quiet town was a bustling port in colonial times.” Fenimore could never resist an opening for a history lesson. “I read that they held fairs here twice a year, and people came from miles around to buy and sell goods.”

    â€œMaybe the Strawberry Festival is a descendant of one of those fairs,” Jennifer said.
    For the second time that week, Fenimore passed through Lydia’s rusty iron gate and bumped along her poor excuse for a driveway. At the end, they caught sight of a tent—needlessly erected in case of rain—and Lydia herself, peering at them from under the brim of a white leghorn hat. Fenimore knew immediately that he had been missed. Recognizing his old Chevy, she gestured for him to park in the adjacent field.
    â€œI thought you weren’t coming,”