Carmela, however, was made of sterner stuff. She plodded on. She wept, very late, when she thought no one could hear her. Claire knew she did because she would hear her as she made her own insomniac rounds around the quiet house, headed always towards the broad front window and the tree, that elderly peach tree that stood there still under the broken street lamp, grizzled and too old, waiting with life all the same in the dark. She would catch her breath. Claire laid a calming hand across her softening middle. Winter would pass and spring would come. There would be peaches on her peach tree. On her and Johnny’s peach tree.
Dharma sat down carefully now beside Carmela and took her hand in her own small one and held it. Carmela sniffed but Claire noticed that she didn’t pull away.
One good thing: Claire wouldn’t have to deal with Portia McTavish for a while. She’d up and decided “an actor’s life for me,” enrolled herself at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and moved in with her older sister Juliet, who had a two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village.
“Zinnie and Michaelaen are late,” Claire complained.
“As usual,” said Mary.
Claire wanted to get them all out of here and the dishes done early, so she could take a ride down to that old synagogue by the beach. There would never be enough light, now. The days were so short. Never mind. She would drive down tomorrow. Grillo, the sculptor, had turned it into some sort of gallery and she wanted to go have a look. Maybe she would shoot it for her book.
A car door slammed. “Must be them.” Anthony ran to the door. Suddenly Floozie got up and charged the door, yapping and snarling.
“Must be Fred,” Stan said.
“Yup,” said Johnny.
“Mr. Dodd is with him, Mom,” Anthony warned. He knew better than to ruin the surprise and let on they’d brought Mr. Dodd’s old upright piano. And in an orange trolley.
“What else is new?” Mary made nonchalant eyes at Red Torneo and nudged her Stan with a hearty elbow.
Chairs scraped into place, Anthony ran down the stairs to go, quick, to get the ginger ale, and Tchaikovsky stopped the minute they all sat down and the Seaman’s Furniture ad began.
Up the block and over the woods, a lone red cardinal flew.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1992 by Mary Anne Kelly
Cover design by Mauricio Díaz
ISBN: 978-1-4532-9374-4
This 2015 edition published by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.mysteriouspress.com
www.openroadmedia.com
THE CLAIRE BRESLINSKY MYSTERIES
FROM MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
Otto Penzler, owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, founded the Mysterious Press in 1975. Penzler quickly became known for his outstanding selection of mystery, crime, and suspense books, both from his imprint and in his store. The imprint was devoted to printing the best books in these genres, using fine paper and top dust-jacket artists, as well as offering many limited, signed editions.
Now the Mysterious Press has gone digital, publishing ebooks through MysteriousPress.com.
MysteriousPress.com. offers readers essential noir and suspense fiction, hard-boiled crime novels, and the latest thrillers from both debut authors and mystery masters. Discover classics and new voices, all from one legendary source.
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
FOLLOW US:
@emysteries and Facebook.com/MysteriousPressCom
MysteriousPress.com is one of a select group of publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
The Mysterious Bookshop, founded in 1979, is located in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. It is the oldest and largest mystery-specialty bookstore in America.
The shop stocks the finest selection of new mystery hardcovers, paperbacks, and periodicals. It also features a superb collection of signed modern first editions, rare and collectable works, and Sherlock Holmes titles. The bookshop issues a free monthly newsletter highlighting its book clubs, new releases, events, and recently acquired books.
58 Warren Street
[email protected]
(212) 587-1011
Monday through Saturday
11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
FIND OUT MORE AT:
www.mysteriousbookshop.com
FOLLOW US:
@TheMysterious and Facebook.com/MysteriousBookshop
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
Foxglove Page 32
