"But she's free now," Larkin said softly.
"Truly free," Raiford Reynolds added. "And totally forgiven, even by me." His voice caught on suppressed tears.
Parker nodded and took the top off the box. With a gentle shake he turned the container upside-down and Mia Godchaux's ashes fell free.
As the ashes tumbled toward the ground a summer breeze picked up. Small whirlwinds of dust danced in different directions. The tinkling of a multitude of different kinds of wind chimes wafted from the house a short distance away.
Reverend Paxton said, "From dust we were created. To dust we shall return. May the Lord bless and keep you as you go forth from the place."
In a soulful a cappella rendition of "Amazing Grace" Dupree Parks sent a freed spirit on its way.
…Two WeeksLater
Thedrizzle accentuated the melancholy that the sea of mourners dressed in black felt. The eerie strains of the lone bagpipe playing "Amazing Grace" sent chills down the crowds' spines. Police Chief Raiford Reynolds rose and stood dutifully behind the flag-draped coffin. He caressed the length of the casket lovingly. He looked up at the faces looking at him. "I…I can't do it, not this time." Ray sat down, unable to perform a eulogy.
A handsome young rookie police officer left the place he had been occupying with all the other uniformed police officers and stood in the place Raiford Reynolds had vacated. He looked at the faces in the throng. Has it really only been a year since most of these faces were laughing and smiling at another gathering? It's true: People might miss a whole life, but they never miss weddings or funerals.
The young man stroked the coffin as lovingly as the chief had before he spoke strangled words. "Detective Christine Milovich Gautier—what can we say about her? She was the consummate detective, very good at what she did. She was a wife whose heart belonged to only one. She was a mother, always supportive, offering unflinching guidance. She was a grandmother who doted on her little ones. She was a friend who always spoke words of truth. She was an aunt who accepted a displaced waif. She was strong and beautiful and unique, a whimsical unicorn. She will be sorely missed."
Parker Reynolds caressed the casket again. "Aunt Chris, I promise you justice will be served. I…I will find the heartless coward who did this. I love you. I will see you again in the presence of angels and our Savior. Until then, rest assured I will do that which I have promised."
The twenty-one-gun salute shattered the silence and startled the mourners. The sound would be heard again and again…
About the Author
Janet Taylor-Perry, a native of Laurel, Mississippi, a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a BS in psychology, Belhaven
University with a Master
of Arts in teaching, and
gifted certification from
Mississippi College, is an
author, editor, and
educator in English,
social studies, and gifted.
She has taught 5th - 12th
grades in a number of
districts in the state. She currently teaches life skills in a variety of areas with Goodwill Industries of Mississippi.
Janet's short pieces appeared in Letters from the Soul, 2002; Brick Streets Press: 2010 Winner's Circle; and The Magnolia Quarterly, 2012 and 2013. She's produced pieces that finished semi-finalist, short-list finalist, and finalist for The Pirates' Alley Faulkner Wisdom Competition in 2012 and 2013. Memberships include Kappa Delta Epsilon, Red Dog Writers, Gulf Coast Writers' Association, The Mississippi Writers Guild, and TheNextBigWriter.com.
The first installment of The Raiford Chronicles, Lucky Thirteen, can be found on Amazon for both Kindle and in paperback, as well as at The Bookshelf, Ridgeland, MS, and Main Street Books, Hattiesburg, MS.
Inspiration comes through life experiences. She's the mother of five and an avid reader who loves anything historical from antique cars to old cemeteries. She's on Facebook @ Author Janet Taylor-Perry and can be found @ amazon.com/author/janettaylorperry.
Broken The RaifordChronicles #3
Police Chief Raiford Reynolds learns that true evil never dies until the end of time as he encounters a brutal, maniacal killer bent on revenge.
A number of police officers and FBI agents are assassinated by a skilled sniper who leaves no evidence. The first dead law enforcement officer is Ray's own sister-in-law, and all the others were somehow instrumental in the capture and death of Latrice Descartes twenty years before any one of them was killed.
Once again, Ray finds his personal life and his professional life cannot be separated as his family become targets of a mad man.
Heartless (The Raiford Chronicles) Page 22
