Consequence Read Online Free PDF Page B

ambled away.
    Boone leaned back into the booth, one hand on
the table and another resting on his thigh. He rubbed his thumb and
forefinger together, then shrugged.
    Bridget poured sugar from the container onto
a spoon, then stirred it into her coffee. She added a splash of
cream from a small silver pitcher. Wrapping both hands around the
cup, she raised it and sipped carefully.
    “When are we going out to the cabin?”
    Boone looked over his shoulder when the small
bell pealed over the opened diner door. He watched a couple with a
toddler enter, then head for the back of the diner where the
highchairs were stored. “We’ll go tomorrow,” he said, looking back
at Bridget.
    “Sounds good. I guess I’ll go to the
courthouse and look through property records. I wonder if someone
around here knows anything about the owner.”
    “I’ll ask Frankie,” Boone said, watching her
efficient moves behind the counter.
    Ten minutes later, Frankie placed their food
on the table, refreshed their coffee and asked if they needed
anything else.
    “Boone has a question,” Bridget blurted.
    He eyed the steaming pile of breakfast mess
on his plate, a conglomeration of scrambled eggs, spicy sausage,
grilled onions and cheese. He placed his napkin in his lap and
picked up his fork. “It can wait.”
    Frankie winked. “I’ll be back.”
     
    Boone and Bridget moved to the counter after
their meal, wanting to catch Frankie away from the other diners.
Frankie swiped a damp tea cloth along the counter, catching crumbs
and spills as she worked her way towards the couple.
    “What’s on your mind?”
    Bridget shifted forward on the stool when
Boone spoke. “Can you recall who lived in the old cabin near
Weeping Woman Falls? The one off the highway; not the one in the
meadow.”
    Frankie closed her eyes and stood still,
searching through her mental file cabinet. “The Gaumer place,” she
said.
    Boone pulled a small notepad from his uniform
shirt pocket along with a mechanical pencil. He scribbled
quickly.
    “Hmm,” Frankie continued. “I remember my
parents talking about him. Creepy old man who shacked up with a
young, black woman. They had a daughter near about my age. Name was
Carol. No wait, Cherry.”
    “He was married to a black woman?” Bridget
clarified.
    “No. That wasn’t done much back then. I
remember their little girl was a couple grades or so behind me in
school. Other kids used to slap her around, call her names because
she was illegitimate and mixed-race. She was a quiet little girl.
Always sad. Of course, who wouldn’t be in her place? Kids are
cruel. Then one day, she went away.”
    Boone raised his eyes from his notes. “What
year was that?”
    “I’d guess it was about 1960 or so,” Frankie
said. “I remember JFK was president then and we were all crazy
about him. My family had gotten a television.”
    “Do you know what happened to them? The
family? The father? Where they went?” Boone asked.
    Frankie shook her head. “No, can’t recall.
Nobody took much notice of them. They didn’t have any friends I
knew about. Gaumer was a mean cuss. People say he was a drunk and
used to beat the woman. Threatened kids with his shotgun when they
tried to swim at the falls.”
    Boone and Bridget shared a look.
    “Violent man, huh?” Boone asked.
    “That’s what I heard. I never saw him. Just
saw the little girl at school, and sometimes her mother at Peachy’s
grocery store. They didn’t go to our church. Never came downtown to
go shopping. It’s like they were ghosts.”
    Boone tucked his notepad away. “Thanks,
Frankie.”
    “Um hmmm. Now, what’s this all about?”
    He considered not answering but knew his
brothers would soon spread the gossip. “Found an old skeleton under
the cabin. Skull’s bashed in.”
    Frankie’s eyes widened. “Think it’s her? Or
is it Gaumer?”
    Boone shrugged, unwilling to talk about
potential suspects and their motives. There is no statute of
limitations for