A Deadly Snow Fall by Cynthia Gallant-Simpson Read Free Book Online Page A

the least I could do.
    “Good morning Ms. um, is it Ogilvie or Smythe
I should be calling you, ma’am?”
    “First, let’s establish to whom I am speaking
and then we will get to my name, Sir.”
    “So sorry. I am Officer James Finneran at the
police station, ma’am.”
    “Well, Officer James Finneran, nice to meet
one of the village guardians. By the way, no need for the ‘ma’am’
and it is a hyphenated name; therefore, the hyphen joining the
otherwise two separate names makes it one name.
Ogilvie-Smythe.”
    “Ah, and as I can tell by the lovely accent,
you are from my general neighborhood. Allow me to properly
introduce myself to you, ma’am, er, Ms. Ogilvie Smythe…James
Finneran, late of Dublin, Ireland. Not too fond of your Queen, but
I hope that doesn’t get in the way of our being friends.”
    James had a habit of adopting a deeper brogue
when talking to women. Although it seemed to turn men off, women
seemed to “gobble it up like treacle,” he once commented to Chief
Henderson who laughed so hard he spilled his coffee all down the
front of his uniform.
    I could not help but smile; he sounded like
the quintessential leprechaun. “Don’t quote me, please, but, quite
frankly, some days I’m not so fond of her either. And the behavior
of her offspring. Oh my, a pack of spoiled Brits!”
    “Isn’t that just grand. I see that you’ve got
yourself a fine sense of humor. Well, now, is it Ms. or Mrs.?”
Right to the point.
    “I suppose that depends on the reason for
this call. If I have a parking ticket I do not know about or you
saw me pinching the fruit at Souzas’ market, then it is ‘Ms.
Ogilvie-Smythe.’ If you want a donation for the policeman’s ball or
want to book a room for your mother visiting from the old country,
then it is definitely ‘Elizabeth.’ Should we ever become good
friends, I have no problem with simply ‘Liz.’”
    “It will be my extreme pleasure to look
forward to ‘Liz.’ For now, I must let you know that there is a
lawyer here from Boston who would like to talk to you. When it’s
convenient, of course. However, he would like it to be today.”
    “A lawyer. So, you do prosecute for fruit
pinching.”
    “Oh, Ms. Ogilvie-Smythe, you are a card.”
    “Mr. Finneran, or should I address you as
‘Officer’? I can be available at one this afternoon if that works
with the lawyer. However, might I know what this is all about? I’ve
never been fond of surprises.”
    “As you may know, we recently had a tragedy
in town. Old man Edwin Snow…. jumped from the Pilgrim Monument.
According to the lawyer, it seems he named you in his will.”
    I was glad he could not see my face at that
moment since he sounded good looking and I was anxious to take his
measure. But if a look of surprise could be measured on a scale of
one to ten then mine was easily a fifteen.
    I hung up the wall phone and simply stood
there utterly dumbfounded. Then, I grabbed it back and punched in
Daphne’s number.
    “Hi. Something really, really odd is going
on.”
    “Yes, and your point exactly? This is P-town
where odd is de rigueur.”
    “No, seriously Daphne. I just got a call from
the police station about a lawyer who wants to meet with me to tell
me about…It just has to be a mistake, that’s it.”
    “Blimey, Liz, will you please get to the
point.”
    “It seems that odd little man who jumped from
the Pilgrim Monument left me something in his will.”
    Silence.
    “Aha, so you and the old guy had something
going, did you? After his money were you?”
    “Get serious Daphne, I’ve got enough money to
buy this entire town so what would I be doing with a weird little
man whom everyone disliked?”
    “Damned if I know. Perversity? A long,
celibate winter?”
    I hung up and smiled. Yes, a long, celibate
winter, indeed.
     
    I walked to the police station hoping the
Irish policeman would be there. He sounded so delightful on the
phone. It had been a long time between men. Daphne had been