The Glory of Green by Judy Christie Read Free Book Online Page A

fine."
    He looked at Hank and Doug. "Don't you agree, boys? We start in the area and work our way back. We don't have enough manpower to cover the entire town, so we'll have to count on citizens to work out problems we can't reach."
    "Jerry," Eva said in what I thought of as her stately mayoral voice, "this is no time to argue."
    "I know what we need to do," the banker said. "Serve the people we know are hurt. Look for others next. There's plenty of work to go around."
    Eva took a deep breath. "We're wasting valuable time," she said. "You handle the parish. I'll take the city limits. We'll divide volunteers into teams with captains to report back on the hour, every hour."
    "That'll work," Hank said.
    "Good idea, Mayor," Doug said.
    She turned and surveyed the room, catching sight of me."I'll be right with you," she said, all business. She turned back to the officials nearby. "Hank, we need an emergency medical technician with each group if possible. Doug, assign the groups and get them on their way. Volunteers are meeting upstairs."
    "Lois," she said, turning to me, "we have a crisis beyond what we're prepared for. We've notified the National Guard and declared a state of emergency. We've confirmed two deaths, and that's likely only the beginning. Injuries are piling up faster than the hospital can handle them. It's operating on a generator and has serious roof damage."
    At the word "deaths," my mind froze. "Anna Grace?" I whispered, knowing she had been in bad shape when she left the church.
    "Last I heard she was stable," Eva said, "but things are so chaotic that I don't know for sure."
    I could tell there was something she was holding back.
    "Who, Mayor?" I asked. "Who are the fatalities so far?"
    "There's no good way to tell you," she said. "Your copy editor Tom and Papa Levi . . ."
    "Tom? Are you sure?"
    "A tree crushed his car. The vehicle was found blown off a side road out toward Route Two," she said quietly. "A neighbor flagged down a deputy, but Tom couldn't be saved. He was dead by the time help arrived."
    "He was trying to warn us," I said. "He knew we were out of touch during the ceremony, that no one would have a phone on."
    "Tom's last actions say a lot about the kind of man he was," Eva said. "He tried to send a text telling everyone to take cover, said it would be horrific."
    "If he only had come to the wedding as planned."
    "Lois, this is not your fault. There is nothing you could have done."
    "Asa?" My voice shook.
    "He's fine, other than a bruise or two. He was crying in the bathtub, surrounded by pillows, when Terrence and the others got to him. Levi was under a mattress in the hall. Apparently he had been trying to drag it to the bathroom. Most of the windows were blown out."
    I put my head in my hands, and the mayor laid manicured fingers on my arm.
    "Sugar Marie?" I asked, going through my mental list.
    "At Dub's house. He kept her during the wedding." Dub McCuller was one of two brothers I had dealt with in the purchase of the newspaper and not one of my favorite people.
    "How's Holly Beth?" Eva asked.
    "We found her in her crate in a tree. She seems fine."
    "A tree? Did you leave her on the porch?"
    "She was in the kitchen. Aunt Helen's house is gone."
    "Gone?"
    "No longer there. It disappeared." I said, and I could see her processing that image. "Your house?"
    "A few shingles off and my beautiful camellia uprooted, but nothing more, according to Dub. My side of the street looks like nothing happened, and the houses across the street are a mess."
    "I never thought about how random a storm could be. To think that this day started so beautifully, barely a cloud in the sky."
    "We've conducted a very preliminary check," Eva said, pushing her hands through her hair in a gesture I'd not seen before. "Thirty to thirty-five percent of the buildings appear to be destroyed. Many more are damaged. We have long days ahead of us."
    Green had unquestionably elected the right mayor to deal with a tragedy. I tried to