Through the Evil Days: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery (Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) by Julia Spencer-Fleming Read Free Book Online Page A

mean it. I am so unprepared for motherhood, it’s not funny.”
    Karen’s hands flew as she unsnapped, ripped, folded, and tossed. “You’ll learn. We all do.”
    “I don’t even know how to change a diaper.”
    Karen held out a box of wipes. “Want to learn?”
    Clare wrinkled her nose. “Not really.”
    Karen laughed. “Trust me, I felt the same way the first time we brought a foster child home. Utterly incompetent in the face of a six-month-old. But I figured if I could make it through law school and pass the New York bar, I could learn how to mash bananas and give baths in the sink.”
    “You bathe them in the sink?”
    Karen gave her an amused look. “I have some books I can pass on to you.” She hoisted the now-fresh baby into the air, kissed her terry-covered tummy, and handed her to Clare. “Here.”
    Clare reflexively accepted the bundle.
    “So what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be off for seven glorious days and six fun-filled nights in an ice-fishing shack?” Karen moved to the sink and turned on the faucet. “For which, by the way, you earn the saintly wife award. If Geoff had suggested something like that for our honeymoon, our marriage would’ve ended after the reception.”
    “It’s a beautiful vacation cabin with eight hundred feet of shoreline. It’s the ideal year-round getaway.” At least that’s what the Realtor had said. Russ’s description had been more succinct. No phone, no neighbors, and too far for your parishioners to just drop in. “This is our chance to try it before we buy it.”
    “In January. In the Adirondacks.” Karen scrubbed her hands. “No wonder you’re hiding out down here.”
    “Russ had some last-minute work to do. I figured I could help out.” The infant in her arms began to squirm and fuss.
    “With your black-belt child care skills?” Karen took the baby from her.
    “I was thinking more along the lines of their mothers.”
    “Mae Bristol is in the other room helping with homework, if you want to lend her a hand.”
    “How much of a hand does she need? She taught for thirty years before she retired.” Besides—and Clare would never admit this—Mae Bristol intimidated her a little. It was the way she looked at you, like she had caught you without a hall pass.
    “Okay, then, Gail’s in the other room with the job search and life skills kids. Pop in and see if she needs an assistant.” Karen grinned at her. “Just don’t try to tell them that all-black is an appropriate interview outfit.”
    “It worked for me,” Clare said. As she exited the nursery, her smile fell away. Chances were good she’d be job hunting with an infant in tow.
    Across the hall, in the room they used for the Rite 13 youth group on Sundays, Clare found Gail Jones bent over a table, helping a young woman of eighteen or nineteen decipher a document. Another girl was working on a laptop, while a third frustratedly jabbed buttons on her phone. She wasn’t going to get any less frustrated—it was almost impossible to get a signal down here.
    “Hey, Clare.” Gail straightened, smiling. “Here to check out the work in progress?” She turned to the girl on the laptop. “Reverend Fergusson is my supervisor.” The girl stared at Clare. Clearly, there was a work-related backstory Clare was missing.
    “Nope. Just dropping by to see if there’s anything I can do before I leave.”
    “Oh, that’s right, you’re going out to Lake Inverary! How romantic!” Gail wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “A rustic cabin, a bear rug in front of the fire…”
    The girl with the laptop looked skeptical, though whether that was because of Clare’s advanced age or her condition, Clare couldn’t tell.
    “You’re going to Lake Inverary?” The third girl shoved her phone in her pocket. She stuck her hand out. Clare took it automatically. “I’m Amber Willis. I’m desperate to get to my family’s cabin on Lake Inverary. Could I catch a ride with you?” Amber