Mountain Ice (David Dean Mysteries)

Dean agreed and telephoned Janet O'Brien from the hall but there was no answer. He spoke to the sheriff at home, but, as he suspected, Weller could do nothing without Edith's referral.

As the Deans entered the kitchen they both saw with dismay, Effie Quincy, seated at the table, milk glass in one hand, and the Annie Quincy notebook in the other. She glanced up at them, a guilty look on her face.

"It was just lying there," she said, and then added, "Annie wrote it, didn't she?"

"Yes," Cynthia answered. "We suspect so." Effie brushed back her hair and looked down at the pages.

"What does the rest of it say?"

"She wrote in a code," Dean answered. "Cynthia was just recently able to decipher it. There's only those few pages finished."

"It's a slow process replacing the letters to the text," Cynthia added.

"The notebook was with the other things?" Effie asked.

"Yes," Dean answered. He then added, "But when your sister was so snooty about the coins and other items and short changed Fred O'Connor, we decided to keep the notebook."

Cynthia gave him a quick look but Effie seemed unaffected by his sharp but true criticism. She added, "We didn't know the content of the notebook at that time. We had no idea it was anything but meaningless scribbles."

"She was a prostitute," Effie said, and a slow smile crossed her face. "It's a bit bewildering, isn't it?"

"You don't seem surprised," Dean said.

Effie just shook her head. "No, I guess I'm not."

"You had your doubts?" Cynthia asked

"I knew the picture Mr. O'Connor had wasn't Annie Quincy. Don't ask me how-I just knew. Perhaps it was the blonde hair in the comb. That's Annie. I could feel it. But the picture is too stuffy. Annie would never be like that. I knew her story couldn't be as simple as Claire made it out to be-wanted it to be." She looked up at Cynthia. "Are you going to translate the rest of the book?"

"Yes, as soon as I have the time. Do you mind?"

She thought a moment. "I suppose I should. My own flesh and blood, selling herself to half-drunk miners for a few gold coins. But, in truth, I think it's sort of exhilarating! It's sad, too, of course, but I can't help feeling an excitement that I had an ancestor who led such a different life!"

"I'm sure the news will be a disappointment to your sister," Dean said, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

Effie frowned. "I'm afraid it would break Claire's heart." Then she added, "But I shan't tell her. You won't either, will you?"