Mountain Ice (David Dean Mysteries)

"What's the problem?" Dean asked as he loaded the dishwasher. "Did the Boston sisters get all the poop on Annie before you got there?"

"I don't know what they dug up but what I found is a bit of a mystery," Fred answered as he began to poke in the refrigerator. "Something doesn't add up with Miss Annie Quincy." He turned to Cynthia who was dishing out the last of the chicken for him. "Did you get to decipher any more of the notebook?"

"I haven't had a chance with Bird Song packed like a sardine can. What seems to be the problem?"

"Miss Worthington spent the day waiting on Claire and showing her and her sister the old newspapers on microfilm at the library. She claims they read everything from 1898 forward. By the way, she's a bit peeved about the picture. Asked me outright if I thought Claire might have pinched it."

"Sounds like Miss Worthington is a quick read on the old bitch if you ask me," Dean said.

"How did you answer her?" Cynthia asked.

"I told Miss Worthington I wasn't one to accuse, but I didn't argue with her none, neither. But that's not the problem." They both looked up as he continued. "I noticed the newspaper always gave a big spread for weddings, so as long as I was there I thought I'd try and find Annie and the Reverend's marriage. I started looking at earlier editions."

"So?" Dean asked, trying to hustle Fred along with his drawn out explanation.

"So all I got was the same stuff. More 'do good' business by the reverend's wife, all the way back to 1896. That's as far as I got."

"But Annie was writing her sister after that date, in 1898, and she wasn't married yet," Dean said.

Fred gave him a big gotcha smile. "See what I mean?"

Cynthia poured a cup of tea. "Perhaps there was an earlier Mrs. Martin who died?"

"Nope. The papers would have made a big deal of it."

"Maybe Annie kept her wedding secret from her family, at least for a time," Cynthia offered. "By the tone of the letters Rachael wrote to her, the family appeared somewhat estranged from one another."

"Makes reading Annie Quincy's journal a bit more interesting, doesn't it?" Dean said. "Fred, it looks like you've got yourself a real mystery this time."

"Well," said Cynthia, "I have four dozen muffins to bake and scads of other things to do like cookies and cake for tomorrow afternoon. With Bird Song being full, much as I'd like to get to know Miss Annie a little better, she'll have to wait in line."