When You Were Young

"If you don't mind my asking-"

"I thought I'd do a little bird watching," Samantha said. She gave the woman another fifty dollars, leaving her billfold almost empty. Another gun might be handy, but that seemed to be the only thing New Beginnings didn't sell and she didn't want to arouse any more suspicion. "This should do."

"I'm glad I could be of help, Miss-"

"Young. Samantha Young." She didn't see any harm in giving her name to the antiques dealer.

"Margaret Pestona. It's rare to get someone in here who knows anything about antiques. Mostly we get the tourists looking for something pretty. How long are you staying?"

"I'm not really sure." A yawn crept out of her mouth before she could stop it. "I don't suppose you know a good place to stay around here?"

"There are a lot of motels and cabins, but most of those are booked this time of year. For someone of your taste, I think you should check with Mrs. Milton at the Seafarer Bed and Breakfast. I can give you directions."

"That would be very helpful, thank you." Samantha followed Pestona over to the cash register, an antique itself. On a pad of paper, Pestona sketched out directions to the bed and breakfast. Samantha didn't know if she would need them, but at least it would help validate her cover story should anyone ask.

She stuffed the piece of paper into her pocket. "There's one more thing if you don't mind. Do you know anyone around here by the name of Pryde?"

"Oh sure, the Pryde family's lived here since the town began. There's a lot of interesting history surrounding that family. Some people say they're cursed."

"Why's that?"

"Well, they've had some bad luck and you know how people like to talk." Pestona motioned to the items in Samantha's hands. "There was Jonas Pryde about sixty years ago not more than two months after getting married. He never came back. His wife wasn't quite the same after that. Kept to herself a lot. Some people called her crazy. When I was little, we all used to go up her house and dare each other to knock on the front door. I don't think she was crazy so much as lonely, especially after what happened with her son."

"What happened?"

"He married a colored woman and got her pregnant. Made his mother so furious she disowned him. He disappeared for a while to Arizona or New Mexico, someplace like that. About twenty years ago he came back with a new wife-this one more to his mother's liking-and she took him back."