The Mystery at Sag Bridge

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As Cora stared unblinking at the message, scalp tingling, heart pounding, the phone rang. She reached for it without taking her eyes from the laptop. The pop-up disappeared as she picked up the phone.

Am I going crazy?

It was Frannie. After her disclosure at the last book club meeting, she and Cora's friendship had deepened, and they spoke almost daily on the phone.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about, girl," Frannie began. "There was no way that trash was gonna get the best of you. You won by an f-ing landslide! She can just stick that nasty old letter of hers where the sun don't shine."

Not listening, Cora stared at the now-empty computer screen, her face white and hands shaking.

What did it mean?

"Frannie...a whole lot has happened since then," she said. "You've...got to hear this." Cora told her about Valerie's accident. "We had good reason to be angry at her, but this...this just shouldn't happen to anyone. It's awful."

Frannie said, "Well, I'm not callous or anything, I do feel bad, but I'm ashamed to say, that girl didn't make herself no friends. A wolf, huh? You believe that nutty stuff?"

Frannie didn't know about the messages on Cora's computer or the encounter she and Cisco had in the forest-and Cisco wasn't open to further discussion about the matter. Upset and confused, stunned by the new message, Cora didn't know what to do or where to turn. Now here was Frannie, and she knew intuitively Frannie was the person to confide in.

Any two people, Cora believed, form relationship patterns through the years that affect the way they communicate with each other, not only the way they talk but the things they talk about-or don't talk about, and this was especially true of married people. Admitting one feels inadequate to face a problem, even to a spouse, is not easy, she thought. The fears and emotions she had been suppressing were about to spill out. She didn't want Cisco to witness that. He was supportive, but women understand each other in a different way. And that way was the way Cora needed now.

She would tell Cisco about the latest message, but later, when she was less emotional and he wasn't so reluctant.

Frannie's voice came through the receiver again, heedless of what was going on in Cora's mind. "I think Valerie did say she had a dog. I bet it was a Corgi-seems like a Corgi's the kind of dog Valerie would have, don't you think?"

"Frannie," Cora said in a shaky voice, "I'm having a bad day. Can we get together?"

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Cora strode into the library, and after a brief search she found Frannie in an out-of-the-way corner of the adult section, seated on a comfortable sofa. Frannie's hot-pink sweater was too tight and clashed with her pants. Her hair was pulled unevenly to one side, and an errant wisp of gray hair stuck out at an odd angle.