The Mystery at Sag Bridge

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

After lunch, everything remained as they left it, Cora's question still unanswered.

"Nothing is going to happen, Cora," Cisco said, shaking his head. "Admit it and move on. You can wait until tonight if you want, but nothing's going to change."

"I suppose you're right. It just seems...every time I turn around, something odd happens. How do I get it to stop?"

"Try ignoring it," he said, with a meaningful look.

"I'll try," she sighed. She would. But she knew she would fail.

---

Cisco left for some practice time at the bowling alley. Cora, wanting to take a step away from the events of the morning, made an attempt to read and thought about taking a nap, but she couldn't relax or concentrate on her book. She vacillated between her gut instincts and Cisco's logic, but couldn't shake the feeling of pending danger. Restless, she decided to work some more on the list she made earlier that morning, hoping that activity would settle her mind and put things in perspective.

She went upstairs and found the office door closed. She never closed that door, and wondered why Cisco would have. Then she remembered that he ran upstairs before he left the house, and thought he might have left a little surprise for her. He did that now and then.

That sweetie! He knew I was upset. Just like him to try to cheer me up.

She opened the door, a smile on her face-a smile that quickly faded as she looked around the room. The Sag Bridge diary was lying open in front of her laptop! She knew for certain, she remembered, placing the diary in a drawer when she finished with it. It had been in the drawer when she and Cisco were talking earlier. The drawer was now fully open. Cora was obsessive about closing drawers.

Cora moved slowly to the desk. The diary was open to an entry dated May 30, 1898, the page titled Decoration Day.

The phone rang and she startled, pulling her eyes away from the diary. As she turned toward the phone, her gaze swept across her laptop screen and then stopped there, the ringing phone forgotten, a chill at the back of her neck.

There, in the center of the screen, below her earlier messages, was another cryptic text box:

Yes. Start here Darlin'.

The phone rang again and, as if in a trance, she picked it up. "Hey there girl, how's it going? You got it all figured out yet? Well, now, just you wait until I tell you what I found online..."

"Wait!" Cora exclaimed. She set the phone down and covered her mouth with both hands, concentrating, sudden thoughts clicking into place.

Angel was real and communicating with her...she recognized the diary and wanted to tell Cora something about it...the diary wasn't in Cora's house until yesterday...the argument with Valerie, Cora's distress about the letter in the newspaper, that happened in her house too...other incidents, Angel found out what was going on in Cora's life because she talked about it at home or at work...those long periods Angel had no contact with her, that was after Cora moved or changed jobs....