He had time to spend, and spent some of it in a small village on a small island. He'd been here most of a week, with his sketch book and his paint box and his walking stick, and the weather had been glorious. This morning was not glorious but overcast; rain had fallen overnight, and more was predicted for the afternoon. Sketchbook and paints did not fare we...
By ten ante meridiem on Friday morning, Beth had played cowboy and wrangled her herd, hustling all four of the Fresnans into one of the pack's S.U.V.s. Tom had done the driving, and had successfully led them down the mountain and into the city below. Beth had fed everyone during the trip, and all six were now walking into the Lower Sequoia Mall as it was ope...
"What the Hell happened to you?" "You really don't want to know," William said with a sigh. "No, really," Phil asked, his concern showing. "No one's ever kicked your ass like that! How many of them were there? Should I alert Burton that they've gotten violent?" "No, there's no need for that. It was nothing, really." "Dude, you've got a black eye, gas...
Sitting at the table across from Florence Joseph, Sebastien Renard watched her eat. The big and tall young Haitian-American man smiled wistfully. Things were going pretty good. Here she was, having dinner with him and his grandmother Cecilia. Also present were Florence's younger brother and granny. Sebastien played the part of the congenial host, loving ever...
“The doctor will see you now.” Florence the nurse’s voice broke into my thoughts. I looked down at the magazine in my lap, closed it, and replaced it to the table in front of my chair. I looked around, ascertaining that I am the last appointment of the day. She smiled. I followed her through the low swinging door. It was just a routine visit. Since there i...
I graduated from high school in St. Martin at the age of 18. I should explain that to graduate you need to pass a series of tests for a baccalaureate, or bac. Since the tests are given at the end of the school year, it's all or nothing. There is a lot of pressure on students to cram and pass the tests. In any case, I passed easily with high grades. For this...
A Victorian Bagatelle 'That was exactly my objection when dear Reggie first suggested it, Lyddie, but I assure you he was right, as usual. The sensation is not at all what one would expect.' 'Reggie' could only be Reginald Doyle, Esq., my old Cambridge rowing chum, now my colleague in a laboratory venture. The year before, he had won the hand of the captiv...
Taking a careful sip from the oversized mug cradled between his palms, John Elliott sighed in contentment as he gazed out through the opened kitchen door. Freshly brewed coffee and a chance to drink to the last drop without any interruptions or distractions from his noisy, playful, demanding twins. Heaven! He was on his first real vacation in nearly seven y...
Beth arrived back at the compound shortly before the dinner bell on Wednesday. She'd driven back alone, leaving William and Florence to travel back home with Ja-mul in his old Willys truck. Alpha John had asked her to hurry back home so that she'd be available to greet the visitors from Fresno, and she had complied, narrowly avoiding several speeding tickets...
Sorrel, as a result of miraculously good timing, had escaped, at least for the time being, the eager scalpel of Hadamar's most infamous doctor, but her safety, like all things, was ephemeral, a momentary interruption in what might still be a long painfully slow and odiously ugly submersion into the abyss. Questions arose about Sorrel. Did she know things?...