Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 60

Ginny and I stayed overnight, not mourning, just being there for Tina, so she wasn't alone in that huge house.

I was able to have her agree to return with us to Swampscott that afternoon. That way we could go to work in the morning, with her going to the animal shelter in Salem. Tina wanted to stay one more night in case Vinnie called.

“I can drive his Audi, he had the Cadillac Escalade when he went to the game,” she said. “I forgot to tell that to Captain Smith, I'll call him tomorrow.”

“Why not call now; even if he's not there, you can leave a message. The car might have been abandoned, and towed. There could be evidence in it,” suggested Ginny.

I looked at her,“You sound like one of those CSI TV shows, where everything is solved by the third commercial break. Tina, how is your Mercedes in the snow? You may want the Audi at your apartment to get around easier?”

Ginny thought for a minute, “You will have dinner with us tonight anyway; why don't I go with you in the Audi, and Ellen drives the Explorer by herself?” She stuck out her tongue at me as she said it.

“Good, I can chose to listen to Christmas carols in my own car, without you complaining after the third song to put something else on, anything!”

That exchange finally got a smile from Tina.

“You two are more like sisters than cousins, the way you disagree with each other.”

Before we left, Tina called the State Police homicide division in Boston. Surprisingly, Pete Smith answered. She told him where her apartment was and that her father was driving the Escalade on Saturday.

He thanked her and said he'd checked; her father's ticket had been used for the game, and the man in the seat next to him confirmed Vinnie was there. It did seem he was in the boat when it left the harbour.

Since Tina was upset again, Ginny offered and did in fact drive from Andover to the condo in Swampscott. Parking was impossible, so Ginny parked at Tina's apartment, and the two walked across Humphrey Street to our condo.

Tina excused herself, and went to the loo. While she was gone, Ginny asked if we should tell her of her gender and upcoming trip to Canada.

I still felt there was no reason to say anything, even after the surgery. I had no sooner said this when the phone rang and it was Kevin. No more Ginny for an hour!

I had put the kettle on for tea and asked Tina if she wanted a cup, or I could make instant coffee, her choice.

“Coffee sounds better right now, I need the caffeine kick. Do you have a computer I could use? I need to check my email.”

I pointed to my laptop on the table saying, “Be my guest and when you're finished, I'll check mine. I haven't done that for a couple of days myself.”

With both of them busy, this gave me a chance to pick up my paperback and read some more about Captain Bolitho's adventures.

Before sitting down, I started a fire to take the chill off the room. I really like the fireplace. The other condos in this group didn't have one. It was worth the extra money I paid.

After an hour, Ginny sat beside me, “Kevin sends his love, and he checked with Cathy. The lesson is on for Saturday, she got the parking lot cleared enough for us to find room for the cars. Wow, it must have cost her a small fortune to move that snow, and winter hasn't started yet!”

“I'm worried about the snow load on the barn and arena's roof. I hope the wind was strong enough to blow most of it off. If we get rain, that snow can absorb a lot of water, increasing the dead weight by a factor of four on roofs around the area.”

Ginny laughed, “Always the engineer, aren't you Ellen.”

“You watch, the evening news will be talking about this, if not tonight, then tomorrow night.”

“I just looked, canned ham, macaroni and cheese and a salad for supper tonight? We also have a cold six-pack of Sam Adams beer in the fridge. Sound good?” said Ginny.

“Right now, creamed chipped beef on toast sounds good, do you mind pouring me more hot water for a another cup of tea?”

“Creamed chipped beef? Isn't that what the Army called S*** on a shingle?”

“Yeah, but I don't think it's that bad. A little salty maybe, but better than Welsh Rarebit.”

Ginny shuddered, “You will never see me make either one of those, I'd rather miss a meal than make that stuff.”

By now Tina was finished with the computer, “Thanks Ellen, it all yours.”

“Anything important in your email, or was it all Spam like I'm sure to find when I check mine?”

“One from the animal shelter asking me to come in, and a note from Cathy saying the lesson is on for Saturday. The rest was junk, you know, 'Take this pill and lose weight without dieting or exercising.'”

Tina's cell phone rang. From her side of the conversation, I could tell it was the police Captain, but not what he was saying.

After saying 'thank you' and hanging up, she looked at me, ”Dad's car was found in a storage tow lot in Charlestown. It was towed from the marina on Sunday night at 3am, or should I say Monday morning?

“They found some blood on the rear seat, but only a little bit, not enough to be very suspicious, just a trace. Captain Smith is doing like he promised, letting me know anything they find, rather than having me guess.”

Ginny rang the dinner bell calling us to supper. As usual, it was delicious.

After the dishes were washed and put away, Tina decided to go home and go to bed early. Ginny and I decided to watch some television and the ten o'clock news before turning in.

The first story after “Breaking News” was telling people to clean snow off their roofs to prevent collapse.

I gave Ginny the 'I told you so' look, and never said a thing.

She just laughed,and muttered under her breath, “Engineers! Always right.”

I banked the fire and headed for bed, thinking I'd snuggle into the sleeping bag rather than use the bed clothes. Seven o'clock found us headed for work, not knowing what we'd find.

Steve had done a great job clearing snow, but we'd need a thaw to find our survey points to pour the first floor slab. Well, it was only December 7th, oh, Pearl Harbour Day. Less and less people remember the attack that got us into WWII.

My father was a young Ensign on the 'West Virginia', the only battleship to get up steam, and motor to the mud flats to sink and not block the channel. Until he was too ill, he made the reunion each year it was held.

We didn't even have to clear snow from the office door, Steve had done it already. We went inside, turned up the heat and made coffee, well turned on the Kurig anyway.

What a spectacular view looking out at the harbour and Nahant Causeway in the background.

To be continued.