Read Online Magnolia Gods (River Sunday Romance Mysteries Book 2) by Thomas Hollyday - Free Book Online

“Yes, he did. He always calls in. Captain Larson told me that he could not come down to River Sunday for the Fourth of July. We always went down to the harbor to watch the fireworks. He said this year that he would be busy at the lab.”
    Question: “Where was he when he telephoned you?”
    Answer: “At the lab.”
    Question: “Are you sure?”
    Answer: “I could always tell it was the lab. I could hear the whispering sound.”
    Question: “What sound?”
    Answer: “The little whispering sound I called it. He said it was Magnolia Whispers. The sound was from the lab where he tested engines. The Captain told me it was my imagination. I almost always heard that noise though when he called from the lab, you know, in the background.”
    Question: “Magnolia Whispers?”
    Answer: “I can see that you boys are not from around here. It is a local Indian legend. They believed that gods were talking in the noises that the winds made in the trees. Supposed to be wisdom from the spirits. He was kidding me about it, that’s all.”
    Question: “Did you know that Magnolia Whispers was the name he painted on the experimental seaplane?”
    Answer: “No.”
    Question: “Did Captain Lawson ever talk to you about the Soviet Union?”
    Answer: “Mercy no. He didn't like the Nazis. I can tell you that.”
    Question: “What did he say about the Nazis?”
    Answer: “He said that people like that cause wars because they like to fight and hurt people and that was wrong.”
    Question: “Did you think it was a little strange that he was staying at the lab during this Fourth of July holiday?”
    Answer: no response.
    Question: “Did you?”
    Answer: “Well, I guess I did. I wanted him to spend some time with me and the boy.”
    Question: “You're talking about your son.”
    Answer: “My little boy.”
    Question: “Do you remember what happened here at your farm the night the plane was stolen, about ten in the evening?”
    Answer: (She looked startled) “What do you mean?”
    Question: “Well, Mrs. Lawson, we understand from your neighbors on the adjoining farms that something did happen that night at your farm.”
    Answer: “What are they saying?”
    Question: “Lights were moving in the sky but strangely they heard no noise. The lights were red and green and circled your house at low altitude. After a few circles around your farmhouse, the lights turned west and went away.”
    Answer: “I don't know anything about that.”
    Question: “Do you think these might have been running lights of an airplane?”
    Answer: “I don’t know.”
    Question: “These folks say they know you and your husband pretty well.”
    Answer: “Well, maybe they do.”
    Question: “We have all of them relating in sworn statements that it was you out back of your house that night with a flashlight signaling, blinking, to the lights up in the sky.”
    (Mary asked us to end the interview after that. She ordered fresh tea for all of us and sat quietly holding her glass)
     
    “Here’s something you might want to read,” Drexel said and handed him a page with handwritten notes. “That’s from a book we found in the River Sunday Library, a history of the town. It explained the legend of Magnolia Whispers. You remember she mentioned, ‘wisdom from the spirits?’ My staff looked it up. I mean, we were thorough in reviewing her testimony for anything that might help or hurt her.”
    Mike took the paper. “Did you learn anything?”
    Drexel grinned. “History of the Indians? I don’t think anyone gave a damn. We did not put it into evidence, if that’s what you mean. See for yourself if you can figure out why he used that name for the seaplane.”
     
    Indian Tales of the Eastern Shore, compiled from conversations with actual Indians of Maryland and Pennsylvania, by O.P. Spicer, Historian, (Maryland Books, Philadelphia, 1927). Chapter nine, “The Tragedy of the Nanticoke.”
     “The legend of magnolia whispers is one of our most fascinating