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Authors: Sandra Parshall
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wealthy people who can’t imagine living a day without their e-mail and smartphones and cable television.”
“They want to put the lodge where Joanna McKendrick’s house is,” Tom said.
“Oh, we know,” Spring said. “Isn’t it awful? Poor Joanna is just beside herself, and who can blame her? Especially with Robert McClure badgering her. He can be such a vile man sometimes.”
The other women murmured agreement.
“I guess you’re not considering selling, then,” Tom said.
“Well…” Winter glanced at her sisters.
“You are selling?” Tom had expected the Joneses to be Joanna’s allies in blocking the project.
“Now slow down, Thomas,” Winter said. “We are uncommitted at this point. This is our home, we’ve lived here all our lives, and we’re naturally reluctant to leave it. On the other hand, we have been offered a princely sum for the land, and frankly, that money would make us quite comfortable in our declining years, especially when we develop the inevitable health problems. So, we are not committed one way or the other, but we are considering the offer—keeping in mind the changes the development would bring to the county.”
“Changes for the worse,” Summer said, a hard note in her soft voice. “This is the countryside. Bringing in a lot of outsiders would destroy its essential character.”
Winter snapped, “Its essential character is that of a depressed place where unemployment is twice the national average.”
“Some of us see the beauty of the hills,” Summer said.
“Yes, and those beautiful hills tower over people so poor they’re hardly surviving.”
Summer emitted a barely audible sigh, and her lips formed a humorless smile. “Of course my sister is correct, as always.”
Winter acknowledged her sister’s acquiescence with a little nod and her own tight smile, then fixed her gaze on Tom. “A man I taught when he was a teenager came to me not long ago and asked if I knew how he could go about selling an organ. At first I thought he was talking about a musical instrument. But no. He’d heard that people could get by with one kidney and that only a fraction of the liver has to be transplanted. He believed he could make enough money by selling his internal organs to keep his family fed and housed for a year.”
Tom didn’t doubt this account. He’d heard worse. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth, of course. I told him that organ donation programs won’t pay for body parts. They have to be donated. I didn’t mention the black market. I didn’t want to see him go on a quest for a broker. In any case, you know as well as I do that Mason County is in dire need of jobs and an overall economic boost.”
“So you’re in favor of selling your land.” Tom gestured at Winter, then at Summer. “And you’re not.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to sell,” Winter said. “I haven’t made up my mind. In any case, the three of us will make a joint decision, because we own the land equally. We may have our differences from time to time, but we stand together.”
“Tom,” Spring said, “I’m sure you’ve considered that Lincoln and Marie might have been killed because they wouldn’t sell their land. That would be a very strong motive, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, it would. But it’s also possible somebody had a personal motive to kill them. Aside from Jake Hollinger, do you know anybody who was holding a grudge or had a major problem with the Kellys?”
Summer spoke up, her voice tentative. “What about… Have you been in their house yet? Throughout it, I mean. Have you—”
“My sister,” Winter broke in, “is trying to ask if you’ve found the marijuana yet.”
Now it was Tom and Brandon’s turn to exchange a glance. Maybe, Tom thought, Dennis was right about the police being the only people in the county who didn’t know about the pot. “Yes, we’ve found the marijuana. Was it common knowledge that they were growing it?”
“Oh, not common
“They want to put the lodge where Joanna McKendrick’s house is,” Tom said.
“Oh, we know,” Spring said. “Isn’t it awful? Poor Joanna is just beside herself, and who can blame her? Especially with Robert McClure badgering her. He can be such a vile man sometimes.”
The other women murmured agreement.
“I guess you’re not considering selling, then,” Tom said.
“Well…” Winter glanced at her sisters.
“You are selling?” Tom had expected the Joneses to be Joanna’s allies in blocking the project.
“Now slow down, Thomas,” Winter said. “We are uncommitted at this point. This is our home, we’ve lived here all our lives, and we’re naturally reluctant to leave it. On the other hand, we have been offered a princely sum for the land, and frankly, that money would make us quite comfortable in our declining years, especially when we develop the inevitable health problems. So, we are not committed one way or the other, but we are considering the offer—keeping in mind the changes the development would bring to the county.”
“Changes for the worse,” Summer said, a hard note in her soft voice. “This is the countryside. Bringing in a lot of outsiders would destroy its essential character.”
Winter snapped, “Its essential character is that of a depressed place where unemployment is twice the national average.”
“Some of us see the beauty of the hills,” Summer said.
“Yes, and those beautiful hills tower over people so poor they’re hardly surviving.”
Summer emitted a barely audible sigh, and her lips formed a humorless smile. “Of course my sister is correct, as always.”
Winter acknowledged her sister’s acquiescence with a little nod and her own tight smile, then fixed her gaze on Tom. “A man I taught when he was a teenager came to me not long ago and asked if I knew how he could go about selling an organ. At first I thought he was talking about a musical instrument. But no. He’d heard that people could get by with one kidney and that only a fraction of the liver has to be transplanted. He believed he could make enough money by selling his internal organs to keep his family fed and housed for a year.”
Tom didn’t doubt this account. He’d heard worse. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth, of course. I told him that organ donation programs won’t pay for body parts. They have to be donated. I didn’t mention the black market. I didn’t want to see him go on a quest for a broker. In any case, you know as well as I do that Mason County is in dire need of jobs and an overall economic boost.”
“So you’re in favor of selling your land.” Tom gestured at Winter, then at Summer. “And you’re not.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to sell,” Winter said. “I haven’t made up my mind. In any case, the three of us will make a joint decision, because we own the land equally. We may have our differences from time to time, but we stand together.”
“Tom,” Spring said, “I’m sure you’ve considered that Lincoln and Marie might have been killed because they wouldn’t sell their land. That would be a very strong motive, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, it would. But it’s also possible somebody had a personal motive to kill them. Aside from Jake Hollinger, do you know anybody who was holding a grudge or had a major problem with the Kellys?”
Summer spoke up, her voice tentative. “What about… Have you been in their house yet? Throughout it, I mean. Have you—”
“My sister,” Winter broke in, “is trying to ask if you’ve found the marijuana yet.”
Now it was Tom and Brandon’s turn to exchange a glance. Maybe, Tom thought, Dennis was right about the police being the only people in the county who didn’t know about the pot. “Yes, we’ve found the marijuana. Was it common knowledge that they were growing it?”
“Oh, not common
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