Catherine's Cross by Millie West Page B

afternoon,” he said as he pointed his trowel toward his plant beds.
    â€œHave a good day,” she said as she walked inside.
    On the front page of the Beaufort Gazette was a headline, “Late Evening Boat Collision Leaves Two Dead.”
    Jenks took the newspaper into the house and sat down at the kitchen table to read and drink a cup of coffee. As she read about the boat collision, she felt sick. One of the boats had come across the top of another watercraft killing a young woman, Elizabeth Jones, age 28, and her fiancé, Samuel Worthington, age 29. The article stated both victims were in residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. The collision had occurred around ten p.m. on the Beaufort River, and the couple who perished were sitting at the rear of the boat. The article stated that they were with another couple who were at the boat’s controls and were spared from the impact of the other watercraft. The operator of the powerboat that had collided with them had kept going after the incident. He had not bothered to come back and check on the passengers on the stricken boat.
    Feeling outraged, she said, almost swearing, “I can’t believe they didn’t bother to come back.”
    She shook her head and took another sip of coffee before the phone rang. She answered and Seth asked, “How are you this morning?”
    â€œI’m all right, but I am upset by a report in the newspaper. I read about the boat collision on the Beaufort River last night.”
    â€œYes, it’s terrible. The son of a—the operator of the boat that went over the rear portion of the other watercraft just kept on going.”
    â€œThat’s horrible,” she responded.
    â€œWhy don’t you and I pick up Rory this afternoon and go to the Shrimp Shack for dinner? I spoke to him a few minutes ago, and he said he’d like to do that.”
    â€œWhat time should I be ready?”
    â€œFour-thirty—five o’clock? I’m really tired. I was up all night working the boat collision with Detective Campbell.”
    â€œGet some rest. I look forward to seeing you this afternoon.”
    After she hung up the phone, she stepped out onto the screened porch. Mr. Bernstein had moved into his backyard and was trimming bushes.
    From the home of the Forrests, she heard her neighbor Marvin Forrest yell out, “Crawford! Where is it?”
    Mr. Bernstein looked toward the home and then shook his head. He went back to trimming the bush.
    Jenks remembered that Gigi had said that the Forrests were somewhat reclusive and she did not see them too often. The Bernsteins had told Gigi that Mr. Forrest had some drinking issues and rarely came outside the house. However, Jenks found Mrs. Forrest to be friendly and wondered how she held up so well living with an alcoholic.
    A crash of breaking glass followed and a bottle was hurled into the backyard. Startled, Jenks grabbed the back of a chair, and Mr. Bernstein dropped his trimmers to the ground. “Do you mind if I cross your yard? I’m going to check on the Forrests.”
    â€œNo, I don’t mind at all,” Jenks choked out.
    He quickly crossed her lawn and knocked at the rear door of the Forrest house.
    The door opened, and Mr. Bernstein went inside.
    Jenks took a deep breath. The fragrance of fresh perennials was heavy in the air.

    At eleven o’clock the first real estate agent with whom she had an appointment, Glenn Moore, rang the doorbell. She invited him inside, and the first words from his mouth were, “I’m sorry about your sister. You explained about her passing, but I read about her drowning in the Gazette . Terrible tragedy.”
    Jenks felt tears begin to well in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. “Please have a seat at the dining table,” she said as she motioned for him to sit down.
    He took the tax records for Gigi’s home out of a briefcase and explained that if the house were to