A Shiver of Wonder Read Online Free Page B

couldn’t recall seeing Clair or Mrs. Rushen among the bystanders on the second floor the morning
before, but perhaps his altercation with Detective Ormsby had been
more strident than he’d thought. “Some excitement yesterday, huh?”
he said cautiously, unsure of what Clair might have been told.
    “If you call a death excitement,” she
returned evenly.
    “You know what happened?”
    She nodded. “And if I hadn’t, it was all the
kids at school could talk about today.”
    “Oh…” David reached down to scratch
Johnson’s head. “Did any of them know you lived here?”
    She shook her head. “I told Mrs. Jenkins,
because I thought I should. So she knows. But she agreed with me,
that it would probably be best if I kept that fact to myself for
the time being.”
    David couldn’t help but grin as he sat up
again. Mrs. Jenkins agreed with Clair! But very possibly, it
had actually been like that; the girl’s self-possession was nothing
if not extraordinary.
    A door shut nearby, and Johnson immediately
bounded toward the gate that led to the caretaker’s cottage. The
latch clicked open, and within seconds he was leaping all over Bill
Lopes.
    “Hey, boy! How are ya, Johnson?” Bill was
always affectionate with the dog, and David hadn’t failed to notice
that it was only on these occasions that Bill exhibited a true
sense of happiness. He wasn’t taciturn so much as imperturbable,
but as he massaged Johnson’s ears while deftly avoiding an eager
tongue, he appeared years younger than he was, as well as decades
spryer.
    Bill turned to David. “How ya holdin’ up? I
was hopin’ I’d find ya out here today.” And then he caught sight of
Clair. Johnson dropped down as Bill instantly stiffened, his eyes
narrowing as he drew a taut breath. “Clair,” he nodded. “How’re
you?”
    She smiled at him, a far wider, more
engaging smile than she ever managed with David. “Hi, Mr. Lopes.
I’m good. Thank you for asking. Are you off to sweep the walk?”
    Despite Clair’s efforts, Bill still appeared
discomfited. “Yes. Yes, I am,” he replied tightly. “Almost three
twenty. I’m late.”
    Johnson trailed Bill to the gate that led to
the common area, but dejectedly; it was clear that Bill wasn’t
interested anymore. Bill opened the gate before turning back to
David. “Maybe a beer after I’m done?” he asked. “Ya got a few
minutes?”
    David didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. I’ll be
here.”
    Bill nodded, and then left. Johnson leapt
after a fly, chased it around the fountain a bit, and then shook
himself before lying down at David’s feet again.
    “He doesn’t trust me,” Clair said
quietly.
    David blinked. Trust? What a strange way to
phrase it. ‘He doesn’t like me’ would be more natural, if a
bit bizarre coming from a first grader. But since when did Clair
say anything in a normal, straightforward manner?
    “I don’t know about that,” David replied
easily. “He’s just… awkward around most people, I suppose.”
    Her head shook. “It’s okay. He has his
reasons. You talk with Janice here sometimes, don’t you?”
    David’s eyebrows rose. “Sometimes. But not
today. Or yesterday. And I would guess that ninety percent of my
conversations with neighbors occur right here. Like now, with
you.”
    “Janice likes talking to you.”
    David tried not to smirk; it was something
Genevieve always pointed out, too. The fact that David liked
Janice, but had never had any interest in pursuing anything
further, was usually lost on Genevieve when she was in one of her
antagonistic moods.
    “She’ll need somebody to talk to,” Clair
continued. “I hope it’s you.”
    And as his eyes shot to hers, she stood. “I
have to go now.”
    “But…” David rose as well. “What do you
mean? How do you – ”
    There was a loud click as the latch was
opened, and a few seconds later Mrs. Rushen stepped through the
gate into the courtyard.
    Clair was smiling openly now. “I’ll see you
Sunday,