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Back The Nest Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Copyright page
  3. Introduction by Will Errickson
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. TREMORS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. SUSPICIONS
  13. 1
  14. 2
  15. 3
  16. 4
  17. 5
  18. DREAD
  19. 1
  20. 2
  21. 3
  22. 4
  23. 5
  24. 6
  25. WITNESS
  26. 1
  27. 2
  28. 3
  29. ALERT
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. ENCOUNTER
  36. 1
  37. 2
  38. 3
  39. 4
  40. 5
  41. 6
  42. HAVOC
  43. 1
  44. 2
  45. 3
  46. 4
  47. 5
  48. 6
  49. SEARCH
  50. 1
  51. 2
  52. 3
  53. 4
  54. 5
  55. CLASH
  56. 1
  57. 2
  58. 3
  59. 4
  60. 5
  61. 6
  62. 7
  63. COUNTERATTACK
  64. 1
  65. 2
  66. 3
  67. 4
  68. 5
  69. 6
  70. 7
  71. VICTORY
  72. 1
  73. 2
  74. 3
  75. 4
  76. 5
  77. 6
  78. 7
  79. 8
  80. 9
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. About the Author

“School of blues over there,” he called from the wheel. “There’ll be a traffic jam here in five minutes.” He would have liked to slow and show her the fishing, but it was no time for side excursions.

The woman’s thoughts were elsewhere. Maybe if she could ever let her emotions show, Peter Hubbard would be less a stickler in their relationship. Thinking of her colleague brought her mind back to her business here. She moved over to Craig Soaras, steadying herself on the tilting deck with feet wide apart. The wind was blowing her hair out of its knot and she held her head tightly in her hands. “Craig, do you know the problem in the island? All Dr. Hubbard told me was the equipment he wanted to check on insecticides, something about rats and roaches behaving strangely . . .”

Soaras told her briefly everything he had seen himself and heard about from others.

Dr. Wanda Lindstrom said, “Well, it does sound like a mix-­up of poisons. Shouldn’t be too much trouble to correct.” Craig Soaras was elated to hear it.

2

TWO

That morning, Stephen Scott purposely drove across High Ridge on his way to the meeting Elias Johnson had called at the lighthouse. Passing Hilda Cannon’s place, Scott’s worry deepened. The station wagon was just as he had left it. There was no sign of life, no Hildie, no Ruth, no Rebecca. He was tempted to stop, but held his foot steady on the gas pedal. If Hildie was in, he wouldn’t know how to talk to her—the gun was the sheriff’s business. If she wasn’t home, he wouldn’t know more than he did.

It was the same at the Tinton place. No sign of life. Best for him to go right on to meet the woman from Harvard.

Though the wind was up a little, the day was still sunny, and as Scott pulled up at the lighthouse he found the people outdoors on the beach. In a circle on the sand, there were Amos Tartell, Ben Dorset, Reed Brockshaw, Craig Soaras, and Russell Homer, and Elias, hunkered on a lobster trap. On folding chairs sat Elizabeth, her friend Bonnie, with Dr. Hubbard and the new woman. His first impression was that she was too beautiful to be any kind of professor, but if she was at Harvard she must know her stuff. When the introduction was done, Stephen Scott considered that he ought to report at once about the night before, but he argued with himself that it would only muddy the waters until he heard the scientists.