Rose (Shooting Stars 3)

ebony marbles.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but your husband appears to have been in a serious hunting accident. A few hours ago, a farmer out in Granville Lake called the local police to report a row boat with a man slumped in it."

A long sighed escaped from Mommy's choked throat. She swayed and would have fallen forward, if I hadn't held tightly to her hand.

"The patrolman on the scene reported what looked like a gun accident. ma'am. Searching for identification, he came up with your husband's license and other items. He had a fatal wound in his chest area. I'm sorry." the patrolman said.

"My husband... is... dead?" Mammy asked. She had to hear the definite words.

"I'm very sorry," he replied, nodding. "It's too early to tell, but preliminary examination suggests he was killed instantly and some time before he was discovered."

"I called the police to report him being very late,"

Mammy said, as if that should have prevented it. "They told me I would have to wait longer."

The patrolman nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. What we have here is an unattended death, ma'am, so there is a mandatory autopsy."

My leas finally gave out on me and I crumpled to the sofa and sat beside her. Mammy just stared at the two patrolmen.

"Maybe there's someone you should call." the second patrolman directed to me.

I shook my head.

"Someone will be here in the morning to tell you more," the first patrolman continued. "Is there anything we can do for you at the moment?"

Mammy shook her head.

I didn't feel myself. I thought I had turned into pure air and a breeze would come along and simply scatter me everywhere. My daddy was dead? He wasn't corning home for his duck dinner. He was never coming home again. Mammy and I were alone forever.

The second patrolman stepped forward and held out a plastic bag with Daddy's personal things in it. I saw his wallet, his watch, and his wedding ring. Mammy just looked up at it. I reached out and took it.

"We located his vehicle about a mile upstream," the patrolman said after I took the bag. "After we examine it, we'll have it brought back."

"This is very unfortunate, ma'am. Did your husband go out by himself, do you know, or did he go with someone else?" the first patrolman asked softly.

Suddenly, I felt we really were in a television movie. The police were trying to determine if Daddy's death was truly accidental.

"Himself," Mammy managed to utter.

"You're positive, ma'am?"

"He didn't go out with anyone," I said sharply. The patrolman nodded.

"Was he upset when he left today?" he continued.

"Upset?" My mother smiled. "No, not Charles. Not Charles, never upset."

They stood there silently. What were they after? What were they tying to say?

"What could have happened?'" I asked. The second patrolman shook his head.

"He could have tripped and accidentally discharged the gun," he suggested. "It's not the most uncommon thing to happen."

"It's never wise to go out alone," the first patrolman said, as if we could learn an important lesson from this.

"Tripped?" my mother muttered.