Page 17 of Trick of Light
“I mean, Tamara is this tiny elf of a woman. And there’s Barnaby, so huge he barely fits in her house, making her tea and being so gentle to her. When I was talking to her, he kept giving me these dire warning stares. Like, hurt her and I’ll throw you into a volcano.”
“No volcanoes in Maine,” Heather pointed out.
“Where’s the closest one? Mount Saint Helens? Wherever it is, he could probably throw me in from here.”
They both laughed at that scenario, and then spent some time debating whether Mt. Saint Helens or Mt Etna was closer to an offshore island in Maine. Once that question was settled by Google, Gabby returned to the topic of Tamara. She found the woman fascinating and couldn’t stop thinking about her. “I think Tamara knows a lot more than she’s sharing right now.”
“About her ancestors?”
“Yes. And about what they must have left behind for her. Think about it. She told me she’s been a healer all her life, but she has no formal training. How can that be enough to make a living? I think she has other resources.”
Heather touched up a spot where a bug had landed in the paint. “A secret stash of pirate booty, perhaps?”
“I’m sorry, wasn’t her ancestor Marianne the secret stash of pirate booty?”
Heather laughed and offered her hand for a fist bump. “Good one. So how did Tamara learn about herbs and healing?”
“It’s the family business, basically. She learned from her mother, her grandmother, her great-great-aunt and so forth. She said they were known throughout the outer islands as healers and midwives. That included herbs for abortion, by the way, before abortion was legalized. She said many girls and women came to them for that purpose. According to her, pregnancy and childbirth back then was always considered women’s business and doctors weren’t even involved until the late nineteenth century. Now she rarely does that kind of work because everyone goes to the hospital. You know, it’s wild to me that her family lived in those woods for generations, ever since the eighteenth century, but they were such recluses that the island was still considered officially uninhabited.”
“It was never actually uninhabited,” Heather pointed out. “The Wabanaki were here, too, probably long before the eighteenth century. I wonder how the pirate crew and the Wabanaki got along?”
“Good question. I’ll add it to my notes for my next interview with her. She’s cagey, though. Luke wanted a list of her clients and she refused. He told her he could get a search warrant, and she said, and I quote, ‘What an unrealistic threat, dear boy.’ At which point, Barnaby told Luke until he had one, he’d better back off.”
“She sounds sort of adorable.”
“She is. After she put him in his place like that, she gave Luke a packet of herbs to give to anyone with the same symptoms as Safiya and Andy and Buzzy. Luke gave it back and said he couldn’t possibly do that, but it was pretty cute.” Gabby could hardly wait for another chance to talk to Tamara. She took a step back from the trim board and gave it a thorough assessment. “This one’s done. You know, I don’t mind this work, but my mama would tell me I’m wasting all my degrees being out here in the sunshine.”
Heather laughed and set her brush down so she could help Gabby set up the next board. “And my mama would say you’re saving her a bunch of money, so screw those degrees. Did you tell your mom it’s all going to be worth it once we get this whole series on the air? Has she been listening?”
“Yes, she has. Mostly to make sure I’m not giving the family a bad name.”
Heather shot her a look full of sympathy. “Maybe she’ll be proud in the end.”
“I hope so.” Gabby felt her shoulders tighten as they always did when this topic came up. “That’s why we have to make it bomb-proof. Right now she’s trying to get the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of the Police.”
“The police union?”
“That’s the one. She sent me an ad that features my brother, the police officer. You know, the good sibling.” She pulled out her phone and played the ad for Heather. Shots of her brother in his uniform unfurled along with a stirring action-movie soundtrack.
“Damn. Makes me want to join the Marines.”
“Right?” They both laughed and Gabby tucked her phone back in her pocket. “Anyway, she’s extra touchy right now, wants to make sure we don’t air anything anti-police.”
“Got it. Luckily, the only police officer remotely connected to this story is Luke, and he’s no dirty rotten bastard.”
“Says his girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend.” A broad smile spread across Heather’s face, and her hazel eyes went soft and dreamy. “How did you know we’re using official terminology now?”
“It’s pretty obvious. Didn’t I always tell you you’d fall fast and hard?”
“You did. And I always said, you’ll need a man to move at least seven mountains before you admit you love him.”
Gabby snorted at the absurd image, though it had a ring of truth to it. Her standards were high, and she wasn’t planning to lower them. Which meant that, much to her mother’s annoyance, she’d probably be single for a long time to come.
“By the way, I keep meaning to tell you that I talked to Safiya’s closest friend at the hotel.” Back to business. “Imara said Safiya’s not coming back to work. She quit.”
“Really?” Heather cocked her head, clearly hearing the same little warning bell that Gabby had. “Is she afraid of getting poisoned again?”
