Wilmington, NC 04 - Murder At Wrightsville Beach

mother has passed."
    "No!" we cried together. We moved closer, our free hands clutching each other, squeezing, holding on to each other for dear life.
    "It was a peaceful passing, my dears. She died peacefully in her sleep, the poor dear thing. The look on her face was . . . angelic. She's at peace now, girls, and in a better place. Remember that."

23

    The rest of Sunday and Monday passed in a haze but certain events stood out. We met Aunt Ruby at the train station on Monday morning. The three of us cried openly there on the platform, and waited and watched while the undertakers removed Mama's casket and transferred it into the hearse. I'd always thought the day my father had died in a fatal car accident while swerving to avoid hitting a golden retriever was the saddest day of my life. But the sight of Mama's casket coming off that train would be seared in my brain as the icon of grief forever.
    I don't remember what happened next. I have no memory of taking Aunt Ruby back to the beach house, or of getting her settled in one of the guest rooms, but surely that is what we did. If I ate, I have no memory of putting food or drink into my mouth, yet I must have.
    I do remember trying to reach Nick. Repeated calls to his cell phone. Jon never left my side. As soon as he heard, he was with me. He tried to find Nick for me by calling the Wilmington PD Chief and telling him there had been a death in the family and that it was urgent for us to reach Nick. The Chief gave Jon the telephone number he had for Nick but it turned out to be the same number we had, Nick's cell phone number.
    The Chief said he would contact CIA headquarters himself and promised to get word to Nick. Hours later he called to report that although he had not spoken to Nick directly he had spoken to someone who assured him the message would be relayed to Nick. Where was he? Why wasn't he returning my calls? How could an assignment like translating cell phone "chatter" cause him to be so inaccessible?
    There were people in the house, they came and went. I don't remember who they were, sympathetic faces that floated in and out. Jon took me for walks on the beach at sunset, held my hand, and didn't speak unless I spoke first. He saw to it that I had meals and rested.
    Years ago Mama and Daddy had written their funeral instructions. As a lawyer and a judge, Daddy had first hand knowledge of the messes people made of their private affairs, and he'd had the foresight to plan for any contingency.
    There would be no lavish funeral service, which both Mama and Daddy had objected to on the grounds that a long, drawn out visitation followed by an emotional service were just too hard on the mourners. How many times had they heard tales of someone having a heart attack or a stroke at a funeral? They both had wanted a simple graveside service at Oakdale Cemetery. No viewing! They had been adamant about that. I once recalled Daddy jokingly saying that he would sooner have strangers look at his naked body than his dead body!
    And that was fine with me. I wanted my last image of my parents to be of them as living beings.
    The service was scheduled for four, the hottest hour of the day, and Tuesday was a scorcher even in the morning. Melanie decided she didn't have anything to wear that was somber but cool and had to shop.
    I hadn't given any thought to what I would wear, I was in such a stupor. I'd probably have put on shorts and a tee shirt as usual unless someone stopped me.
    Melanie and Kelly laid down the law about that and so late Tuesday morning, they dragged me to Lumina Station. Besides, they said, I needed to get out of the house. Only those two would think of clothes at a time like this but they said we needed appropriate clothing for the funeral, lightweight but dark in color, something simple yet chic. I swear , that is exactly what they said.
    Yet I know that Melanie was as devastated as I was by Mama's death. As her best friend Kelly was being excessively supportive and doing whatever she thought would help Melanie cope. And if that was a shopping trip, so be it.
    Aunt Ruby was invited but she explained that Binkie was coming and they were going to have iced tea out on the deck. "At my age I attend so many funerals, I have a funeral dress for every season. But you girls run along and try to keep your spirits up."
    We left her in her room, applying lipstick and blush with Spunky sitting upright at her feet, watching every move. The watch cat on duty!
    "She's