The Mystery at Sag Bridge

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Feeling that she was wasting too much time this morning, pressured by urgent matters, Cora struggled to put her thoughts in order. Bridey had allowed her to borrow the diary, and what she wanted to do more than anything else this morning was read it from cover to cover, but she had to make some decisions about Angel, and that was more urgent, much as she wanted to put it off.

For forty years, Cora had started her day at five in the morning, but since retiring she treated herself to relaxed mornings, waking at seven o'clock, eating a leisurely breakfast, chatting with Cisco, reading for a half hour to engage her brain. This morning she had abbreviated her routine, but she needed at least a little down time. Without it, she would jump aimlessly from one task to another, making little progress.

She entered her office and sorted her U-shaped desk to clear ample workspace. She gathered documents from the printer L on the left, pausing for a moment to look out the window to see if anything was happening on the street. She sat down and put incomplete items in holding bins labeled urgent and whenever on the L on the right, and filed completed paperwork on the shelf above her main workspace, leaving her desktop clear except for her laptop, note-making materials, and the tasks for the morning. This was her preparation phase.

Then came organization. She labeled two manila file folders: Sag Bridge, and Angel. She sorted scraps of paper, notes, and other materials in her task piles and placed them in the folders. Now she was ready, at last, for work.

Before retirement, Cora's life was divided into two categories: work, and everything else. Now there was historical society, library, chorus, book club, writer's club, and yes, still, everything else. There still weren't enough hours to squeeze in family, home, garden, travel, and other interests. Angel now threatened to take over everything.

Staring over her laptop at the cluttered tack board facing her, she let out a long slow breath and squared her shoulders. She had to quit procrastinating and start getting something done.

If she dealt with yesterday's interview quickly, she could devote the rest of the day to Angel. She opened the Sag Bridge folder, intending to get that out of the way.

Along with the diary, Bridey had loaned Cora some old photos of Sag Bridge. The pictures were of family members standing in front of farmhouses; none showed what the streets and buildings looked like in the town's heyday. She was looking for written and photographic evidence to help her visualize the town at its peak. She reviewed documents, starred items for further action, decided nothing needed immediate attention, and closed the file.

Smiling as she picked up the diary, Cora turned it over in her hands. It had been a delightful surprise. She would make a number of copies at LAHS, work from a copy so she could mark it as she read, and probably scan it to a flash drive as well. She was anxious to get a feel for the life of the young woman who was killed at Saint James. She wondered if the authorities at the time had known of the diary. If they had examined it, it must not have contained any clues or they would know who killed her and why. If not ...well, who knows, maybe Cora would find something overlooked, or that would be seen differently from today's perspective. Or it may just be an interesting bit of history. But there was no hurry-the mystery had been unsolved for over a hundred years, a few more days wouldn't make any difference. But she had to at least take a peek at it before she began concentrating on Angel.