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Sharon Burch Toner
Category:
Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10: 1500331783
Type: Fiction
Pages: 248
Copyright: Oct. 11, 2014
ISBN-13: 9781500331788
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
A California whiteout blizzard. A WWII theft of Nazi art. These two events, so widely separated by time and space, plunge Maggie and Allie into a mystery that will challenge all the courage, grace, wit and resourcefulness they can muster.
Maggie and Allie McGill take a short cut through the snowy California mountains where they run into an unexpected whiteout blizzard, lose control of their car and nearly become popsicles.
Nils Von Pfeffer, a curator of art at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris in July, 1942, risks everything to rescue a few pieces of art, designated by the Nazis as degenerate, that were destined for destruction.
How can this event, some seventy years ago impact Maggie and Allie McGill and their plans for a quiet weekend away?
These two events, so widely separated by time and space, plunge Maggie and Allie into a mystery that will challenge all the courage, grace, wit and resourcefulness they can muster.
Excerpt
Afterward they never could remember which of them had thought the shortcut would be a good idea.
“Mom! Where are we going? I can’t see a thing!”
Squinting through the blinding snow, “Neither can I.”
Crusted with the wet, heavy snow, the windshield wipers were little help. The near gale force wind buffeted the sedan, pushing it from side to side.
“Think we should stop?”
“Probably, but where? There isn’t much of a shoulder. I’m afraid if we stop something might run into us. I can just make out the edge of the pavement. If we don’t go over the edge we should be okay.”
“But Mom . . .” Allie’s voice was tight. The coastal drizzle of this morning had turned into a rainstorm that had followed them from the coast to the mountains where it turned into a full-blown blizzard.
“I know. Not good.”
“It’s really scary.”
Through gritted teeth, “Yes.”
“Was snow forecast?”
“Scattered flurries later tonight.”
“So much for weather predictions.”
“It’s my fault. If we’d stuck to the freeway . . ..”
“We both checked the map. This road cut miles off the entire trip.”
“Miles. I thought it’d be scenic.”
“Yeah. Scenic.”
Maggie felt the rear wheels lose traction with a nauseating slip to the side. Muscles tensed even tighter, obeying instincts she didn’t know she still had, she turned the wheels in the direction of the skid and the car righted itself. “Yikes!”
“I felt it, Mom. Good job.”
Quietly, “If only we can make it to Silver Hill, maybe we can find a place to spend the night. It’ll be dark soon.”
Voice tight, “How far is it?”
“Don’t know. Maybe eight, nine miles.”
“Oh, Mom. In this storm that’s a long way.”
“I know. We’ll just keep on keeping on.”
“No other choice.”
The two women lapsed into a silence broken only by sudden intakes of breath as the car slid from time to time. Maggie was able to correct each skid and they inched forward, barely able to make out the edge of the road, afraid to accelerate, afraid to stop, hoping to find a haven for the night.
Light was fading. It was nearly dark. The car’s fog lights helped the visibility only slightly. The snow came at them as if hurled by a malevolent giant, huge, hard pellets, now more ice than snow. A sudden, violent gust of wind sent Maggie’s car into another skid.
With the wheels losing traction they crested a rise in the road and started downhill. An especially hard burst of wind hit the car from the side and it slid onto the edge of the road. Frantically Maggie turned the wheels in the direction of the skid, but to no avail. The car left the road and, for a moment, was airborne. It came to rest, almost gently, against a tall tree in a shallow ravine, only feet from the road itself.
“Mom? Mom? Are you okay?” Allie voice was frantic, her arms flailing wildly.
Maggie fought to regain her breath, gave herself a shake and with a shaky voice, “Yes, honey. You? Are you okay?”
“I am. But these things are awful.”
Fighting against her own airbag, “Really awful. For a moment it sort of knocked the breath out of me. Wow! Pretty forceful.”
“Yeah, but they probably saved us from some nasty bumps. Now, we need to get rid of them. They’re in the way.”
As the bags deflated, the two women wadded them up and shoved them against the windshield, above the dash.
“I don’t suppose . . .” Maggie turned the key in an effort to restart the motor that had stopped with the impact. Nothing. “I was afraid of that. Honey, I’m afraid we’re truly stuck.”
“Stuck, but alive, Mom. We’ll be okay. What shall we do?” Allie dug into her purse for her phone, “If this thing works, I’ll need your auto club card.” She looked at the phone’s screen, shook it, held it to her ear. Nothing.
Allie put her cell phone back into her purse, “No signal. Nothing. What shall we do?”
“They always say one should stay with the car.”
“The engine won’t start. We’ll freeze here. It’s already getting colder.”
“Yeah. What kind of clothing do you have? Anything warm?”
“A couple of sweaters and a hoodie. Short leather boots, jeans. That’s it.”
“Me, too. Didn’t think I’d need anything warmer in the desert.”
Maggie turned around and looked into the backseat, “Seems like I remember that the seat folds down and opens into the trunk.” She unfastened her seatbelt, reclined her seat as far as it would go and scrambled into the backseat headfirst, her behind and legs in the air. With one side of the backseat folded down she was able to pull their luggage into the car proper from the trunk.
Quickly she returned the backseat to its regular position. “Brrr. It’s even colder back there. Let’s put on as many clothes as we can and climb up to the road. Maybe we can put up a flag or something so that if someone comes by they might see us.”
“Okay, Mom. Let me at that bag.”
Quickly they rummaged through their bags, choosing the warmest things to layer, hoping to find a way to stay warm.
“Mom, this makes me think of when I was a kid before we moved to Florida. I seem to remember a snow storm and you putting so many clothes on me I could hardly move.”
With a quiet giggle, “Sorry ‘bout that, honey. But you were very little and it really was cold.”
“As it is here.”
Allie dug through her bag, “Here, Mom. I brought tights. Let’s use them as long underwear.”
“Good thinking. Do you have sweaters?”
“Two. Want one?”
“I brought a couple of cashmere ones. I think they’d make good tops to our underwear. They’re very warm.”
“Perfect. Here. Take one of these.”
With lots of squirming and quiet grunts they managed to add more layers to their clothing, clothing appropriate for a southern California winter and so inadequate for a raging blizzard.
Allie’s hoodie was an unlined fleece, perfect for an early morning jog. Maggie’s was an old fleece one, also unlined, she kept in the car for emergencies. Maggie found a couple of baseball caps and handed one to Allie, “They say we lose a lot of heat through our heads.”
“Wish these were heavier.”
“Me, too. Try putting the hat under the hoodie.” Maggie rummaged again in her bag and found silk scarves she’d brought to wear with the sweaters. She handed two to Allie, “Let’s tie these on over the hoods, maybe they’ll help.” Maggie leveraged herself back into the driver’s seat.
They put their purses on grenadier-style just in case. “Wish we had gloves.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, shall we go?”
Maggie pulled at the door handle but the door wouldn’t open, “This one is stuck. Try yours.”
Allie pulled and pushed, “Nothing. This one is too. It’s unlatched. It must be frozen stuck.”
“Yikes!”
“Okay, Mom. This calls for drastic action. Scoot over.”
Allie twisted and reclined on the seats, her head against Maggie’s leg and her feet on the door. She pulled her knees up to her nose and hit the door with both feet. Once. Twice. Finally, with a loud creak, the door swung open. Cold air accompanied by snow filled the car. “Come on, Mom. Let’s go.”
They climbed out through the open door and took stock. It was nearly dark and the snow continued to pelt them.
“Here, Mom. Hold my hand. I wouldn’t want to lose you after all we’ve been through.”
Maggie’s grin returned the thought and she took her daughter’s hand. “Well, I think poor old Albatross may have seen its last day.” The front of the car, named Albatross, was wedged firmly against a tall pine tree and the rest of it was rapidly disappearing under the snow.
Together, slipping and sliding, they scrambled up the ravine that held the car onto the road. Peering up and down the road they saw nothing. Only swirling snow. Slowly, Allie turned in a circle looking into the snow in all directions. The dusk was turning to night.
Maggie followed her daughter’s action, each hoping to catch sight of an on coming vehicle, preferably a snowplow.
Discouraged Maggie said, “Well, darling. This is a fine mess. Do you think we should get back in the car?”
“We’ll freeze there.”
“I know.”
Squinting against the snow, Allie turned in another slow circle. “Wait. Wait. I think I saw something.”
“What? Where?”
“Over that way. Do you see it?”
“I don’t see a thing but snow, cold, white snow.”
“Shh. Let me look again. It was just a flicker.” Allie peered off into the distance, beyond the ravine that held the car, through the snow filled woods. The wind driven snow was coming in sideways gusts, “There. There it is again. A light. I think I see a light.”
“A light? Would that mean someplace warm and dry?” Maggie’s teeth were chattering and she clamped her mouth shut tightly.
“Have to. Yes. There it is again, just a flicker, but definitely something. Come on, Mom. Let’s go.” Allie grabbed her mother’s hand again and pulled her back down into the ravine, past the snowy mound that was the car and into the thick pinewoods. The snow here had drifted and in places they found themselves more than knee deep in snow. It was heavy going and Maggie was tiring quickly. But there was no choice. They had to go on.
Still holding hands, they struggled through the deep drifts on toward what Maggie hoped was a light. She had yet to see it. But Allie seemed to know where it had been and she kept a steady course toward something. For her part, between teeth chatters and shivers, Maggie sent out a silent plea for help.
Gasping for breath, they stopped for a rest and Maggie thought she might have seen a glimmer of something. A light?
“There. I saw it again. There is a light up there. Come on, Mom. It’s not too much farther.” Allie pulled on her hand and they were off again. The drifts seemed less deep now with tall pines all around. Suddenly they broke out of the woods into a clearing. Maggie definitely saw a light this time, flickering through the storm. She murmured a tiny prayer of thanks and they plowed on.
As they struggled through the snow the glimmer of light turned into a definite light and then turned rectangular into a window, a framed bit of warmth and shelter, warm yellow, gleaming out through the blinding white snow. A window! As they approached, the window was contained in a wall and there was a building, a beautiful, big building. It promised shelter and warmth. The tantalizing scent of wood smoke was borne on the wild wind.
Out of breath, with teeth chattering, they pulled one another up high, snowy steps onto a wide porch. The frosty windows were lit and inside they could see a stone fireplace with deep sofas on three sides. A fireplace!
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