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Okay, here goes:
Out of Options excerpt, Chapter 2:
“Lois slowly retraced her steps up the path to the sidewalk, disappointed that Beth wasn’t at home. She would really like to hear about her friend’s discovery. But it seemed she wasn’t in luck; she would have to revert to her original plan to phone her friend tonight. Hopefully Beth would be home by then. As Lois turned to trudge back to Annette Street, she remembered that Beth’s niece Amy lived on a side street that intersected this one, a couple blocks south of Beth’s house. Lois didn’t know Amy well but she had spoken to her occasionally at the historical society meetings, and she knew that Beth and her niece were close. Beth might have dropped by her niece’s house to chat with her about the mysterious discovery. Although it was getting close to supper time, she was sure it wouldn’t be rude to drop by just for a couple minutes to enquire
whether Amy had seen Beth today.
Lois spun around and headed toward Amy’s street. Once she reached the street, she slowed as she approached a narrow two storey house midway along it. A squeaking noise, followed by the sound of metal scraping wood, drew her attention to the upper storey balcony of the house. As she listened, footsteps thudded across the balcony to the wooden railing.
A woman with sandy brown hair, in her late twenties, leaned forward to peer down at her, resting one hand on the thick railing as she spoke. “Oh, hello, Lois! I thought that was you I saw coming along the street.”
“Hi Amy.” Lois hoped the young woman wouldn’t lean too far out over the low railing. The white painted posts that supported it didn’t look very sturdy and it made Lois nervous to watch her.
“Just a sec. I’ll come down.”
Lois was relieved when Amy stepped back from the railing. Footsteps retreated across the balcony as the younger woman disappeared into the house; the screen door banged closed behind her.
A few seconds later Amy appeared in the doorway downstairs, holding the door open wide. “Come in.”
“Oh, no. I’m not staying long. I don’t want to interrupt your supper.”
“Don’t worry about that. When I got in I just flopped on the balcony to unwind for a little while before I even think about supper.” Amy indicated a couple wicker chairs on the porch. “Have a seat. Would you like a cold drink?”
“No, I’m fine. Like I said, I won’t stay long.” Lois perched on the chair furthest from the door, leaving the other one for Amy.
“What can I do for you then?”
“I wondered if you’d seen your aunt Beth today?”
Amy shook her head. “No. When I got off the subway tonight I came straight home. I was thinking about dropping by her place later though. Why do you ask?”
“Beth arranged to meet me for lunch today. She said she wanted to tell me about something she had discovered at the Payne house but she wouldn’t give me the details over the phone.”
“Oh, that sounds interesting. I wonder what she found?”
Lois shrugged. “I don’t know ’cause she didn’t meet me. I phoned her this afternoon to find out what happened but didn’t get any answer. I called round to her house a few minutes ago too but she’s still not home. Then I thought she might have stopped by here.”
“Oh.” Amy pursed her lips then exhaled slowly. “I thought it was just last night. I don’t like the sound of this.”
Lois peered at her. “What?”
“Aunt Beth was meeting Shelley – Shelley Carter – from your library book club last night. They sometimes go out for dinner.”
“A nice evening with food, chat and lots of good wine. Sounds fun.”
“Yeah, something like that but a bit more subdued. They just go to one of the local restaurants down on Bloor Street. In the dry area. No wine. They have a good chat and they aren’t usually home late. But last night I phoned Aunt Beth around ten o’clock and she didn’t answer.”
“Maybe, with the milder weather, she sat outside for a while. Or maybe she was in the bathroom.”
“No, she doesn’t sit outside that late and I tried again just before eleven. She never goes to bed before then. But I still didn’t get her. I was busy at work today and didn’t get a chance to try again. I told myself that there was probably some good reason I couldn’t get her last night so I didn’t worry about it too much. Like I said, I was planning to go over there in a while just to check that everything’s okay. But now that I know she didn’t meet you at lunch and she’s not home yet either I’m getting worried.”
“Well, she might have forgotten she said she’d meet me and went somewhere else.”
Amy shook her head. “It’s not like Aunt Beth to forget and she’d be home by now. She’s going to her friend’s cottage in Haliburton tomorrow morning to help her open it up for the summer. So she wouldn’t be out anywhere this evening. She’d be at home getting ready to go.” Amy’s brow furrowed into a tight frown. “Oh, I hope she’s okay.”
Lois tried to smile reassuringly at the other woman. She had stopped by because she been keen to find out what the news was that Beth had to tell her. It hadn’t occurred to her that something might be wrong but now she was also getting concerned. What could have happened to her friend? Was she ill and inside the house, unable to answer the door? Why didn’t she think of that possibility when she was there? But everything had looked normal. There wasn’t any reason to be concerned.
“Have you got a spare key to your aunt’s house?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s go over there and check on her. There’s probably a simple explanation.”
Are you wondering what’s happened to Beth? Don’t worry, you’ll soon be able to find out as Out of Options will be available this spring.
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