Sex Change: A Nina Bannister Mystery (The Nina Bannister Mysteries Book 6) (26 page)

So that, just as she was saying these things, the rifle was clattering harmlessly on the top of a closed garbage bin below.

CHAPTER TWENTY: THE NEW VOICE IN CONGRESS

And now it was July 5.

The
Lysistrata
festival was over.

And Bay St. Lucy could resume its normal life.

A life which centered around the town hall.

Where Nina now found herself, surrounded by a group that include Jackson Bennett, Edie Towler, and Paul and Macy Cox.

But it was to her, Nina, that Jackson was now speaking:

“Nina, two things I guess I need to tell you.”

“All right. Shoot.”

“The first concerns Dicken Proctor.”

“Poor man.”

“Dangerous man. But he’s in Jackson now, at a mental facility. He just sits and stares at the wall. What will happen to him…well, no one is sure. But the whole story is being kept strictly hush hush. No one needs the sensationalism at this point.”

“No.”

“And the second is, we heard from the governor.”

“And?”

“And he goes along with it, but with regrets. He accepts your resignation from the House of Representatives.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Nina, are you sure that we can’t…”

She shook her head:

“It was a glorious adventure, Jackson. I’ll never forget it. Not one minute of it. And I thank all of you so much for making it possible. But I belong here. I knew that the second I stepped off the plane two days ago.”

“All right then.”

“But what about the other request?”

“He’s amenable. Mainly because of all you’ve done. But the expense of another special election…no, he thinks he’s got the backing to appoint the successor you suggested.”

“Thank God.”

She then looked at Paul.

“The Coxes,” she said quietly, “are going to Washington after all.”

Paul smiled:

“I hope you won’t regret your decision, Nina.”

“I know I won’t. I think what we’re looking at here is a long and prosperous political career. And I know you’re going to make us all proud. And I know you’re going to make the state of Mississippi proud. And all I can say is that I am proud to know you, and congratulate you…”

Then she smiled and said:

“Congratulations, Congresswoman Macy Cox!”

EPILOGUE

The following morning at ten o’clock she Vespa’d home from a few hours of puttering at Elementals, to find Jackson Bennett’s car parked in her driveway.

She parked the Vespa, got off it, and walked to the foot of her stairway.

Jackson was coming out of the house.

“Did you bring him home, Jackson?”

“Sure did. The girls are going to miss him though.”

“Thanks for taking care of him.”

“Sure. Hey, I did have one question about this nut Proctor, or whatever his name was.”

“Ask it?”

“How did he smuggle a deer rifle into Bay St. Lucy.”

“Everybody thought it was a golf bag. He was known to be a golf nut. On a commercial flight he would have been checked and caught, but this was just the Senator’s private plane. No one thought to look.

“I see. Well, I guess it’s all clear now. I’m going to take off. And thanks for everything Nina. The country is different now. We don’t know what will happen in November, but...”

“The Lissies will happen, Paul. And they’ll keep happening.”
   

“I hope that’s true, Nina. I really do.”

“Good bye, Jackson.”

“Bye for now.”

He got into his car, started it, and drove away.

She climbed the stairs and opened the door.

A small furry animal approached her, rubbed back and forth against her ankle, looked up at her, and said:

“Arrrrrgggh.”

Which in cat means:

“Where the Hell have
you
been?”

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Pam Britton (T’Gracie) Reese is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Science and Disorders Department at Indiana/Purdue University at Fort Wayne. Previously, she worked as a speech pathologist in schools in private practice. She was also a supervisor in communication disorders at Ohio University. She likes nothing better, professionally, than helping small, silent two-year-old boys start talking. She has also published books about autism with LinguiSystems for the last 15 years.
The Circle of Autism
was previously published online at
ken*again e-magazine.

Joe Reese is a novelist, playwright, storyteller, and college teacher. He has published four novels, several plays, and a number of stories and articles. When he’s not teaching (English and German), he enjoys visiting elementary schools, where he tells stories from his Katie Dee novels and talks to students about writing. He and his wife Pam have three children: Kate, Matthew, and Sam.

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