Chapter 6Exhaustion from the embezzlement scandal, two-hour walk in the snow, and news of Hiram's murder had knocked Hampton out before midnight. The electric company restored service to my neighborhood shortly after the sun rose. They also trimmed my trees and harshly announced my responsibility to ensure the power lines on the property weren't in any danger. A terse worker clarified they wouldn't charge me for the damage because my grandmother was the mayor. If I hadn't been concerned about her forty-eight-hour disappearance and my brother's potential criminal activity, I might've given the guy a piece of my mind. Misplaced anger and childish fret would do neither of us any good.
By midmorning, the weatherman claimed the blizzard was tapering off, if you could accept only a half-inch of
