"What are we going to do?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Dean said. "Did you see anyone else up there? Near where Shipton fell?"
She shook her head no. "It must have been Donnie. God, he's just a kid! He can't even realize the seriousness of what he did!"
Dean didn't answer but remembered Edith insisting it wasn't Dean who'd cut her husband's line. She must have known at that time who really did it. Her son.
"What can we do?"
"Officially, there isn't even an outstanding unsolved crime. There's a good chance Donnie is finally about to get some psychiatric help- help a long time coming. Regardless of what we suspect, it's still just conjecture. Hopefully, what happened will come out and Donnie will be able to have some sort of normal life, away from both of the Shiptons. It's not as if there's some crazed killer running around loose. Jerome Shipton is no longer in the hospital and was never hurt critically. He's back in Virginia, playing with his storage garages and probably chasing every skirt he hasn't already lifted."
"Do you suppose Shipton suspects what Donnie did?"
"According to Weller, the answer is no."
"He is such a hateful man. Lord knows what he did to Donnie over the years to cause the boy to despise him so." She sighed. "So, it's all over." It wasn't a question, just a statement.
"As far as we're concerned. Everyone thinks it's finished, except Fred who is still taking notes."
She smiled again. "It'll give him something to do now that the Annie Quincy business is over and the sisters are returning to Boston." Then she asked, "You're not going to tattle on Claire about the real Annie, are you?"
He laughed. "She isn't worth the effort. Let her play 'let's pretend' with her ancestors. Good riddance to her."
"I think if you were going to squeal, I'd be forced to protest." She quickly added, "Not for Claire's sake certainly, but for Annie Quincy. Rev. Joshua Martin perpetuated her fabrication as she requested. The lie held up for a century. Who are we to make it public now? Besides, we have to accommodate the wishes of the guests of Bird Song, don't we? Annie is a guest, at least in spirit!" She smiled. "But you're right. I'm glad all of it is behind us."
"Do you think Annie ever told Rev. Martin she was carrying his child?"
"I'd guess he learned from the notebook, after she was dead. Her belongings that Fred bought probably came from his estate. At least her words influenced the Reverend enough to carry on her lie and write her family in Boston," adding, with a hint of sarcasm, "without him using his return address."