Mosquitoes of Summer Read online

  MOSQUITOES

  of

  SUMMER

  JULIANNA KOZMA

  McArthur & Company

  Toronto

  This edition published in Canada in 2010 by

  McArthur & Company

  322 King Street West, Suite 402

  Toronto, Ontario

  M5V 1J2

  www.mcarthur-co.com

  Copyright © 2010 Julianna Kozma

  All rights reserved.

  The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in

  any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

  recording or otherwise stored in a retrieval system, without the

  expressed written consent of the publisher, is an infringement of

  the copyright law.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Kozma, Julianna

  Mosquitoes of summer / Julianna Kozma.

  ISBN 978-1-55278-863-9

  I. Title.

  PS8621.O979M68 2010 jC813’.6 C2010-900807-3

  eISBN 978-1-77087-073-4

  The publisher would like to acknowledge the financial support of

  the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and

  the Canada Council for our publishing activities. The publisher

  further wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the Ontario

  Arts Council and the OMDC for our publishing program.

  Cover design and illustration by Vincent Salera www.vincentsalera.com

  Text design by Szol Design

  Dedicated to my creative muses and the loves

  of my life, Daniel, Kira and Emmie

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  CHAPTER ONE: ESCAPE

  CHAPTER TWO: ROAD HOGS

  CHAPTER THREE: HOME COMMING

  CHAPTER FOUR: SECRETS REVEALED

  CHAPTER FIVE: FRENCH RIVER

  CHAPTER SIX: ARROW HEAD

  CHAPTER SEVEN: PLANSAND TRAPS

  CHAPTER EIGHT: ASUSPECT

  CHAPTER NINE: JACK JACK

  CHAPTER TEN: GHOSTS AHOY

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: JACK ’ STALE

  CHAPTER TWELVE: THE PLOT THICKENS

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ENLIGHTENING SUPPER

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MOSQUITOES OF SUMMER

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: STORM FRONT

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: LOST AT SEA

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: NORTH RUSTICO

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: RESCUE

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE INHERITANCE

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  The heavy rain seemed endless and unforgiving. It pocked the roughened red sand with millions of tiny holes. In rhythm with the downpour, the angry sea churned and immense waves smashed into the beach front, gouging large trenches in the sand. The booming crash of each wave was deafening, while the wind shrieked in the tortured night.

  Amid the rare lulls in the storm, the distant but insistent clang of a buoy could be heard as it fought to remain standing in the ferocious sea. Tossed about like a child’s bath toy, it struggled against the pressure of the maddening tide, stubbornly refusing to give up its rightful place. It was a haunting sound.

  Back on the beach, broken pieces of wooden lobster traps were washed up, along with mounds of seaweed, shattered blue mussel shells and translucent lumps of dead jelly fish. For the past few hours the Gulf of St. Lawrence was relentlessly pounded by the storm, and the strong winds and rain were not abating.

  Suddenly, through the heavy ocean mist, a faint light appeared among the sand dunes. The tall grasses whipped their razor-sharp stalks in a wicked dance against the howling wind. Although the yellow beacon from a lighthouse gave off an intermittent glow, it was not the source of the light. No, this unsteady light slowly made its way down the winding path toward the sandy beach.

  “Can’t see a damn thing in this rain,” a low rumbling voice muttered, seemingly weaving its way down a narrow footpath. “Should have worn a rain hat. Long underwear too, curse it!”

  The shadowy intruder finally reached the path’s end and paused to catch his breath. He raised the kerosene lantern, haloing himself in its white glow. His black raincoat whipped around his knees as the rain fell in steady streams, plastering his hair against his head.

  The lone figure silently surveyed the battered shoreline, squinting against the lantern’s glare. He noticed mounds of sea debris scattered in all directions. After a few minutes, he moved sluggishly off to his left on the beach, leaning forward against the strong winds.

  After about two hundred yards, the man stopped. A large hulking shape blocked his way. The lantern began to shake unsteadily in his right hand as he stared ahead. He was motionless for several minutes and then, with a shudder, he raised the light and circled the mysterious object. Every now and then he bent down to examine something of interest. Suddenly, he paused.

  “Hah! I knew it. After all these years it’s finally happened. It’s come in! It’s her!”

  The man’s left hand reached into his slick raincoat and quickly pulled out a small shiny object. Switching the lantern to his left hand, he struggled to pry open the blade of his pocket knife.

  “Success comes to those who wait, and I intend to be rewarded, at all cost.” He whispered fervent prayers as he clumsily worked his knife. Once successful, he bent down again and disappeared within the object, seemingly swallowed up whole by the darkness. It was a very small and cramped space for a man his size. Scraping noises mixed with uttered curses – then, a surprised grunt. Wood cracked like a rifle shot as it tore apart. The knife thudded into the wet sand as it fell from hands numb with cold.

  “Damn this weather!” he said. “I can’t believe it’s April.”

  The man groped in the sand and found the knife again. For the hundredth time he wished he had better tools. Frantically he struggled to coax whatever he was looking for out of its ancient resting place. At last, with a final heave, something snapped and plopped to the ground. The stranger fell back on his butt, squelching wet sand and slimy seaweed under his raincoat. Quickly he scurried back to where he was working, the glow of the lantern casting menacing shadows. Peering down, he uttered a yelp of pleasure, and clapped his hands together in great excitement.

  “At last!” yelled the stranger. “After all these years, I’ve finally found it. Unbelievable! I never thought –” Hurriedly scrambling to his knees, he crawled back out into the night and started to dance around the large object, swinging his arms above his head and twirling like a mad dervish. A frightening midnight spectacle.

  Returning to the lantern’s feeble light inside the mysterious shape, he bent and picked up a small object not much bigger than his hand. Lovingly he stroked his new-found treasure. Fumbling with his coat, he managed to fish out a plastic Sobey’s bag from his pocket. Quickly placing the object inside, he hid it within the folds of his raincoat. “Time to go,” he sang.

  Picking up his lantern, he stopped and caressed the large dark shape, as if patting an old dog. Then he left, stumbling against the night. As the lantern light faded away into the dunes, the lighthouse remained vigilant; a silent and impassive observer.

  Just beyond the horizon and off to the west, the heavy clouds scurried across the sky. An occasional flash of silvery light shot through the gauzy curtain of night. Then, the cold crescent moon peeked through the parting clouds. Its tentative glow held a promise that tomorrow might be a better day.

  Except for the occasional scurry of exhausted crabs, the beach was finally, and utterly, deserted.

  When the weather channel warned of unusually high winds and heavy rains, both tourists and locals kept to the indoors. Many prayers were uttered to long-forgot
ten gods, especially those that ruled over strong walls and waterproof roofs.

  So it came as quite a shock when mussel fisherman Wayne Simpson happened to glance out his living room window. He was unable to sleep because of worry over his boat, The Lost Horizon. Simpson loved his little corner of the island. French River was the loveliest place on earth, he thought fondly. But his joy in his home depended on his livelihood, which meant the seaworthiness of his boat. In other words, it had to stay afloat... in water!

  Pushing aside the white lace curtains that framed the large picture window, Simpson strained to see through the darkness of the storm. The filmy pane of glass was wet from the rain. “Phew! She’s still there,” he thought out loud. The boat was indeed secure in the relative safety of the tiny harbour.

  But what’s this? Out of the corner of his eye Simpson noticed a small light bobbing in the distance off to his right. It was headed away from the harbour and towards Route 20, the main road that ran through much of the communities along the north shore of Anne’s Land.

  Who was wacky enough to be out strolling in this weather? Had to be some crazy idiot tourist out for a last look at the ocean, he thought. Or maybe someone with car trouble. Or better yet, a poor soul got thrown out by the wife! Simpson turned away from the window and chuckled. “Oh well, I’ll find out all about it tomorrow.” Gossip was a major pastime on the island, a veritable hotbed of current and irrelevant news, and Simpson just loved it.

  Giving in to a jaw-cracking yawn, he carefully shuffled his way along the darkened corridor to his bedroom. It was the last room at the back of the house and the farthest away from the harbour. The noise of the storm was much more subdued here. Nonetheless, occasional gusts of wind still buffeted the sides of the house, making the old walls creak and groan.

  With no wife to worry about waking, he quickly jumped into his cold bed and huddled under a feathery duvet blanket, waiting to warm up. “I’ll check out the beach tomorrow and see what’s been washed up on shore,” he thought, as he drifted off to sleep. There was always something interesting to scavenge.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ESCAPE !

  “Make sure to pack everything you want to bring with you to PEI,” shouted Mom to her daughters, Hannah and Emily Morgan, who were already sacked out in the car. “Check your beds for your MP3 players and DVD movies. You’ll need those for the long ride!”

  “You mean the long and borrrring drive,” said 13-year-old Hannah, rolling her dark brown eyes with typical teenage angst. She was forever trying to perfect her eye rolling technique. Unfortunately, it rarely had any effect on her parents. More practice was definitely in order.

  She ran back to her room for a final look and found many forgotten things in her bed – no big surprise. She knew her bed resembled more a landfill than a soft place to lie down on, but it was her sanctuary. She most certainly needed the 23 books, apples, dolls, stuffed animals, pens, papers, flashlight, radio, half-eaten granola bar … No question! Those were all essential for survival in bed. Well … except for the bugs. Those had to go … eventually.

  Hannah scurried out of her room. After a year of yearning to go back, she was only days away from seeing her beloved Prince Edward Island again. She dashed down the stairs and sprinted back to the car, arms laden with last minute stuff. A few moments later, four humans, one bird and 15 Monarch caterpillars left St. Eustache, Quebec, in their overflowing Toyota Corolla and headed east towards the Maritimes. Hitched to the back of their car was their well-used tent trailer, which they planned to leave on the island. Hannah thought it a great place to store unexpected guests.

  “Talk about making my life difficult,” muttered Hannah under her breath as she tried to find space in the car for her insect cage. It took her weeks to collect these caterpillars along the road of their country place in the Laurentians. She fed them milkweed leaves to keep them alive. Last week some of the fatter ones started forming their chrysalides. If all went well, Hannah expected to release the newly hatched Monarch butterflies in PEI.

  “Emily, move your junk from the middle of the seat,” demanded Hannah, impatiently flicking her long brown hair out of her tanned face.

  “Say please or no go,” replied her pint-sized 10-year-old sister Emily, otherwise lovingly known as Emzo the Bozo.

  Jabbering non-stop, this tiny would-be gymnast of a sister was a tough little pain in the butt who had no qualms about pushing what little weight she had around. Emily barely made it into the lightweight category of 55 pounds, but this Grade 4 graduate was tougher than most of the Grade 6 bullies in her school. Hannah, however, was grossly unimpressed.

  As the older child, Hannah was the shy and quiet one. She often had a smile on her face, and many people considered her the quintessential model of a “nice girl.” A voracious reader, she zipped through the books her mother bought her. She absolutely adored Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries. She was also the biggest (Hannah’s emphasis) CSI fan. The TV show that highlighted forensic science and “gross stuff” was Hannah’s raison d’etre, and she worshipped the weekly drama. Life would be worthless if she missed an episode of blood and gore.

  She was also a real pro at pushing Emily’s buttons. Quietly and on the sly.

  “Emily, your head’s on my side of the car,” whispered Hannah to the slouched-over blond hairball. “Push over or you’ll squish Mr. Bean.”

  Instead of sitting back, Emily raised her left arm and plopped it further onto Hannah’s side. A deliberate, methodical and evil move. Hannah pushed it back with her right hand while her real-life parrot, Mr. Bean, sat upon her left. A severe tactical error! Emily lashed back. Hannah’s life flashed before her eyes.

  “Ouch! You almost got Mr. Bean and now he’s freaking out,” yelled Hannah. “Get back on your side. Mooom-mmm! Emily is touching me. She won’t stop pushing over to my side. Tell her to stop. Now!”

  “Hello Mr. Bean.”

  “Pretty boy.”

  “Cutie pie.”

  “WHATCHA DOIN?!?!?!?!” screamed the green feathered Bean as he struggled to hold on to Hannah’s spastic hand.

  “Emily, sit up,” said Mom glancing behind her.

  “Watcha doin?” said the parrot, in a more subdued voice.

  “If we get into an accident your seat belt won’t help you. In fact it might hurt you even more. So sit up!”

  “Watcha doin?” Louder.

  “And stay on your side.”

  “Watcha doin?” Even louder.

  “Hannah, stop pushing Emily

  “Hannah, stop pushing Emily and watch out for the Bean. He’s toppling over. Emily, Sit up!! ”

  “WHATCHA DOIN?!!!”

  Completely frazzled, Dad turned up the radio in hopes of drowning out the three mad sopranos in the back seat. This did not bode well for the upcoming 12 hour drive to PEI.

  Then … horror of all horrors:

  “How many more minutes till we get there?” yawned Emily. “I’m hungry.”

  Reality check: they were only half an hour into the ride. Moans and groans came from both the front and back seats as “Teeny One” demanded answers, and more Timbits. Breakfast in the car would not be the same without those little donut hole treats that were gobbled up in one bite.

  After scarfing down a dozen Timbits, Emily moved on to a bag of cotton candy and then some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Crumpling up the chocolate bar wrapper, she then asked for chips. It was all washed down with some neon blue Gatorade.

  “Hannah, peel your sister off the ceiling of the car and hide her snacks,” cried Dad. He was maneuvering through a difficult stretch of Highway 640 and the distraction from a hyper child on a massive sugar high was a bit much. “I can’t believe all this construction. They’ve been working on this road forever, and they make the detour lanes so narrow. Because it’s still dark out it’s hard to see where your next turn is.”

  Thankfully, a few minutes of silence passed. There was actually a glimmer of hope that peace would triumph. But alas ...


  “Mom, do my eyes still glow red in the dark or have I outgrown that little problem?” asked an angelic-looking Emily. She had a very attractive ring of chocolate around her mouth. She was peering at her reflection in the car door’s window, moving her head from side to side.

  Mom almost choked on her cappuccino and laughed till she cried, or just plain cried. Hannah couldn’t tell for sure. Dad had an alarmed look on his face. “Yes Emily, the curse is still with you. Your eyes glow red, you can turn your head completely around three times, and when you speak you actually growl. Seriously though, wherever did you get that crazy idea from?”

  “Do we really want to know?” whispered Mom. “Let’s tell ourselves it was a completely normal comment from a very normal child. Okay? Sometimes we need to pretend ignorance. It’s what keeps me sane.”

  After giving Emily the evil eye, Hannah checked on the Bean. He was sleeping in his Bean Mobile (a converted cat carrier), oblivious to the chaos. He hated early mornings and refused to get out of his cage at home when it was time to leave. After forcefully prying his feet off his warm teddy bear one claw at a time, Mr. Bean was dumped into his carrier and brought to the car at four o’clock in the morning. How rude!

  A much loved member of the family, the Bean had a character bigger than his 4-foot-tall palatial cage. Last year the two-year-old Mustached Parrot had to be babysat by Hannah’s grandparents, Nagymama and Nagypapa, when the family went on vacation. A month is a long time for a bird … and an obsessed girl too.

  “Love you!” screeched the Bean as the car bounced through a nasty pothole.

  Every year since Hannah was four years old, the family headed to PEI for a month-long holiday. The island has some of the loveliest beaches in Canada. Hannah and her family considered the north shore of this tiny province the best place of all. They always camped at Twin Shores in Darnley, about 20 kilometers west of the ever popular Cavendish, home of Anne of Green Gables.

  This winter her parents decided to buy a vacation home on the island with some family friends, and planned on renting it out when they were not using it. Mom and Dad spent months looking through the online MLS listings, eliminating most of the houses they saw. Many were so old that they were falling apart. Others were out in the boonies and nowhere near a beach. Some houses even had to be moved from where they were currently standing. Imagine that!