and then

"I don't care," the President of the Garden Club muttered, turning away from the outdoor thermometer. "I'm never wearing my winter coat again!"

meanwhile. . .

The President of the Garden Club knew she ought to finish those dilly beans she put up last year before starting anything.

and meanwhile. . .

"That's torn it," said the President of the Garden Club, "I'm fixing to start those seeds anyway, spring or no spring."

meanwhile. . .

The President of the Garden Club about had a conniption fit when she thought about that Punxsutawney Putz or whatever the damn groundhog was called.

sending out an sos

         Meredith glanced out to sea. The 11:00 ferry was visible, headed into Old Harbor. Bobby would be at the taxi stand. She turned up the volume on her phone and rang his cell.     She could not get used to interrupting someone as they were driving in their car or eating in a restaurant. But, whatever.

      “Merry.”

      “They searched your car?”

      “They searched my car, my person and my record.”

      “Oh dear.” She pronounced it “deah.”

      “You got that right.”

      “Joseph says we’re on our own.”

      “Big surprise.”

      “No, he will help us as much as he is able to, but we have to find out what happened. He’s just trying to keep the people from the mainland from muddying the waters.”

        “Running interference.”

        “Yes. At least we know the cast of characters.”

         “Are you referring to Kate?”

         “Or Katie or whatever her name is. You know who I mean!”

         “Gallia est divisa in tres partes.”

           “What?”

           “The Islanders, the Summer People and the Day Trippers. Well, actually, the Summer People could be subdivided into Cottagers and Renters. And the Winter People—Islanders, Neo Year Rounders—former Cottagers turned retirees and their children who couldn’t get it together elsewhere, weirdos, drifters. The boat is docking. I’ll come by later.”

Back to the Plot

        Joseph went back to his car and opened the passenger door.  She laboriously climbed off the kneeling cushion. “Here’s your purse.”

       “I suppose they’ve dusted it!”

       “They got it from Bobby’s car. It had your prints, Bobby’s prints and someone else’s.”

        “Theirs, most likely!”

        “No. But after they fingerprint everyone on the island they’ll know whose. Ma?”

         “Yes, Joseph?”

         “You’re going to have to figure this out. For your sake and my sake and Bobby’s sake. And your grandson’s. And for the sake of everybody on the island. They’re never going to be able to do it. And we can’t live like this, suspecting each other.”

         “We mostly do. It’s island tradition.”

         “Not this bad,” said Joseph. “Talk to Bobby. Cook something up.”

         He walked back to the toolshed. She put her purse down on the garden bench and clunked down on it herself.

Garden Club Alert

 NSA leaker Edward Snowden revealed today that he will release documents showing that the intelligence agencies are conducting a huge surveillance on American groups it sees as a far greater threat than Iran's nuclear program or North Korean missiles--American Garden Clubs.
      The documents show that when intelligence sweeps of phone and internet communications were changed a few years back as unrest swept the Arab world, one of the words they keyed on was "spring," as in "Arab Spring." To their amazement, intelligence analysts uncovered a massive "spring" movement in the United States that was centered in garden clubs. Even more disturbing was the number of "plots" they were engaged in, many of them targeted at public buildings and densely populated urban areas.
      The analysts thought the extent and fervor of the groups warranted extensive monitoring and satellite assets were moved from monitoring the middle east, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The results, again, were chilling. Geraniums, begonias, poppies and other tools of the clubs were creating vast red swaths recalling the worst days of the cold war. The colors white and blue, analysts wrote, were significantly absent.
       In one high level briefing before the Senate intelligence committee Arizona Senator John McCain was visibly shaken by the findings. "We saw the devastating impact that Flower Power had on this country once. We cannot let it happen again," he emotionally told the committee.
     Snowden said that he would release the data because General Keith Alexander is arguing his surveillance of US phone and internet traffic had stopped dozens of plots. He said that most of those plots involved flower beds outside sensitive public buildings.
      "The public has to know this," he said.
 —Ed Barnes, reporting from Brooklyn, NY