It’s time to unveil the Bottom Two of the Top Ten! You’ve been introduced to the eight characters in “Bluebell” with the most mentions by name in the book, if you’ve read this article or the one that followed it, but you still haven’t met Dr. Bill Ferguson or Jeremy Claymore until now.
Our doctor character makes his first appearance on Page 16, in what soon turns out to be, perhaps, the worst emergency he’s ever dealt with.
“Mary Lou! Tog Ericson. This is an emergency! Get me Doc Ferguson! NOW! And stay on the line!”
Considerably less interested in gathering or spreading gossip than most of Drewsport’s party line wags; Mary Lou Trimmer was a competent, conscientious operator. Having read the urgency in Tog’s voice, the line was ringing before he had finished speaking.
The first cycle was complete, and the second started, when Bill Ferguson’s familiar voice answered:
“Doc Ferguson.”
“Bill…” The name, in English, was recognizable; what followed would have made no sense, to anyone not fluent in Swedish.
Bill Ferguson’s surprise was obvious. There were a few seconds of silence; then, “Tog, is that you?”
Additional seconds ticked by as Tog tried to coordinate his thinking and speaking. Finally, he broke into English. “Y-yes, Bill, it-it’s me.” He drew a deep breath, in an effort to regulate his breathing and marshal his thoughts. “I’m at the Watkins’ place. Charlotte’s been badly injured. I’m taking her to our house. Can you get there right away?”
While Dr. Ferguson’s introduction to the tragic event was more direct, soon after we meet Jeremy Claymore, it becomes clear he too had knowledge of the attack.
Per the instructions of their parents, Edith Bergdorf and Jeremy Claymore had attended the early show. As they exited the auditorium, the darkened lobby and lack of people entering the theatre surprised them. Outside, finding the box office closed and marquee lights out added to their confusion.
Edith glanced up at Jeremy. “Wonder why they closed early.” She looked about, and shivered apprehensively. “It seems awful quiet.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said quietly. “I wonder; they weren’t great movies, but… um, they always have two shows, ‘specially, Saturday night.”
Both young people had heard of the attack, but because the defining words, beating and rape were not used, and neither was close to the Watkins family, news of the incident had held their interest only briefly.
Well, that does it for our Top Ten but there are a lot more characters in “Bluebell” to introduce you to, plus I’ll be revisiting some of these in future Character Confessions posts so stay tuned and see how you answer my three questions below.
- Have you read the “Bluebell” excerpt?
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