Excerpt from The Latecomers by Helen Klein Ross, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Mr. Tupper returned his gaze to the doctor. "The day Miss Molloy withholds food from a man is the day turtles sing," he said and chuckled, so as to make light of a serious thing. But - Bridey was shaken.

"Come, Mr. Tupper, let's find the right number." She was overcome with wanting to leave the room and felt free to do so now that Mr. Hollingworth was rebuttoned and decent.

She let Mr. Tupper go first out of the room and was made to wait just outside the door while he stopped to adjust the seat of a wall sconce he'd installed years before. Bridey, standing in the well of a hall turn, saw the doctor open the high cabinet by the fireplace. It was where the medicines he mixed were kept. He took the blue bottle and pushed the cork down tight into its neck. He jammed the bottle into a pocket of his coat. The medicine in the blue jar was as precious as gold. Another patient would need it.

Bridey turned from Mr. Tupper and went down the back stairs and through the kitchen to the telephone table; she opened its drawer and found the book. She met Mr. Tupper in the kitchen, gave him the number, and unlocked the front door for him. Getting to the post office was quicker by way of the front.

She heard the doctor come down the spiral stairs and started in that direction to see him out. As she approached the hall, she saw the doctor reflected in the glass door of the china press. Why was he lingering in the hallway, glancing around furtively? Perhaps he was looking for her to give further instructions. But no. Now he stepped off the runner and moved to the wall. There was a hole where the dual fixture had been. She was glad to see it was a neatly cut square. Mr. Tupper did meticulous work.

The doctor patted his coat pocket, took out the bottle, held it up to examine it, then, to Bridey's astonishment, dropped the bottle into the hole in the wall. She heard the glass tumble and hit the lathes before landing.

She stayed where she was, watching Young Doc's reflection in a pane of the press as he took up his tall hat from the bench, put it on, and moved toward the front door. He stood a moment, pulling away the lace curtain to look out a sidelight. Then he reached for the brass knob, swung the door open, and closed it behind him - and Bridey went cold from the small of her back to the top of her head.

Excerpted from The Latecomers Copyright © 2018 by Helen Klein Ross. Used with permission of Little, Brown and Company, New York. All rights reserved.