A Man With a Pure Heart Page 5

  Chapter Six

  Kathleen finished the letter to her mother. She had written all about the school, the twenty-six students, her nice little cottage, and Taylor’s Millinery. She wished she and her mother had a closer relationship. Then she could have written about Samuel. She could have described his golden eyes, the strength in his hands, and the fire in his kiss. Well, maybe not that. She was used to keeping her feelings to herself. Even before Mary Elizabeth had left home, Kathleen was aware that they all existed in their own little worlds, taking care not to let one overlap into the others’ lives.

  After having spent time with Samuel’s family, she was justified in believing hers was not a normal family. She had adjusted to this, and didn’t really believe she was deprived, until she had seen Samuel interact with so many children. The joy on their faces, and his, had shown her just how much she had missed. And she did not want to miss any more.

  Samuel had awakened a need for laughter and closeness. He had given her a glimpse of what it could be like to live in the moment and share it with others. Kathleen realized the most painful part of losing Mary Elizabeth was the realization that she was basically alone in the world. Meeting Samuel had given her the understanding that she did not want to live life that way. Oh, if she had stayed in Boston she would have eventually accepted some man’s proposal, and her life would have fallen into the sad, lonely pattern set by her parents. She was now sure she could not accept that cold way of life. She had seen love and joy, concern and caring, and she wanted it for her very own.

  ****

  Samuel was reading patrol reports when Edith Hampton stopped in front of his desk.

  “You had a message from a Mr. Sterling. He says he has something for you.”

  Samuel closed the folder and sat back in his chair. “Did he say what?”

  “No. Just that he would be closing at five this afternoon.” Edith propped one hip on the corner of the desk. “So. Are we making any progress with the schoolteacher?”

  Anger started to rise in him. “Edith, I am not going to discuss Kathleen with you.”

  “I was talking about the dead one,” she snapped. “I don’t want to know anything about your private life.”

  Samuel let out a long sigh. It was time to smother this, once and for all.

  “Edith, have I ever treated you as anything other than a competent and accomplished secretary? Have I ever given you any reason to think our friendship was anything other than professional?”

  Edith was standing now. “No, no, you have not. And I am beginning to understand that you never will.” She paused and swallowed back another smart remark. “Samuel, we have worked together for almost three years, and I believed there was something more than business between us. Captain Lance spoke with me yesterday. I understand that I have let my personal feelings create a less than ideal working atmosphere…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes began to burn.

  “Aww, Edith, please don’t cry.”

  She swiped at her eyes, straightened her back, and conjured up a watery smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to make a scene. I had time to think about this last night, and I understand that I created this problem myself. I’m sorry if it has caused you any embarrassment, and I assure you that it is over. From this moment forward, ours will be a good working relationship, and that is all.” Edith turned and walked stiffly back down the hall to her desk.

  Samuel figured it might be a good idea to go see Mr. Sterling now.

  When he arrived at the tobacconist’s shop, the old gentleman was just as dapper today as the first time Samuel had met him.

  “Good afternoon, sir. I was told you had something for me.”

  Mr. Sterling’s blue eyes twinkled. “Young man, you seemed so interested in the Perique tobacco, when last we met, that I proceeded to do a little study of it. I contacted a friend in Louisiana, who in turn contacted a member of the Poche family in St. James Parish. I was able to order a canister of the exclusive Perique blend, and I have a small pouch for you.” The old gentleman placed a black drawstring pouch on the counter.

  “Well, Mr. Sterling, that was mighty kind of you.” Samuel smiled as he picked up the pouch, loosened the drawstring, and inhaled the aroma of the contents. “Yes, sir, that is definitely the same. A lot stronger, as it’s fresh, but surely the same make-up.”

  Mr. Sterling returned Samuel’s smile. “I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me now what this is all about?”

  Samuel stood shook the old gentleman’s leathered hand. “I thank you, sir. This may well come in handy for an investigation I’m working on.” Samuel inquired the cost and paid it, then smiled again as he slipped the pouch into his coat pocket and headed out the door.

  Mr. Sterling, observing Samuel as he walked away, chuckled to himself. “Well played, my boy, well played.”

  As Samuel strode back to headquarters, he made mental lists, aligning the things he did know on one side, and the things he didn’t know on the other. He did not believe in coincidence, and there were too many things he did know to ignore them.

  For instance, there were moccasin tracks at the scene. The killer was a very large man. The Acadians, along with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, had originally produced Perique tobacco. Samuel was confident enough now to work up a profile on the killer and get it out to the public.

  Samuel was climbing on his motorcycle when he remembered Mae had asked him to stop by the Emporium on the way home. Emma had some sewing supplies for the village.

  Attacked by a squealing Jimmy as he entered the store, he hoisted the boy into the air for their usual roughhousing. Jimmy giggled and reached into Samuel’s pocket.

  “Did ya bring me another horse?” he asked, as Samuel swung him to the floor.

  Jimmy’s hand was jerked out of the pocket, and the pouch of tobacco came with it. The boy’s eyes got round, and his body stilled. He stood frozen, a look of terror on his little face, until finally he threw the pouch to the floor as if it had been a rattlesnake and ran screaming to the storeroom.

  Samuel was dumbfounded. He scooped up the pouch, put it back in his pocket, and slowly followed Jimmy. He found the boy, pale and shaking, in his mama’s arms.

  Emma was almost as pale as Jimmy and looked at Samuel questioningly.

  “Samuel, are you alone? Is there someone outside?”

  “No, Emma, it’s just me. What’s wrong with Jimmy? I know he’s scared nigh to death, but why?”

  The boy looked up at Samuel and whispered, “Where is he? You won’t let him take Mama, will you?”

  Samuel knelt and took the boy in his arms. “Jimmy, I don’t know who you’re talkin’ about, but you know I would never let someone take your mama away.”

  Emma said, “Let’s go upstairs where we can talk.” She turned and climbed the staircase that led to the apartments above the store.

  Samuel followed her, clutching a still trembling Jimmy to his broad chest.

  Once they were seated in Emma’s sitting room, the child relaxed his hold on Samuel.

  Emma was visibly shaken, but she spoke clearly. “Samuel, do you have tobacco on you? I smell it.”

  “Well, yes, I do. But what…”

  Emma interrupted him. “Where did you get it? Who did you get it from?”

  “I got it from the tobacco shop, Emma. What’s this all about?”

  Emma smiled shakily at Jimmy. “See, sweetie, it’s okay. He’s not here, and we are safe. Do you believe your mama?”

  Jimmy climbed down from Samuel’s lap and put his arms around his mama. “I’m sorry, Mama, I didn’t mean to scare you, but you always said if I thought he was near I should run.”

  “Yes, and you did well, sweetie. You did just what I told you to do, and I’m proud of you. Now, please go downstairs and tell Roxanne to give you that package of sewing things I wrapped up for Mae.”

  Samuel waited until the boy was out of earshot and then gave Emma a long look. “You wanna tell me what just happened?”

&nbs
p; “I’m so sorry, Samuel, but when Jimmy said he was here, I panicked.”

  “Who, Emma? Who was here? Start at the beginning.”

  “Samuel, do you remember when Jimmy and I first showed up at Mae’s village? Remember the day Mae had to shoot a man in the arm?”

  “Well, of course I do. But what…” Samuel’s voice trailed off, as his mind took him back to that day.

  He and Pa had been at the manor when they heard a shot at the village. They didn’t hear the second one because they were in the truck and flying there when it was fired. When they slid into the yard at the village, Mae was holding a man at gunpoint. The man was bleeding from his upper arm. Samuel sat very still while his mind played the scene over for him. A very big man. A very big, dark-skinned man. Wearing moccasins.

  Samuel turned to Emma and said quietly, “Tell me everything you know about this man.”

  “He said to call him Nash, for Nashoba, which is “wolf” in Choctaw. I was three months pregnant when he found me walking near the Flint River, just over the Georgia line. I was considering drowning myself. He was in a wagon and stopped, looked at me for a long while, then said to get in the wagon. There was many a time afterwards that I wished I had drowned myself. We lived in a one-room cabin west of town, deep in the woods, and he beat me on a regular basis. Once Jimmy was born, I had to get out, but it took me a while to get the courage to try. On a trip to town for supplies, a woman passed close to me and whispered that if I wanted out I should go to the village. It was a while before I understood she’d seen the bruises on Jimmy and me and was trying to help.”

  “Emma, can you remember how to get to that cabin?”

  “Well, if I remember right, you head west on that old logging trail at the end of the Harrington place. You go about a mile, and then veer off to the north about another mile. There wasn’t much of a road, more like an animal track.”

  Samuel could see the cabin in his head. It was the cabin where he had found Mary Elizabeth.

  “Did this Nash have any other cabins?”

  “I don’t know. He would lock me and Jimmy in the cabin and go off hunting for a couple days at a time, and I always figured he just slept in the woods. I know he had some place where he grew and stored the tobacco. And he made liquor. But I don’t think it was close to the cabin. He’d be gone for a few days and come back with that sour mash smell on him.”

  “Have you seen hide nor hair of him in the last five years?”

  “No. Thank the good Lord.” Emma shuddered at the memory of what the man in question had put them through.

  Samuel stood and was about to leave when Emma grabbed his arm.

  “Oh, Samuel. He used to say he wished I had red hair, that he deserved a woman with red hair. My Lord, Samuel! The schoolteacher?”

  Samuel nodded yes, just as Jimmy bounced back in, carrying a wrapped package. “Roxanne said to tell Miss Mae that all the supplies she asked for are in here.” The boy seemed to have already forgotten his previous terror.

  Samuel ruffled Jimmy’s hair as he took the package from him.

  “Emma, we may need to speak of this again, later. Thank you for the information.”

  Chapter Seven

  Supper was over, and they had all drifted to the parlor, except for Charlotte. She was having a bath while Celia supervised. Celia was the twelve-year-old daughter of the newest woman in the village. Charlotte had taken a shine to her, and Mae was glad to have someone to help burn off some of that seemingly endless energy.

  Mae had her sewing basket in her lap but just sat admiring her handsome husband as he thumbed through a new medical journal. Cyrus and Patrick were turning the pages of a new seed catalogue. As soon as Garth and Eleanor had gotten comfortable, Samuel stood and spoke to the gathering.

  “I have some information to share with all of you.”

  Samuel usually sat quietly in the corner chair and worked on some small carving project in the evenings, so as soon as he spoke, all eyes turned to him.

  “I believe I know who killed Mary Elizabeth.”

  There were several indrawn breaths. Samuel looked at Mae; he really hated telling her this, but she needed to know for her own safety.

  “I found some odd cigarette butts at the cabin and at the location where I think she was grabbed. I checked with the tobacconist in town, and while he had nothing like it, he was familiar with the blend. Something made by Indians for generations, but now only known to be made in Louisiana. Anyway, Mr. Sterling ordered some in and gave me a pouch of it this afternoon.” Samuel turned to Mae. “When I left his shop, I went straight to see Emma, with the pouch in my pocket. Little Jimmy is used to me hiding things in my pockets for him, so he reached in and pulled out the pouch. When the poor kid caught the aroma, he went crazy. It scared him so badly he ran screaming to his mama. By the time I caught up with him, Emma was shaking, and as white as her apron.” Samuel could see the concern for her friend all over Mae’s face.

  “She’s okay now, but you remember the man who tried to take her and Jimmy? He hasn’t crossed my mind in years, but when Emma started talking, I remembered him clearly.”

  Edward slid closer to Mae and put his arm around her. She gave him a weak smile and laid her head on his shoulder.

  “Well,” she said in a shaky voice, “when you find your man, you can at least identify him by the bullet hole in his upper right arm.”

  “And I do appreciate you markin’ him for me, sis. Now, I don’t think anyone here or at the village is in any danger, but we’re going to put some rules in place until this man is found. None of the women go into town alone; they need to travel in threes. And one of that three must be carrying a gun. And if there are any who have not mastered a pistol yet, I’ll be driving Kathleen out this weekend to teach her, so we’ll just make a class of it.”

  “Oh. Kathleen. Does she know yet?” Mae’s voice was filled with compassion. She was aware of how badly Kathleen wanted justice for her sister’s death.

  “No, I haven’t spoken with anyone in town yet. I’ll be meeting with Captain Lance first thing in the morning to decide how to find the man. But I wanted to tell ya’ll tonight so we can be on the alert from now until he’s found. I’ll speak with Kathleen tomorrow after school. Now, kiss Charlotte goodnight for me. I’m gonna go do a little work and get to bed early. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”

  Garth stood and walked out the French doors with Samuel.

  “Son, I know you’ll do everything you can to find this man, but you be careful. That man had a heart full of hate for us the last time he was seen, and I doubt if it’s faded any over the years, if poor Mary Elizabeth is any measure.”

  “You’re right, Pa. It would take a man full of hate to hurt a woman that bad. Tomorrow I’ll start going through our old files on missing women. It’s been five years since we’ve seen him, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been around. Thanks, Pa, but don’t worry about me. You know Mama watches over me.”

  Garth patted his son’s shoulder. “Yes, I do know. It’s the only reason I sleep as well as I do. Good night, son.”

  Samuel spent another hour sanding the tulips he had carved into the drawer fronts of a lady’s walnut writing desk. He finally laid down the fine-grit paper and dusted the surface with a soft piece of flannelette. He smiled to himself. Yep, Hansu would be proud.

  ****

  Samuel was already at his desk when Edith Hampton arrived at work the next morning.

  “Well, you’re in early.” She smiled tentatively. Conversation between them seemed strained, but she was determined to patch things up.

  “Mornin’, Edith. What time do you expect Captain Lance in?”

  “You’re in luck—he’s right behind me. He stopped to speak with the desk sergeant and should be here shortly.”

  “Thanks. If he doesn’t have anything scheduled, then I need to speak with him right away.”

  Ten minutes later, Samuel was seated in the captain’s office. It took him another ten minutes to
update his superior.

  “Well, son, that is a lot to take in. You’re sure it’s the same cabin?”

  Samuel nodded. “Yes, sir, the way Emma described it, it has to be. There’s not another one within a mile of the area. I have a good recollection of the man, but it would be better if I have Emma come down and let Edith do a drawing of him. I can tell you this much with certainty: he was a mean-hearted man, the kind that only gets worse with time. I checked the files on all missing women for the past five years. There are three. Four years ago, a kitchen worker at the Leon Hotel never showed up for her breakfast shift. She was twenty years old and lived with her grandfather, so it was two days before she was reported missing. No trace, no note, no known reason for her to leave. She had a boyfriend who worked with the railroad, and he had an airtight alibi. Two years ago, the oldest daughter of the Mercers—they own the feed store and gun shop on the west end of town—appeared to have left in the night. No note, but she did take a few things. They have six daughters, and the next in line said her sister had been seeing a boy from Jacksonville, so it was just assumed they had run off together. And then we come to last year. Mrs. Jenkins. Thirty-eight years old, no children, a husband who drinks heavily. She was last seen leaving church in her wagon after Wednesday prayer meeting. The general consensus was that she got tired of Wayne Jenkins’s drinking and left him. Especially after he found out she had removed their life savings from the bank the Monday prior.” Samuel sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair.

  “There was a pretty extensive search done for the cook. But nothing ever turned up. The last two, well, not to slight anyone’s work, but the reports show that not much was done to try to track down either of the women. And the trail is pretty cold now. But Captain, there is a thread that runs through all these women.”

  Captain Lance had been staring out his window during Samuel’s accounting. He now turned to Samuel and waited.

  “All of them had red hair.”