Murder on Principle, page 16
‘How much older is Mr Sechrest to his wife?’ Lydia asked.
‘He is in his fifties so he is quite old,’ Sandy said with the unconscious superiority of the young. ‘And Miss Charlotte is only twenty-two.’
‘How old is Gregory?’
‘Twenty-one, now,’ Sandy replied, blushing. Gregory was Abram’s father.
‘So, he is of an age with Charlotte?’ Lydia said.
Sandy nodded. ‘I heard rumors that she’d set her cap for him. In fact, everyone warned me. But he wasn’t ready to set up his household.’ Now her cheeks were scarlet.
Lydia and Rees exchanged a smile. It didn’t take much intelligence to understand why Gregory had no interest in the woman who became his stepmother. From all accounts, the young man genuinely cared about Sandy and Abram.
‘Does Gregory have siblings?’ Lydia asked, returning to her train of thought. ‘You’ve never mentioned any.’
‘No,’ Sandy said, shaking her head. ‘He is the only child. Mr Sechrest was taken ill when Gregory was a baby …’ Her voice trailed away.
‘Do you know what he fell ill with?’ Granny Rose asked.
Sandy shook her head. ‘That was before I was born,’ she said.
‘Why is this important?’ Rees asked.
‘There are certain illnesses that affect a man’s seed,’ Granny explained.
‘I see,’ Rees said sympathetically. ‘Mr Sechrest no doubt hoped that, by wedding a young woman, he would have more children.’ He looked at Lydia, both of them thinking of Sharon and the baby that was coming. ‘I’m sorry for him.’
‘So, Gregory is the only child, and the heir,’ Lydia said.
‘That does not mean Abram would inherit,’ Rees said. ‘The child takes on the same status of his mother.’ Rees looked at Sandy. ‘Since Sandy was enslaved, Abram too would be considered property. Even if Gregory has no other children, unlikely considering his youth, Abram cannot be his heir.’
Lydia did not reply for a few seconds. She regarded Sandy thoughtfully. ‘Did Gregory care enough about you to free you and Abram?’
‘He talked about it,’ Sandy said. ‘Several times. He wanted to do it when he discovered I was pregnant.’
‘What happened?’
‘He hadn’t reached his majority then.’ Sandy paused. ‘His father would have permitted it, I believe. And Miss Minerva always treated me well so she would probably have agreed, if she still lived. But Mr William was already married to Miss Charlotte and she forbade it.’
Lydia looked at Rees as though he should understand the importance of that information.
‘She is jealous,’ Rees said. ‘We already knew that.’
‘She wed the father, no doubt believing that Gregory would grow as fond of her as she was of him. Then, when the patriarch passed away, an event that would happen sooner rather than later, Charlotte and Gregory could marry. Except Gregory’s heart was already engaged.’ Lydia nodded at Sandy. ‘To insure the future Mrs Sechrest wanted, she had to remove Sandy and the baby from the plantation.’
‘By giving me to her brother,’ Sandy whispered, the blood draining from her cheeks.
Lydia nodded. ‘When you left the plantation, you ruined all her plans.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Rees objected. ‘Who is the one telling nursery stories now?’
‘Maybe I have exaggerated a trifle,’ Lydia admitted with a smile. ‘But you yourself identified Mrs Sechrest’s motive as jealousy. Moreover, she did not hide her fury with Sandy.’
Rees nodded reluctantly. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But still …’
‘Something very powerful inspired her to leave Virginia, and her poor ill husband, to chase this particular escaped slave,’ Lydia continued relentlessly. ‘Remember what Miss Charlotte said; that Sandy seduced Gregory and he had to be rescued from his poor decision.’ Rees nodded even more reluctantly.
‘That certainly sounds plausible,’ he admitted.
‘Also, Mrs Sechrest sent Gregory away at a pivotal moment. That was when she chose to beat Sandy. Fortunately, we were there and able to rescue Sandy and Abram both.’
Both Sandy and Rees nodded. The journey north to Maine had been terrifying. Rees only wished now he had taken the same precautions as they approached New York that he had followed earlier. They might not be having this conversation about Charlotte Sechrest.
‘I am only speculating here,’ Lydia continued, ‘but I suspect Gregory came home and asked about Sandy and his son.’
‘She certainly does not want to return me to him,’ Sandy blurted.
‘No. We know that. But what if Gregory insisted that you be returned to him?’
‘Huh,’ Sandy said dubiously. ‘He did not come to find me.’
Lydia nodded. That was a fair point. ‘But what if he swore he would free you?’ she continued. ‘What if he even threatened to marry you?’
‘That is a great many ifs,’ Rees said. ‘Besides, I am quite certain marriage between Gregory Sechrest and Sandy would be against the law.’
‘Yes. But we are dealing with strong emotions here,’ Lydia said. ‘So strong they overpower all reason.’
‘This sounds plausible to me,’ Granny Rose said. ‘And even if that young man could not wed Sandy, he could install her in his house as his mistress.’
‘And Charlotte Sechrest would still lose Master Gregory. So, determined that Sandy and Abram disappear forever, she travels north to meet her brother. She uses as her excuse for Gregory and his father that she will search for Sandy. If she finds her, and of course Cole was an experienced slave taker, Charlotte will bring her home.’
‘And planning all the while not to do so,’ Rees said.
‘Exactly,’ Lydia said, nodding with approval. ‘When Sandy and Abram were safely taken away by her brother, Mrs Sechrest would return home. So sorry, so sad, but Sandy and Abram escaped to Canada. They are gone forever.’
The shocked silence lasted several seconds. Rees broke it. ‘Is this the way all women think and behave?’ he asked, appalled. ‘Why, this level of manipulation would put Machiavelli to shame.’
‘Most women are not so calculating,’ Lydia assured him.
‘I would not claim you men are the rational sex, if I were you,’ Granny Rose warned Rees acerbically. ‘Strong emotions are not unique to the female. If they were, young men would not react to the most minor of perceived insults with a duel.’
Since this was true, Rees could not argue.
‘That is exactly what Miss Charlotte would do,’ Sandy said, returning to what for her was the most important point. ‘Planning the most terrible future for me and for Abram and all the while behaving as though butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.’
‘Would Gregory be susceptible to her machinations?’ Granny Rose asked.
‘Maybe. Probably,’ Sandy said. ‘His father was entirely taken in. And Gregory is younger and less experienced than Mr William. I thought Miss Charlotte was nice at first too, until I was warned not to trust her. Her slaves knew and they talked. But no one listens to slaves, and women slaves at that.’ She sounded quite bitter.
‘When you are safe, if you choose to, you may inform Gregory of your location,’ Lydia suggested cautiously. Sandy nodded but she did not look as eager as Rees might have expected.
‘Perhaps. But I will do nothing, ever, that puts Abram into danger. And Mr Gregory may no longer feel the same. Probably doesn’t. We were both very young.’
Rees glanced at Sandy in surprise, startled by that unexpectedly mature response.
‘Does all this help you identify the murderer?’ Granny Rose asked.
Lydia and Rees exchanged a glance. ‘I don’t know,’ Rees admitted.
‘It tells me that both Mr Gilbert and Mr Cole, by their indifference to human life and their actions, inspired their own murders,’ Lydia said. ‘And they call themselves Christians. It does not bear thinking of.’
THIRTY-ONE
Rees did not raise the subject of the murders again until he and Lydia were on their way down the mountain. Then he said, ‘Do you think this long journey helped? Did you get what you wanted?’
Lydia responded with a question of her own. ‘Considering what we heard about the characters of both Mr Gilbert and Mr Cole, do you think it possible either one or both saw a young woman they assumed was an escaped slave and tried to capture her?’
Since Rees had suspected right from the beginning that two people were involved in Gilbert’s murder, he nodded. ‘Very likely,’ he said.
‘What if that young woman was Ruth?’ She turned an anxious glance upon her husband.
‘If you’re asking whether Tobias would attack the other man to defend her, of course he would. We already know he will do anything to keep Ruth safe,’ he said. Once Tobias had escaped enslavement and fled north, he had enlisted the help of both Rees and Lydia, and then risked his life traveling south right back into the lion’s den, to rescue her.
‘But there are others too,’ Lydia said. Like her husband, she did not want to suspect Tobias and Ruth of murder. ‘We know Sandy cannot be involved, at least in Cole’s death. She was already with Granny Rose. But John Washington is sweet on her. Would he kill Cole to protect her?’
‘Probably,’ Rees said, considering the blacksmith. He was slender but wiry, and Rees was confident Washington had the strength to overcome both Gilbert and Cole, especially singly. ‘He might try to protect her even if he were not sweet on her. Who knows, maybe Cole threatened Washington himself.’ He glanced at Lydia. She nodded, her mouth thinning to a narrow line.
‘Unspeakable,’ she muttered.
‘And there’s Gabriel,’ Rees continued. ‘I met his wife; she is young and attractive.’ He paused, thinking. He had seen Gabriel swing a sledgehammer over the forge. Such a blow, even with the smaller shaping hammer, could explain the injury to Cole’s head. He said as much to Lydia.
‘But, if Gabriel brought a hammer, even a small hammer, to the forest, wouldn’t Cole have seen it?’ Lydia asked. ‘Wouldn’t he have become suspicious?’
‘I would be,’ Rees agreed.
‘Besides, both Gabriel and Cole are newly arrived. How would they know about the woods and the riverbank?’ Lydia persisted. ‘Since we are assuming the same party murdered Mr Gilbert as well as Cole, how would Gabriel know about the forest by the weir? It is on the other side of town.’
‘John Washington would know,’ Rees said. ‘Unfortunately.’ He liked the fellow.
‘Yes. Does he own a wagon?’
Rees cast his mind back to his visit to the blacksmith’s. ‘I believe so.’
‘Perhaps Gabriel murdered both Gilbert and Cole? He could have borrowed the wagon.’
‘But the wounds Randolph Gilbert displayed indicated he had been both strangled and then stabbed,’ Rees said. ‘That argues against one man with a hammer. It looks as though, while one party was strangling Mr Gilbert, the other stabbed him.’
‘Perhaps Gabriel went to Washington for help,’ Lydia suggested, almost immediately adding, ‘no, that doesn’t work.’
‘Unless either Gilbert or Cole, or both, harassed Gabriel’s wife,’ Rees said, trying to understand how Gabriel might be guilty. ‘She might have stabbed Gilbert to protect her husband. The confrontation could have taken place at the smithy.’
‘And they asked Mr Washington for help,’ Lydia said, nodding. ‘He transported the bodies to the places they were found.’
Rees nodded slowly. That certainly answered all the questions. ‘I must speak to both Washington and Gabriel again,’ he said.
‘I should accompany you,’ Lydia said. ‘Someone needs to talk to the wife. I doubt either of the men will allow you anywhere near her.’
‘That is true,’ Rees said, remembering how the two men had stiffened when he wished the woman good evening.
‘We will have to leave this for tomorrow,’ Lydia said.
‘I know,’ Rees agreed, adding with some impatience, ‘they will be in church today.’
‘Where we should be,’ Lydia said, casting a stern glance at her husband. Rees, a confirmed skeptic, ignored her comment. ‘The community in Zion will also be attending services all day. Otherwise, I would suggest we visit them.’ She paused for several seconds. When she spoke again it was in an entirely different tone of voice. ‘You and I need to talk.’
Rees disliked those words; it usually meant she was unhappy with him for some reason. ‘About what?’ he asked, his voice flattening.
‘Annie.’
‘Annie?’ he repeated in surprise. He had not expected that. ‘You’re worried about Annie?’
‘She will soon be expelled from Zion.’ As a former Shaker herself, and one who had been expelled from the community, Lydia knew what she was speaking about.
‘Did Esther tell you that?’
‘No. But I know it. Annie hates living there and escapes every chance she finds. Running away from the Nurse Shop was the final straw. So, I want to be prepared when one of the Elders raises it. We should discuss her future.’
Since Rees had already been considering the problem, he nodded. ‘I’ve been pondering the exact same issue,’ he said.
Lydia turned to look at him. ‘And?’ she asked anxiously.
‘She’ll come and live with us,’ he said. ‘Of course she will. What else could she do?’
Lydia exhaled in relief. ‘I wasn’t sure you would agree.’
‘Jerusha is spending her days at the school now and will be of limited help to you.’
‘Annie prefers the work that comes with a home anyway,’ Lydia said. ‘She relishes working in the garden and cooking. Jerusha loves words, loves reading. She does what I ask but she doesn’t enjoy it.’
Rees nodded. He knew his daughter was a scholar, some would say a bluestocking. ‘Besides,’ he said, ‘I suspect Annie will be marrying and moving to a home of her own in a not too distant future.’
‘Not Thomas,’ Lydia said. And when Rees looked at her in surprise, she added, ‘I saw the way he looked at her.’
‘Why not Thomas?’
‘She can do much better.’
‘He is a good man,’ Rees said, leaping to Thomas’s defense.
‘He works in a tavern,’ Lydia said disparagingly. ‘He doesn’t even own that business.’
‘There is far more to that job than serving drinks,’ Rees said. Now that he had slept at the tavern two nights running, he had a greater appreciation of all the different skills required to keep the business operating. And Rouge did that and served as constable as well. It was surprising. ‘Besides, Rouge has no wife nor children. Thomas will own that establishment someday.’
‘Does he even know how to read or write?’
‘Of course he does. He learned from the nuns in Canada.’
‘In French.’
‘Thomas can read and write in English as well. He’d be of little use to Rouge otherwise.’
‘And he’s Catholic.’
‘The midwife’s daughter moved to Canada and wed a Catholic,’ Rees argued.
‘She was pregnant. I sincerely hope Annie is not expecting a child when she marries,’ Lydia said.
‘That was an entirely different situation,’ Rees said.
‘He’s French,’ Lydia persisted.
Rees turned to stare at her. ‘If you are this protective of Annie, I shudder to think of how terrible you will be with Jerusha. Or Sharon.’
She burst out laughing at the expression on his face and he realized only then that she was teasing him. ‘Oh, very well, if he remains interested, I’ll consider it,’ she said.
‘That was not at all funny,’ he said.
‘Yes, it was.’ Lydia smiled, amused again. ‘We can talk to Brother Jonathan tomorrow. Then we’ll tell Annie. I’m sure she’ll be relieved.’
THIRTY-TWO
Assuming that both town and tavern would be quiet on a Sunday night, Rees chose to spend the night at home. Besides his weaving commissions, which supported his household and what he would use as an excuse if asked, he wanted to spend time with his family. He hoped Rouge would soon recover; Rees tried not to think of what would happen if the constable didn’t. Fortunately, no one arrived at the door to tell him he was needed.
He spent some time watching Annie before retiring to the weaving room. She had matured from a half-starved waif into a pretty girl. He expected she would soon marry, if not Thomas then some other young man. After the years spent with the Shakers, she knew everything she needed to run a household. And she was so clearly happy among children, sitting on the floor with them and playing games.
The following morning, despite early-morning chores, Rees and Lydia were able to make an early start. Lydia had put out a basket of apples the night before, since the budding teacher left before anyone else. They left the younger children in Annie’s care and drove to Zion. The Shakers were early risers as well, finishing the first of the daily assignments before breakfast at six thirty. Rees timed their departure so that he and his wife would reach Zion just after eight a.m. By then, everyone should be done with breakfast.
Rees parked the wagon at the southern end of the village. From here, the herb house was only a ten-minute walk. Clouds blanketed the sky but although the wind was cold and raw, Rees thought it was still too warm for snow. The calendar would soon change to December so a heavy snowfall would not be unusual. Rees could remember blizzards occurring in November.
Esther was not in the still house. When they entered the steamy and pungent interior, another Sister was pounding something in a mortar and pestle. She looked up when they entered. ‘I believe you have lost your way,’ she said. She was quite thin, with graying hair drawn back under the linen cap. Like many aging women, she appeared to be gradually shrinking into herself. Rees thought her two young assistants were the same ones who he’d seen helping Esther, but he wasn’t certain. He had not paid much attention to them.
‘We were looking for Sister Esther,’ Lydia said.
‘She isn’t here,’ said the older Sister. ‘She has a different assignment this week.’
‘Do you know what that might be?’ Lydia asked.
