Brides of Ohio (38 page)

He walked west along the edge, making for the little path he had made during his walks for the past few months. He felt his body tense. The sheriff had been able to describe exactly where they had found Henry. It wasn’t too far off the path he was now on. The body had been taken away, of course, but he hoped Anne wouldn’t stumble upon anything that might have been left. Or worse. He stopped the thought and tightened the grip on his gun.

He walked along the path for a minute or two and tried calling her. “Anne!” he called. A gleam came to his eye, and with a small smile he tried again. “Annie!” But the only answer was the wind blowing through the trees.

He kept on, scanning in front and around him. As he approached the tree line, he saw something to his far right fluttering in the breeze. Tromping through the brush and saplings, he came to a wild blackberry patch. A small scrap of pale-blue fabric was stuck in its thorns. It was of the same pattern as Anne’s dress. Kneeling down, he could tell something about her size had made its way through.

He followed her trail for several minutes. The trees became larger and stood closer together. This was the thickest part of the tree line—a small forest almost that neither he nor Henry nor Bill Walker, his neighbor to the north, had ever bothered with. The biggest part of it was on Kirby property since Jonah had refused to farm this part of his land. He was amazed at how overgrown it had become. He came to a fallen tree. It had been down for some time; flat yellow mushrooms grew on its side, and it was almost green with moss. He stepped over it and around a few trees and came to a clearing. He gasped at the sight before him.

His mind felt as if it had been jerked back in time. In the small clearing before him, a white canvas tent was set up. Toward the center of the space were the remains of a small campfire with an old log set in front of it. And between two young trees to his right was a clothesline. The uniform of a Union army soldier hung on it. Jonah broke out in a cold sweat. Where was he? Ohio or back down in Georgia near Kennesaw Mountain?

As he stood staring, Anne popped out of the tent with a china doll in her hands. Seeing Jonah, she gasped softly and ran over to him.

The sight of the little girl shook him back to reality, and he knelt down and hugged her.

“Pa!” she said, wriggling free. She held the doll out to him. “See? Dolly.”

Laying down his rifle, he took the doll and saw it was very similar to the store-bought one except the painted hair was darker and the doll’s head had been broken and clumsily repaired. No wonder she had reacted like she did to the new doll. Jonah handed it back, and she smiled at him as she hugged it. He looked her over. Her dress was torn from walking through the brambles, and she had a long scratch on her forehead. Other than that, she seemed fine. “Anne, who else is here?” he asked.

Her eyes grew sad. “Ma.”

“Where?” Adele was here? How was that possible?

“There.” She pointed past the clothesline toward some bushes. “Sleeping.”

Jonah darted over and pushed back the brush. His heart stopped. A woman was lying there, curled into a ball. At least what had once been a woman. Dry, brittle hair still clung to her skull, and a plaid shirt and plain brown skirt covered the rest of the body. Insects and the elements made her face almost inhuman. And the smell. … He stumbled back into the clearing. It certainly wasn’t Adele. From the looks of the poor woman, she had been dead almost two months now.

The faces of dead men suddenly filled his vision, men he had watched die and later helped bury. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands, and when he looked again, they were gone.

Anne was right where he left her. He ran over and picked her up. They had to get out of here—and now. The sheriff needed to see this. Whoever killed that woman had almost certainly killed Henry and probably Cyrus. Holding her in one arm, he grabbed his rifle and stood up.

“Ma sleeping?” she asked sadly.

“Yes, sweetie,” he replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “She’s sleeping.” He hadn’t so much as taken one step when he heard a cough behind him.

A
dele shaded her eyes with her hand and looked toward the crest of the hill again. Where were they? Had something happened? Wringing her hands, she walked back and forth in front of the pump. The sensible thing would be to find something to do in the house or out in the garden. But she couldn’t still the growing sense of dread in her heart.
Father, please bring them back safe.

She looked around for her son and saw him perched in the same tree he had climbed earlier. After Jonah left, Jacob had climbed back up. She walked to the base of the tree and looked up. “Jacob, do you see anything?” she asked.

“No.” He looked down, and his eyes told her he was no less worried than she. “Should it be taking Uncle Jonah this long?”

“I did not think it would,” she said. “Keep looking, mein Liebe. Tell me as soon as you see anything.” She resumed her pacing under the tree.

Why had Jonah sent for the sheriff? Surely he didn’t think … She stopped. The animals Henry had found were close to their property line. Adele looked up the hill with a sinking heart. “Near the northwest corner,” she whispered. She closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

Suddenly Jacob gave a shout and scrambled down out of the tree. “They’re back!” he called as he flew toward a figure making his way down the hill. Relief flooded her heart as she saw Anne. But who was carrying her? It wasn’t Jonah. As they approached, she saw and heard the little girl crying. Cyrus Morgan was carrying her. She rushed up to them. “Mr. Morgan! What has happened?” she said as she took Anne from the man.

He was out of breath and had to pause for a moment before answering. His clothes were dirty and torn in several places, and his face was bruised as if someone had beaten him.

“He’s crazy, ma’am. Plum gone ‘round the bend.”

“Who?” Her face whitened. “Not Jonah?”

“No, ma’am. There’s a man been livin’ back in the woods at the tree line. I was out laying my traps, and he came up behind me and knocked me out cold. When I woke up, I couldn’t talk sense to him. He thinks he’s still at war. He tied me up and said I was a prisoner. Said General Sherman would come see about me. Then he left. Then Mr. Kirby comes along and unties me, and next thing I know, this feller comes back and goes after him. I scooped up the little girl and ran like he told me to.”

Peeling Anne away from her, Adele thrust her into Jacob’s arms and ran as fast as she could up the hill, ignoring the little girl’s wails and the sound of voices behind her telling her to stop and wait. When she reached the crest of the hill, she saw the path Cyrus had made in the tall grass. She followed it, unmindful of the brambles that tore at her dress and scraped her hands as she pushed them away.

Before long, she came to the clearing. The sight of the camp made little impression on her. All that filled her vision was the sight of Jonah tied to a slender tree. He was sitting on the ground, slumped over, and she raced over to him. “Jonah!” she said, lifting his head in both her hands. His face was bloody from a gash near his eye, and as her fingers brushed his neck, she gasped in relief as she felt his pulse racing.

Suddenly he started, and his eyes widened at the sight of her. “Adele! Get out of here before he comes back,” he said.

“No, we will both leave,” she said as she knelt down behind him to untie the ropes.

“Adele, he thinks we’re still fighting the war. He’s armed, and I don’t know what he’ll do if he sees you.”

“I am not leaving you.”

“Adele.”

Ignoring his pleas, she went to work on the knots. They were so tight she could not get them loose. She was about to look around for a knife when the wildest-looking man she had ever seen came marching out of the woods next to her.

He had a long, unkempt beard and was thinner than even Jonah had been when he returned from the war. He carried a revolver in one hand, and a bowie knife hung sheathed on his belt. Looking back at the woods, he gave a nod and a smart salute. “Yes, sir,” he said to the empty air. “I’ll keep him until we hear from the general.” He turned to her and started. “Deborah!” His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “The general is coming. You need to fix something special.” He pushed her away and knelt to check Jonah’s bonds.

Adele looked at Jonah. He nudged his head in the direction of the farm, and she shook her head. She wasn’t about to leave him. If she played along, perhaps she could take him by surprise. “What shall I cook?” she asked.

The man stopped and looked at her. “What happened to your voice?”

“I—” Her accent! “I have a cold.” He was still staring at her, and she tried to distract him by asking another question. “What does the general like to eat?”

“Just make it good. He always likes what you make.”

Adele looked around. There didn’t seem to be anything she could use to make any kind of meal. Her eyes went toward the campfire. Seeing it needed to be restarted, she walked toward the clothesline and started to gather sticks. As she edged toward the bushes, Jonah coughed. Glancing back, she saw the warning look in his eyes. She stood up too quickly and had to take a step back into the brush. Looking back to get her footing, she saw the edge of a woman’s skirt. Gasping, she dropped her small load of firewood.

“What?” the man asked. He was sitting on the log whetting his knife.

“Nothing,” Adele said. She began to pick the wood up as quickly as her cold hands would allow. “A … spider.”

The man stared at her a moment then blinked. “Get away from there,” he said. His voice was strange, almost sad. “Who are you?”

“I am Deborah,” Adele said. She walked to the campfire and started to stack the wood. After a moment or two, he came and stood over her. She paused then continued with her task.

The next instant he hauled her to her feet, and she felt the cold edge of a knife against her neck. “You ain’t Deborah,” he said. “Where is she? Who are you?”

“Please let me go.” Adele struggled to keep her voice calm. “Perhaps I can help you find her.”

But the knife pressed harder against her throat.

“I know where Deborah is.” Adele’s heart raced as Jonah spoke. What was he doing?

The man turned and stared at him.

Adele looked at him with pleading eyes, but his focus was trained on her captor.

“Where is she?” the man asked.

Jonah nodded toward the bushes near the clothesline. “Over there.”

Never lowering his knife, the man dragged Adele along with him, tromped through the brush, and moved it aside with one foot. Adele averted her eyes, and the man swayed for a moment. She felt his grip on her arm loosen for a second, but it tightened before she could pull free. The man let out a throaty growl and pushed her away as he strode over to Jonah.

She stumbled to the ground.

“That’s not her!” he roared. “Where is she? What have you Rebs done with my Deborah?”

Adele screamed as Jonah stopped the deranged man from burying his knife in his chest. Having somehow freed his hands, he now wrestled with him for control of the knife. But the man was surprisingly strong.

Adele scrambled to her feet, looking for something, anything to help her husband. Seeing Jonah’s gun lying on the ground, she grabbed it just as the man managed to pin Jonah with his knees. Cocking the weapon, she took aim and squeezed the trigger.

Nothing happened, and her heart stopped as she watched the man raise his knife. Suddenly a shot rang out. The knife flew away, and the man grasped his hand in pain.

Jonah immediately pushed him off and pinned him to the ground. “Thank you, doctor,” he said, looking past Adele.

Whirling around, Adele saw Will, the sheriff, and several others from town coming through the trees. Behind them stood Noah, breathless and leaning on his cane, a smoking revolver in his free hand.

“You almost dislocated your shoulder getting your hands free,” Dr. Kelly said. “The arm will need to stay in a sling until the muscles heal.”

Jonah looked up at the doctor, who kept his gaze focused on wrapping his left shoulder. They were in the dining room. Adele was upstairs settling a distressed Anne into her bed while Will and the sheriff were going through the wild man’s camp.

The doctor had quickly wrapped up the man’s hand and given him something to calm him so that he and Sheriff Wade could safely transport him to Delaware. Dr. Kelly finished with Jonah’s shoulder and was helping him put his shirt back on when Adele walked into the room.

“Is Anne all right?” Jonah asked.

“Yes, she is finally asleep,” she replied, sinking down onto the seat next to him. The doctor stepped away, and she finished buttoning his shirt. Then she looked at him, and as she gently ran her fingers near the gash the doctor had stitched up, her brow furrowed with concern.

He smiled reassuringly and took her hand and kissed it. “I’m all right.”

“I’ll see to a sling in a moment,” Noah said quietly. “Your shoulder wasn’t the only thing you injured.” He carefully examined Jonah’s left hand, which had gotten badly scraped when he pulled it free of the rope. “It’s nothing too bad. I’ll bandage it up.”