Jewel (24 page)

“No law against a woman bedding a husband and his son. Just like there was nothing against a husband and his cousin when I was the one in her bed.”

“Well, you’re not anymore, so come, let’s go to sleep.”

He nodded and removed his black coat and then the shirt beneath. After the disastrous evening, Eli’s desire to make love to his wife had been diminished. “I’m not much in the mood for lovemaking after what we witnessed tonight.”

“Neither am I.”

So when Eli finished undressing and the lights were extinguished, he eased his arms around Jewel. A short while later, she drifted off to sleep, but it took Eli much longer.

It was late. Bates had been called away to attend to the sudden death of someone somewhere in the Grove. Cecile hadn’t been interested enough to remember the name, so when she heard footsteps enter she assumed it was him returning, and plastered on a phony smile. “Sol, darling, is that you?”

“No,” came a familiar voice.

Surprised she got out of bed and met him at the bedroom door. “What are you doing here? Leave. I’ll meet you in the morning. Bates may be back any minute.”

“Just came to pay my last respects.”

Confused, she asked, “Are you leaving?”

“No. You are.”

As he advanced and grabbed her, her eyes widened, but it was too late. His hands were already around her throat. She fought for air, but he was strong. Her clawing and twisting were to no avail.
He increased the pressure of his hold, crushing her windpipe and she finally went limp. Her death made him smile. He picked up her lifeless body and left the house with it as silently as he’d come.

E
li and G.W. were in the
Gazette
office the following morning admiring the new printing press that had been delivered. In the past, due to his lack of funds, Eli had always been forced to buy someone else’s discarded or rebuilt equipment and the idea that this one was brand spanking new put a smile on his face.

“Like it?” the beaming G.W. asked.

“There are no words to describe.”

He was just about to say more when Solomon Bates hurried in. Seeing him made Eli remember last night’s scene at the dance, and Cecile. “Morning, Sol.”

“Have you seen Cecile?” he asked in a rush.

“No. Why?”

“I think something has happened to her.”

“Why?”

“She’s gone.”

Eli studied the undertaker’s agitated face. “What makes you think she hasn’t just run off?”

“All of her clothes and things are still at my place.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s gone, Sol. She could be out visiting somewhere or decided to leave the Grove altogether.”

“She’s gone, Eli, I tell you. Something’s happened. She wouldn’t just take off without a word to me, and she wouldn’t leave all her possessions behind.”

Before Eli could respond, Sol’s face clouded with anger. “Never mind. I’ll look for her myself.”

As he stormed out and drove away in his wagon, which also doubled as the town’s hearse, Eli said to no one in particular, “Would somebody please wire my cousin and tell him to get his ass back here so he can take this job off my hands.”

G.W. smiled at that, but then asked, “Could she really be missing?”

He shrugged. “Who knows, but if she doesn’t turn up by this evening, I’ll pull a search party together and we’ll go looking.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“More reasonable than she deserves.”

By noon, they had the new press up and running. When word got around as to what they were doing various people stopped by to take a gander at Eli’s fancy new printing press, including Abigail, Jewel, and Maddie. The office had become so crowded by midafternoon that Eli was having difficulty maneuvering so he could run the test sheets that needed to be printed in order to get the proper ink saturation. He was just about to throw everybody out when Maddie glanced out of the window and said sadly, “Sol Bates is coming up
the street in his hearse. Looks like a body in the back.”

They all went to the window. “Who do you think has died?” Jewel asked, turning to Eli.

As he and G.W. shared a look, Eli fought off an eerie chill. Neither man had said anything to anyone about Sol’s visit that morning and how worried he’d been about Cecile.

“He’s stopping out front,” Abigail said.

Eli made his way to the door and walked outside to where Sol sat atop the wagon. “Sol?”

The undertaker’s eyes were red and swollen. “I found her,” he said, choking back tears. “Somebody strangled her, Eli. She’s dead.”

Eli sighed. Cecile had finally met her fate. “Where did you find her body?”

By then a crowd made up of those from inside the office and from the walks and storefronts close by had gathered around.

“On the field behind the school.”

Eli said to him, “Go ahead and make whatever preparations you need to get her buried and I’ll wire the authorities at the county seat. They’ll probably send someone down to investigate.”

Sol drove away and Eli turned to the people looking on in shock. “If you know anything about what happened to her, or who did this, it’s your duty to come forward.”

No one did. “Okay. Go on back to whatever you were doing, everyone. Show’s over.”

And once again, the Grove was abuzz.

Needless to say, Eli didn’t get much more newspaper work done that day. He drove over to Calvin Center and spent the balance of the afternoon sending wires back and forth to various county officials and law-enforcement agencies about the murder. When he returned to the Grove, he had to keep reassuring those who stopped by the mayor’s office that the Grove continued to be a safe place for them and their families. However, he was disturbed knowing there was a murderer lurking amongst them and hoped the culprit would be exposed soon.

He was finally preparing to leave Nate’s office for the day, anxious to head home with Jewel, when a man he didn’t know walked in. He was White, middle-aged, and tall and thin as a scarecrow. His brown suit with its frayed cuffs showed its age. “Are you Eli Grayson?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“The name’s Swan. I’m with the Boston Police office.”

Eli went still. He looked out through the windowpane at Jewel seated on the wagon waiting for him so they could drive home. He didn’t think it would be anytime soon now. “What brings you to Grayson Grove, Mr. Swan?”

“A Mr. G.W. Hicks wired the Pinkertons a few weeks back about a Cecile Green?”

Eli gestured to a chair. “Have a seat. Excuse me for a minute. Let me send my wife home so that you and I can talk.”

Swan nodded.

Outside, Jewel asked, “Ready?”

“No, you should probably go on without me. The man inside’s a policeman from Boston.”

Her face showed her surprise. “Really. Why is he here?”

“G.W. wanted to find out if Cecile had been involved in anything seamy before her return here.”

“Do you think he found something?”

“No idea.”

“Have you told him she’s dead?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

“I’ll head on home, then.”

“That might be best. I’d like to keep Swan being here just between the two of us, for the time being. No sense in adding to the commotion. We’ve had enough for one day.”

“Of course. I won’t tell anyone.”

Her answer pleased him. “Have I told you lately what a wonderful wife you are?”

She smiled. “I’ll see you at home. Be careful.”

“I will.” He looked up at her beautiful face. “I love you, Mrs. Grayson.”

“I love you, too.”

He watched her drive away, then went back into the office. “So,” he said to Swan after settling into the chair behind the desk. “What have you found, if anything?”

“We’ve learned that the woman you know here as Cecile Green is more than likely Cecile Briles. The Pinkertons turned the information over to us
when they found out she was wanted for murder in Boston.”

Eli sat up.

“She’s also tied to a string of questionable marriages that stretch from California to Massachusetts.”

He proceeded to tell Eli about the woman the Pinkertons had dubbed the Black Widow. “She marries these men, stays in their lives just long enough to get access to their funds, and once that is accomplished, she cleans them out and disappears.”

Eli didn’t know why he found the report surprising, but he did. “And she’s wanted for murder as well?”

“Yes. A woman named Bethany Briles, the daughter of Lucius Briles, Cecile’s last husband. Miss Briles, whose married name is Carter, was found clubbed to death in Cecile’s bedroom.”

Eli sighed and shook his head.

“I’m here to take her back to Boston to stand trial. Do you know where I might find her?”

“Yes. Bates Undertaking down the street. Somebody killed her.”

Swan stared. “She’s dead?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“When?”

“Close as we can figure, sometime last night.”

“Any suspects?”

“Probably half the town. She had more lovers than Old Glory has stars; even I was one years back.”

It was obvious from the way Swan was staring that he was as much taken aback by Eli’s revelations as Eli had been by his. “How was she killed? Has that been determined?”

“Undertaker says she was strangled.”

“Then we have a murderer to find now.”

Eli nodded. “Yes, we do.”

“Is there time for me to visit the location where the body was found before nightfall?”

“Yes. Let’s go talk to the undertaker. He discovered the corpse.”

Eli and Swan gathered up Bates and rode to the school. When they arrived, he pointed out the place where’d he found Cecile. Eli watched Swan look around at the surrounding landscape, then bend low to look at the dirt field they were all standing in.

The curious Bates asked, “What are you searching for?”

“Nothing in particular, just seeing what there might be to see.” He continued to study the soil. “Footprints.” He looked up. “Mr. Bates can you come here and identify the ones that belong to you.”

Because Bates feet were so small, his were easy to distinguish from the larger ones pressed into the dust.

Eli studied the prints. “That’s your standard Grove boot. We all wear the same kind. Miss Edna sells them at the store.”

The scarecrow nodded. “Certainly doesn’t narrow it down. Does it?”

“No,” Eli answered solemnly.

Swan stood and wiped his hands on his trousers. “Let’s go back to town. I need to find a room for the night and write my report. I’d like to start interviewing some of your residents in the morning, if I could Mr. Grayson.”

“I’ll assist however you think best.”

His blue eyes pierced Eli. “Good, because I’d like to start with you.”

Eli knew he had nothing to hide. “We can talk first thing tomorrow.”

Swan nodded and they walked back to the wagons.

That evening as Eli and Jewel lay in bed, she said, “Once Mr. Swan is finished interrogating you, he can start looking for the real killer.”

Eli smiled in the dark. She hadn’t been happy to learn that her husband would be questioned first. “I don’t mind answering his questions because I’ve nothing to hide. And yes, then we can look for the person really responsible for Cecile’s death.”

“James Wilson should be on the top of the list.”

“I agree. Swan will probably want to talk to Reverend Anderson, Creighton, and lord knows who else, too.”

“I hope he finds the culprit quickly. It’s very unsettling knowing we may have a killer loose in the Grove.”

“I know.” He reached over and pulled her close until she was spooned against him. “I want you
to be careful when you’re out driving. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

“Neither do I.” She turned so she could look into his shadowy face. “You do the same. I don’t want anything happening to you, either.”

He kissed her softly. “You’re my life, Jewel. I’m not sure I could cope if you came to harm.”

“I’m pretty handy with a gun, remember?”

“I do,” he said thinking back on her and her bird gun. “Anybody wanting to tangle with you should think twice.”

“True, but I will be careful.”

He placed his lips against her forehead. “That’s all I ask. One more question?”

“Yes.”

“How many buttons are on this nightgown?”

She chuckled. “I’m not real sure. Would you like to check?”

“I think I might.”

There were five and after he spent an inordinate amount of time opening them, the only sounds in the bedroom were the squeaks of the bed and the cries of the little death.

When Swan walked through the open door of the mayor’s office the next morning, Eli greeted him with a nod and gestured him to a seat.

Swan sat, and then asked, “Are you ready?”

“As ready as you are.”

He studied Eli for a long moment and then said, “So, tell me about your relationship with Mrs. Briles.”

“She was my cousin-in-law when I first met her.”

Swan looked surprised, and as Eli’s story continued, the surprise was replaced by grim shakes of his head. “You were sixteen at that time?”

Eli answered.

“And your cousin divorced her as a result of the adultery?

“Yes.”

He then asked Eli where he’d been on the night Cecile was killed. Eli related the story of James Wilson’s drunken display at the dance. “We took him home and afterward I went home to my wife.”

Swan was making notes. When he finished, he seemed pleased. “Thank you, Mr. Grayson. I needed to hear your story. Want to make sure the person I’m working with is not on the top of the suspect list.”

Eli smiled. “I understand.”

Swan stood and stuck out a hand. “So let’s you and I start over. I’m Bryson Swan. Most people call me Bryce.”

Eli stood and met his hand. “Call me Eli.”

The scarecrow’s blue eyes twinkled, “Glad to meet ya. Now, let’s go see Mr. James Wilson.”

But the elder Wilson wasn’t in the mood for callers, and the shotgun he raised toward them when they reached his gate emphasized that. “Get off my land!”

Eli sighed loudly. “Wilson, this is a policeman from back east; he wants to talk to you about Cecile’s death.”

“Hope she’s burning in hell and the man who killed her gets a medal. That’s all I got to say. Now, get off my land before I shoot you for trespassing.”

Eli called back angrily, “This is a sworn officer of the law, Wilson. You can’t refuse to talk to him!”

“The hell I can’t!”

Swan touched Eli’s arm. “We’ll come back. If he was as drunk as you said he was the night she died, I doubt he’s our man. Let’s save him for later.”

Eli gave him a tight nod and they got back on the wagon.

For the next two days, he and Swan crisscrossed the Grove talking to people near and far, and the only thing they learned for sure was that the list of her paramours was much longer than Eli had imagined. Men he would never have suspected confessed to having trysted with her. Her conquests were both young and old, and she stole from each of them.

A talk with the Reverend Anderson that afternoon in the mayor’s office revealed his previously unknown, long-term relationship with the murdered Cecile.

When he finished his sordid tale, Eli was stunned. “So she was sleeping with you, too, while Nate was away fighting the war?”

Anderson looked ashamed, but he nodded. “James Wilson as well.”

Eli didn’t believe this. It was difficult not to be bitter knowing he’d been the only one ostracized after Cecile left town.

“James and I pretended we weren’t involved with her when your cousin found out about you and her. We didn’t want to risk his wrath, and I didn’t want to lose the church I’d just become the pastor of.”

Eli had trouble hiding his disgust.

Anderson walked to the office windows and looked out. “I’ve begged my wife’s forgiveness, and I’ve begged God’s forgiveness, too, but neither seem to be in a charitable mood right now, so I continue to pray.”