by R A Wallace
She nodded her agreement even though she knew he couldn’t see her in the dark. Her finger slid down the flashlight and turned it off. They waited together hidden among the trees in the darkness for several minutes. Though silence had enveloped them for the first few seconds after the gun fired, the night creatures soon returned to their chorus. Delia and Otis remained where they were until the woods around them filled with the voices of Judson’s men.
“Let’s go,” Otis said as he switched on his own light.
Delia switched hers on and followed him. They came to large opening illuminated by portable lamps all around the perimeter. Delia switched her flashlight off as Wesley approached carrying her cloak. He slid it around her shoulders.
“Thank you.” She fastened the front as she studied the man they’d captured.
He was a plug of a man, just as the poachers described. At the moment, he was an angry plug of a man as he wrestled to free himself from the steady grasp of Judson’s men. Otis moved over to speak with Judson and the other officers.
Nessie appeared next to Delia. “Well, that was something I shall never forget.”
“Just remember our deal,” Delia said.
“I will write my exclusive story with judicious care,” Nessie promised. “For future reference, I’ll be ready to help set any plans you have into place if it means I’ll get another story like this one.”
Delia felt herself smile at Nessie’s enthusiasm.
“He attacked your cloak,” Wes said.
“Who fired?” she asked again as she swatted at the sound of a mosquito near her neck.
“One of Judson’s men. It was a signal to move in.” Wes adjusted the hood of the cloak to protect the back of her neck. “You’re certain you’re okay?”
She made a noise of agreement as she continued to watch Judson’s men question Erby Weegan.
“I can’t believe you ran that fast through the woods in the dark,” Nessie said. After looking down, she laughed.
Delia let her tennis shoes peek out from under the cloak. “I got the idea from a student.”
“I believe I recognize him,” Nessie said as she looked back at Erby.
“From where?”
Nessie continued to watch Erby for several more moments. “The abattoir.”
“What’s that?” Otis asked as he returned.
“Nessie believes that she saw Erby at the abattoir. She has been working on a story about their practices out there,” Delia explained.
Nessie stepped closer to Otis and Wes so they could hear her. “I saw him talking to another man with a scar on his face.”
“Luther Killian was at the abattoir?” Wes turned to Otis.
“It makes sense. He was caught in that general area south of town,” Otis said.
“Maybe that’s why we weren’t able to find him,” Wes suggested. “He was hiding out at the abattoir.”
“Who was?” Judson asked as he reached them.
“Luther Killian.” Wes motioned toward Nessie and then Erby. “She saw this man speaking with Luther at the abattoir. It’s another reason why we need Luther Killian back here. To ask him about his connections.”
Judson looked away for a moment.
“What?” Wes demanded. “Judson, what is it?”
“I’m sorry.” Judson turned to face Wesley. “I received news from Washington just before I left to come here.” Judson shook his head. “Luther Killian is dead.”
“No.” Wesley’s voice was almost a whisper.
“It was the influenza,” Judson said.
“No!” This time it was almost a shout.
Otis put his hand on Wesley’s shoulder, but Wesley pulled away.
“It can’t be. How can it be?” Wesley asked Judson, the disbelief in his voice mixed with anger.
“I’m sorry,” Judson repeated.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Otis asked.
Judson sighed. “I received a phone call right after Wes left my office this afternoon. Someone high up in Washington pulled some strings. Luther was slated to be sent back here.”
“You can’t be serious?” Wes took a step away from the others. “That close.”
“I thought you would finally get your answers,” Judson said. “But the next phone call dashed all hope. Luther took ill soon after arriving in Washington. It came on suddenly and hit him hard. He died within twenty-four hours of first becoming sick.”
“There is still hope.” Otis turned toward Erby. “If this man spoke to Luther, he may know something.”
Wesley began moving immediately. Judson followed more slowly and shouted at his men to stop Wesley before he reached the prisoner. Delia and Nessie were left alone to watch the action unfold.
“Thank you again for helping to set the plan in motion,” Delia said as two officers blocked Wesley inches from Erby.
“I saw someone else at the abattoir,” Nessie said. “He may be a match to the man you asked me to watch for.”
Delia turned to her quickly. “The man with full facial hair?”
“You said he was very wealthy,” Nessie said. “I believe the man I saw might be him.”
“Were you able to get a name?”
“Cyrus Wickersham.”
“Do you recognize the name?” Delia asked.
“I know that the family is very well off,” Nessie said. “Do you want me to keep watching him?”
“Yes.” Delia turned back toward Erby. Whoever was funding everything that was happening of late was very well off indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Her mind was too busy to grade papers. She set her lap desk off to the side then sat on her sofa staring at the bottle of Pennsylvania rye whiskey across her apartment. She finally gave up and rose to cross over to it, but the tapping on the door had her changing course. After opening the door, she left Wesley on his own to come inside and take a seat as she filled two glasses. She passed one to him as she made her way back to the sofa.
“I’m going to miss this when the bottle is empty,” she said.
“It isn’t the last of them,” he replied before taking a drink.
“The government stopped production of whiskey last year,” Delia argued. “Whatever you have left cannot hold out for long.”
“Let us hope the nonsense with prohibition doesn’t last long after the war,” he said with a frown.
She wrapped both hands around her glass and settled back against the cushion. “At least your worries about the death at the game preserve can be put to rest for the most part.”
“That’s what worries me now.” He watched her sip her whiskey. “I’m not certain we learned much.”
She found she couldn’t argue with his assessment as she considered everything that had happened in the last few days. “I believe you are correct.”
“Thanks to you, we have managed to capture the killer.” He toasted her with his glass. “But we are still no closer to answering most of the questions we’ve had from the beginning.”
“One,” she said quietly. “Sylvia Chrisman can tell her child that Marcus had no intention of selling his code to the enemy.”
“There is that.” Wes stared at his glass. “What about the rest of it?”
“You asked me to learn if two of your faculty, George and Arthur, were in any way involved in the death of Marcus,” she said.
“And?”
“They knew of the victim’s abilities with mathematics,” she said slowly. “Certainly the arborist, Alexander Boardman, did as well. I spoke with the three men more than once.” She frowned at the memory. “Each of the three pointed a finger at the other.”
“Intentionally?”
“We may never know that.”
He let out a sigh as he rubbed his eye. “At least we know definitively who the killer is.”
“But not who hired him,” she pointed out.
“You’re certain he was hired?” Wes made a face of indecision.
“A man with his background.” She
shook her head. “It would make more sense than Erby Weegan suddenly becoming an international player at such a level as all of that. How would he even know Marcus had a code, let alone how to market it to various governments?”
“Perhaps Judson will have some luck getting it out of him,” Wes suggested.
She pointed at him with her whiskey glass. “Two of your new military instructors.”
“What about them?”
“They were also in the woods that day.”
“Coincidence?” he suggested.
She rocked her head from side to side. “They went to the same college as the victim yet never admitted to knowing him. Never even called the police after finding his body.”
Wes sat up straighter. “Seriously?”
“They claimed they didn’t need to, but I wondered. Especially after learning that there was some question as to when they found out about the game preserve in the first place. It is also possible that they’ve been moving about the campus at night.” She shook her head as though to clear it. “Then there is the arborist.”
“What about him?”
“His family just recently lost quite a bit of money in an investment gone bad.” She thought of the conversation she still needed to have with Mena to explain everything she learned about Alexander Boardman. Her eyes shifted to his. “An overseas investment.”
“I may presume they were not an ally?” He looked away with a sigh. “Everything about this has ended with a question,” he repeated.
“Just like your situation,” she agreed.
Her mind returned to the dress in the shop window. She was certain now that Otis must have known Virginia somehow in their past. Is that why he protected Wesley now? Not because of what really happened, but because of what would happen to the Glennon family if Wesley were found guilty of treason?
“We had Luther,” he said as though to himself.
“But never learned much from him,” she said. “And now he is dead.”
“I have no idea how to clear myself now.” Wes set his glass down and leaned forward to press his palms into his eyes. “Judson has no idea who pulled the strings to get Luther back here.”
She knew it was the admiral but there was no way she could tell Wesley that. “Cyrus Wickersham.”
“What?” Wesley’s head came up as his eyes locked with hers. “What about him?”
“Who is he?”
“No one. Just a man from Glennon,” Wes said.
“A wealthy man from Glennon,” she pointed out.
“That matters?” His voice made it clear that it shouldn’t.
“It might. What can you tell me about him?”
“His family came here with mine.”
She opened her mouth to argue about the possible importance of Cyrus.
“Virginia said that there were men waiting for you when you returned to the campus today.”
Delia closed her mouth.
“According to my sister, they looked like government men. What can you tell me about them?”
Delia watched him with wary eyes as he pushed himself up from his chair.
“It seems there is yet another question without an answer,” he said before turning to leave.
When the door closed behind him, she set her glass of whiskey down and reached for her lap desk. After taking out a blank sheet of paper and a pen, she began to write to Euphemia.
Dearest Euphemia. I thank you again for your help. The man that killed Marcus Sidehill has been apprehended but he claims he doesn’t have the code. We know that it is still missing. As of this writing, there is no indication of which country might be in possession. Please write soonest if you hear any news on the case. I will search for answers on my end. As to the original situation, I will continue to monitor as requested and will report back promptly. With fondest regards, Delia.
Further reading
Many books exist on the period of the Great War. For further reading on topics during the timeframe of this book, see:
Abbot, W. J. (1919). The United States in the great war. New York: Leslie-Judge Co.
Ebbert, J. and Hall, M.-B. (2002). The first, the few, the forgotten: Navy and Marine Corps women in World War I. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press.
Fisher, D. C. (1918). Home fires in France. Toronto: Copp, Clark.
Gale, E. C. (1872). Hints on dress: Or, what to wear, when to wear it, and how to buy it. New York: G.P. Putnam & Sons.
Harvey, O. J. (1920). The Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918: An account of its ravages in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and the efforts made to combat and subdue it. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
March, F. A., & Beamish, R. J. (1928). History of the World War. Philadelphia: Winston.
Smith, A. C. (1920). The secrets of jujitsu: A complete course in self-defense. Read Books, Ltd.
SoRelle, R. P. (1919). Methods of teaching typewriting. New York: The Gregg Pub. Co.
Stephenson, S. C. (1924). Stephenson's Kansas state eighth grade examination question and answer book for common school diplomas: All the questions with complete answers for eighth grade examinations issued by the state superintendent of public instruction of Kansas, from 1919 to 1924 inclusive. Aurora, Neb: S.C. Stephenson.
U.S. Signal office. (1916). Radiotelegraphy: U.S. Signal Corps. 1916. Washington: Govt. Print. Off.
Trebitsch-Lincoln, I. T. (1916). Revelations of an international spy. New York: R.M. McBride & Co.
United States. (1917). Navy high-power radio chain working through to Cavite. Our Navy: The standard magazine of the United States Navy, Vol XI (10), p. 26. Washington, D.C: United States Navy.
In Wray, J. E. (1905). How to play second base. New York: American sports Publishing Company.
Coming Soon
Coming soon: The next book in the Glennon Normal School Historical Mystery series.
Glennon Normal School Historical Mystery Series
September 1918. The Great War. Although the world is at war, Delia Markham is adjusting to her job as a typewriting teacher at Glennon Normal School in the fall term of 1918. Her new life revolves around teaching future teachers. It isn’t an easy transition from her former assignment as Yeoman (F) in the U. S. Naval Reserve. When circumstances involve her in a mystery, some of the past excitement finds its way back into her life.
