Dead of Autumn
Page 26
“All those trips to Atlanta. I never suspected.” Alexa whispered.
“Why would you?” Reese took her hand.
Corporal Branche turned to Elizabeth Nelson’s murder. “One of Elizabeth’s friends from Portland surfaced when the national news broke the Abortion Killers story. You may have seen her interviews on several cable networks.” His scorn was palpable. “From phone conversations and emails from Elizabeth, she was able to fill in some missing pieces.
“When Elizabeth Nelson met Gabriel at a bar in Mechanicsburg, she knew nothing about his secret life. She fell in love with a beautiful man who created elegant furniture and made her laugh.
“After a while, Elizabeth had noticed some disturbing things about Gabriel. He started to reveal a life view that was much more conservative than she had realized. Even more concerning, Gabriel erupted into angry outbursts that hinted at an undercurrent of violence. As she got to know Gabriel better, Elizabeth first became disenchanted, and then frightened.
“When she learned that she was pregnant, Elizabeth decided to end her relationship with Gabriel. A few days before Elizabeth came into the clinic for the abortion procedure, she broke up with Gabriel and told him she was leaving Carlisle. Then, her boss at Technostorm convinced her to stay in the area until she completed her current project.”
“So, what she told Doc Crowe was true.” Alexa said.
“Yes. Gabriel confessed the rest. He was distraught about Elizabeth’s move back to Portland. One day in early October, an acquaintance mentioned that she was still in the area. Gabriel went to Beth’s place, determined to win her back.
“Elizabeth’s mistake was to let him into her apartment. While there, Gabriel spotted some papers with instructions concerning her abortion procedure at the women’s clinic.”
In an animated voice, Trooper Taylor took up the narrative. “Gabriel went ballistic. When she admitted to the abortion, he struck Elizabeth, knocking her out. Gabriel panicked. He carried her to his pick-up and drove to Kingdom Lodge. He called his best friends for advice, and soon Reverend Browne became involved. The minister told Gabriel that Elizabeth had pay for her sins, but Gabriel refused.
“Elizabeth awoke during the heated debate among the five men. Still groggy, she tried to flee, but was no match for Reverend Browne. The minister strangled Elizabeth before Gabriel could intervene. He instructed Gabriel and Daniel to take her body as far away as possible and get rid of it. As dawn was breaking, the two of them left Perry County to dispose of her corpse. They chose the Michaux Forest because their militia had passed that way a few weeks earlier.”
“Elizabeth’s murder precipitated the chain of subsequent events,” Corporal Branche spoke in a pedantic tone. “Reverend Browne’s hatred of the Cumberland Clinic rose to a new level. He told the militia that God had spoken to him and decreed that the abortion doctors must be eliminated. He ordered Caleb and Daniel to send the threatening notes. He assigned Joel, the sharpshooter, the task of killing Doctor Crowe.”
His voice softened and he gave Alexa a look of sympathy. “When Caleb learned that you worked at the clinic, he was mortified. Reverend Browne was enraged to find that his only son had been involved with a ‘baby killer’. To save you, Caleb came up with the plan to convert you to their cause. When you spurned salvation and walked out of the lodge, Reverend Browne went on a rampage. He commanded Caleb, Gabriel, Daniel, and Joel to add you to the clinic hit list.”
Alexa jammed a balled fist against her mouth. Caleb had tried to save her.
Trooper Taylor apologized. “We know that this is hard for you to hear.”
“No, go ahead. I want to hear it all.”
“Joel made the first attempt to carry out Reverend Browne’s order. In the poor light of the clinic parking lot, he mistook Emily Baxter for you. In a panic, Caleb came to warn you on Thanksgiving Day, but he says that your family threw him out. Unbeknownst to Caleb, his father had already sent Daniel and Gabriel to your cabin, where they planned to wait inside and grab you when you came home. An ancient window screen foiled their plan, and they left.
“When your family turned Caleb away on Thanksgiving, that humiliation was the final straw. He decided that you deserved whatever happened.”
Alexa stifled a cry of distress. “Is there more?” Reese put his arm around her.
“One last thing.” The trooper gazed steadily at Alexa as he finished. “The night that you passed Caleb and his friends in the van at his sporting goods store—it was a spur of the moment decision to launch an all-out assault. When they couldn’t run your car off the road, they backed off and then decided to confront you at the cabin.”
Alexa closed her parents’ front door behind Trooper Taylor and Corporal Branche. She came back into the living room and plopped down on the couch next to Reese. Scout snoozed on an armchair near the fireplace.
Alexa exclaimed, “With each new piece of information that comes out, this story gets stranger. In one way, I feel sorry for Caleb. His father fed him that twisted version of religion for his entire life.”
“It’s hard to believe that one man could spawn such a culture of hatred and violence,” agreed Reese. “But, I wouldn’t let Caleb off so easily. He and his buddies nearly killed you.”
“You’re right. There’s no excuse for what they did. But, I got off easy. Nothing will bring back Elizabeth and Emily or the other girls who were killed.”
The lights from the corner Christmas tree cast a soft glow. Alexa leaned back against Reese and sighed. Then she grinned and said, “Now that this madness is over, we may find that we have nothing in common anymore.”
“I’ll take that chance,” Reese replied. Then, he kissed her.
Epilogue
Elizabeth Nelson’s parents took her body home to Oregon for burial, but Alexa decided to have a private memorial for the girl she had found lying dead under the mountain laurel. She chose the Babes’ memorial as the place to remember Elizabeth. She also wanted to honor Emily Baxter, who had been the most innocent victim in all this violence.
Although she’d never known Elizabeth, Alexa felt an inexplicable kinship with the woman. Alexa would always bear the burden of knowing that Emily Baxter had died in her place. Alexa decided to walk to the Babes’ sign in a personal pilgrimage.
This last day of December was clear and cold, even though there had been a dusting of snow in the early morning. With Scout by her side, Alexa walked through the cathedral of pines. The pine needles were dry beneath her feet since the arching expanse of tall trees prevented all but the heaviest snow from reaching the forest floor. As they walked, the English mastiff drew closer to Alexa’s side.
“It is so nice to have you home with me, buddy,” she said patting Scout’s head. “I’m glad you’re back in top shape.” The dog’s wound had healed completely.
As she made her way through the sighing pines, Alexa reflected on the weeks since she had shot Reverend Browne. She had experienced many sleepless nights, but she didn’t regret pulling the trigger. She had done what was necessary to survive. She hated killing another human being—even in self-defense—and hoped that she would never be put in such a situation again. But Reverend Browne would not have hesitated to strangle her just as he had those other women. Alexa was at peace with what she had done.
She brought her attention back to the present. She and Scout had reached the Babes in the Woods memorial. The marker was decorated with flags and ribbons from people, who nearly a century later, still honored the three girls who had been murdered by their father.
Alexa leaned forward to place a bouquet of white roses on the snowy ground at the foot of the marker. Scout whined and lay down with his nose touching the flowers. Alexa spoke aloud in the quiet forest, “Rest in peace, Elizabeth. Rest in peace, Emily.” After a moment, she added, “Rest in peace, Dewilla, Cordelia, and Norma.”
The waning afternoon light filtered softly through the pines turning the snow-covered ground luminous. It was a beautiful winter afterno
on, one that Elizabeth and Emily would never see.
A tear rolled down her cheek as Alexa contemplated the murder of the two young women. Everything she had heard about Elizabeth Nelson spoke of a young woman full of life and promise. Emily Baxter was a wonderful mother whose young family would never see her again. Alexa had been lucky to escape from Reverend Browne’s reign of violence and vowed to honor these two women by living the best life she possibly could.
In many ways, this little ceremony was a way to mourn her own loss. In the space of a few weeks, Alexa had twice escaped death, the second time by killing Reverend Browne. As part of this horrific experience, she had overcome some difficult challenges. Alexa felt as if she had been knocked down by evil and stood back up a different person, hopefully wiser but certainly less trusting of the world. She acknowledged, with some regret, that the old Alexa was gone. She would never be quite the same again.
When the sun kissed the tops of the giant pines, Alexa knew the light would soon fade. She drew her private observance to a close by speaking the words engraved on the Babes’ gravestone. She had memorized them when she was ten.
“Babes in the Woods.
Sleep tender blossoms folded so close
In slumber which broken shall be
By His gentle voice whispering low
Little Children Come Unto Me”
Placing her hand on Scout’s collar, Alexa wiped away her tears. She leaned over to hug the mastiff and then straightened her shoulders. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go home and get ready for the New Year. Reese is waiting for us.”
As Alexa entered the cathedral of trees, a gust of wind whipped the pine boughs, sending puffs of snow floating into the clear air. A last ray of sun illuminated the spiraling crystals as they danced like dervishes over the white roses scattered on the ground.
Afterword
This is a work of fiction and my characters are drawn from my imagination. Any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental.
Some of my historical references are based in fact. The Babes in the Woods were found dead in Cumberland County, PA. This region was also a key route for the Underground Railroad. The Confederates reached Carlisle and Chambersburg during the Civil War. However, everything that takes place in a historical context in this work is fictionalized.
The words from the Babes’ gravestone can be found in Westminster Cemetery near Carlisle, PA. The headstone was erected by the local American Legion and others from the community, many months after the children were laid to rest. Some newspaper accounts indicate that the words are taken from a poem by Jean Lawrence of Sacramento, CA, written while police were trying to identify the bodies of the three dead girls found in the forest.
Some of the places in this novel are also real. However, many of the specific places exist only on the pages of this book. The Cumberland Clinic is not an actual medical facility. However, many brave men and women across the nation risk danger every day to perform legal abortions to women in need.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my early reviewers for their help and advice on this manuscript: the Knowltons, the Kuehns, and Kelly Wachtman. And, of course, the crew at Sunbury Press. I also want to thank Trooper Jessica Williams of Troop H, Carlisle Barracks, for help in clarifying some state police responsibilities and procedures.
About the Author
Sherry Knowlton (nee Rothenberger) was born and raised in Chambersburg, PA, where she developed a lifelong passion for books. She was that kid who would sneak a flashlight to bed at night so she could read beneath the covers. All the local librarians knew her by name.
Sherry launched her writing career with a mimeographed elementary school newsletter and went on to write and edit for her high school and college newspapers. Since then, Sherry’s creative and technical writing has run the gamut from poetry, essays, and short stories to environmental newsletters, policy papers, regulations, and grant proposals. Dead of Autumn is her first novel.
Sherry spent much of her early career in state government, working primarily with social and human services programs, including services for abused children, rape crisis, domestic violence, and family planning. In the 1990s, she served as the Deputy Secretary for Medical Assistance in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The latter part of Sherry’s career has focused on the field of Medicaid managed care. Now retired from executive positions in the health insurance industry, Sherry runs her own health care consulting business.
Sherry has a B.A. in English and psychology from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.
Sherry and her husband, Mike, began their journey together in the days of peace and music when they traversed the country in a hippie van. Running out of money several months into the trip, Sherry waitressed the night shift at a cowboy hangout in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Mike washed dishes in a bakery. Undeterred, they embraced the travel experience and continue to explore far-flung places around the globe. Sherry and Mike have one son, Josh, a craft brewer in upstate New York.
Sherry lives in the mountains of South Central Pennsylvania, only a short distance from the Babes in the Woods memorial.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author