He reached over and pulled Meg into his arms, as he told her, "I know we're going through a lot now, but soon this will be over and we'll be married." Then he smiled at her, "Try and concentrate on that."
"Personally," Meg said, "I don't think we should marry until everything going on is finished—until we find out who is behind these...these atrocities."
"Margaret," Gus answered, "there is always going to be something 'not right' with us, with the town. I don't think we should postpone our lives and happiness until things are 'right.' The reality is things will never—ever—be completely 'right.'"
"Yes," she conceded, "I suppose. But, still...I think we should get through this before we take such an important step."
"All right, Meg. I won't speak of it again until this sickness has passed."
"Thank you. Now, go check on your men, and then come back for breakfast."
"I've already had my breakfast," Gus told her. "But I'll be back here after I check on the Williams. But once I get back, you, Miranda, and the doctor are going to rest. You all look exhausted. Neil can go back and forth from here to supervise the little bit of construction that will get done today. He and I will hold down the fort. You three need to eat some hot food and then get some sleep—or you'll be sick."
"Yes," Margaret agreed, "and we don't need that."
Chapter Twenty-Three
"The good news," Gus began, as he entered the workshop, "is the Williams are all fine. And, yes, the babies are thriving. I stayed on my horse and called out to them. I also made sure they had enough food to last a while. And, I promised them someone would check on them again in a few days."
Dr. Thorne let out a deep sigh. "Oh, good. That's a relief. Can you think of anyone else we should check up on? After all, you've lived here long enough to have noticed who wasn't at the party. And, who isn't here...yet."
"I thought about just that on my ride back into town," Gus assured her, "and I can't think of anyone who was at the party who hasn't been accounted for. How bad are things?"
"Well, we lost another little boy and his mother, one of your ranch hands, and a middle-aged widow who lived here in town. If we can just keep everyone going until the day after tomorrow, I think the worst will be over. But, the last time I said I thought we'd be all right," Victoria admitted, "we were deluged with patients."
"What about Frank's family?"
"The sheriff has been in and out, and seems fine. I'm sure he'd have made sure his family was here if they showed any signs of being ill."
"Yes, I suppose. I am surprised one of my men died. They're almost never ill. How is it that this fever killed him? And, so quickly?"
Victoria flushed. So much, in fact, for a moment, Gus was afraid she was getting sick. Then she spoke, "Well, he...he had more than scarlet fever wrong with him. Even if he hadn't come down with it, he would have been unable to work soon. He...he had...bad blood."
"Bad blood? He never seemed particularly weak."
She looked at him and asked, "Is he one of the workers you've been having trouble with?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, he..." Gus' voice trailed off, before he added, "Oh...I see."
"Exactly. He had been infected for a very long time. Unless we discover someone else suffering from the same malady, I'm sure he's the one who infected the one girl we know about. And, I'm ashamed to admit," the doctor told him, "I would have questioned him unmercifully, if he hadn't slipped into unconsciousness."
"Perhaps," Gus began, "once this is all over, I'll have you examine all my men. Maybe then we'd find something out, at last."
"If I were you, I'd be afraid that they'd revolt—to have a lady doctor examine them when they aren't sick."
"Yes, I suppose you're probably right about that."
"Even with everything going on, the people of Manchester seem to be accepting me. I've been very surprised about how accepting they've been. So," the doctor continued, "I'd rather not rock the boat." Then she shook her head, "Things are going to be bad enough when we figure out where the brothel is, and who's responsible for it."
"Yes, all right. But, I'm going to be paying close attention to my men. And the first one that looks as if he's not up to snuff, he'll be in here for a complete going over. Even if I have to be an active participant."
*****
The next few days passed without incident. The empty places vacated by patients deemed well enough to go home—or at least be moved to the ambulatory facility they'd set up in the surgery—were filled with new patients as soon as the linens had been changed. Although patients continued to arrive, they had managed to get through the worst of the illness on their own.
Neil, with Eva's help, supervised this secondary infirmary for people well on the mend. Kit and the doctor came through several times a day, checking the inmates. Now, their biggest problem was keeping the people who were on the mend to follow their instructions so they would continue to recuperate.
The number of fatalities were blessedly lower than Victoria expected. There were a few more bodies added to the others, wrapped tightly in sheets, and lined up in the foaling stall. At least, now that autumn had arrived, along with a bitterly cold wind from Canada, they presented no imminent danger to the community.
Kit also tucked a note in each, listing their name and the date they died. If the victims had known relations nearby, the sheriff and Gus personally notified them of the death.
Gradually, the surgery and the workshop emptied of patients, and the doctor began to relax. Neil, along with a crew of Gus' men, returned to work on the new surgery building. But, they all realized that it would never be completed before the November first deadline.
Gus and Frank accompanied Victoria to a public meeting—at the hotel restaurant—with Mr. Brumbell. And, although he was still anything but pleasant, he did agree to the doctor continuing a month to month tenancy until the new surgery was finished and she was able to take occupancy.
Things appeared to be growing better—more normal. Gus and Frank were hopeful and optimistic. Right until they reached the workshop where only a few lingering patients remained.
They'd only been inside for a moment when Kit entered and, once again, the foundation of their world crumbled.
"Oh, good," the young girl began, "you all are here."
"What's going on, Kit?"
"I went over to the livery stable...to make that list for the undertaker, and..." she paused, but after a second, shrugged her shoulders, and blurted out, "There just ain't no other way to say this...but there's an extra body in there."
"What?" Frank said.
"You must have miscounted," Gus insisted.
"Surely," Victoria began, "as Gus says, you must have miscounted."
"No, ma'am. That's why I was the only one who wrapped and tagged them bodies. So they were all wrapped and labeled the same—so there weren't no mistakes. And, I've been most careful. I've wrapped each poor soul the same way, in a white sheet. Swaddled them up tight, like they was babes. And, I've slipped a little card in the same fold at their feet. Only thing is, now there's a body that I didn't deal with. Oh, it's wrapped, all right. But, not near as neat or tight as I done. And, there's no card—saying who it is and when they died."
"Oh, my God!" Frank groaned. "This is another unidentified young woman, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir. I unwrapped it—her," Kit said, "and it...eh...her were another young woman—hardly that. Might not be even as old as me. And," she ended, "I ain't never seen her before."
After a quick, whispered discussion, Frank went to send a carefully worded telegram to Judge Preston while Dr. Thorne and Gus returned to the makeshift morgue with Kit. Even they could see someone else had wrapped the body.
The doctor examined the dead girl, she stood up, and frowned. "She didn't die of scarlet fever—she was smothered. See how the tiny blood vessels in her eyes have burst? And, she also had the first stages of syphilis."
She was about to say something more when she paused, and
after a moment asked, "Kit, can you find Gus' ranch hand?"
Kit nodded, went to a wrapped body, checked the card, and said, "Here he is."
Dr. Thorne turned to Gus and said, "Do you think you can get him to the surgery without being observed?"
"I suppose, if we used a wagon, went the roundabout way through the back alley, and then brought it in through the back door. Why?"
"I need to do a thorough autopsy on him."
"But, why..."
"Because I don't believe he died from scarlet fever. I just remembered something—something that has been nagging at me. When he came in, he had a low fever and a bit of a rash, but he came in complaining of cramps. He vomited and had diarrhea almost continually. I finally gave him some laudanum so he could rest."
"But," Gus protested, "I saw others with the flux."
"Yes, a few of the children had some stomach and bowel issues. But, none to the extent of this man. I think he was poisoned."
Gus sank onto a hay bale. "You're telling us that there have been two more murders? Frank is going to have his own bowel issues when he hears this."
*****
Victoria tossed a sheet over the body on the examining table, yanked back the curtain, and announced, "I've taken samples of his organs, and will have to send them off for confirmation, but I performed a Marsh test on a sample of his stomach contents. I was right. He died of arsenic poisoning."
"But why?" Frank asked. "Why murder this man? Or the poor girl, for that matter?"
"I think because this man—this customer, if you will—had an advanced case of syphilis and infected at least two girls we know about. His condition was getting to the point where he'd almost surely be forced to seek out medical help. And, whoever is behind all this horror wasn't willing to risk this man telling anyone anything—accidentally or intentionally—that might lead back to them. And the girl had become a liability to the business. After all, who is willing to risk his health by patronizing an establishment populated by diseased girls?"
"Well," the sheriff said, "I heard back from Judge Preston. He's making a stop here at the end of the week. And, the mayor is back and apparently pleased at the way the health crisis has been handled. Although, what he's going to say if the judge decides he has to be told all that's been going on, I have no idea. But, I bet it will not be good."
"Do you think we should tell Meg, Miranda, and Eva?" Victoria asked.
Gus looked up and said, "I think it's only fair that they know everything, despite beginning to wear them down."
"The truth is," Victoria said, "it's wearing all of us down."
"That's true enough," Frank said flatly. "My wife is beginning to suspect that something is going on. And, I can't explain why, but keeping this from her makes me feel guilty."
"Maybe that inherent guilt," Victoria said, "could help us. While I'd like to believe that only single men are...are using these girls, I don't believe it. Perhaps, we could begin looking for married men who look or act guilty."
"Well, I for one," Gus insisted, "have been looking for anyone who acts suspicious—mostly with my men. But, what the doctor is saying makes sense. Most men, even those who are willing to break their marriage vows, have consciences. Eventually, they are going to do something to give themselves away. The trouble is that we don't have the time to wait for this inner guilt to weigh someone down so much they confess to someone."
"I don't suppose," Victoria said, "it's at all ethical to ask Reverend Cleary whether anyone...anyone has...said anything to him?"
"No, probably not," Frank answered. "However, that doesn't stop us from asking, does it?"
"Well, what if we wait until Judge Preston is here? Maybe he would have more influence," Gus said.
"I still don't think he'll tell us anything. I'm sure that ministers have a code of ethics, just as we doctors do."
Chapter Twenty-Four
As Josh helped Neil and Gus carry one of the beams of the floor loom from Harding's building back across the street to the workshop, he commented, "That Harding is a strange one. After acting so uncooperative about letting us use his building, he comes down the other evening, carrying two shot glasses and a bottle of brandy. He said he wanted to make up for all the trouble he caused."
"And..." Gus asked.
"He poured us each a drink, and handed me one. Then he apologized for the way he acted. I drank my shot down, while he sipped on his. But before he returned upstairs to his quarters, he handed me the bottle."
"I never thought you were much of a drinker."
"I'm not. But, I had been camping out on that floor for a while, so I did take the drink."
"Just the one?" Gus asked, with a grin.
"Just the one. I fell right asleep—slept straight through the night. The next thing I know, it was morning."
"Really..." Gus said, as the returned to gather up more of the loom pieces.
"Yes, I guess I must have been more tired than I thought. But, I don't want any more." Josh reached under a blanket and brought out a nearly full bottle of brandy, which he thrust into Gus' hand and said, "Here, you take it."
"I think I will. I'll take it over to Miss Strong's. There was a time, not so very long ago, when she was distressed over something, and a bit of brandy might have helped. If you're sure you don't want it."
"No, take it."
*****
When Frank and Judge Preston rounded the corner of the workshop they found Meg and Miranda sitting in rocking chairs, doing handwork.
"Hello, ladies," the judge said, pleasantly.
"Hello, sir. We're just taking advantage of this lovely, sunny day. It won't be long before the snow."
"True. Very true, I'm afraid."
"I hear," Judge Preston began, "you all have some more to tell me. And, I have actually some more information to share with you. Would it be an imposition to ask for some coffee? Mr. Gunderson is fetching the doctor and Mr. Stratton."
"No imposition at all," Meg replied. "Come on inside." Then she picked up her basket of sewing and led the men into the house, with Miranda following behind.
Coffee and tea, cups and saucers, and sugar and cream were soon on the table. Eva came into the living quarters from the workroom, set out a plate of cookies, and then sat back in a corner.
There was a short, sharp rap on the back door before it swung open to allow Victoria to enter, Gus and Neil followed.
Once everyone was settled around the table, fixing their coffee and tea, and helping themselves to cookies, the judge cleared his throat and asked, "Who wants to begin?"
Victoria set her cup down hard and answered, "I think we need to. You know we had a bit of an epidemic of scarlet fever the last few weeks. At the outset, we cleared out the workshop and set up a hospital of sorts. We also took the precaution of preparing a makeshift morgue in a large, remote stall in the livery stable.
"Kit was the only one to prepare the bodies, by wrapping them in a sheet and labeling them. Someone else might transport them, but Kit was the only one who dealt with them. As the crisis winded down, and we felt we could begin deconstructing the hospital and morgue, she went to the livery stable to collect the cards with the names of those who had succumbed.
"But when she took an inventory of the bodies, she found that there was an extra one. And when I examined it, I discovered that it was another unknown girl. She had not only been smothered, but exhibited the first symptoms of syphilis."
"Oh, Lord!" was all the judge could say.
"I'm afraid there's more," the doctor said. "Most of those who died had been the very young or very old. However, one of Gus' hands had died—at the very peak of the crisis, when we were at our busiest.
"Now, even at the time, his death surprised me. Until I examined him more thoroughly and discovered he was in the last stages of syphilis. And, while that would certainly leave him more susceptible to other diseases, it still left me uneasy.
"After we found the girl's body, I started thinking about him—and h
ow he'd suffered from cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting—which, while can certainly sometimes occur with scarlet fever, they shouldn't have been so very severe. I did an autopsy, and found his stomach and intestinal tract highly irritated. So, I performed a Marsh test on his stomach contents and discovered the man died of arsenic poisoning."
"And, you all believe that these deaths are related? Not only to each other, but to the previous ones, as well?"
"Yes."
"Well, my news isn't going to make you any happier," Judge Preston told them. He finished his coffee, allowed Meg to refill his cup, and sighed. Finally, he began, "Last week, my clerk and I were in Chicago. Mr. Stuart took advantage of my being in some conferences to visit the orphanage—the one that admitted to sending the two girls.
"However, from the very outset of his speaking to the matron, he had the feeling she was hiding something. So, he had me go back, sensing my title would make more of an impression on her. He was right, because as soon as I introduced myself and sat down, she began twitching—actually, twitching. After a few minutes, she broke down completely and admitted that she had not told Mr. Gunderson's lawyer the entire truth."
Meg sighed, Miranda stared into her empty tea cup, and the doctor wore a strained expression. But no one said anything. Instead, they waited in an uncomfortable silence.
"The woman also admitted she had sent another pair of girls—sisters, again, but a bit older—here to Manchester late last spring. She claimed she'd even received letters from both of them, saying how happy they were in their new place. So, when she received another request for girls, she didn't hesitate to send them. This time three sisters—"
"Oh, no..." Miranda groaned.
"Please," the judge said, putting his hand up, "let me finish."
"There's more?" Meg asked.
"I'm afraid so," Judge Preston answered. "As I said, the second group—the one I believe, from her descriptions, are your first two victims—consisted of three sisters. And the third sister, the one she hadn't previously admitted to, is only twelve."
Miss Thorne Blossoms Page 13
