“Well, he succeeded in blowing his brains out, at least.” The young man’s tone was cut-and-dried.
“But even in that case, he sent a letter to me as insurance that he would follow through. He was convinced I would hound him to the ends of the earth. The letter baited me to find him. He was counting on the fact that we would trail him to Hyperion. He had effectively cut off all avenues of escape for himself. It was probably the only reason he could work up the nerve to take action that one last time.”
Freddie scouted the landscape for their final destination: a gravesite at the far end of the cemetery. “Don’t you think he loved Nora Johnson, at least a little? He certainly seemed to feel guilty about her death.”
Evangeline pondered the question. “Serafina hinted that he felt both fear and regret just before he died. Regret for something he had left undone. Regret, perhaps for a person he had failed to save.” She sighed expressively. “I suppose he loved her as much as a gray little man with a gray little soul can ever love—timidly and with one eye always toward his own self-interest. In the end, he was willing to trade her life for a scrap of propriety.”
The carriage came to a stop in line behind the ten that preceded it. Everywhere, mourners were climbing out of their vehicles and walking slowly up the hill toward Euphemia Allworthy’s gravesite. Freddie jumped out of the carriage and held his hand out to help Evangeline.
She stepped down to join him. “I am struck by the paradoxical nature of this whole miserable chain of events. Bayne could never have blackmailed Martin at all if he had tried to save Nora in the first place. Instead, he sacrificed her to preserve his wealth and reputation. He ended up losing both, along with his life.”
“What doth it profit a man,” Freddie intoned.
“What, indeed.”
The couple walked up the hill to see Euphemia Allworthy laid to rest. Evangeline doubted that her husband’s spirit would find anything like everlasting peace.
Epilogue
In the aftermath of the ARU boycott, George Pullman’s fall from grace was swift. The U.S. Strike Commission held hearings in Chicago during August of 1894 and concluded that Pullman had created unnecessary hardship for his workers by refusing to arbitrate and by failing the reduce the rents in his town.
As a consequence of the investigation, the Illinois State Supreme Court ordered the Pullman Palace Car company to divest itself of its non-manufacturing real estate. The town of Pullman, no longer privately owned, was absorbed into the city of Chicago.
There is speculation that Pullman’s public disgrace took a toll on his health. He died of a heart attack three years later in October, 1897. Because his family feared that Pullman’s body might be desecrated by his former employees, he was buried at night in a lead-lined casket placed in an eight foot pit with walls, floor, and ceiling of steel-reinforced concrete. The Corinthian column which caps Pullman’s grave in Graceland Cemetery was designed by Solon Beman, the architect of the town of Pullman.
THE END
AUTHOR BIO
"There's a 52% chance that the next Dan Brown will be a woman ... or should we just make that 100% now?" --Kindle Nation
Nancy Wikarski is a fugitive from academia. After earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, she became a computer consultant and then turned to mystery and historical fiction writing. Her short stories have appeared in Futures Magazine and DIME Anthology, while her book reviews have been featured in Murder: Past Tense and Deadly Pleasures.
She has written the Gilded Age Mystery series set in 1890s Chicago. Titles include The Fall Of White City (2002) and Shrouded In Thought (2005). The series has received People's Choice Award nominations for best first novel and best historical. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and has served as vice president of Sisters In Crime - Twin Cities and on the programming board of the Chicago chapter.
She is currently writing the seven book Arkana Mystery series. Her work on the Arkana volumes has prompted Kindle Nation to call her one of its favorite authors.
BOOKS BY N. S. WIKARSKI
All the links below are for the Amazon US store.
The Fall Of White City (Gilded Age Mysteries #1)
A socialite stalks a murderer against the backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Shrouded In Thought (Gilded Age Mysteries #2)
A drowned factory girl provokes a labor riot during the Pullman Strike of 1894.
The Granite Key (Arkana Mysteries #1)
The murder of a shopkeeper over a stone artifact known as the granite key sparks a 3,000 year old treasure hunt.
The Mountain Mother Cipher (Arkana Mysteries #2)
When clues to the Bones Of The Mother lead from Greece to Turkey, the Arkana team struggles to stay one step ahead of its rivals.
The Dragon’s Wing Enigma (Arkana Mysteries #3)
A puzzle in the sky leads the treasure seekers to some unexpected places and unforeseen allies.
Riddle Of The Diamond Dove (Arkana Mysteries #4)
An even more cryptic astronomical riddle sends the relic hunters and their foes to Africa. What they discover there will have far-reaching consequences for both sides.
Into The Jaws Of The Lion (Arkana Mysteries #5)
A new clue draws the Arkana team to India where a rift among the trio threatens to destroy the relic hunt altogether.
Secrets Of The Serpent’s Heart (Arkana Mysteries #6)
Coming in December of 2015.
OTHER USEFUL INFO
Author’s Website:
http://www.mythofhistory.com/
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Facebook Public Page - N. S. Wikarski
Questions For The Author:
Email [email protected]
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK
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Kind Regards,
N. S. Wikarski
* * *
[1] Apprehended by the police.
[2] Jail.
[3] Stealing a pocket watch.
[4] Arrested by a policeman.
[5] Sentenced by a judge.
[6] Burglar.
[7] The shaft of a simple key with a slot for attaching bits of variable sizes to fit different types of locks.
[8] A small piece of bent wire with a string attached. This bow-shaped object is slipped into a keyhole to trip a lock.
[9] Jailed.
[10] Quietly leave the scene of the crime.
[11] Make a quick exit.
Shrouded In Thought (Gilded Age Mysteries Book 2) Page 31