VOYAGERS

by K. L. Nappier

  "It'll take a small miracle, Rachel," he said, as if they had been conversing all along. "Dubenshire's more invisible as ever. Sometimes, I'm beginning to doubt he exists, but dear Lord, what he did to that poor Roscoe woman."

  "Walter, you were very close this time. You know much more now. Sooner or later…"

  But Mrs. Tandy didn't finish, as though she felt the impotence of her own words as much as the judge seemed to feel it. Tandy looked at his wife and mustered a brave, if theatrical, smile. He looked at his breakfast, but opted for his coffee cup as his smile faltered. Aaron heard the distant sound of the doorbell. He looked at Greta and smiled. In a moment, Tandy's man came to the kitchen's threshold, looking perplexed.

  "Excuse me, Judge, Mrs. Tandy," he said, his voice struggling between decorum and curiosity, "but there's someone to see you. I've seated her in the guest parlor."

  Greta cried out when she saw Tess sitting there, her pillowcase of clothing and money nestled against one ankle. Aaron put his arm around Greta's shoulder and laughed with utter delight. "See? Wasn't this worth the wait? But listen, now, listen..."

  The judge stopped short in the doorway and his jaw dropped. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph."

  "You swore on my sister's memory. Do you remember?"

  Mrs. Tandy elbowed past her husband to stare at their visitor. The judge finally found his voice again.

  "Yes. Yes, by all means." He moved to sit next to the girl.

  "He's going to murder someone, Judge," Tess blurted, her face stony. "Someone of influence. And me. He wants it to look like a big scandal, a double suicide or a love spat maybe. This man and me."

  "Who, Miss Roscoe?" Mrs. Tandy asked. "Who wants to kill you?"

  "Marshall. Who else?"

  The judge sat back and stared at Mrs. Tandy. They returned their incredulous gaze to Tess, as if they at last understood something. But Tess seemed to think their expressions were of disbelief.

  "It's true."

  Tandy replied, "I believe you, Miss Roscoe. I believe every word."

  "When?" Mrs. Tandy asked Tess.

  "He was going to do it tonight."

  "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," the judge said again. "However did you get away?"

  The slightest smile flickered at the corners of her lips. "By my wits."

  Aaron smiled, too. "She seems twice her age," he said to Greta.

  "I know," Greta replied. There was a melancholy acceptance in her voice, one Aaron could perfectly understand.

  The judge joined in on the smiling. "You are a remarkable young woman."

  "But you must be famished after such a trauma," Mrs. Tandy said. There was a bell cord near the door, but Mrs. Tandy simply yelled, "Cole!" The gentleman's gentleman was at the door as if he had been eavesdropping. Gauging the man's affected innocence, Aaron thought it likely. "Would you get Miss Roscoe some hot cakes and coffee, please," Mrs. Tandy said, then turned back to Tess. "Now, how did you discover this? Was Mr. Fielding so careless?"

  Tess lost her self-assured expression. Was she wondering how to tell the Tandys that her dead sister had warned her about it all in a dream? Greta looked at Aaron.

  "How do they take that news?" she asked.

  "They don't," Aaron said, just as the doorbell rang again.

  Tess started, but Tandy patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's all right."

  "He's going to be looking for me. And he might remember your promise at the funeral."

  "I know. But if that's his minions they won't get farther than the door." The judge stood up, listening as Cole walked toward the fading sound of the bell. Mrs. Tandy went to Tess' side. "Don't leave here," the judge said, and quit the parlor.

  Greta started to follow Tandy, but was stayed by Aaron, who was almost Ariditian in his glee. "No, don't. They'll be back in a few minutes; just watch."

  The minutes stretched long. The judge's voice could be heard in surprised, but low tones. Aaron knew the voice that replied to each question, had known it all his life. He watched Greta's face, looking for any recognition, but she remained puzzled and impatient. Then there came carpeted footfall.

  As they approached, Cole came ahead of the others and made to close the guest parlor doors. He was not in time. Aaron nudged Greta, and she gasped just as she glimpsed the senior Father Shane proceeding Tandy. But Aaron's father glimpsed someone, too. He glanced past Cole, then stopped in his tracks to stare gaped-mouthed at Tess.

  Tess rose, and Mrs. Tandy clutched one arm over the girl's shoulders as if she might whisk her away. Cole straightened to block the elder Shane's path, but the old priest barreled past him into the parlor to stand in awe before Greta's sister. He took a few steps toward Tess, gazing at her as if at a vision, then wept openly.

  "Thanks be to God. I had no hope of this. My only prayer was that...somehow... if I came here with what I knew..."

  Now it was Aaron's eyes that welled with emotion. Greta slipped her hand in Aaron's, as if she understood what this sight meant to him. Both Tess and Mrs. Tandy were eyeing Aaron's father suspiciously. They did not know what role the elder played in this scheme, but they understood his arrival was hardly a coincidence. The old man's legs faltered, but the judge was quickly at his side. Mrs. Tandy moved to help, and by the time Cole hurried off for water, they had the elder Shane sitting on the couch. The old priest accepted Tandy's handkerchief and wiped his brow with an unsteady hand. Tandy's man arrived not only with a pitcher of water, but a decanter of brandy, the latter of which the judge urged Aaron's father to sip. But the elder Shane pushed it aside to stare at Tess.

  "Are you well, my dear?" he asked. Tess nodded slowly. The old priest gave his attention to Tandy. His voice had growing strength. "Does Fielding know she's here?"

  "Does he know you are?" Tandy replied.

  The elder Shane shook his head. "I'm sure he doesn't. One of Dubenshire's henchmen has been watching me, but I'm considered a weak old fool by them. And they're right enough. The man saw me when I walked into the church this morning. I doubt he expected me to slip through the back, though he's certain to become suspicious soon. Even so, for the time being I'm sure it appears as though I'm in the offices, attending to business." He looked at Tess. "But I haven't been attending to business for years."

  "As it is, you've made an unfortunate discovery, finding Miss Roscoe here," Tandy said. "I can't permit you to leave."

  "But if we believe what you're saying, Father," Mrs. Tandy added, "it won't be safe for you to return home, anyway."

  Aaron's father nodded. It was evident the thought pained him, but even more evident was his conviction. The Tandys seemed inclined to believe in the elder Shane. It was Tess who challenged him.

  "And so? What business have you tended?" she asked.

  The old priest said, "The Devil's own." He touched his collar. "Do you see this? Do you know how long it's been since I have? And yet I have worn it for over 30 years. Do you believe in dreams, Miss Roscoe?" Tess' mask of suspicion was slapped away by shock. Aaron's father did not wait for Tess to answer. "In the dark of my room this morning I tried to convince myself not to believe. I even fled to the church and collapsed in prayer, begging God to help me to not believe; help me to shut Him out. That is a prayer I have said for 15 years, though there was always a way to sweeten it. Then in my panic, in my abject fear, it refused to be sweetened to my taste any longer. It was raw and bitter, and I realized I was shouting in the empty sanctuary. God's own voice was in mine, using the walls to thrust my prayer back at me." Aaron's father looked again at the Tandys. "Only yesterday I was clinging to my old age for solace. 'Too old to change now, my past makes me moot and I cannot change the past.' All these years in sin. The sin of refusing to come forward."

  Aaron and Greta were as stilled by his words as Tess and the Tandys. The elder Shane looked like a beggar with his morning beard and hasty dress. But he also looked like a man 10 years his junior.

  Finally the judge said, "Whatever has plagued you, seems to be healing now." He turned
to Tess. "Father Shane has confirmed what you've told us, Miss Roscoe."

  Tess smiled at them. "So, what do we do now?"

  Tandy returned his attention to Aaron's father. "You have something to back up your word?"

  The elder Shane sagged, shaking his head. "No. I was given a note to deliver to Fielding. I steamed it open and read it myself. But it was clever and cryptic, poor evidence, if evidence at all. I understood its intent only after last night."

  Mrs. Tandy looked to Tess. "Miss Roscoe?"

  "No. You have my word, though. Something can be done. He wants to kill me!"

  "Please," Tandy said, with irritation, then leaned his chin into his hand. After some thought, he shook his head as if discouraged, looking first at his wife, then at the others. "There is no crime. Not even the sketchiest evidence of this conspiracy."

  "Then what are we supposed to do?" Tess snapped.

  Aaron smiled. "She sounds just like you," he said, to Greta.

  "The important thing," Aaron's father replied, "is that you're safe."

  The judge shook his head and began pacing. "She can't be safe, Father. Fielding is her legal guardian and she's integral to their plans. As soon as she emerges from this house, he's sure to have her again. He's no doubt with the police, as we speak.

  "But even if she was safe, what of this other intended victim? Is a charade of scandal necessary for the murder, or will Dubenshire and Fielding simply scheme it differently?"

  "Perhaps we can hide her," Mrs. Tandy said. "Our daughter and son-in-law live in Illinois..."

  The elder Shane turned to the judge. "There you have it. But you will be jeopardizing your position."

  "Hardly the point. Regardless, once her safety is assured, I have every intention of bringing charges against Fielding for the appalling abuse of his ward. We may have failed to snare Dubenshire, but we're free now to admit her testimony and that of her late sister regarding that abomination. Miss Roscoe, would you be willing to leave St. Louis until such time?"

  "But what about Marshall?" Tess said. "He'll be free to do whatever he pleases to whomever he pleases."

  "One thing at a time," Mrs. Tandy replied. "First, let's think of your safety."

  "I am thinking of my safety. You don't know him. He'll find me, no matter where I go. He will never leave me alone."

  It was obvious to Aaron and Greta that Tess was persuading neither the Tandys nor the elder Shane. They were convinced they had found the solution to her welfare. And it was equally obvious that Tess understood this, as well. She tried a different tack.

  "Then what about their other victim?" she asked. "It's just as you say, Judge, maybe they can't kill him tonight, but won't they try again? If you don't do something they'll just wait for another chance. I'm not the important one in this plot. How will you ever stop it? You don't even know who to protect."

  Aaron's father and Mrs. Tandy remained unimpressed with her argument, but the judge was affected by it. He sat back down to put chin in hand once again. After a moment, his face darkened.

  "Here comes his idea," Aaron said. "It's not one he relishes."

  "I'm afraid you're right, Miss Roscoe," the judge said. "Satisfying as it would be to ruin Fielding, it won't affect his master. He's an elite of our mysterious Mr. Dubenshire's, but he's just a hireling all the same."

  Aaron's father looked at Tandy with distress. "You don't need to delay in helping Miss Roscoe. I can tell you immense things about Dubenshire."

  "But can you identify him, Father?" the judge replied.

  "After all these miserable years under his yoke I have a solid conviction as to who…"

  "But no solid evidence. And you can't tell us who he intends to kill. No, Father. We need the murder. Or rather, we need to catch him before he strikes." He looked at Tess. "And try as I may, I cannot think of any other way to do that."

  "Any other way than what?" the elder Shane asked, though his voice betrayed him.

  "Walter..." Mrs. Tandy said, nervously.

  Tandy kept his gaze on Tess. "Miss Roscoe, I must ask you something. But before I do, I want you to understand there is no one that will give you blame if you decline. You have suffered more than you ever deserved already. It seems to me Fielding and Dubenshire would likely continue with their plans tonight if you were to be returned to them."

  "No!" Aaron's father cried. "There must be another way. I can go in her stead."

  "And do what, Father?" The elder Shane sat mute, struggling for an answer he couldn't find. Tandy looked at his wife. She closed her eyes, as if to help her think, then took a deep breath and nodded. The judge returned his attention to Greta's sister. "We could make it appear as though you were found, and you would be escorted back to Fielding's house. The house can be watched every moment thereafter, but do you think he would harm you before tonight?"

  Tess listened intently, her face pallid. "Maybe he'll hit me a time or two. Nothing more."

  The judge closed his eyes, and continued. "What hour is this to take place?"

  "I don't know," Tess said.

  The judge nodded, past the point of doubt, resolve in his voice. "We'll need to infiltrate Fielding's home. I'll meet with the head of police. Crider. An excellent man." Then doubt crept into his voice again. "None of this will happen if we can't come up with a viable plan soon, understood? God help us, even if we do. If we act too quickly or too late... Miss Roscoe, do you realize what we're asking of you? Do you realize what will happen if we don't act with absolute precision? This is going to be unpredictable."

  "I'll do it."

  "Miss Roscoe, let me say again…"

  "Judge. I'll do it. I'm not afraid. I have reason not to be afraid."

  "Oh, Tess," Greta said, there beside Aaron. "I'm so very proud of you, darling." She looked at Aaron. What he saw in her eyes he knew in himself, as well. A letting go, a divine sense of moving onward. "The rest I can guess," she said.

  Aaron nodded, motioning to the mortals as Tandy left the parlor and Cole rolled in a cart of breakfast. "Mrs. Tandy and Cole kept an eye on Father and Tess while the judge went to see the chief of police. Mr. Fielding's butler was at the station making his report, and the chief leapt upon the man as a Heaven-sent opportunity. It seems the butler has a checkered past. But he isn't a complete cad. He's never been comfortable with Marshall's treatment of Tess. In any case, I don't have to tell you how Marshall could keep him in line, regardless of the man's sense of right and wrong. Between the fellow's own misdeeds and conscience, Crider convinced him that he was better off cooperating with the police than with Mr. Fielding. He was obliged to bring a lawman into the house, who posed as a footman covering for a sick servant in the event that Marshall noticed. Which he never did. The man kept an eye on Andrew and the developing moment.

  "As for me, I lost focus. I was overwhelmed by what I was witnessing. And when I looked for you at the flat, you weren't there, and I tried Mr. Fielding's to no avail. I panicked, trying to look around too many places at once for you and somehow thrust myself into the void." Aaron touched Greta's cheek. "I heard you call my name. It helped me gather myself so I could come to you."

  Greta smiled, but the moment was lost quickly. "Can you feel it? Something's happening."

  Aaron closed his eyes to better focus. Yes... there was a quickening he sensed. He was going to say, "We'd better return", but when he opened his eyes, they were already sitting on the side of the bed just as they had been when they began the past looking. Little had changed. Walbridge was beginning to revive under a policeman's ministrations. Only a handful of the force that had descended on the house were present, casually stepping over the bodies of Dixie and Odell like so much refuse. Sheets covered the corpses, but this seemed more a perfunctory measure than respectful gesture. Over in the roomy nook framed by windows, Tandy sat with Tess on a divan asking if she was cold, though she was draped by his great woolen coat. She had her color back at last, but she was still very shaken.

  The quickening that Aaron an
d Greta had sensed was coming from Fielding. He and Carroll Enderly were standing near the door. Enderly was sweating, his eyes downcast, a defiant frown fixed to his face as if he thought the expression might give him courage. Fielding, however, was clear-eyed and cool though disheveled from the furor.

  Fielding was watching the police chief carefully as the man approached Judge Tandy. Crider knelt on one knee in order to speak in a low voice to the judge, who glanced once at Fielding and Enderly before making reply. He excused himself from Tess, then rose to approach his captives, Crider not far behind.

  "Judge," Marshall said, and lifted his wrists so Tandy might see the handcuffs. "This is hardly the style of jewelry to which I've become accustomed."

  "You will be soon. Have your say. The men and I are tired and want to go home."

  "The point is, Judge, neither Mr. Enderly nor myself want to become accustomed to this. We are certainly willing to make some arrangement."

  "The evidence we have against you will likely execute you both. I won't bother to add bribery to the charges." Tandy began to walk away.

  "I'm not talking about money," Marshall said, tersely. Tandy stopped and waited. "Wouldn't you like to visit with Mr. Dubenshire? Mr. Enderly and I will gladly escort you."

  Aaron and Greta looked at each other. This couldn't be. Carroll Enderly was Mr. Dubenshire. Tandy smiled, as though he had set out bait and was at last rewarded.

  "Now, Fielding," he said, "you've always insisted you know no one by that name."

  Suddenly Enderly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his face fierce with anxiety. "He said we'd take you to him! But we won't go without a deal."

  The shout caught everyone's attention, but most turned back to their business soon enough. Except for one lawman, who had been scribbling in a small notebook. It was Greta who nudged Aaron, bringing the fellow to his notice. The officer was listening intently.

  "Carroll," Fielding said, "I've got this under control."

  "The hell you do." Enderly returned his attention to Tandy. "We won't go without a deal."

  "I don't see how you can deal very well at all," the judge replied.