by David Luchuk
Yes, Thaddeus. Yes indeed.
Whatever lives are saved today will be thanks to Robert and that device. What does it mean to thank a machine? I suppose I will find out.
* * *
Repository Note:
The letter I received from New Carthage was an expression of concern. The man who invited me to visit his library so he could share his personal archive of Pinkerton recordings wanted to be sure I was okay. Of all the things that made me angry about Hirsch and the cops keeping that letter from me, this stung the worst. A man I hardly knew had been the only one civilized enough to have an honest worry for me and my colleagues. Police stole that from me. To be fair, I could see why the rest of the letter interested them so much.
The man in New Carthage knew why the bombing took place. That much was implied. He said I was the most recent victim of a mistake made a long time ago. There were no other details but he obviously knew more. Hirsch asked if I would be willing to press him for information. He told me that bigger issues were starting to loom over the case. If the bomber was tied to New Carthage in some way, the attack could aggravate tensions always simmering between America and the former slave republic. If we didn’t get some answers, speculation and paranoia could spiral. There might end up being what Hirsch called an incident.
Hirsch also asked about a name cited near the end of the letter: Pattmore. Who was that, Hirsch asked? I laughed. My guardian officer must not have been a very good student in high school. Pattmore was the Congressman who took charge in New York after the fire of 1861. Infamously, he was the one who lobbied for slavery to be legalized throughout America. He claimed that was the only way to end hostilities between north and south. He was murdered. It was all quite famous.
But, wait. Wasn’t Pattmore the man having an affair with Pinkerton’s client? Or his wife? Or something? I couldn’t quite remember. Did Allan take that case in the end? The audio record ends without making it clear. History books claim that Pattmore was murdered because of his stand on slavery. The letter from New Carthage talks about a mistake, something that happened a long time ago and was connected to the bombing.
I told Hirsch to count me in. I am going back to New Carthage.
—Diane Larimer, Chief Archivist, United States Library of Congress
Copyright
The Boatman and the Traitor © 2014 by David Luchuk
Published by Joe Books Inc.
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EPub Edition May 2014 ISBN: 9781927854761
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