by Mille West
The current was swift with the outgoing tide and they floated by a camp site with rustic cabins. The aroma of cooking fish filled the air and a man waved to them from his place beside a roaring fire.
At a bend in the river, a large alligator sat in the sun on a sand bar. Completely still, he hardly seemed to notice the passing canoe. Two hours into the trip, the sisters stopped for lunch.
The picnic basket was packed with delicious foods, and as they started to eat, Vivien asked, “Does Cooper speak of his wife?”
Mills thought of the nightmares he had suffered, but she had promised to keep that information confidential. “No, not often,” she responded.
“She could have been kidnapped and is a prisoner somewhere. What if she has amnesia?”
“Do you remember when May Harley disappeared in high school?” Mills asked.
“Yes, she attended a party at a club in Alexandria.”
“And after the party, she left alone and was never seen again. That was ten years ago.”
“I suppose it’s harder to prosecute a suspect without physical evidence.”
“Like a body. I don’t believe Cooper had anything to do with Elise’s disappearance.”
“I believe in him too,” Vivien concurred.
By the middle of the afternoon, they had reached the black-beamed trestle marked “Patterson,” that crossed the river. Shade covered them as they passed underneath, and Mills’s voice echoed when she said, “I think we have a mile to go.”
“This trestle is spooky looking,” Vivien called out.
“I agree.”
At a bend in the river, they noticed a plume of black smoke rising from the waterway as they neared the old mansion ruins. “Something’s on fire on Cooper’s property!” Mills exclaimed.
They were relieved to see two men at the waterfront, burning the old dock that Vivien had put her leg through. Flames leapt toward the sky from the fire, with the old mansion ruins in the distance.
“It’s scary, even in the daytime,” Vivien said.
When they reached Cooper’s home, they brought the canoe ashore and checked in with Charles and Marian to let them know they had returned. Charles told them that Cooper had ordered the old dock destroyed over safety concerns, and Marian gave both sisters a hug before excusing herself. “Cooper told me to phone him as soon as you returned. He’s a worrier.”
CHAPTER 18
The Sound of Dixie
T he following morning, the sisters left early for their drive to Cooper’s property on the Combahee River. Marian had made certain they didn’t leave hungry and had arrived at dawn to prepare a generous breakfast of eggs, bacon, grits, and biscuits. The canoe was loaded on Cooper’s Suburban and, before departing, Mills phoned Mr. Vern Adams, the caretaker for the Combahee property. As they drove south on the Savannah Highway, Vivien said, “Mills, I think you’re part of Cooper’s family.”
“They’re gracious with everyone.”
“I think you’re different.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
They crossed numerous waterways before reaching the Combahee River. After taking a drive down a sandy rural lane, they reached the Adams’s house, which was near the gate to Cooper’s property. Large ferns hung from the front porch, and the two-story farmhouse was situated in a shady area surrounded by live oaks.
Mills parked the Suburban in the driveway, and Mr. Adams and his wife came out of the house; she still had a dishcloth in her hands. They appeared to be in their sixties and Mr. Adams had deep wrinkles in his tanned skin, but a kind face and bright smile. His wife wore her salt-and-pepper hair in a tight bun and a solitary piece of jewelry around her neck, a cross on a silver chain.
“Good morning to you!” Mr. Adams said with enthusiasm. The sisters introduced themselves and Mr. Adams told them he would drive them to Pinckney Landing whenever they were ready for their canoe trip down the river and back to Cooper’s property. A dinner invitation offered by Mrs. Adams was promptly accepted.
Mrs. Adams spoke sparingly, but she offered one piece of advice. “Don’t get too close to the trees along the bank of the river. You don’t want any company to drop in on you.”
“Why don’t you follow me to Cooper’s cabin and drop off your things?” Mr. Adams said. “When you finish canoeing, you’ll be near his place—on our way down there, we’re going to pass an old house and outbuildings. Please use caution if you decide to explore them. The last time I mowed the grass, I killed a five-foot water moccasin near the well house.”
“We recently had an experience with a snake. We’ll be careful.”
The drive to Pinckney Landing was rough due to deep ruts from erosion in the back roads near the river. Mr. Adams assisted the sisters with the canoe before giving instructions. “You’ll be on the river for about five hours before you see a white farmhouse on the right with a red metal roof. You can’t miss it. Once you pass the house, you’ll see horse stables and a grove of pecan trees. Cooper’s dock will be the next one on the right. Oh—and girls? As you head downstream, you’ll find the tide to be falling and the wind quartering from the right rear out of the northwest. Call us when you get to Cooper’s!”
He smiled as he handed them the paddles and pushed the canoe away from the bank. They caught the current downstream and found the waterfront to be densely lined with cypress trees, with a quagmire of driftwood deposited along the banks.
In a large expanse of the river was an island with a stand of pine trees in a state of decay; some of the trees were broken white skeletons. A massive pine tree held a bird’s nest, and as they passed the island, a bald eagle took wing, sounding like a helicopter producing lift. The eagle flew in the direction of an upcoming marsh area, which held scores of lily pads.
The current was still in the marsh and the sisters navigated between the aquatic plants. A growling noise echoed across the water and the sisters spotted alligators on a mud bank along the shore; the largest of the reptiles cocked his head back and bellowed a roar. They made quick use of their paddles and departed this section of the river. Let’s get out of here!
By mid-afternoon, the red-roofed farmhouse came into view, and they began to watch for Cooper’s dock. His cabin was set on a bluff away from the river and they pulled the canoe ashore. “That was great,” Vivien said, bringing up the paddles from the river.
Mills carried the satchel that held the revolver into the cabin and showed it to Vivien. “Cooper wanted us to have protection.”
“If a situation arises that we need it, you’ll have to fire it. I’m afraid I might shoot myself. I hate to think about the kind of damage one of these can do.”
They called Mr. Adams to let him know they had arrived at Cooper’s cabin, and after a shower, they went to explore the old house and farm buildings.
The home was in superb condition. All of the windows were protected by hurricane shutters, which were held in place with seashell ornaments.
“Cooper says ornaments that hold hurricane shutters in place are called shutter dogs and are the jewelry of a house. At the Edisto house, the shutter dogs are sets of wrought-iron grapes.”<
br />
They lifted a wooden latch and gave the front door a slight push. “The house is constructed of cypress, which is a resilient building material.”
“How do you know?”
“Cooper told me. Peg construction was used and it’s rare to find an example of a nineteenth-century home in such pristine condition.”
Vivien nodded her head as Mills informed her about the home. The rooms were small, but the ceilings were at least twelve feet high. Behind the house, the kitchen was situated in a small brick building with a large fireplace in the rear; a short distance from the kitchen was a piece of metal covering an area of the ground. Mills slid the metal sheet back, revealing a deep hole.
“I think this is where the owner stored ice.”
“Cooper didn’t tell you?” Vivien teased.
“Quiet . . .”
The smokehouse still had its meat hooks and the well house had a rope wrapped around a wheel that held a bucket at the end, which could then be lowered into the well with a hand crank. Dipping gourds were hung around the housing and Mills took one down. She lowered the bucket into the well and allowed it to sink before cranking it back up. They drank from the gourd and found the taste of the water to be slightly metallic.
The sisters secured the doors to the buildings before walking to the Adams’s house, where three cats guarded the front porch from their perches along the bannister rail. Unthreatened, they remained in their positions as the sisters rang the doorbell.
“Girls, come in, please!” Mrs. Adams enthusiastically said. “How was the river?”
“We had an excellent time.”
“Vern let Cooper know as soon as you got back. I think he was worried about you.”
Vivien looked at Mills before saying, “He is very conscientious.”
Mrs. Adams led them into her dining room, which was sparsely decorated with one painting, The Last Supper, and on the opposite wall, a cross. “Girls, we’re going to put dinner on the buffet after we say grace, and then, I want you to enjoy yourselves. We have plenty to eat.”
Mr. and Mrs. Adams joined hands with the sisters at the table and Mr. Adams said a prayer over the meal. He also thanked the Lord for the safe return of Mills and Vivien from their trip on the river, Cooper’s generosity, and, lastly, for Elise Heath.
Mrs. Adams had prepared a feast for them to dine on and the sisters filled their plates.
“I’m glad to see you girls have a healthy appetite,” Mr. Adams said.
“The tenderloin is delicious,” Mills declared.
“Cooper told us you like venison.”
“Yes, ma’am. We explored the old farmhouse and the outbuildings before we came to dinner. All the buildings are in remarkable condition.”
“The property was owned by one family for generations, but about eight years ago, a Mr. Rush Hawkins from upstate New York purchased the land for hunting. He and his friends stayed in the old house when they came down to hunt. One night, they showed up here and said there was a problem at the house and wanted to sleep on our screened porch. I told them they could come inside, but they preferred the porch.”
“My goodness,” Mills said.
“The next morning, several men in the hunting party left, and a few weeks later, Mr. Hawkins moved a mobile home onto the property as his new hunting base. He later built the cabin near the river. I don’t think Mr. Hawkins’s wife liked coming here. She said the mosquitoes were one thing, but the gnats were too much for her. When Cooper purchased the property, his cousin, Jeff Radcliffe, brokered the transaction, and Cooper and his friends use the property for hunting.”
“Did you find out what the problem was at the old house that night?”
“Mr. Hawkins never spoke of it again, but one of those boys who was hunting with him said that, at night, there was the sound of a woman humming hymns, and they heard a noise like clothes being scrubbed on a washboard. The night they took off, she was humming ‘Dixie,’ and that was enough for those Yankee boys.”
Mills laughed at the story, but Vivien sat wide-eyed across the table from her. “Have you ever heard the humming?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t. I think the former mistress of the house was just getting even—one period of Northern occupation was enough for her.”
Homemade ice cream was on the menu for dessert and, on their way to the screened porch, the sisters noticed a table set up like a shrine: there were photographs of a young man from childhood to adulthood. Several photos were of the young man in a Marine Corps uniform and with other soldiers. He looks like Cooper.
As they sat down on the porch, two whippoorwills cried their nighttime calls. Mr. Adams handed Mills a bowl of ice cream.
“Who is the handsome young man in the photos in the living room?” she asked.
No one spoke for a moment, and then, Mr. Adams said, “That’s our son, Jeremy. He died in the Vietnam conflict.”
“I’m sorry,” Mills said.
There was silence before Mrs. Adams added, “One day, the reason for our loss will be revealed to us by our Heavenly Father. Until that time, I will rely on my faith in Christ to help me overcome the loneliness I feel from his loss.” She was quiet for a moment. “He would be a few years older than Cooper if we still had him. It was almost twenty years ago. It seems like a long time, but it really isn’t.”
One of the whippoorwills had flown to a tree just behind the porch, and its call resonated over the other sounds of the night.
“While we were canoeing, we heard a growling noise made by alligators, but the echo was so strange. The noise sounded like it could have been made beside us or 100 feet away.”
“Mating season is starting and what you heard was an alligator bellowing. They make strange noises. I leave them alone, and so far, they’ve left me alone.”
After they finished their ice cream, Mills and Vivien thanked the couple for the wonderful meal and explained that they wished to walk home before dark. Mr. Adams followed them out into the yard. “Girls, don’t hesitate to call us if you need us.”
“I hope I didn’t upset your wife by asking about your son.”
“Oh, honey—don’t worry about it. His passing is on her mind a lot lately. The anniversary of his—”
He stopped before finishing his sentence. “You girls have a good night, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
They arrived at the cabin just before dark, and Mills lit a fire in the fireplace. Mr. Adams had thoughtfully prepared the firewood in advance, so they only had to light it. Vivien opened a bottle of wine, and the sisters sat down in front of the fire to relax.
“Mills, how do you feel about Cooper?”
“I admire him greatly and I love him like a brother.”
“I’ve watched you two together for the last several days, and I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He gazes into your eyes the way a man looks into the eyes of his lover. I think he’s fallen in love with you.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Mills, every other word out of your mouth pertains to Cooper.” She was quiet for a few moments. “Do you remember when I graduated from college and was hired to be
on the staff of Senator Leslie?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I left that job two years later to accept another position, but I also took a cut in pay. I had to leave my job.”
“Why?”
“I’m ashamed to admit this, but I became involved with the chief of staff who happened to be married. He said that he was in an unhappy relationship, but two years later, he was still in his unhappy marriage, and I knew it was time for me to go. After I found the new position, I gave notice and he begged me not to leave. He claimed he was filing for divorce, but he’s still married.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“I thought it was too personal.”
“I’m your sister.”
“Yes, and that’s why I’m going to tell you this. Do not get involved with Cooper! I think I called him charming, but a better description would be ‘exceptional.’ I’ve never met anyone like him, and I could see you falling in love with him—but he’s in trouble, and it could take years to resolve his problems.”
“Vivien, no. I think you are reading into his kindness and consideration more than you should.”
“I don’t think so. He is speaking to you through his music. The song he wrote for you is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, and if he’d penned a score, it would be a love song. I’m sorry to say it, but I only see heartbreak for the two of you if you become lovers.”
“Vivien, I don’t think Cooper feels that way about me.”
“I think he is an honorable man, but he’s human—with frailties and desires. Please think about what I’ve said.”
Before returning to Cooper’s home on the Edisto the next day, the sisters thanked Mr. and Mrs. Adams for their hospitality and started their drive home. Because Cooper had been so gracious to them, they decided they would prepare dinner for him that evening.
