The Cast Net

by Mille West

  Mills phoned her mother and Vivien to let them know of the events. They were both worried, but grateful to Cooper. When her mother asked her if she wanted to come home to Virginia, Mills responded, “Charleston is my home now.”

  That evening, she dined with Britton in a small outdoor café in Ansonborough. His shyness around her was diminishing and when they completed their meal, he showed her around the neighborhood and his home. He lived in a historical single house with a shade garden filled with an abundance of ferns, azaleas, and camellias. In awe of the beauty of his garden, she was impressed to discover that Britton had done the design work himself.

  As they sat in a quiet corner of his yard, she glanced at the local newspaper that lay in the wrought-iron chair beside her. The front page article was about the shipwreck of the SS Central America and the treasure hunters who were recovering a fortune in gold off the Carolina coast.

  Mills picked up the paper and asked, “Britton, how did the ship sink?”

  “She went down in a hurricane in September 1857. The ship was laden with thirteen to fifteen tons of gold that had been prospected during the California gold rush.”

  Mills thought back to one of the conversations that had come up on Cooper’s porch after shooting sporting clays. The discussion had centered on the rights of the salvage team versus the government and insurance companies.

  “Britton, have you ever been in a hurricane?”

  “The worst hurricanes to strike South Carolina during my lifetime were Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and Gracie in 1959. I was very young at the time, and my parents drove inland to Columbia. It’s best to get out of the path of the storm and deal with the damage later. Entire communities have been wiped out by the storm surge that comes ashore during a hurricane. My advice is to evacuate inland if a hurricane is in the forecast.”

  Twice a day, Cooper called to check on Mills. The anxiety in his voice had lessened and he told Mills that he would like to accompany her to Eula’s funeral. Williston had informed him that Eula’s sister, who lived in Tennessee, would be taking Eula’s children back with her after the service.

  The funeral was held at the South Edisto All Saint’s A.M.E. Church on Sunday afternoon. Reverend Smalls delivered a beautiful eulogy for Eula, pointing out how she had struggled against poverty and a difficult marriage to set goals for herself and her children. As he paid tribute to her, Mills looked at her children, who were in tears, except for her son, Billy.

  Cooper sat beside Mills and stared straight ahead during the service. After the singing of “Amazing Grace,” Reverend Smalls asked the gathering to join him for graveside services. Outside the church, Billy walked to where Cooper and Mills stood. He held his shoulders high, and when he reached Cooper, he said, “Mr. Heath, I want to thank you for what you did for our family. You gave my mother hope for the first time in her life.” He started to walk away, but then turned back to face Cooper. “I intend to repay you for what you did for us.”

  After the graveside services, Eula’s sister, Mae Reeves, approached Cooper and said, “Mr. Heath, thank you for what you did for Eula and her children. The last several months, she was the happiest I ever heard her. I ain’t got no extra bedrooms for her children, but we’re going to make do. Lee Roy’s mean as a snake, and he’s gonna rot in hell.”

  “Mrs. Reeves, I’d like to help you and the children.” Cooper took an envelope from his inside his coat and tried to give it to her.

  “Oh no, sir. My husband won’t allow me to take money from you. You were generous to help with the funeral expenses. Mr. Heath, you are the most Christian gentleman I’ve ever met. Eula thought so too. God bless you.”

  She turned and walked away with Eula’s children, along with three of her own.

  Cooper returned the envelope to the inside of his coat, and Mills asked, “Did you pay for Eula’s funeral?”

  “Most of it . . . the church paid for some of the expenses.” He looked toward Eula’s gravesite and said, “I wanted her to succeed. She was going to better her life and that of her children.”

  Before they returned to Charleston, Cooper drove them to his Edisto property. Winds came off the river and the scent of charred wood lingered in the air. Cooper’s dog ran in their direction when he realized they were home. They both petted the Lab, and as they passed her cottage, Mills noticed that the trampled flowers in front of her home had been replaced. “Cooper, you had my flowerbeds tended to.”

  He nodded in acknowledgment and asked her to come into the study with him. Behind a painting between the bookshelves was a wall safe. He opened it and placed the envelope he had attempted to give to Eula’s sister inside.

  “Are there any secret passageways in the house?”

  “Not that I know of.” Cooper smiled. “Is there anything you need from your cottage?”

  “No . . . if I go inside, I might not want to leave.”

  That evening Cooper departed for Newark. He reminded Mills before he took her to his townhome that Susan Caldwell’s wedding was the following Saturday night.

  “Will you dance with me at the reception?” she asked.

  “Yes, put my name down on your dance card.”

  Thankfully, the work week was very busy, and Mills kept her mind off Eula and Lee Roy. She spent much of the time at the school district office working with Dr. Warren on the scholarships.

  One evening during a walk, she passed by Jeff’s townhome on Chalmers Street. She was puzzled by his behavior. Jeff called her immediately after the fire to check on her, but then had not contacted her again.

  After her walk, she returned to Cooper’s townhome and tried on the dress she planned to wear to Susan Caldwell’s wedding. Mills stood before the mirror and admired the sapphire-blue gown. The dress matched the ring that Piet van der Wolf had given her for her birthday.

  Cooper arrived in Charleston on Saturday morning and spent the afternoon working on the farm. He asked Mills to meet him outside the chapel before the wedding so they could sit together.

  When she arrived, Cooper was waiting for her in the parking lot, and he beamed with a bright smile as soon as he saw her.

  He opened her car door and said, “You are lovely this evening.”

  She smiled warmly at him, and he kissed her on the cheek. Together, they walked to the building and were seated on the bride’s side of the sanctuary. Mills studied the magnificent decor of the chapel, which Cooper explained had been created by slave artisans. Warmly illuminated with candles, shadows danced off the chapel’s ceiling, while a pianist serenaded the wedding guests with music.

  The organ sounded the wedding march and the guests stood while Susan walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. She wore an exquisite wedding gown and it was as though a romantic spell had been cast over the chapel and all in attendance.

  After the nuptials were complete, the wedding party remained at the church for photographs and Mills went outside with Cooper.

  He walked her to her car and said, “I’ll follow you to the River Bend Country Club.” The country club was a short distance from the chapel and, when they arrived, a jazz ensemble was playing. The club was richly decorated for the reception and a hostess served them champagne as they entered the ballroom.


  “I need to talk to you,” Cooper said, as he led her onto the patio. The nighttime temperature was pleasant and several sets of French doors were open to the outside.

  The volume of the jazz music softened as they moved to the far end of the terrace, and Cooper looked into her eyes. “I spoke with Williston before I came to the wedding. The sheriff’s department called to let her know that Lee Roy Mullinax is no longer a threat.”

  She gasped with relief, “Did the police arrest him?”

  “No, he attempted to rob a liquor store in Greenville this afternoon and the owner shot him dead . . . Mills, why don’t you move back to your cottage? I don’t have to go back to New Jersey for the time being and I could use your help at the farm.”

  She didn’t have to think about his request for long. “Yes, I’d like to come back tonight and I can get my possessions from the townhouse later. I’ll be glad to help you on the farm.”

  The jazz ensemble began to play a George Gershwin song, and Cooper said, “You promised to put my name on your dance card.”

  She smiled and nodded. He put one arm behind her back and led with his right hand. He was holding her tightly and she breathed in his clean, fresh scent. They were alone together on the terrace and they danced through a set of romantic songs. When the music stopped, Cooper touched her face and pushed her hair from her neck. Warmth surged through her body as he held her, but several couples came onto the patio and he released her.

  “Could I get you another glass of champagne?”

  She breathed in the evening air and said, “Yes, that would be nice.”

  By the time he returned with her wine, the terrace had become crowded with guests. “Williston is in the ballroom, and she’d like to see you.”

  As soon as Williston saw her, she hugged Mills and said, “I’ve heard from Eula’s sister, Mrs. Reeves, and she said her children are getting along well. Lee Roy is finished hurting people.” She looked up at Cooper and said, “I feel like dancing. Will you take a turn with me?”

  “It would be my pleasure,” he said, leading her onto the ballroom floor.

  Cooper followed Mills home after the reception and they talked on the screened porch of his home until the early morning hours. He explained that he could use her help with farm management tasks. “Charles is overwhelmed with work since we increased planting, and if you could assist with deliveries and getting payroll checks to the workers, it would help tremendously.”

  “I’ll be glad to help you, but please don’t get angry if I make mistakes.”

  “I won’t. We all make mistakes. Oh, and Mills—there will be additional compensation for your work.”

  She nodded.

  Before they said good night for the evening, Cooper explained that a contractor would be at the property during the next week to begin rebuilding the boathouse. “Fritz Zimmermann. A brilliant fellow; he can speak seven languages and has lived all over the world. He renovated the kitchen several years ago. I think you’ll enjoy meeting him.”

  On Sunday afternoon, Cooper and Mills sat down together in his study to go over a list of farm tasks. In the following days, she found herself immersed in her job of handling farm business in the morning and then working on foundation business for the remainder of the day.

  One afternoon that week, Mills arrived at her cottage just before dark. There was a man with Cooper; he had thick, white hair and wore khaki work clothes. They were coming up the lane from the river and Cooper called to her to join them. The man was Fritz Zimmermann, the building contractor that Cooper had told her would reconstruct the boathouse. He was slightly shorter than she was, and when introduced, he bowed to her.

  “Miss Taylor, Mr. Heath has told me that you are the director of the Heath Foundation and I congratulate you on your work.” He spoke with a German accent. Turning to Cooper, he said, “Mr. Heath, it will be good to return to the Edisto and I look forward to working with you again. Until tomorrow, then.”

  He put a khaki bush hat on his crest of white hair and raised his chin to look into Mills’s eyes. “I look forward to seeing you again, Miss Taylor.”

  After Fritz departed, they sat in the courtyard to discuss the business of the farm and the foundation. She was exhausted and, as she excused herself for the evening, Cooper told her that Fritz and his workers would be at the farm very early the following morning to begin work.

  The crew arrived at the farm about the same time that Mills began her farm tasks. She heard Fritz speak Spanish to his workers when she passed by them and he tipped his hat to her. As his crew dispersed, he said, “Good morning, Miss Taylor, I promise we were not talking about you. Do you speak Spanish?”

  “No, sir, I don’t. Cooper said that you could speak seven languages.”

  “Yes, ma’am. My family was in the engineering business and we lived in South America, Africa, and, later, Southeast Asia.”

  One of the workers approached Fritz and they got into a lengthy conversation in Spanish. Mills excused herself and went to get the Land Rover out of the equipment barn. She drove into the fields to inform Charles that she had accepted the delivery of fertilizer he ordered. When she returned, she parked the Land Rover in front of her cottage and started to go inside to prepare for business meetings in Charleston. Fritz was on the way to his truck and he stopped to look at the Land Rover.

  “My goodness, my family had a Land Rover when we lived in South America. I had my first date in one of these. My family considered motor cars to be for work purposes and I don’t think my date’s mother approved of our rustic lifestyle. It was our first rendezvous and our last. Oh well.”

  He ran his hand across the engine hood and said, “Miss Taylor, the fact that you are here lets me know that you do not believe that Mr. Heath had anything to do with his wife’s disappearance. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever known and there is no possibility that he would have hurt her. If I thought he had, I would not be here myself.”

  Fritz excused himself and returned to work. Why did he bring up Elise Heath?

  The heat and humidity of summer had descended on the Low Country, and after Mills performed her farm tasks, she had to take a shower before dressing for other business work. The construction on the boathouse was proceeding and, most evenings when she got home, Cooper and Fritz would be engaged in conversation on the screened porch. She was always invited to join them for refreshments and one afternoon their discussion was on land conservation and preservation of endangered animals.

  “Miss Taylor, did you know that there used to be a native parakeet in South Carolina, but it is now extinct? When Cooper’s ancestors arrived here from Barbados, there were thousands of them.” Fritz paused as he took a sip of beer and then said, “Mr. Heath, do you still hunt?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “My wife attempts a garden each year, but the deer consume most of what she plants.”

  “Yes, even with an electric fence, they’re hard on crops. I have a depredation permit and I donate the venison to the local churches.”

  Fritz glanced at his watch. “Mr. Heath, Miss Taylor. I must be going. My wife will be angry with me if I am not home soon.”

  He tipped his bush hat to them and exi
ted out the screen door.

  After his departure, Mills asked, “Why does Fritz address us by our surnames?”

  “Years ago, I asked him to call me Cooper, but he said he was uncomfortable with the lack of propriety.”

  Two days later, while Mills was accepting a delivery of horse feed, she heard the crack of two rifle shots. Within a few moments, Cooper came down the driveway in an old Ford pickup used for farm work. In the truck bed were two deer that Cooper shot while they grazed in his fields. He waved to her and then went into the stables, returning with ice to put around the animals. “I’m going to take the deer to a member of Reverend Smalls’s church for butchering. I’ll be back in about thirty minutes.”

  She stood beside the truck and looked inside the cab. A rifle was propped against the passenger side of the vehicle. While she enjoyed shooting sporting clays, she was respectful of the power of a firearm.

  That evening, Mills sat on her screened porch and listened to the sounds of the night. The humidity of the day had diminished with nightfall and whippoorwills made their piercing calls into the quietness of the evening.

  As she came in for the night, her mother phoned from Virginia; she had read in The New York Times that Mozart’s Requiem would be performed at the upcoming Spoleto Festival. Mills was aware that her mother was a fan of Mozart, an interest shared by her new friend, Blake. The two wanted to attend the performance and visit Mills.

  The next day, when Mills told Cooper about her mother’s plan, he told her he would like to help entertain them. “Your mother can use my townhouse, and I hope you’ll allow me to take everyone to dinner while they’re in Charleston.”

  “Cooper, why don’t you join us for the performance?”

  He thought for a moment before saying, “Thank you, I would like to join you.”