The Last Midwife

by Sandra Dallas

  “Yes, she said he was in good health. And then she told me I had not tied the cord properly, so she took out her spool of thread and cut a length and retied it.”

  “What did she do with the thread?”

  Jonas thought a minute. “She said the spool was used up and set it on the table.”

  “And later on, was it there?”

  “Just the empty spool.”

  “And did you see her strangle your son?”

  Jonas paused. “I turned away when my wife said something to me.”

  “You mean the baby’s mother?”

  Jonas was startled. “Of course the baby’s mother. “

  Gracy leaned over to Ted. “I told you that’s not true,” she whispered. “Edna didn’t give birth to the baby. Josie did.”

  Ted nodded. He knew. Then he rose and said, “Judge, will you remind Mr. Halleck he is under oath, that perjury is a criminal offense.”

  “He does not need to be reminded of such a thing when he is telling the truth,” Doak sniffed, before the judge could reply. Jonas gave Ted a hard look.

  “If he’s lying, you’ll have your turn to question him,” the judge told Ted.

  “I will indeed,” Ted replied, while Jonas continued to glare.

  “Forgive us for the interruption, Mr. Halleck. I know it is difficult to talk about the murder of your own son. He was your only son, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes, my only son,” Jonas repeated. Doak told him to continue, and Jonas said, “When I looked back, Mrs. Brookens was holding the baby, and he had stopped crying. She said he would sleep a while, and she put him into the cradle. Later on when I picked him up, he was dead.”

  Doak stopped and turned to the jury, shaking his head. Then he said, “Now, Mr. Halleck, at first you did not take that baby to the coroner, did you?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Instead, you buried him yourself.”

  “My wife is a private person. She has not gone out in society for many weeks. No one was aware she was with child. I thought it would be best if people did not know a baby had been born and died. It wasn’t anyone’s business. So I buried it in the rose garden.”

  “And there came a time when you changed your mind?”

  “Yes.”

  Jonas said nothing more, and the prosecutor had to prod him. “And?”

  “My wife insisted the baby have a Christian burial, that he had to be buried in sacred ground. She was out of her mind with grief. So the next day, I dug him up and I took him to Coy Chaney. That’s when I discovered Mrs. Brookens had murdered him.”

  Ted jumped up and protested that Gracy’s guilt had not been established, and the judge told the jury to ignore Jonas’s last remark. But it didn’t matter, Gracy thought. Jonas had already had his say.

  “And you swear every word of this testimony is true, Mr. Halleck?”

  “I said it, didn’t I?”

  At that, a man snickered, and the judge banged his gavel. The courtroom was silent, and Gracy knew Jonas had impressed the onlookers, the jury, too.

  The prosecutor sat down, and Jonas stood up.

  “Mr. Halleck, I have a few questions,” Ted said.

  Jonas looked angry. “I’ve said all I intend to.”

  “Your Honor,” Ted said.

  “Sit down, Mr. Halleck,” the judge ordered. “You are well aware the defense has the right to ask questions.”

  “Well, hurry it up. I have a mine to run.” He remained standing.

  Judge Downing banged his gavel and said, “You will return to the witness chair, sir, or I will throw you in jail until you agree to cooperate. This trial is already overlong because you failed to show up yesterday.”

  Gracy exchanged a glance with Daniel. If at first, the judge had sided with Jonas Halleck, he might have changed his mind. Ted had said Judge Downing would have taken Jonas’s failure to show up in court the day before as a personal insult. Still, that didn’t mean the judge was likely to favor the defense.

  Jonas himself scowled but said nothing as he took his seat. Ted smiled at him, but he refused to smile back.

  “First, Mr. Halleck, you say you are the father of the baby born in your cabin. Is that correct?” Ted asked.

  “Are you impugning my wife, sir?” Jonas was indignant.

  “I am asking, sir, if you are the father of the baby? Yes or no.”

  “Yes,” Jonas muttered.

  “I didn’t hear you.”

  “Speak up,” the judge added.

  “The boy is mine.”

  “And your wife, Edna, is the mother?”

  Jonas didn’t reply. His eyes narrowed.

  “Your Honor,” Ted said.

  The judge leaned forward, while people in the courtroom quieted, wondering what Ted was getting at. “Mr. Halleck?” the judge said.

  “What right do you have to ask such an impertinent question?”

  “Who is the mother of the baby born in your home?” Ted asked in a booming voice. He looked at the jury instead of Jonas.

  “Your question is outrageous. Of course my wife is the mother of my son.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Judge Downing asked him.

  “Because it’s a lie,” Ted answered for Jonas. People in the courtroom started muttering, but the judge was so caught up in the accusation that he ignored the stir.

  Now it was the prosecutor’s turn to protest. “This is preposterous. We are here to determine who murdered a baby, not who its parents are.”

  “We are here to determine the truth, and Mr. Halleck is lying. This lie casts doubt on the rest of his testimony.”

  “There’s no proof Mr. Halleck is lying,” Doak said.

  “Be careful, Mr. Coombs. Jonas Halleck is not to be trifled with,” the judge admonished.

  “The truth is for the jury to determine,” Ted insisted, and the judge told him to go on.

  “You say you are the father of the baby,” Ted said. His voice was quiet, but so was the courtroom. “You also say your wife is his mother. But isn’t it true, sir, that your daughter, Josie Halleck, gave birth to the boy? And it was Josie who ran for the midwife when the baby began to choke?”

  At that, there were gasps in the courtroom, and a woman cried, “For shame.” The courtroom was so noisy that the judge pounded his gavel for silence. But that didn’t stop the mutters and whispers. Edna Halleck put her hands over her face and began to cry. Gracy glanced at Daniel and then at Jeff, whose eyes were wide, a look of horror on his face.

  “Well, Mr. Halleck?” Ted asked.

  “That’s a damn lie.” Jonas stood and pointed his finger at Gracy. “She made that up to save herself.”

  “You have already stated you are the father, so isn’t it true,” Ted continued, “that you murdered that baby yourself, because the mother was your daughter? You killed him because you feared Gracy Brookens would tell?”

  Doak jumped to his feet. “Your Honor, this is shameful. The defense lawyer has besmirched the reputation of one of our leading citizens. There is no proof of such a foul deed.”

  “Mr. Coombs?” the judge said.

  “Of course there is. Gracy Brookens will testify as to its mother.”

  Doak scoffed. “Well, how would she know? She wasn’t there when the baby was born. She’d make up any lie to keep from going to jail.”

  By then, the noise in the courtroom made it difficult to hear. Women covered their faces with their aprons or clutched each other, while men turned away, glancing about, not sure whether they should smirk or show their disapproval. “It couldn’t be,” someone yelled. “Nobody would do that,” said another. But Gracy knew Josie had given birth to that baby. She knew who the father was, too.

  The judge himself appeared stricken at the charge. For a moment, he simply stared at Jonas Halleck. Then he came to his senses and gaveled the room to silence. “We’ll have no more outbreaks like this or I’ll eject every one of you,” he said, although without much conviction.


  “I demand the questions be stricken from the record,” Doak said, his voice rising above the noise in the courtroom.

  “And I demand Mr. Halleck answer it truthfully,” Ted countered.

  Judge Downing thought that over. “Is there any proof of such a serious charge other than the testimony of the defendant?” he asked.

  “Of course there is. Dr. Erickson can examine Mrs. Halleck.”

  At that, Little Dickie turned red and sank down in his chair as if wishing he could disappear.

  “Dr. Erickson, can you do that? Can you tell if Mrs. Halleck gave birth to that baby?”

  “I…” Little Dickie began, then faltered. “You see, she’s had another child, and this baby was born weeks ago, so it might be hard to tell. I couldn’t be sure … I never…”

  “Well, Doctor, have you ever examined a woman who’s given birth a few weeks earlier?”

  “No, sir. I haven’t.”

  Little Dickie seemed relieved until a woman in the courtroom snickered and said, “It ain’t likely any woman here’d go to him for that.”

  “Then you couldn’t tell?” the judge asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Jonas Halleck, who was white with rage, blurted out, “Nobody will touch my wife that way.”

  “Be quiet, Mr. Halleck,” the judge said. Then he turned to Ted. “I have no reason not to order an examination of Mrs. Halleck, but if the doctor says he cannot establish for sure whether she has given birth recently, what good would it do?”

  “We can get a doctor from Denver.”

  The judge shook his head. “This trial has gone on long enough, Mr. Coombs. You should have thought of that before.”

  “I did not know Mr. Halleck would lie,” Ted said. Then he added, “There is another way, of course.”

  Gracy knew what he would suggest, and she shook her head, but Ted wasn’t looking at her.

  “And that is?” the judge asked.

  “The doctor can examine Josie Halleck. Surely he can tell whether the girl has given birth.”

  “Dr. Erickson, is that correct?” the judge asked.

  “I believe I can,” Little Dickie said, looking more confident than he had a moment before.

  But the doctor’s reply was drowned out by Jonas Halleck. “You touch her, and I’ll kill you.” Jonas, his face contorted in anger, started toward the doctor, while Edna hurried to him and grabbed at his coat. He slapped away her hand and lunged at Little Dickie. “No man touches my daughter!”

  “Not even her father?” Ted put in.

  “You go to hell!” Jonas cried, pointing a finger at Ted.

  Gracy stood up and tried to get Ted’s attention. “No,” she said, but Ted didn’t hear her.

  Instead, he sent her a look of triumph. “We’ve got him,” he mouthed, and then he turned to the judge. “Your Honor, I request that Dr. Erickson examine the girl Josie and bring us his report on Monday.”

  The judge turned to Doak for his response, but instead, it was Gracy who spoke. “No. You can’t do that. I won’t let you. It will harm her.” Gracy shuddered to think of how bewildered the girl would be if she were subjected to an examination, how humiliated. She had already gone through too much. The examination would destroy her.

  “A moment with my client, Your Honor,” Ted said, going to Gracy and whispering. “If we can prove she gave birth to the baby, then everything Jonas Halleck said is worthless. No jury would find you guilty.”

  “I won’t allow it,” she said.

  Ted thought that over. “Then we’ll have to put her on the stand. I don’t like it. She’s not rational, but it’s the best we can do.”

  “Not that, either. She’s too fragile. It would ruin her. Leave the girl alone.” She knew Ted didn’t understand, but she couldn’t let Josie testify. That would ruin Josie’s life and perhaps the lives of others, too.

  “As your lawyer—” Ted began, but Gracy shook her head.

  “I will go to prison if I have to, but Dr. Erickson will not touch that girl, and you will not put her on the stand.”

  Bewildered, Ted stared at Gracy for a moment, then shrugged. “Your Honor, I withdraw my request.” Then as if defeated, he said, “I have no further questions for this witness.”

  The judge glanced up at the clock behind him. Jonas had been on the stand less than an hour, and there was still time for Gracy’s testimony. “Your next witness, Mr. Coombs.”

  “Gracy Brookens,” Ted announced. Gracy could feel the rush of excitement in the courtroom.

  Gracy shook her head. She couldn’t testify. She wished she had talked it over with Ted that morning, but she hadn’t. If she didn’t take the stand, people would likely believe she was guilty, and she would be sent to jail. But she would have to risk that. She paused, not rising, instead looking up at Ted.

  But at that moment the courtroom door opened, and the sheriff stepped in. “Your Honor, I need Gracy Brookens. It’s urgent.”

  The judge looked up and frowned. “What for?”

  Gracy was confused. “John?” she mouthed, but the sheriff was looking at the judge.

  “What is more urgent than a manslaughter trial, Sheriff Miller?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, Judge, but there’s been a death.”

  “A death?” he asked, while Gracy searched her mind. Was it one of her patients? Had someone gone into labor? Maybe there had been an accident or a miscarriage, a hemorrhage perhaps.

  “Can’t the doctor see to it?” the judge asked.

  John shook his head. “Not likely. It’s Esther Boyce that’s dead, and her boys’ll die, too, if Gracy don’t get to them.”

  Eighteen

  “Where are the babies?” Gracy asked, as John helped her into the ore wagon.

  The judge had declared a recess, not just because he believed that the infants were in danger, but more likely, Ted had said, because he wanted to go hunting that afternoon. Gracy’s testimony would wait until Monday, he said. Perhaps she should have told him right then that she would not testify, that as far as she was concerned, the trial was over. But she would wait. Ted would object, and she didn’t want to take the time to argue with him. The Boyce boys needed her.

  “They’re at the trappers’ cabin. Ben’s taking care of them, I guess. Davy Eastlow came in to tell me about Esther.”

  “Taking care?” Gracy sniffed. “Closing the door so he won’t hear them cry is more like it. But the babies should be all right till we get there. Did he tell you what happened?”

  The sheriff slapped the reins on the mules, as Gracy turned to set her medicine bag in the back of the ore wagon. Although she wouldn’t be delivering a baby, she never went on a call without it. “I got the borrow of this wagon in case we need to bring the body to town. If there’s foul play, Coy Chaney will have to take a look at her, dumb as he is,” John explained. He paused. “I don’t know what happened. Davy just came in the office and said Esther was dead. ‘Died of lead poisoning,’ is what he said.”

  “You mean Ben shot her? Or Davy?”

  “It’s a confusion. Davy said to fetch you and get out to the place and pick up those babies or they’d die. Then he lit out before I could stop him. Esther already being dead and with the babies still alive, I figured we’d take care of them first. I can find out about Esther when we get there.”

  “There’s other women who can take care of them. Why do they want me?” Gracy asked. She shifted on the board seat, which was not as comfortable as the tufted seat in the buggy or even a saddle.

  “I don’t know. Is there something queer about the babies?”

  Gracy sighed. “Queer enough.” She paused a moment, wondering if she should tell. But the sheriff would see for himself when they got there. So she said, “They got different fathers. I can tell such things, you know. One’s Ben’s. The other’s Davy Eastlow’s. It’s as plain as the wart on your nose. One of the boys is the spit of Davy.”

  The sheriff whistled. “That’s queer all right. I
hadn’t heard it.”

  “Maybe I’m the only one that’s been to see them. I suppose it will get around now.”

  “It’s not a thing can be kept secret. What do you suppose happened? Did Davy force himself on her?”

  Gracy took a deep breath. She was not one to pass along gossip, but the sheriff had a right to know. “She told me she married Ben but ended up wife to both of them.” Gracy shook her head at the wonder of it. “Trees aren’t all that’s warped at timberline. Men, too.”

  “Everybody said she wouldn’t part them two,” John said. “But she should have knowed it. She was a whore.”

  “That doesn’t mean she had to be treated like one,” Gracy told him. “Whores are women, too.”

  John gave her an odd look. “Didn’t expect that from you,” he muttered.

  She let the remark pass, and they went on in silence, Gracy shivering a little as they rode under a fir whose branches were bowed to the ground like a tent. It was mid-August, and she could feel fall in the air. There were fewer hummingbirds now. They knew when it was time to move on.

  “How’d you know about Esther and them?” John asked after a time.

  “She told me. I stopped to check on her. The babies were fine, but Esther…” Gracy shook her head. “The men treated her like she wasn’t even there, and as for the babies, Ben and Davy gave them no more attention than you would to a baby squirrel. Except maybe to complain about them. I never saw such a sorry woman. I wish I could have helped her. It’s pestered me ever since.”

  “What could you have done?”

  “That’s the trouble of it. I don’t know.”

  “Well, those boys won’t keep the babies. You’ve got them to raise now.”

  Gracy looked at the sheriff, startled. “Me? My raising days are over.” She gave a woeful laugh. “Besides, how am I going to raise two babies in jail?”

  John smiled at her. “You’re not going to jail. When you have your say, the jury will believe you. Folks don’t like Jonas Halleck nor Little Dickie, either. And they think Coy Chaney is crooked as a gold vein.”

  “That’s just it, John. I’m not going to testify.”

  John turned to her so quickly that he jerked on the reins, and the mules came to a stop. He slapped the reins on their backs and swore at them, and after they started up, he asked, “Why not?”