by T. M. Catron
Alice’s gut flipped over and over inside her. One minute she wanted someone friendly like Charlie to wait with her. The next, she wanted to get out and run away, to be anywhere but here.
What if Ray wasn’t in the mine? What if he had fallen down that new tunnel? Of course they would look for him there, wouldn’t they? Loggins knew about it; the engineers had been in there all day. How many others had gone in there today just to get a look? The search parties would have checked that first.
She wanted to ask them. No, she didn’t want to ask, but she thought she should ask, just to make sure they weren’t missing anything.
The driver’s door opened, and Coolidge slid into the front seat. He fiddled around with the keys a minute, avoiding looking back at her. Finally, he settled for catching her eye in the rearview mirror. All she could see were his eyes and the bridge of his nose.
“You understand why you’re sitting here, don’t you, Alice?”
“Yes, Mr. Coolidge.”
“You were the last person Jimmy called by name,” he said, as if she hadn’t just agreed. “People were scared and worried and then he just popped out of the trees screaming . . . Well, everyone’s pretty upset.”
Alice was pretty upset. Somehow no one had thought to ask her how she was feeling through all this. “What are you going to do with me?”
“I’m going to take you home, and you’re going to stay there.”
“I don’t want to see Nancy.”
“She’s not there. Took the kids to wait at the Satchel’s place.”
“Mr. Coolidge . . . has anyone looked inside the new hole? That’s where I found that broken hard hat.”
“I’m sure they’re looking everywhere, Alice. Don’t worry, they’ll find him.” He spoke like he knew it was something he should say, not because he believed it. “What do you think happened to Jimmy?”
Alice shrugged.
“Anything I need to know?” He turned now, finally looking her in the eye without the help of the mirror.
She considered telling him about her trouble with Jimmy and the other men, about her scare outside her house two nights ago, about Ray’s scuffle with Jimmy the night before the younger man went missing. But if—when—they found Ray, she didn’t want him to get in trouble. They might somehow try to blame him for Jimmy’s death.
“No, Mr. Coolidge, there’s nothing.”
The deputy stared at Alice as if trying to catch her in her lie. But after a minute, he grunted before turning in his seat and starting the car. The Ford rumbled to life. He put it in gear and eased out away from camp.
To Alice, the ride around the mountain was familiar. Yet nothing looked right. The trees were darker, the road more narrow. The deputy’s car bounced along the gravel, skidding here and there. Each time Alice grabbed the door handle and held on so she wouldn’t slide across the shiny seat.
“Why was Loggins so mad at me?” she asked once they hit the main road into town.
“I told you before—men don’t like to see a woman do their job.”
“Even if that woman needs to feed herself and keep a roof over her head?”
“It’s not that simple, Alice. You could do something else. Get married, work for Mr. Mercer. I know he said he’d hire you.”
“But he won’t pay me nothing.”
“He’ll pay you enough.”
“I don’t want to work for Mr. Mercer. I want to be a coal miner like my daddy.”
“No, you don’t, Alice, that’s just your grief talking. You miss him, so you think you’ll bring back some part of him by continuing his work. But it ain’t right nor proper to take jobs away from men who have families to support. And it’s just plain bad luck to have a woman in the mine. Everybody knows that.”
Alice didn’t know that. She hadn’t caused any accidents or failed to do her work in any way. In fact, Ray had once told her she caused him less trouble than all the other men put together. Maybe he was just being kind.
But she didn’t see how wanting to work in the mine was part of her grief. If anything, common sense said she’d stay away from the place that had killed her daddy.
When they pulled up to the Peters’ property, Coolidge ignored the main house and drove down Alice’s lane. He parked out front with the headlights shining on the door.
“You ain’t to leave, hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Does your door have a lock?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, make sure it’s bolted. Me or the Sheriff or Mrs. Satchel will come check on you in the morning.”
“What about Uncle Ray?”
“They’re doing all they can. You just worry about Alice.”
“I mean, will someone come tell me . . . if . . .?”
“Oh.” For the first time, Coolidge looked sorry for Alice. “We’ll keep you updated.”
Alice got out of the car and closed the door. She didn’t look at the deputy again before going in the house. After she locked her door, she heard the Ford rumble back up the gravel lane and onto the road.
Whatever he said, Alice wasn’t going to stop worrying about Ray. Her stomach rumbled. She’d last eaten at lunch. A glance at her tiny alarm clock told her that meal was yesterday. The sun would be up in an hour.
She pulled a slice of stale bread from its bag and ate it dry. It stuck to her throat and scraped the inside of her chest after she swallowed. After two more awkward bites, she gave up and went to shower.
Unable to rest after, she began working on her house. Picking up and organizing her tiny space took five minutes. Then she filled a bucket with cold water, soaped it up, and threw in an old towel. Her wet hair dripped water onto the floor as she scrubbed on her hands and knees. She put all her energy into the floor, working until her rag wore a hole in it, until the smell of soap stung her eyes and nose.
Pink light diffused through the window. Still Alice scrubbed. If she’d got lost, Ray would be down in the mine looking for her, not washing the kitchen floor. She cried, despising herself for not being able to do more, for obeying Mr. Coolidge and staying put, for Jimmy, for Daddy, for herself. When she was done, she sank down on the spotless floor, leaving her rag to puddle near her feet.
The light outside grew until a square of sunlight lit up the papered wall opposite the window. Alice watched it move slowly downward on the wall and over the stove. It angered her, somehow, that the sun could still shine when a man was stuck down in the mine where he couldn’t see it.
She had just decided to move, to do something about it, when someone rapped on the door. Alice started, then felt foolish. The deputy had said someone would check on her today. But she hadn’t heard a car.
“Who’s there?” she called.
“It’s me, Charlie. You okay, Alice?”
Chapter 8
“JUST HEARD,” CHARLIE SAID WHEN she opened the door. He was out of breath. “I went down . . . to Charleston yesterday . . . for my mother. Came back this morning.” Charlie took a big gulp of air. “I didn’t know about Ray or Jimmy until I saw Nancy sitting in our living room . . .” His voice trailed off when he finally took in her appearance.
Alice probably looked a mess with a tattered robe thrown over her nightgown, her uncombed hair falling down around her shoulders, her eyes puffy from crying. She shook her head at Charlie. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.
“Oh.” Charlie half-reached his arm out to her, stopped, then dropped it back. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”
Alice nodded.
“I’m surprised you’re here, actually. Thought maybe you’d be up at the mine.”
“They kicked me out.”
“What?”
Alice filled Charlie in on everything from the night before. When she finished, he stood with his mouth open.
His face reddened in indignation. “They can’t do that to you! He’s your uncle!”
Alice’s heart swelled at Charlie’s show of feeling, the warmth sprea
ding from her chest to her cheeks.
Charlie didn’t seem to notice. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t think there’s nothin’ to do. You didn’t hear anything new this morning? About Ray?”
“No. No one’s been to the house since the deputy left.”
“There’s a new cave in the mountain,” Alice said. She’d been thinking about it without realizing why. But she’d been upset by Ray’s disappearance, then Jimmy’s death, too distracted to think it through. Suddenly, the pieces fit. “They found it two days ago. And ever since then everything’s been going wrong. Jimmy, the field, Ray.”
“What happened in the field?”
“Nothing. Something. I don’t know.”
“What does it have to do with Ray?”
“Loggins said it’s because I’ve jinxed the mine.” Alice mumbled to her feet, waiting for Charlie’s reaction. Would he believe them?
Charlie swore. “I’ll smash his nose,” he sputtered out.
“Don’t you go pickin’ a fight with him, Charlie Satchel! It’ll just get you hurt.”
“I’m not afraid of getting hurt.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I’ll go with you, then.”
“Go with me—to the mine? They won’t let me in it.”
“They will if they don’t know you’re there. Get dressed.” He took a step back, clearly waiting for Alice to go inside and put her work clothes on.
He was crazy. They couldn’t sneak inside the mine in broad daylight. She could barely get to the entrance last night in the dark. Then she again wondered if the rescuers had tried to go down into the tunnel. Maybe just a peek to see. They might be going down there now. She could check and then leave again.
If not, Alice could go down there. She would need rope . . .
Charlie was looking down at his precisely ironed button-down shirt and black pants. “Do you have an extra set of work clothes?”
Alice laughed. He was at least a foot taller than she. “You couldn’t fit in them!”
A car on the road stopped them mid-conversation. Down the lane, the deputy’s car crunched onto the gravel as it made for Alice’s house.
“What’s he doing here?” Charlie asked.
Alice gasped. “I forgot! He was going to check on me. He can’t see you here or he’ll wonder what we’re doing.”
Charlie hopped up onto the top step and went inside. Alice’s stomach did another little flip-flop as she closed the door—she’d never been alone in her own place with a boy. She turned the lock and looked over at him standing near the wall next to the door. With dark stubble on his chin and his broad shoulders, Charlie no longer looked like the boy she’d grown up with.
But Alice already knew this. She waited at the door, listening to the car come down the lane. The deputy left it running as he got out and walked up the steps. He knocked.
“Alice? You awake?”
She stepped back from the door, then called back, “Just a minute.”
Charlie pressed himself to the wall. Alice made sure he was settled then opened the door and stood in it. “Any news, Mr. Coolidge?”
Coolidge looked grim. His face was white, the bags under his eyes more pronounced than ever. “Get dressed, Alice, I need you to come with me.”
Alice frowned. “Why? What happened? Did you find Ray?”
The deputy shook his head. “They’re still looking. The sheriff wants to see you in town.”
“Why?” she insisted.
“Loggins dropped by this morning. We have some questions for you about Jimmy.”
Alice’s face paled. “And what did he say?”
“Afraid I can’t tell you that. All we want to do is talk to you. Mrs. Satchel said she’d come down and be there with you, if you want. We just have to ring her.”
If they were calling someone else to be with her, it must be bad. What had Loggins said?
“Haven’t got all day, Alice, get dressed quick, and come on out.”
She nodded, her mind racing. After she closed the door, Charlie hissed. “They’re up to something.”
“Like what?” she whispered. Alice still hadn’t told him about Jimmy turning up at her house, and she wasn’t going to. Jimmy was dead. Making Charlie mad at a dead man wasn’t right. And it didn’t matter anyway, did it?
“Hurry up, girl!” Coolidge called from outside.
Alice jumped. She’d forgotten she was supposed to be getting dressed. She looked at Charlie, but he was already moving to the window. He eased it open, then stuck a foot through and slid out onto the ground.
Alice grabbed her one dress from its hook and went into the bathroom. She’d just removed her clothes when Coolidge knocked on the door again.
“I’m almost ready, Mr. Coolidge!” she called.
“Alice!” Charlie’s voice said. He sounded panicked. What was he doing at the door with Coolidge?
Alice pulled her dress over her head and walked out of the bathroom with a growing sense of foreboding. When she cracked open the door, she saw Coolidge splayed out on the ground, his eyes closed. Charlie was standing over him with a piece of firewood in his hand.
Chapter 9
ALICE PUT A HAND TO her mouth to hide her gasp.
“What have you done?” she whispered. “Is he—?”
“He’s knocked out. Put on your work clothes. We have to get out of here.”
“Charlie—”
“It’s done. Now hurry!”
Alice closed the door and changed into a clean set of mining overalls. They still smelled of coal dust, but she was so used to it she never noticed anymore. She pulled on her boots without lacing them, then walked out.
“Psst! Alice! Over here.”
Charlie had dragged Coolidge over to the side of the house and propped him into a sitting position. When he was satisfied no one would see the deputy from the road, he took Coolidge’s gun and hat.
“Don’t look at me that way,” he said when he came back to the front of the house. “You couldn’t have gone into town with him.”
All of Alice’s emotions bubbled to the surface. Charlie was supposed to be on her side, but he was just another person trying to order her around. “And who are you to tell me what to do?”
Charlie leaned in close. “Look, I saw Jimmy, alright? The night he disappeared. I think I was the last one to see him.”
“What time?”
“After he showed up at your place. I saw what happened with Ray and Jimmy. Saw the whole thing.”
“Why were you here?”
“Because, I . . . I followed Jimmy down here. I saw him walking out of town and wondered what he was doing. Before you came outside, Jimmy said something to Ray. It’s what made him grab Jimmy’s hair.”
“What’d he say?”
“I couldn’t hear all of it, but he said something about Loggins was going to put people in their place. Make sure they learned a lesson while he was at it. And now he’s down at the station saying stuff about you? After what happened last night, don’t you think that’s odd?”
Ray hadn’t told Alice anything about a conversation with Jimmy that night. That’s why he told me to be careful.
“Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
“I didn’t know Jimmy was missing. And I wanted to talk to you about something else.”
Alice held her breath. “What?”
“Now’s not really the time.” Charlie grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
He pulled her to the Ford and opened the passenger side door for her. Feeling she was in too deep to protest, Alice got in. Charlie slid in the driver’s seat and backed out down the lane.
Once they were on the road, he said, “I’ve heard some things about Loggins, from my father. Dad’s treated Mrs. Loggins multiple times for injuries she always claimed were accidents. But they obviously weren’t, not unless she’s the clumsiest woman this side of Appalachia.”
Alice was lacing her boots, glad to h
ave a distraction from what he’d just said. She finished her laces then moved on to rolling up her pant cuffs. When she finished, she sat up and watched the trees roll by.
“We’re going to be in trouble about the deputy,” she said after a bit.
“Not we. Me.” He put on the deputy’s hat.
“But what are we going to do?”
Charlie’s mouth set into a thin line. After a minute, he said, “Haven’t thought that far ahead.”
They drove through the valley and to the mining road. Charlie had never worked in the mine, but he knew the way. Everyone in town did. When they passed another car, he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Alice ducked down out of sight, her head resting on the gun in the seat between them.
Once they crossed the train tracks, Charlie pulled the car off to the side of the road. They got out and cut through the trees on foot. The elevation didn’t change much from there to the mine, but the vegetation slowed them down. Soon they were sweating in the hot, sticky air. Charlie’s shirt was soaked.
Once there, they hid behind the empty bus, watching the crowd. “There’s not as many people this morning,” Alice said. “Are they giving up?”
“Nah. Not this soon.”
They walked around the outside of the camp, following the path Alice had used the night before. At the last big tree, they paused. The space directly in front of the mine was clear. They’d have to make a run for it as soon as no one was looking.
They waited several minutes. Alice recognized a few people milling around the trailer, but they were all preoccupied with maps or food or coffee. Finally, she gave Charlie a thumbs up. They walked quickly toward the mine, attempting to be quiet. When they entered the mine and scooted up against the wall, Alice turned to look. No one had seen them. She couldn’t believe their luck.
A long length of rope was coiled on a hook beside them. She took it and slung it around her body.
“This way,” she whispered.
The electric lights led them along the conveyor. They paused every few minutes to listen for the rescue parties. But the chambers close to the entrance must have been cleared first because they didn’t hear anything. At the end of the lights, Alice grabbed her flashlight from her belt and switched it on.
