“What time did she leave?”
Carl shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t look at the clock.”
“You must have some idea. Was it around noon? In the morning?”
After a moment, he said, “She slept in late through the morning again. She came down here to bother me.”
“What did she bother you about?”
“Not finding gold. Her favorite pastime is reminding me that I’m a failure.” He paused then amended, “Or rather, it was her favorite pastime.”
“How did the argument end?”
“It ended with her saying she’d had enough of waiting for the gold. She wasn’t going to stay around here anymore. She said as far as she was concerned, the whole thing was a lost cause. She said she wasn’t going to stick around here until I turn twenty-eight, and she sure as heck wasn’t going to have my child so I could keep panning for nothing.”
“And how did you respond to that?”
“I told her she didn’t have a choice. We made our vows. In the eyes of God and man, it’s her duty to try for the child whether she likes it or not.” Carl shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “It’s the same thing we’ve been fighting about ever since the judge was here to settle the dispute over the will my good-for-nothing father left me.” He kicked the pan across the ground and swore. “Are you sure Lydia’s dead?”
“I saw her with my own two eyes,” Eric replied.
He swore again, waited for a moment, and asked, “Is it possible she killed herself? It would be a surefire way of denying me a child.”
“No, it wasn’t suicide. The way she fell indicates she was pushed out of a wagon.”
“Well, that right there proves I didn’t do it. My wagon’s broken. It needs a new wheel. You can check it for yourself. It’s in the barn.”
“How did Lydia get to town if it was broken yesterday?”
“She took her horse. Go on and check that, too. It’s gone. It was brown with a white stripe along its nose. She usually puts the thing at the livery stable when she stays in town.”
“Approximately, what time did she take the horse out of here?”
“I don’t know. I think it might have been around noon.” He put his hands on his hips. “That was the last time I saw her. She never came home last night. I went to town this morning looking for her. See? That also proves I didn’t do it. Why would I ask you where she was if I was the one who killed her?”
“I’m not saying you killed her. I’m just trying to find out what happened leading up to the murder, that’s all.”
“Are you going to ask Abe where he was last night?”
Eric’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why would I do that?”
“Because of all the people who’d want her dead, he has the best motive. Our father’s will clearly states if I don’t have a child by the time I’m twenty-eight, this stream goes to him. If I don’t have a wife, I can’t have the child.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Our father had the nerve to mandate that the child needed to be legitimate. I mean, sure, he can go off and have a child with his mistress, but I need to be faithful to the wife he gave me. How’s that for fair?”
“What your father put in his will has nothing to do with what happened last night.”
“Are you kidding me?” Carl shrieked. “It has everything to do with it. Abe could have killed Lydia so I can’t hold onto this stream anymore. He’s been after this piece of land ever since our father died. He doesn’t care about the gold that’s here. He only wants the water from it. But I need the gold. Our father died without any money. All he left me is what’s in this stream. The only way I’m getting out of this town is with that gold. Abe can have this stream after I’m done with it, but he’ll never listen to me long enough to understand that. There’s no reasoning with him.” After a pause, he added, “So you can see that Abe has a reason to want Lydia dead.”
Eric couldn’t deny the logic in what Carl was saying. Though Eric knew Abe hadn’t done it, he was going to have to ask Abe where he was yesterday and last night in order to be fair.
“Alright, I’ll talk to Abe,” Eric said.
Carl relaxed, but only slightly. “Good.”
“I’m not going to accuse anyone of murder until I know all the facts. I’ll be thorough in who I ask. I don’t want the wrong person to be convicted of this.”
With a nod, Carl further relaxed. “Alright.”
“Is there anything you can tell me that might help me as I try to find out who did it?”
“All I know is that she slept with different men, but that’s not exactly a secret.”
No, sadly it wasn’t. Eric was aware she’d had her lovers. He supposed after talking to Abe, the next people he’d visit would be those who were known to sleep with her. That would include the doctor who was currently checking her over for evidence. He winced. Why didn’t he think of that before he took her to his office?
“What is it?” Carl asked.
Trying to put the question as delicately as possible, Eric replied, “When was the last time your wife spent time with the doctor when she wasn’t sick?”
“Oh, she hasn’t been to his bed for a while. I don’t know why. I just know she stopped having headaches that needed medicine.” When Eric frowned, he explained, “That was her excuse whenever she went to see him.”
Eric decided he’d take Carl’s word for it. “Do you know who she’s been with besides the doctor?”
“I know she’s been with Hank and Enoch. If she’s had other lovers, I don’t know who they would be.”
“How do you know she’s been with Hank and Enoch?”
“Enoch confessed about it right after he got out of jail. He said it was only once, and he was so drunk he barely remembered it. As for Hank…” He let out a long sigh. “She once said she wished I could be as good as him in bed. She’d been drinking when she said it, so I don’t think she meant for it to slip out.”
Eric had a hard time understanding why a woman would be with a man three times her age, but he decided it wasn’t worth figuring out.
“Thanks, Carl,” Eric finally said. “If I have any more questions, I’ll let you know.”
With a nod, Carl retrieved his pan and returned to the stream.
Eric figured he’d asked enough questions today. He’d continue talking to more people tomorrow.
***
It was in the middle of the night when Caroline was jolted out of a sound sleep. She sat up in bed, trying to figure out what had woken her.
“It’s Caleb,” Eric said, throwing on his clothes.
It was then she realized the boy was screaming. She hastened to put on her robe and followed Eric to the boy’s room.
“Caleb, what’s wrong?” Eric asked as Caroline hurried to the bed and gathered the boy in her arms.
Caleb clung to her. Though he’d stopped screaming, he was crying. She did her best to dry his face, but the tears kept coming.
Eric struck a match and lit the kerosene lamp. He turned the wick so there was sufficient light in the room to dispel all the dark shadows that might have lingered from his dreams.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Caroline asked.
Caleb only continued to cling to her, sobbing into her shoulder.
Caroline glanced over at Eric, who seemed to feel as lost as she did in how to help the boy. Their boy. He was their child now, and that meant his pain was their pain. Eric sat next to her and put his arms around both of them.
She wished she knew what to say to make things better for Caleb. There had to be something she could do. But what? She pulled Caleb far enough from her so she could cup his face in her hands and look him in the eye.
“Caleb, what is it?” she asked, her tone tender. “What can we do to make things better?”
Caleb sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Am I a monster?”
“What?” Eric asked, his tone incredulous. “No, of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I think I know,” Caroline said wit
h a glance at Eric. Turning her gaze back to her son, she asked, “Is this because of what you heard the people saying about Travis?”
Caleb nodded and wiped another tear away. “I never had a father.”
“You mean you didn’t know who your father was,” Eric clarified. “Everyone has a father.”
Caroline nodded. “They do, Caleb. I meant what I said to those people. Travis has a father and a mother. Just because they haven’t seen them, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
“Travis came here when he was seventeen,” Eric said. “He was alone when he got here. That’s why no one’s seen his parents. He bought the property from Sam before Sam died. That was six years ago.”
“Do you know what happened to his parents?” Caroline asked.
Eric shook his head. “He’s very private about his life. He doesn’t say anything to anyone about it, and quite frankly, I think we all should respect that. What are they saying about Travis?”
Caroline was ready to answer when Caleb said, “They say he has no mother or father, and it makes him a monster.”
“One lady,” Caroline began, “suggested one of Travis’ parents was a spirit. But Caleb, that isn’t true. You know how people say things about me that aren’t true. They’re doing the same thing to Travis.”
“Unfortunately.” Eric took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do about Travis’ situation. I didn’t realize it was that bad. I knew people were afraid of him, but I didn’t think they’d say those kinds of things.”
“Does Travis know?” she asked.
Maybe that was why he ran every time someone came onto his property. Maybe he didn’t want to face any of those people. She couldn’t blame him if that was the case. It’d been hard enough for her to face them after knowing what Ida had told them. The only reason she’d managed it was because she had people like Eric, Caleb, Phoebe and Lois in her life. But Travis had no one.
“I don’t know if Travis is aware of what they’re saying or not,” Eric finally said. “I’m sure he knows they’re afraid of him.”
“They all turned their backs to him when he came through town to meet you at the ravine,” she softly told him.
He winced but didn’t reply.
“It was just me and Mama,” Caleb said, interrupting their conversation.
Caroline and Eric turned their attention back to Caleb.
“It was just me and Mama in Kansas. She was sad,” Caleb continued. “She cried a lot. But she loved me.”
“She never mentioned your father?” Caroline asked.
He shook his head. “Lots of men came to see her. None were him. I asked her, and she always said no.”
Caleb was probably too young to understand the implication of what he was saying, but from the brief description he’d just given her, she suspected his mother had had to make money by resorting to prostitution. Caroline had come across two ladies who’d done that after the war because they were so hungry they couldn’t stand it anymore. She didn’t know what she would have done had it not been for Bee.
“Caleb,” Eric began, interrupting her thoughts, “even if she didn’t mention him, you had one. Whatever the people told you today, it’s not true. Travis has parents. Just like you have a father.”
“May I ask what happened to your mother?” Caroline ventured, wondering if he’d be willing to disclose that since he was opening up to them about his past.
“One of the men stabbed her.” Caleb’s voice was so soft she had to strain to hear him. “I told her he was bad. But she let him in anyway. I don’t know why he did it. I don’t know why bad people do what they do.”
“Sometimes we never find out,” Eric said.
“What happened after that?” Caroline asked Caleb. “Did the man try to hurt you?”
He shook his head. “The owner of the building came.” He swallowed as more tears fell from his eyes. “Mama died. Mama had no one. I was sent to a family, but they didn’t like me.”
Caroline brushed more tears from his cheeks. “What makes you say that?”
“They didn’t like my color,” he said.
“Were they mean to you?” Eric asked, concern in his voice.
“No,” Caleb said. “Not mean. They didn’t talk to me much. I was there, but they didn’t care. Then one day they took me out and left me.” He looked at Caroline. “You found me after that.”
Caroline couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “They just left you on the streets?”
“They told me to wait, and they’d be back. I knew they weren’t coming, but I waited.”
“Why?” she forced out when she could trust herself to speak without crying.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” he said.
She brought him back in her arms and held him tightly to her. “I’m glad I found you,” she whispered, allowing her tears to fall.
The poor boy. What a terrible thing to go through. After watching his mother die, he had to go through the pain of rejection.
“We want you here,” she added, stroking his back, hoping the simple action would help soothe him as it’d often soothed her when her mother had done it when she was a child.
“We do,” Eric agreed. “Though we’ll never know what happened to your father, I promise you that he was just as human as we are. Travis is a good man. He’s just the type who would rather be alone. That’s all. He’s not a monster, and neither are you. Caleb, you have a bright future ahead of you if you choose to take it. You’re smarter than any other seven-year-old I know, and you see things in people the rest of us miss. I agree with Caroline. I’m glad you’re here. We’re a family, and we’re going to get through everything together. Alright?”
Caroline smiled despite the fact that another tear made its way down her cheek. “He’s right,” she told Caleb. “We can’t change other people. But we’re not going to let them tell us who we are or what we should do. That’s up for us to decide.”
“Exactly,” Eric said. “Caleb, do you feel better?”
“A little,” he replied. “I still miss Mama.”
“We don’t expect you to get over losing her right away,” Eric replied. “I’m sure there’s a part of you that will always miss her. There’s no getting around it, but maybe someday, when the pain isn’t so great, you can take comfort in knowing she loved you.”
“We don’t want to take her place,” Caroline assured him. “You can talk about her any time you want. She did a wonderful job taking care of you, and I’m sure if she was here, she would say she’s proud of you.”
There was no denying his mother had loved him and did everything she could to shelter him from the harsher realities of life. She suspected the reason his mother never talked about his father was because he’d abused her somehow. She had no proof to back up this thought, but it was there all the same.
“I have an idea,” Eric said. “Why don’t I tell you a bedtime story? My own mother used to do that for me when I was your age.”
Since Caleb indicated he’d listen to the story, Caroline helped him settle back into bed, tucking the blanket around him in a way that would hopefully make him feel protected through the rest of the night. From there, she held Caleb’s hand as Eric began to tell his tale.
Chapter Eighteen
The next day, Eric asked Caroline about the people who’d confronted her about Travis. Once he found out who they were, he gathered everyone together in the town hall.
“I heard what happened yesterday after Travis Martin came through here,” he said. “I know Travis. He’s a good man. He came here when he was seventeen, and he likes to keep to himself. There’s nothing wrong with him. This nonsense you told my wife about him being a monster has to stop.”
“If there’s nothing wrong with him, why won’t he show us his face?” Hank asked.
Eric debated whether or not he should answer that question. Travis was sensitive about the scars. He didn’t think Travis would want the entire town to know about them, especially since
he made it a point to hide his face whenever he came across anyone. But after careful debate, he opted for telling them the truth. If he told them the truth about the scars, then maybe they’d believe him with everything else he was telling them.
“Very well,” Eric said. “I’ll tell you. He has scars on his face.” Before they could take that as proof he was a monster, he quickly continued, “I don’t know how the scars got to be there. He didn’t tell me, and it’s not my place to ask. But he hides his face so no one will see them. As for parents, why would you see them? He came here when he was seventeen. He was old enough to be on his own by then.” Then, as an afterthought, he added, “Did any of you even think to ask him about his parents?”
The group murmured to themselves before old lady Wilma said, “Why would we talk to him? He’s frightening.”
“That’s right,” Hank agreed. “We want to protect ourselves.”
The others nodded their agreement.
“Oh for heaven’s sakes,” Eric replied. “He’s not the least bit frightening. Why, my wife went out there with our boy, and she was fine. If she wasn’t scared of him, then why should you be?” He turned to Hank. “Are you telling me a woman in her early twenties has more courage than you?”
Hank look offended. “Just so you know, I’m an old man. I can’t run as fast as she can.”
“Besides, she and the child were on a horse,” Thomas pointed out. “A horse can outrun anything.”
“Do I need to put all of you into the jailhouse for a night to stop this nonsense?” Eric asked.
It wasn’t something Eric wanted to do, but he was beginning to feel desperate. This was getting absurd. It was bad enough they were trying to scare Caroline and Caleb, but it was worse since they did this around him.
Eric glared at them. “I’ve had enough of this! I thought Ida Conner was bad, but you all have her beat. I will have no more talk about Travis being a monster. Whoever keeps this up will spend some time in jail.”
“You can’t do that,” Hank argued.
“I did it to Ida for badmouthing my wife,” Eric pointed out. “And I can do it to any of you who persist in badmouthing Travis. From now on, we are going to treat everyone in this town with respect. Before you speak, ask yourselves if you’d want other people saying the same thing about you.”
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