The Visitor - The Bell Tower 1873 - 1875

by Barbara Svetlick

  “I know you are lying.” Garnett could see the bruising forming on her arms even though she was trying to hide them.

  “Why would I lie to you?”

  “Because I would never do the things I did last night.”

  James raised his eyebrows as Garnett looked at her seriously. “Then you do remember.”

  The night began assaulting her with snatches of memories of the most appealing man she had ever met. His blue eyes seemed to beckon her from the black satin mask that he never removed. His fingers slid down her with such precision and intent that she shuttered at the memory. Julie took in her breath trying to work through the images. She put her napkin down and told them to have a good trip home as she went back upstairs.

  “How long before she remembers?”

  Garnett laughed. “She remembers now she just doesn’t want to accept what she did.”

  Meeks wondered if this was about Garnett’s anger that the one time he attempts to have a normal life he is taken by someone as a fool. Living a life of false impressions wasn’t all that unusual but Garnett wasn’t looking for something that would give him a social standing but for something that would make him happy.

  “Well, it is a shame that this didn’t work but it just makes me more committed to staying single.”

  They spent hours with the library doors closed talking about where they were headed as the country seemed to be exploding from the inside. Meeks and James headed to Natchez with Dominic where they spent time at the plantation before heading to Chicago.

  Garnett won the trial after the young daughter denied anything happened with the defendant and that her father had been drinking heavily when he attacked the defendant after inviting him over for dinner. She also testified that her own father had been abusive and inappropriate when he was on drunken binges. The jury took only hours to return a not guilty verdict based on self defense. The young girl and the defendant disappeared a day after the verdict was read.

  Julie had been unusually quiet since Mardi Gras and had taken to going to church frequently. Garnett assumed she was trying to deal with what she did. She finally came to him late one evening and told him that she was with child and asked him if he would consider spending more time in New Orleans now that they were going to have a family.

  “What has the doctor told you?”

  “That I need rest.”

  “And when will the baby come so I can check my trial schedule?” Julie looked into his eyes as Garnett waited. “Who is he?”

  “There’s no one. The baby is yours but my mother said that babies come early in our family so I will need more bed rest.” Garnett nodded because he knew before he came home that she had been keeping company with Mr. Spruce who worked for her father but he was surprised that the affair had started long before they had married and seemed to continue.

  “Is he willing to be a gentleman and take responsibility for what he has done?” Julie diverted her eyes as he waited.

  “I don’t wish to discuss this right now.”

  “Maybe I should make an appointment to meet with Mr. Spruce.” The look of horror on her face was so typical when someone is faced with a lie. “I believe he has three children? I am sure one more will not be a problem for him.”

  “You are despicable. I am your wife and this is your child.”

  “I am despicable but that is beside the point. Exactly why did you choose a married man and why did you think I would be unaware of your affair?”

  “I don’t have to listen to you.”

  “Julie.”

  “What Garnett? Do you want to destroy me for expecting you to be a proper husband?”

  He smiled. “No, I don’t want to hurt you. Our marriage is a rouse that I want to forget and the fact that you would rather sleep with a married man then make an effort to work on our marriage says a lot about you. You refused to live in my home, you insist that I buy you a house in New Orleans knowing I wouldn’t spend a lot of time here and then you become pregnant while I am gone. Your belief that you can tell people that the baby is what two or three months premature is naïve. And what shall you do when the baby looks like him and not me? Our traits are as dissimilar as a cow and horse.”

  Julie stood as her face turned red. “How dare you blame me? You have never been faithful and you never intended to be faithful.”

  “Actually it is probably fitting that I was so taken by your charms for you are a beautiful woman who could pretty much have the world. I can assure you now that I will never sleep in your bed again and if you insist on this ploy, I will disclaim your child as mine.”

  “You would ruin me just to get a divorce.”

  “No, I can get the divorce without charging you and naming him in the papers. The detective agency has given a full detail of your activities with Mr. Spruce. I am sure once I show this report to your father than he will be promptly terminated.” Garnett opened his desk and took out a folder putting it on the desk. “If you need to see a lawyer before you sign, I will understand but you will not live in my house giving the false impression that the baby is mine.”

  “Then where do I go?”

  “That’s your problem not mine.”

  “But the baby…”

  “Sweetheart, I have handled enough paternity cases to assure you that you can force him to pay for your illegitimate child or you can find another unsuspecting man to marry you.”

  Julie opened the folder and looked at the divorce papers. She reached over and picked up the pen dipping it in the inkwell before signing the papers. “I hate you.”

  “I wish you would have told me that before we married.”

  She started to leave the room when he called her back. Garnett slid the envelope across the desk. “You might want to read the full investigative report. The only mistake you made was getting pregnant when I had been gone for three months. You will need to provide me with instructions on what to do with your belongings since the house will be sold immediately.”

  “You can’t leave me without a home.”

  “I can and I will.” Garnett thought for a moment. “Your father was given a copy this morning.”

  “You bastard…”

  Julie left that week with her parents on the Natchez IV to their country estate in northern Louisiana where he assumed she would have the baby and attempt to return claiming the baby was his. If she had read the papers closely she would have realized that she admitted to the affair. A couple of hours north of New Orleans the boat hit a barge that had broken from its moorings sinking the paddleboat. Only Julie’s father survived the accident. He told Garnett that Julie and her mother had been in the stateroom on the side of the collision and he couldn’t save them.

  Garnett decided to keep the house in New Orleans then returned to Vicksburg where he isolated himself until James showed up on his doorstep demanding that he deal with what happened. It had been a long time since he had drug out the painful memories of Julie.

  Dominic answered the door as the steward brought in a tray of coffee with hot breakfast. Garnett joined him as the steward closed the door.

  “Late night?”

  “What do you know about the brunette?”

  “Not much. Is there a problem?”

  “She went through my room last night looking for something.”

  “Interesting.”

  The drawing put Garnett and Dominic at different tables but it was a short round as those less experienced were taken out within a few hours. They took a break and walked up to the bar ordering their top whisky. The brunette walked up and talked to Dominic while ignoring Garnett. He negotiated with her and headed back to the table instructing the floor girl to make sure everyone’s glass at his table was kept filled. They redrew the names of the tables that weren’t full so that the tournament by the end of the night was down to two tables of very serious experienced poker players. Both Garnett and Dominic preferred to play tournament cards because it took all your skills to assess the players and outsmart th
em.

  The floor dealer counted up the pot on each table and placed them in a small bag before locking them in the safe. The second day would be high stakes and the players would be on edge. Dominic talked to the brunette telling her that he would pass since he needed to get a good night’s sleep. Garnett watched as she nodded left the floor heading up to the second floor. He was in deep conversation with Rollie and John as Michael stepped out of the salon and lit a cigar before walking to the front of the boat. He leaned out over the railing enjoying the night and concentrating on the voices above him. The girl was talking to a man who seemed to be extremely angry at her. She argued with him as he backhanded her and told her to return to the salon.

  Michael strolled slowly down the side of the boat as she came down the stairwell and went into the room. He stepped back into the shadow of the stairs as a gentleman came down straightening out his lapels as he walked. You could see the small derringer that was tucked in his sleeve as he pulled it down until it was no longer visible. Michael watched as he turned and walked to the front of the boat disappearing.

  Dominic was standing up against the bar talking to Melvin who went out the first hour of the tournament. Michael walked up and ordered a shot before joining the conversation. The gentleman in the grey suit was standing on the other side of Melvin and no doubt listening to the conversation. Melvin who was facing Michael nodded backed up slightly knocking over his glass which spilled causing the man to jump back from the bar.

  “Oh, I am sorry. Did you get whisky on your good suit?” Melvin looked at the man who said it hadn’t and he moved away from the bar as Melvin ordered another shot and asked that one be delivered to the gentleman now seated at a table playing solitaire while talking to a few men who had washed out of the tournament. When the floor girl delivered it he nodded and went back to his cards.

  Michael looked around before he grabbed the brunette noting the small bruise on her cheekbone. He propositioned her giving her his room number. The man watched as the brunette agreed to Michael’s proposition. You could see his anger as Dominic left the salon and headed for the suite. The man continued to play as Michael left with the brunette and Melvin and John sat down with Garnett and several other players for a friendly game. The man sat at the table until Garnett left the salon. Rollie was standing at the railing as the man went up to the second floor. Rollie followed the sound of his footsteps which stopped as a door opened and closed. Garnett stepped out and Rollie nodded as Garnett climbed the stairs taking out his gun. He moved quietly along the wall until he reached the room. He noted the location and moved past the room until he reached the door to the suite. Within a half hour everyone was in the suite.

  “So, do you two ever go anywhere that you don’t have to watch your backs?”

  “We believe someone wants to remove Dominic.”

  Michael poured a shot enjoying the warmth of the whisky on his throat. “Hell, he hasn’t even taken the oath yet. Who did you cross?”

  “Someone with a lot of money and obviously a bad sense of humor.”

  Melvin leaned back. “Well, you have marked the girl who until you stepped on board wasn’t playing, we have the dandy who boarded in Natchez but you missed the third person.”

  They all turned to Melvin. “The third person?”

  “The man, I believe he told someone his name was Charles Dodge but he has a definite brogue accent, anyway when he was waiting to board the boat he was conversing with the young woman who has been in the room but she blends into the background.”

  Dominic sat forward. “The one that looks like a school teacher?”

  “One and only.”

  “Maybe they were just talking?”

  “Maybe but they have adjoining rooms. They have made no effort to appear familiar other than constant eye contact.” Melvin smiled. “I would say if there is a ringer in the circle that she is the gun. The other two are drawing your attention allowing her to observe.”

  Garnett thought about it. “I don’t think I noticed anyone with the description. What does she look like?”

  “She’s thin and about Rollie’s height with her hair pulled back in a bun and gold wire glasses. I would say if you remove the matronly disguise that she is one hot dangerous woman.”

  Dominic turned to Michael. “What happened with the brunette?”

  “Well she is a bad lay and a lousy actress but her job is diversion and we are men so how much does it take to divert? She wanted to know if we were all friends and all heading east when the boat docked.”

  They decided to turn in for the night since four of them were still in the tournament. Dominic and Garnett walked into the salon as they were putting the tables together for the final rounds. So far other than a few drunken brawls there had been no problems.

  Garnett ordered a cup of coffee and picked up a new deck of cards. He removed them and tapped them on the table before he separated the deck and started to shuffle. Images of Mirisa came to mind as her finger would send the deck through the air with the laugh of a small child. He thought they spent too much time apart and even though she wrote to him frequently with updates on Lizzie it just made him miss all of them more. He thought about her face as she looked up at him in the bell tower covered in specks of matter as the fear and anger filled her eyes. It was the moments of helplessness that made him want to hold her.

  Rollie sat down across from him. “Want to share what is so funny?”

  “I was just remembering someone.”

  “Must have been a woman.”

  “Must have been.”

  “I don’t have to ask if she’s pretty. The bigger question is who is she?”

  “Just someone who makes a card game a lot more fun.”

  The floor man called the five minute warning as everyone took their seats and settled in. They finally opened new decks of cards and cut them to determine who would deal first. The room was hushed as the betting started to climb. Two players at Dominic’s table ran out of money and were out of the game and three players at Garnett’s table were removed. Rollie was the only player in the room that consistently won. A burley man wearing an ascot and mumbling to himself put in everything he had believing his hand would take the pot. Dominic folded as did the player to his right and Rollie met the raise then turned over a high flush. The gentleman started bellowing and his face turned red as his cheeks puffed in and out and he fell over landing on the table as his head bounced before it settled down.

  “We need the doctor over here.”

  A man sitting at the bar stood and waddled over with an old black leather bag that had seen better days. He put his finger on the man’s neck then pushed him back in the chair and took out his stethoscope. “I’m afraid that he is out of the game but still alive. Can you find someone to remove him to his room?”

  Everyone looked around but no one volunteered for if he weighed an ounce he weighed at least three hundred pounds. They waited as they found enough crew members to lift him and the chair. The doctor followed them out of the parlor as they called a fifteen minute break. Everyone stood up and stretched. Garnett stepped out of the parlor and lit a cigar.

  The only people still at the tables were intense players and damn good players. Garnett was surprised that he was still at the table but to remain in the game he was going to have to either have great luck or skill but probably both. Dominic and Rollie joined him.

  Melvin remained at the bar and watched as the mystery woman walked by the door and sat down on a bench giving her a view of the card tables. The tournament resumed and by four o’clock they were down to enough for one table so they took a dinner break and set up the shootout table in the middle of the room. John left the room while Michael entertained the brunette at the bar. Mr. Dobbs walked up to the bar and ordered a brandy. He moved to the far corner and sat down at a table and took out a deck of cards and started playing solitaire. When the tournament began, Dobbs packed up the cards and sat back watching the game. Michael was positioned behind t
he table talking to a few of the players who were out of the game. He was to the right of Dobbs who was in direct line of sight with the mystery woman. Timing was going to be crucial but at the moment it was just a matter of waiting.

  The game seemed to have a life of its own as only two players had dropped out. There was one bully in the game who was bankrolled with enough to weed out the less aggressive players. “Rollie you seem to be on a roll there son.”

  Rollie looked across the table at the bully and smiled. “Been on it all night but don’t let that scare you.”

  Dominic rolled his cigar back and forth as he studied his cards. The game slowly worked down to three men as the steward began opening the windows of the parlor to allow the smoke to escape. It didn’t appear anyone had left the room as the betting started to climb and the side betting in the audience became just as high. It appeared that Dominic was the underdog until he won the next three hands. The floor called for a break and all three stood. It was close to midnight and the excitement was at a pitch.

  Dominic made it through another hour before he left the table. Rollie was intent on taking out the last man so he called for a new deck as they took a short break. Dominic stood at the bar behind Mr. Dobbs as they all watched. The woman on the bench rose and walked out of sight as Mr. Dobbs finished his drink and put his cards away.

  Garnett walked over and stood up against the bar. “It appears the center of their attention has changed now that you are out of the game. This could be a simple heist.”

  “When do we dock in Memphis?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “Then it’s going to be a short night.”

  They watched the game as it became very intense. Rollie was so relaxed and completely sober while Big Jim was sweating profusely and had to keep wiping his brow. A hush fell over the room while Rollie took at least two out of every three hands slowly whittling down Big Jim’s winnings. A few minutes after two, Big Jim put all in and stared at Rollie. Rollie picked up his cigar and sat back studying his cards. He slid his entire winnings toward the center of the table.