The Housekeeper's Proposal

by Barbara Goss

  Upon leaving the yard, Jeremy mounted his horse and gazed across the street to see Monroe leaving his office at the same time. He waved Jeremy over.

  “I just wanted to let you know that McCall sent an officer to Griff’s office with the order to appear tomorrow,” Monroe said. “I have a feeling it will be interesting.”

  Jeremy cast his eyes downward. “I had no idea it would turn out like this. Kate will never forgive me.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” Monroe said thoughtfully, “but your name will finally be cleared.”

  Jeremy let out a deep sigh, and said, “Yeah, I’m happy about that part.” He nudged his horse toward home.

  Jeremy left the lumberyard at five minutes before two the next afternoon and walked into Monroe’s office. McCall, Monroe, and Haskell were already there. They greeted him and as he took a seat. Monroe pulled out his pocket watch.

  Haskell looked extremely uncomfortable, knowing he’d have to face Griff. McCall was his usual gruff self, but Jeremy only had one thing on his mind, and that was Kate.

  After waiting until half past two, McCall said, “I think we can safely say that Hammond isn’t coming. He’ll be arrested as soon as possible. It’s against the law to ignore a federal order to appear.”

  The fact that Griff hadn’t shown up bothered Jeremy more than if he’d shown up and blasted them all to Hades. If he ignored an order to appear, something was wrong. Had he fled? Or had he simply thought himself too high and mighty to lower himself to respond to questions he couldn’t answer.

  McCall turned to Haskell. “Did you warn him?”

  “No, sir,” Haskell said. “I’d hoped to never have to face him again.”

  They all nodded. They could believe it.

  “I’ll ride out to his place this evening when I know he’s home. I’ll get to the bottom of this,” McCall said.

  Kate had just finished supper when she heard Griff ride in. He’d told Aunt Bertha he wouldn’t be home for supper. She worried there wasn’t enough stew left for him. He should have told her or Aunt Bertha if he’d planned to come home to eat with them, after all. She sighed, and then walked out onto the porch and watched him tie his horse to the hitching post.

  “You never said you were coming home for supper, Griff. I’m not sure there’s any stew left. Auntie only made enough for the two of us since you said you wouldn’t be here for supper.”

  “I didn’t come home for supper,” he snarled.

  Kate wondered what had fired him up this time. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “What’s wrong? I’ve been summoned by a federal marshal to appear for a formal interview, that’s what!” he snapped.

  “Why?”

  He laughed sarcastically. “Ask your darling, Jeremy Walker.” He walked past her and into the house.

  Kate followed him up the stairs and into his room where she found him gathering some of his clothes and stuffing them into a duffle bag.

  “Where are you going?”

  “If you think I’m going to lower myself to comply with that ridiculous summons, you’re as crazy as your beloved Walker,” he spat.

  “He isn’t my beloved anymore,” she said with downcast eyes. “I broke it off with him because of all this.”

  “Too late. If you had gotten the proof like you were supposed to, I wouldn’t be forced to leave town in disgrace,” he yelled.

  “First it was Jeremy’s fault, and now it’s mine?” she asked. Griff had her dander up now. How dare he treat her like that?

  “Instead of getting proof, you went and fell for his phony lies, and now you’ve put me in hot water.” Griff turned and walked to the door. “My resignation as sheriff is on my desk at the office. Goodbye, Kate.”

  “I’m sorry, I failed you, Griff,” Kate cried. “Don’t go!”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry, too.” He scurried down the stairs, hopped on his horse, and galloped down the lane.

  Kate sighed. He’d be back as soon as he cooled off.

  When Griff hadn’t returned by supper the following evening, Kate became worried. She mounted a horse and rode to Jeremy’s house. The whole situation was all Jeremy’s fault, and she had to let him know the trouble he’d caused her brother.

  Jeremy called Jake Haskell in to discuss how they would proceed from that point forward, as far as his employment went. They sat comfortably in the sitting room, and Geraldine brought them tea.

  “I know why you’ve called me in here, and I understand why you have to let me go,” Jake said.

  “It’s important for me to have a staff I can trust, Jake, and while you did a wonderful job on the gardens and grounds—” Jeremy shook his head, “I just don’t know if I can trust you.”

  “I’ve worked here for almost six years without any problems.”

  “No, I feel—”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Walker, but you have a visitor,” Geraldine announced. “She came in the back door.”

  “Who is it?” Jeremy asked.

  “It’s the sister of the man you’ve ruined,” Kate said, bursting into the room.

  “Now, Kate,” Jeremy said, “you don’t know the whole story.”

  Kate counted his offenses on her fingers. “You called in the federal marshal, you were behind his being called in for questioning, and now you’ve caused him to leave town.”

  Kate’s tears tugged at Jeremy’s heart. He stood and went to put his arm around her to comfort her.

  “Don’t touch me!” she cried as she drew away from him. “Griff raised me, cared for me, protected me for years. He said some terrible things to me before he departed…for good. He resigned and now he’s left town.” She wiped away her tears. “Why didn’t you just confess that you murdered the woman? Now poor Griff has had to leave his home and the job he loved, all because you accused him of not doing his job,” Kate backed closer to the door. “He was doing his job when he sent me here to gather proof against you, but you sweet-talked me instead of owning up to your sins. I never want to see or hear from you again.”

  “Wait! Kate—” Jeremy started to say.

  Kate held up her hand. “Save it for someone who’ll believe you.” With that, she turned and left the room.

  Jeremy sank back onto the sofa and held his head in his hands. “Oh, what have I done?”

  “You did nothing, Mr. Walker,” Jake said. “When she finds out the truth—”

  “No! I can’t allow her to know what Griff did. It will spoil her memory of the brother she adores. I can’t do that to her. I love her, Jake.”

  “I know, but—”

  “I have to think of a way to shield her from finding out about the horrid things Griff did. She can never know,” he said.

  Chapter 18

  “So,” Jake said, “do I get to keep my job or not?”

  Jeremy’s thoughts did cartwheels in his head. He couldn’t focus on what Jake had asked. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “My job. Do I keep it or leave?” Jake asked again.

  Jeremy shook his head to clear it, then leaned back and sighed. “Jake, it would seem we’ve all made mistakes lately. You were framed; I’m sure of it. While you had no business messing with any woman like that, I know you’ve learned a lesson from it. You can stay.”

  Jake smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Walker. I do love my work here. It’s so peaceful digging into God’s fertile soil with my hands and creating beautiful flowers. To pay you back, I’ll start a vegetable garden behind the new shed.”

  “What a great idea. I’d like that,” Jeremy said sincerely but without his usual enthusiasm.

  After Jake had left, he wandered around his property, trying to think of how he could spare Kate from learning about what her beloved brother had done. She obviously had no idea of Griff’s hidden personality and behavior. If there were any way possible to keep her from learning the truth, he’d find it. McCall would know. He’d have to talk to him.

  If only he could hold her in his arms one more time. He should have kept his
vow to stay clear of Kate Hammond, but she proved to be irresistible.

  He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced. He had to do this much for her.

  Kate felt angry and frustrated because she didn’t have a clue as to where her brother had gone or how she might reach him. When it came to Jeremy, she felt wounded, enraged, but also…a deep painful love. Regardless of the hateful words she’d hurled at him, once she’d cooled down, the hurt look that had appeared on his face as a result of her words came back to haunt her. She knew she’d killed any love Jeremy had ever had for her, but she still felt love for him despite all he’d done. Her feelings for Jeremy also made her feel as if she’d been disloyal to Griff and her family.

  She had to admit she’d been a bit harsh on Jeremy—he’d only been doing what she’d pressured him to do, to solve the case so they could marry. Perhaps he hadn't realized that calling the marshal into the case would have upset Griff as much as it had. She knew there had never been any love lost between Griff and Jeremy, and Griff had pegged Jeremy as the killer from day one without checking any further. She wished she’d have thought the whole thing through before she jumped down Jeremy’s throat. Not that he was vindicated in her mind, but she might have at least given him the chance to explain his reasons for calling the marshal. In her heart, she knew Jeremy couldn’t kill anyone, and she wished she could take back her hurtful words. Kate felt like a piece of yarn being pulled in two directions at once—she knew that if it continued, that yarn would most likely break.

  Kate marched into the marshal’s office, which had—no more than just a few days ago—been her brother’s office. When she entered, the marshal stood. Though his size surprised her, she was determined not to let him bully her as he’d evidently done to Griff.

  “I’m Marshal McCall,” he said politely and stood until Kate had been seated.

  Kate’s first reaction was to throw hateful accusations at the man, but she remembered her father had once told her that a calm, reasonable voice returned the best results.

  “I’m Kate Hammond, Griff’s sister,” she said, noticing how his eyes widened when he heard her name.

  “How can I help you, Miss Hammond?” he said after a moment’s recovery.

  “You can tell me why you think my brother negligent, and why he’s been forced to resign as sheriff?” she said, proud she’d kept her voice even and calm.

  The marshal stared at her for several moments before saying, “All I did was request an interview with him.”

  “He knew you were going to make him resign, owing to Jeremy Walker’s having accused him of not doing his job. I’m here to tell you he was doing his job. He sent me to the Walker residence as a housekeeper to try to solve the case. I told him to stay away and that I’d handle it.” She knew she’d stretched the truth a bit, but she desperately needed to get Griff off the hook and back to Hays and his job.

  Kate continued calmly, “Griff resigned rather than be interviewed, since he felt it was degrading to his position and would lessen the trust he’d instilled in the town. What good is a sheriff if the people don’t trust him?”

  “That’s very true, but there are some facts of which you’re obviously unaware,” McCall said.

  “Make me aware, then,” Kate said. She grew anxious to hear why the marshal would humiliate her brother by calling him in to answer questions about why he hadn’t done his job.

  McCall shook his head and said, “I’m not sure you’re emotionally prepared to hear it.”

  “Oh, I’m more than ready, Mr. McCall. I want to know,” she said.

  “All right.” He pursed his lips, reclined in his chair, and then hesitated, as if planning his words. “Jeremy Walker, his attorney, Mr. Monroe, and I had an interview a few days ago with Jake Haskell.” He hesitated again.

  Kate wasn’t alarmed. Griff had told her Haskell was his friend. He’d even warned her to run to him if she were ever in danger at the Walkers’. She raised her eyebrows at McCall as a cue for him to continue.

  “This interview left us with some important questions unanswered. Your brother was the only one who could answer these questions, and they had little to do with his ability to do his job,” McCall said.

  “Maybe I can answer some of those questions, Mr. McCall,” she said.

  “I doubt you’d know anything about this area of his life,” he said. “I don’t feel I should say any more at this point. Having never interviewed your brother, I can’t have all the answers. Without them, I’m afraid the case will just have to remain open, although we did establish some strong evidence regarding Griff’s actions.

  “One thing I’ve proven without a shadow of a doubt is that Jeremy Walker is innocent,” McCall said.

  “I need to know everything,” Kate demanded.

  McCall sighed and threw a pencil at the wall. “I don’t think you can handle it.”

  “I demand to know. I should have been invited to that interview with Jake Haskell, since I was working on the case on Griff’s behalf,” she said in a calm but demanding tone she hoped would yield the results she wanted.

  “Were you aware that Griff knew Helen Finch Walker?” he asked.

  “It’s possible. He might have met her somewhere, but I know all his friends, and she wasn’t one of them,” Kate said.

  McCall smirked. “I’m afraid your brother kept more from you than you think.”

  “I demand to know what you’re insinuating,” Kate said, growing more vocally aggressive.

  “Griff fathered Helen’s baby,” McCall blurted. “Helen told Jake the whole story.”

  “I don’t believe it!” Kate stood, moved closer to McCall’s face, and asked, “Can you prove that?”

  “Griff’s having skipped town tells us almost as much as an interview would have,” McCall said. “Sit down and listen to the whole story. You wanted to hear it even though I warned that you weren’t ready.”

  Kate sat and folded her arms over her chest. “Go on.”

  “Haskell tried to lie to defend Griff because Griff was holding something over his head. Griff had sort of blackmailed Haskell by threatening to expose his secret if he didn’t do as he said, which was to hide the body and point the finger at Jeremy. I was able to get Haskell to finally admit it all, though I hear poor Haskell’s still hiding out in fear of Griff seeking revenge for having revealed his secret.

  “For months, Griff has been meeting Helen at his old home, just a mile down the road from Walker’s place. Walker claimed both doors had been locked when he first tried to take you through the house, and Griff possessed the only key.

  “He hated Walker, but you knew that. Griff got Helen with child, told her to become intimate with Otto and then blame him in order to protect himself. Otto knew she’d been used before he came along, so he denied the child was his for certain, and left town. Helen then threatened to reveal the truth, since she couldn’t stand living in a loveless relationship with Walker, but Griff couldn’t allow her to do that.

  “See those ropes on the wall?” McCall reached over and took one of them down. “The coroner has the one that most likely strangled her. The rope has a defect, a break in the pattern that proves, without a doubt, it was the murder weapon. We found it hidden under papers in the bottom drawer of this desk.” He slapped the top of the desk.

  “Anyone could have used that rope. It didn’t have to be Griff,” she said, her aggressive demeanor lessening.

  “True enough, but he was the only one with access to the rope that had a motive,” McCall said. “We called him in to get the answers we needed, to offer him the chance to explain it away.”

  “And he ran, instead,” Kate said, deep in thought. Had her brother killed Helen and framed Jeremy since he hated him so much? It was hard to refute the evidence, and Griff had run instead of answering the questions. Had he been innocent, she knew he’d have stood up for himself.

  Kate began to sob hysterically, fumbling in her reticule for a handkerchief. McCall stood, came around the de
sk, and handed her his handkerchief. He squatted down and took hold of both of her hands.

  “I’m so sorry, Miss Hammond. There was no way to soften the facts,” he said.

  Kate nodded. She knew he’d tried, yet she couldn’t stop crying. Her brother was a murderer and would hang if caught, and she’d lost the man she once loved with all her heart. After weeping for several minutes, she calmed down a bit and thanked McCall for his concern. She looked up after wiping away her tears and gazed out the front window to see Jeremy Walker, sliding off his horse in front of the office, and she stood quickly.

  “Is there somewhere I can go to pull myself together? I don’t want Jeremy to see me like this,” she cried.

  “You can sit in one of the cells around the corner,” he said.

  Kate flew to the first cell and sat down on the cot. She tried to pull herself together by taking deep breaths; she’d developed hiccoughs from the fierce crying. She heard Jeremy enter and greet McCall.

  Upset as she felt, her desire to hear what Jeremy had to say to McCall was stronger. She stood up and pressed her ear to the wall between the cell and the office to listen.

  Jeremy asked if there had been any word from Griff, and she heard McCall say he was still missing.

  “Is there any way we can keep this whole thing quiet?” Jeremy asked McCall.

  “I thought you wanted your name cleared,” McCall said.

  “I do, but I don’t want to kill Kate Hammond’s memory of her brother. I don’t want her to know what he’s done,” Jeremy said. “Please, is there any other way we can solve the case?”

  Kate suddenly felt like a pair of strong arms had been wrapped around her.

  “Sure—you could confess to killing the woman yourself,” McCall said. “Is that what you want to do?”