“I love you, Josie Clay,” he whispered, leaning toward her without unlocking his trance. She met him with her lips against his, an unspoken acceptance of the love he gave her. Had she ever expected to find such a sweet reprieve from all her bitter circumstance? His breath was warm against her skin. His fingers left hers and embraced the hair at the nape of her neck. Loneliness would never invade her heart again. She would never be trapped by darkness. Every touch from Braham’s sweet caress filled her heart with the brightest love she’d ever known.
A sharp, loud slap cracked the peace around them, and they both turned to see what made such an unnerving sound.
Audra and Gerald sat on the bench of a carriage, one that did not seem sturdy enough for the bumpy country lane. Their horse whinnied and shook its mane. Gerald once again slapped the air with his whip.
“That is her,” Audra declared, clutching the ribbon of her bonnet.
“I do wonder at this choice, Braham,” Gerald snickered, but then his face grew red. “At first, I expected to have you replace each of those girls one by one, sharing with their families about a terrible illness that plagued our factory. But when Audra shared the scheming of this, this—” He sneered at Josie, scouring her with the ugliest of looks. “Witch,” he spat out, “I decided that you might not be the man for the job after all. Such weak judgment of women, it seems.”
Braham stood up, his fists clenched at his side. “What is this? Audra, you have fed him lies. We know it was you who poisoned the girls.”
“Me?” She brushed aside an auburn curl and twirled it with her gloved finger. “Please, Braham, I am not the one who squirmed her way into the apothecary’s trust, mixing up supposed remedies.”
Gerald jumped down from the cart, and Braham did the same from his. Soon both men stood within inches of each other.
“Gerald, you must listen. Audra is caught up with body snatchers. She wanted to kill the women to provide … to provide bodies—”
Gerald bellowed with laughter. “Bodies? Who are you listening to?” He spun around. “Audra, it appears they are projecting the witch’s intent on you, my dear.”
She stuck her nose up in the air. “Absurd.” The woman was just as cool as she had been the night in the cemetery. Josie scurried down the cart, running up to Gerald, who seared Braham with his hateful look.
“Please, you must listen, Mr. Bates—”
Gerald ignored her and seethed, “You are done at my factory, Braham Taylor.”
Braham’s nostrils flared. “You cannot do that. I have evidence from the executor—”
“Williams? Well, isn’t that a pity. He passed away last week, and somehow, the documents in his office just … disappeared.” He leaned close, snatching Braham’s cravat. “You have no one.”
Braham jerked himself away. He put his hands on his knees as if trying to catch his breath.
Josie interjected, “Mr. Bates, we have evidence that Audra is the one you must question. Her sister—”
“Minnie?” Audra screeched. Her mouth fell open, and then she brought her lips together in a crooked smile. “She’s always been jealous of me. Remember, Gerald, the day your aunt chose me to go to the factory? Minnie cried for a week. Pathetic thing.”
“You’re coming with me.” Gerald clawed at Josie’s arm and forced her next to him.
“Stop!” Josie tried to wriggle free, but his grip was tight.
“Gerald Bates, you let go of her.” Braham lunged at Gerald. But the man swung hard, hooking Braham in the stomach and knocking him to the ground. Josie screamed, Gerald’s tight grip burning through her sleeve.
“I am surprised at you, Braham.” Gerald kicked at him. “My father trusted you to be of sound judgment. Hiring this one?” He held up Josie’s arm. “Well, I will have no choice but to replace you.”
Josie felt as though she might faint. The pressure of his grip on her arm was causing it to go numb. Suppressing more cries to appear strong exhausted every bit of her. Gerald thrust her into the carriage, and they drove off. The last she saw of Braham was through the carriage window. He scrambled to his feet, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Braham groaned as he tried to stand up. Gerald had knocked the wind out of him. The man had once again proven himself to be a brute, with just one swift blow. Fighting through the ache, Braham climbed up on his cart and tried to catch up with them. He must get to the town constable, and to Minnie, before that manipulative Audra convinced Constable James that Josie had poisoned the women. It would be even more difficult to convince the constable with Gerald there. How blinded might he be by Audra’s story with the wealthiest man in the area standing next to her?
There was no doubt in Braham’s mind that Audra may have found a way to Gerald’s heart after all. She had satisfied him with the one thing he had hoped for—proving that Braham Taylor was unfit to manage the factory. Audra had used this twisted business of body snatching to frame Braham’s newest hire.
Sweat ran down his elbows as the day heated up. He knew a quicker way to Gloughton and steered the cart away from the path. There were many days when he’d go hunting with his uncle while Gerald was away at school. This land was familiar to him. He continued through the fresh green countryside, praying for God to protect Josie.
The sun was hidden behind thick clouds when he arrived in Gloughton. He jumped down from his cart and ran up to Constable James’s small brick house. As he knocked, he looked around for Gerald’s carriage. Had they arrived here first?
The tall, lanky constable held the door open and greeted Braham.
Braham looked up and down the street once more. “Did Gerald Bates arrive yet?”
“Mr. Bates?” He motioned for Braham to enter. “No, sir. But that girl has been making a fuss all morning.” He nodded to the locked door of the room where Minnie spent the night. “Wouldn’t eat one bite of her food.”
“I will talk to her. But first, I want you to know that Mr. Bates and Miss Audra Jennings will arrive and try to discount all we’ve been told by Minnie.”
The constable shifted his weight and hooked his finger on his chin in contemplation. “Mr. Bates is a powerful man. He owns nearly all of Gloughton.”
“But he has been tricked by that Audra Jennings. She is trying to frame a mill girl. That is what I am here to tell you. We have another witness to firm up what Minnie has told us.”
“Who is this witness?” He sat on a stool and picked up his pipe and lit it.
Braham lowered to the bench across from him. “It is a man who was in business with Audra.”
“Pah!” The constable widened his eyes. “And we should trust him over Mr. Bates?”
Braham knew it might be hard to out-reason the constable’s allegiance to Gerald. Yet he also knew that the constable was a good man—an ambitious one too. “James, I will take you to the entire network.” He was emboldened when the man pulled the pipe from his mouth and leaned in, waiting for more. “Didn’t you once say you want to get on in a bigger city? Imagine what the authorities in Boston might think if the hired constable from Gloughton brought down a whole network of body snatchers?”
James tamped down his pipe’s tobacco and relit it. A cloud of smoke rose between them. “When will Bates arrive?”
“Any moment now.” Braham rose and went to the window. “I do not know what is taking them so long.” His path was not that much shorter.
He went and spoke with Minnie, assuring her that all would be resolved, then stepped outside and looked up and down the street again. The sky was still gray, and the damp scent promised rain was on its way. A storm brewed in Braham’s pit, and he ran out to his cart. His mind raced. He mounted and headed down Main Street.
Had he just wasted time sitting around waiting? What if they’d never planned to bring Josie here at all?
Josie clung to the door of the carriage as the rain pelted down. Gerald’s loud shouting to the horse was barely heard. The day was nearly as dark as nig
ht. Where were they taking her? She’d never been this far north. Soon, the carriage slowed beneath a bridge, and the sound of rushing water took the place of the rain. She looked out the small window. A brook was filling quickly beside the road.
Many minutes passed. She wondered if they were stuck. Josie tried to peer toward the front of the carriage, but she could not see anything. The rain continued to pound. She pressed her head back, and just as she began to pray, the door flung open, and Gerald reached in and grabbed her.
“Where are we?” she shouted above the noise. But the man ignored her, pulling her along the bank. When they lost the bridge’s shelter, he began to run, holding his top hat with his other hand. Ahead, she saw the flicker of a light in the midst of a wild wooded area.
This was not Gloughton.
Would she even have the chance to plead her innocence? The only assurance she had was that this man, while pompous to Braham, was considered upstanding by all. She prayed he would have the decency to allow her to plead before a wise counsel.
The light in the distance was actually a lamp hanging from Audra’s hands as she stood beneath the overhang on a large porch of a barn. Her sly smile discouraged any hope. Josie doubted that any authorities here would care anything about Josie’s side of things. Not with Audra Jennings around.
They entered the building, water from their clothes puddling at their feet. The odor of mildew soured the air, and cobwebs strung across every corner of the large room. Audra’s lantern shone on old tools, broken wagon wheels, and parts of furniture piled up. The light offered nothing to Josie’s path but dread.
“Where are we?” she asked again, this time her voice louder than the rain that drummed on the roof. Fright crawled through her veins as the light reached a corner housing a mouse nest and a pile of rotting apples.
“One might call it—your fate?” Audra cackled.
“Tie her up,” Gerald barked. He pulled down a rope from a hook beside him and handed it to Audra. Josie tried to pull away as Gerald handed her to the woman, but he did not let go until Audra had secured Josie’s hands behind her back. Audra tugged her like a prisoner to its cell, but instead of a cell, a large trunk. Gerald opened it.
“Wait,” Josie cried out. “I cannot go in—”
“Ah, but you are small enough you can.” Gerald grinned.
“But I thought you would take me to the authorities. Please, do not believe what Audra has said. There are others who know the truth.”
Audra yanked hard on Josie’s hair, causing her to yelp. “Others? Who?” she demanded at Josie’s ear.
“Minnie … and … and …” She stopped herself. Alvin had been her biggest headache, but he was also going to help her. She would not share anything with this woman who had done so much harm. “And the constable in Gloughton.”
Gerald shook his head and joined Audra in a hearty laugh.
“The constable? Isn’t that where Minnie is?” Audra snorted. “He knows nothing but what Minnie has said, you foolish girl.” She tied a handkerchief around Josie’s mouth. It didn’t matter if Josie tried to resist now. She had no chance to escape. Audra shoved her toward the trunk. Gerald reached over and scooped Josie up like a child and lowered her inside.
She would never be found here. A sob threatened to erupt, but she feared she would choke.
“We had better go. Boyles and Drake will meet us at sunset.” Gerald looked at his pocket watch. “I cannot be late.”
“Whoa there.” Audra slid her hand along his chest and tweaked his chin with her gloved fingers. “We cannot be late. Remember, we are in this together. After this job, you will no longer have that puny Braham to worry about or that terrible factory. I can stop traipsing around, trying to set him up.”
Josie’s eyes widened and a guttural sound came from her pit.
Audra turned, the lamp shining in Josie’s eyes. “Yes, you were a pest from the very beginning, Miss Clay. Constantly undoing my work as you helped with those injured girls. Every bolt I loosened, every screw I stole, you’d patch up the damage and leave Braham with little fretting.” The lamp swung to and fro. Josie remembered the evening she thought she saw someone enter the factory. The light on the front steps—was that Audra? “And then your elixir for the soup.” She rolled her eyes. Josie’s pulse jolted. Hadn’t Fran mistaken her for Audra when Josie had entered the kitchen the night they had soup? Audra had been helping serve dinner. A convenient task when she’d planned to poison the girls.
“It all worked out for the best, though.” Gerald snickered. “A mass need, a supply at my fingertips, and a nuisance to finally get rid of.”
Josie ignored the searing light and gawked at this man.
“Well, two nuisances.” Audra nudged him. “That executor needed to go before you could really do anything about Braham.”
Gerald stared at Josie, tugging at his gloves. “That was easy. When you are in charge of an entire operation that deals with the dead, what’s one more?”
Josie’s blood pounded in her chest, and her stomach churned as if she were going to be sick. Gerald Bates had just admitted to murder.
“I am just glad I have such a pretty spy to find the goods I need.” Gerald turned his attention to Audra.
“The broth for the girls should be doing the trick, right about now.” She kissed his lips. “Next week will be a busy one.” He brushed her cheek and strode away.
Gerald Bates was not just a fool for Audra’s flirtations, nor was he just the wealthiest man in Gloughton. He was the pot of gold which Alvin declared that Audra had found. He hadn’t left Alvin for dead that night of Aunt Myrtle’s funeral; he had only punished him for focusing on the wrong body. The one body he was connected to.
Gerald Bates was the man whom Audra was supplying all this time—Gerald Bates was the head of a business that thrived on stolen bodies.
Audra lifted the lamp and winked at Josie. Josie shook her head frantically, screaming against the gag. No, she could not shut her in. No!
Audra paused and called over her shoulder, “Shouldn’t we just get rid of her?”
Sharp footsteps drew close, and Gerald appeared behind Audra again. “No, save her.” He grunted. “In case we’re one short.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Braham’s chest tightened as he trampled down the bank by the brook that Alvin had mapped out for him. Alvin went ahead to be sure that nobody was on guard at the network’s storage barn. He would stand on the porch with a lit lantern if all was well.
The constable and two of Braham’s overseers were just behind him. They did not know how many men they might be up against. Braham feared the four of them were not enough. But he was more concerned about setting Josie free.
“As soon as we get Audra in our hands, we’ll find out where they took Josie.”
“And if she refuses to confess?” Constable James asked, clearly nervous about the sabotage. “I do not want to face Mr. Bates. He could strip me of my title and my home.”
“Audra cannot refuse when we find her at the exact spot where she’ll be waiting for bodies.” Braham spoke through his teeth. “Alvin will help. Do not worry.” Although there was a small niggle of doubt as he spoke.
That man better be as trustworthy as Josie claimed.
Braham had prayed over and over for God’s protection on Josie these past hours. As the sun burned toward dusk, his hope for her return waned. How could he ever convince Gerald that Josie was only a cover-up for Audra’s wicked ways? Braham worried that Gerald had gone ahead to Boston. There was no doubt that Audra would have convinced him to find more established authorities in a larger city than in the small home of Constable James. If Gerald released Josie to the police there, they would hardly listen to Braham, who had little worth next to a man like Gerald. He was even more respected in the high society of Boston than the small village of Gloughton. No, Braham did not stand a chance.
It all depended on the scruffy man he saw ahead. Alvin leaned up against an old barn hidden in
the woods, striking a match to light a lantern.
Braham lifted a hand, acknowledging him as he walked up.
Alvin stepped back when Constable James came up beside Braham.
“Do not worry, Alvin.” Braham turned and placed a hand on the constable’s shoulder. “He knows everything and is here to help.”
“Everything?” Alvin loosened his collar.
“If you are telling the truth.” Constable James spoke deep and low. “Then you will have led us to the largest crime ever connected to our town.” He stepped closer to Alvin, looking down his nose. “But if not—” He poked him in the shoulder.
“Hey there. I am a changed man. There is nothing so cruel in me as to murder innocent women.” He crossed himself, as if assuring them by the sign of God that he spoke in honesty. Constable James gave a quick nod and stepped back.
“This is the place?” Braham asked.
“No. This is where we will collect the things needed. There are specific carts they use to make the exchange. Marked with a white canvas over the bodies. That way, they know who their men are in the dark of night.” Alvin stepped over and unlocked the door. “Come on.”
His lantern lit up the place. Nothing seemed usable. Everything appeared broken and tossed about. Alvin walked over to some sacks hanging on a wall and removed them, revealing a door. “This way.”
“Men, be on guard,” Constable James warned over his shoulder.
“I said he is trustworthy, James. He would never have taken us this far—”
A knocking sound came from beneath the window to Braham’s left.
“Hold on.” Constable James pulled out his pistol. The other men did the same.
“Alvin, are you certain there is nobody here?” Braham whispered loudly, crouching down with the others in a corner.
The knocking was firmer, and the sound of a muffled voice had all the men freeze.
“It’s coming from that trunk, I think.” Alvin ran over to a large trunk with rusted metal hinges. Another knock. “Someone’s inside!”
The Yellow Lantern Page 23