Stabenow, Dana - Shugak 11 - The Singing Of The Dead
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"That wasn't exactly what I meant," Dinah said with caution. "But I
guess it works."
II
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Kate looked up. "Oh?"
"If kids whose parents beat up on them are that protective of their
parents, how protective are they going to be of their grandparents?
Their great-grandparents?"
"I'm not tracking here," Kate said.
"Makes two of us," Bobby said.
Dinah reached into the capacious pocket of the rusty black duster that
made her look like the trail driver out of a Zane Grey novel and pulled
out a sheaf of paper. "I printed it out."
"Printed what out?" Kate accepted the bundle of paper and leafed through it.
"From the disk you left last night."
"Oh." Kate sat up and shoved her mug to one side. "What is this?"
"It's the report of an inquest."
"Whose?"
"Anne Gordaoff's great-grandmother."
"You're kidding."
"No. And get this." Dinah paused for dramatic effect.
"What," Kate said, in no mood.
"She was murdered," Dinah said, trying her best not to sound absolutely
thrilled at the very idea.
"No shit," Bobby said. "Cool."
Kate was less impressed. "One of her tricks, I suppose."
"What?" Bobby said. "Anne Gordaoff's great-grandma was a hooker?"
"A dance-hall girl," Kate said, "down at the Northern Light."
"Goddamn," Bobby said, a slow grin breaking across his face. "Goodie
Anne Gordaoff's great-grandma made 'em pay for the privilege. Who'd a
thunk it?"
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NINILTNA APRIL 1915
Testimony taken at the inquest on the body of Mrs. Angel Beecham, also
known as the Dawson Darling, April 9, 1915, before Joseph D. Brittain,
U.S. Commissioner for the Fairbanks Precinct, Fourth Judicial Division,
Territory of Alaska.
When THEODORE OLDS, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
Q. Where do you reside, Mr. Olds?
A. The town of Niniltna, sir.
Q. What is your occupation?
A. I am a dairyman, sir.
Q. Relax, Mr. Olds, I don't bite.
A. Sorry, sir.
Q. Do you deliver milk in Niniltna?
A. Yes, sir. Twice a day, sir.
Q. Did you know a woman by the name of Mrs. Angel Beecham, who resided
at Number 3 Front Street?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Also known, I believe, as the Dawson Darling?
A. Yes, sir. I delivered a quart of milk there every evening at about
half past four, sir. Well, it used to be six quarts, but when the other
girls moved out, Mrs. Beecham told me to deliver only one. Sir.
Q. When did you last see her alive?
A. About half past four on Thursday evening, sir.
Q. That would be Thursday evening, April 1, 1915?
A. I guess so, sir. I saw her every Thursday evening at
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that time, sir, when I delivered the milk, sir. I saw her every Monday
evening, too, at half past four, too, sir. Every Monday evening and
every Thursday evening, twice a week, every week at the same time, sir-
Q. Did you see her at any other time?
A. Well, I, well, sir, I guess I saw her on the street in town sometimes.
Q. Did you see her in town last week?
A. I don't know. I guess so.
Q. Be more specific, Mr. Olds, if you please.
A. Maybe on Friday around the shoe store?
Q. So you saw Mrs. Beecham in town on Friday, the day after you
delivered her milk, downtown in front of the shoe store.
A. Or maybe it was Lavery's store, sir.
Q. That would be Friday, April 2?
A. Yes, sir, I guess so, sir.
Q. What time of the day would that have been? Mr. Olds?
A. I'm sorry, sir, I don't remember.
Q. Was it light or dark outside?
A. Oh. It was almost dark.
Q. So between seven or eight in the evening, would you say?
A. I'd say so, sir.
Q. Was she alone?
A. I guess so, sir.
Q. Did you see anyone with her?
A. No, sir.
Q. She was entirely unaccompanied?
A. She had a lot of packages, sir.
Q. Did you offer to carry them for her?
A. How did you know that, sir?
Q. Did you carry Mrs. Beecham's packages home for her, Mr. Olds?
A. Yes, sir.
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Q. When did you leave her house on Friday evening, Mr. Olds?
A. Uh, I don't know. However long it took to walk her home, sir, and
carry her packages into the house, sir.
Q. You didn't stay to chat? She didn't offer you any refreshment by way
of gratitude for carrying her packages home for her?
A. Oh, no sir. I'm a married man, sir. I only saw her when I delivered
the milk.
Q. Yes, I see. So you saw Mrs. Beecham on Friday in town, alone,
escorted her home, and then didn't see her again until Thursday evening
when you delivered the milk.
A. Yes, sir. I didn't see her at all on Monday.
Q. What time was this?
A. About half past four, sir. I leave home at four, sir, and it usually
takes me about half an hour to get to her house.
Q. What did the house look like as you approached it? Was anything out
of the ordinary?
A. Well, sir, the first thing was that the blinds were down.
Q. They weren't, usually?
A. Well, no, sir. Could I have a drink of water?
Q. Certainly. Bailiff... thank you. Now, then, Mr. Olds. You have
testified that the blinds were drawn on Mrs. Beecham's house as you
approached it. This was out of the ordinary, was it?
A. Well, yes, sir. On that street, sir, the windows and the blinds are
always open, especially at that time of day.
Q. Why is that, Mr. Olds?
A. Well, sir, I, uh, I don't, I...
Q. Perhaps so that the ladies who reside on that street can take some air?
A. Yes, sir, that's it, that's exactly right, sir.
Q. So the blinds on Mrs. Beecham's house were down.
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What else did you notice about the house that was out of the ordinary,
Mr. Olds?
A. Well, sir, when I went to set down the full bottles on the porch and
take away the empty ones, I noticed that the door was open.
Q. This was the back door?
A. Yes, sir, I always delivered the milk to the back door, and so I went
around to the back of the house and put my milk down with the ticket on top.
Q. When you noticed the kitchen door was open.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you go into the kitchen?
A. No, sir.
Q. Take your time, Mr. Olds.
A. Yes, sir, thank you, sir. It's just that it was.. . that she was...
Q. Now then. You noticed that the kitchen door was open. You didn't go
inside. What happened then?
A. I looked through the door and saw the body. It was real dark with the
blinds drawn, and I said, "Angel, what's the matter? " and she didn't
say anything, and it was dark but I could see she didn't hardly have any
clothes on and that she was dead.
Q. How did you know she was dead?
A. When I went in, I walked in her blood. And she didn't say anything.
And she was cold when I touched her.
&nb
sp; Q. What did you do after you discovered the body?
A. I went to the nearest place anybody could call home and told them
Angel was dead.
Q. Did you notify the officials?
A. Yes, sir, Mrs. Croxton called the police.
Q. How long after you had discovered the body?
A. Well, sir, as long as it took me to walk to Mrs. Crox ton's house,
and as long after that to when they came.
Q. To whom did Mrs. Croxton telephone, Mr. Olds?
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A. I guess the chief of police, sir, because that's who came.
Q. Now, Mr. Olds, how wide open was Mrs. Beecham's door when you
discovered the body?
A. Well, sir, you might say it was practically wide open. Something I
had never seen before.
Q. Was anybody else in Mrs. Beecham's house between the time you
discovered the body and the time the chief of police got there?
A. Oh no, sir. Well, I don't think so. I was up at Mrs. Croxton's house,
you see.
Q. Did she go into the house?
A. No, sir. We went back down to wait for the chief of police, and we
waited outside, sir.
Q. Who was next to arrive?
A. I believe Mr. Brittain, the coroner, sir. That would be you, sir.
Q. And after that?
A. Well, I guess that would be the United States Marshall and the
district attorney, oh, and Dr. Davidson, sir.
Q. How long have you known Mrs. Beecham, Mr. Olds?
A. Oh, sir, since she became a customer, sir, I think.
Q. When was that, Mr. Olds?
A. Uh, last July, I think, sir.
Q. She moved into the house in July?
A. I don't know, sir, that was when I first met her. She has been a milk
customer of mine for about four months.
Q. I see. Mr. Olds, this is now April.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you first met Mrs. Beecham in July.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And she has been a milk customer of yours for four months.
A. Yes, sir. Oh.
Q. You see my difficulty, Mr. Olds. You claim to have known Mrs. Beecham
only as a milk customer, and that for
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only the last four months, and yet you say you first met Mrs. Beecham in
July. Mr. Olds?
A. Yes, sir?
Q. Can you explain this discrepancy?
A. No, sir. I guess I must have been introduced to her before then.
Q. Before when?
A. Before she became a milk customer, sir.
Q. When would that have been, exactly?
A. I don't know, sir. I'm a married man, sir.
Q. Yes, I see. Well, Mr. Olds, you may be excused for now, but please
hold yourself in readiness to return should I need to speak to you again.
A. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
JOE FORTSON, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
Q. What official position do you hold, Mr. Fortson?
A. Chief of police.
Q. Did you hold that position on the sixth day of April 1915?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you acquainted with Mrs. Angel Beecham during her lifetime?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did you last see her alive?
A. I couldn't say. About Monday, I believe I saw her on the street.
Q. Monday, that would be the fifth?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you see her body on the evening of the eighth of April 1915?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where?
A. In the residence she occupied on Main Street, down on the river.
Q. How did you come to go there?
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A. I received a phone call from Mrs. Elizabeth Croxton that she was dead.
Q. State what you found when you arrived at her residence.
A. There was a crowd of girls and a few men outside of her house, being
held back from going in by Mr. Olds and Mrs. Croxton. I went into the
house and turned on the light and found Mrs. Beecham's body on the floor.
Q. What did you do then?
A. When I saw that she was dead, I went out of the house and closed the
back door and waited until the coroner got there.
Q. Did you make any examination of the body or the scene at that time?
A. No, sir, I could see the gash in her neck, and I could see that she
was dead, but I did not examine the body.
Q. Who came after that?
A. Yourself [Judge Brittain], and then the U.S. Marshal.
Q. Any doctors?
A. Yes. Dr. Davidson came.
Q. Who else came, in an official capacity?
A. The district attorney.
Q. Was there an examination of the body made at that time?
A. Yes, sir. And we searched the house.
Q. Who engaged in the search?
A. Yourself [Judge Brittain], Marshall Kelsey, and myself were the
principal ones, I think.
Q. What did you find?
A. The house had been ransacked. The trunk was overturned, the drawers