“Dora’s hair-saver sat here on the chiffonier. Where is it?”
“In the bottom drawer.”
Jesse took the china jar with the hole in the lid from the drawer where she also found Dora’s comb, brush and mirror set. She placed them on the chiffonier after first looking to see if the blond hair had been removed. It was there and she cast a warning look at the housekeeper.
Louella turned down the oil lamp and went to the door.
Jesse followed.
“Do you children want a bite to eat? I made a peach pie. It’s the doctor’s favorite.”
“Don’t refer to me as a child, Mrs. Lindstrom. I’m twenty-two years old.”
“Yes, I know. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
“Why would I be embarrassed?”
“Well… twenty-two years old, unmarried, and still living in your father’s house—”
“I see. So you think there is a stigma attached to an unmarried, twenty-two-year-old woman still living in her father’s house.”
Jesse was seething with anger, and it showed in her face and the sharpness of her voice.
“No, of course not. Maiden ladies have a certain place in our society. But some people in town think that it’s not exactly natural… that you show no interest in a social life or meeting a young man and establishing your own home—” Louella’s words trailed as Todd, Susan and Pauline came through the dining room to the hall.
“J-Jess, can we have the p-pie?”
“Yeah, old p-poothead made it.” Todd scooted behind Susan and made for the kitchen door when he saw the housekeeper.
“Of course, you can have it. I’ll cut it for you. Come on, Pauline. Mrs. Lindstrom is tired and wants to retire. She’s had a busy day.” Jesse turned her back on the housekeeper and herded the others toward the kitchen.
“Gosh, Jess. You’re madder than a wet hen. I can tell,” Susan swung the door closed. “What’s old poothead done now? I like Todd’s name better.”
Jesse, with her back turned to reach for the plates, tried to get her anger under control before she spoke.
“You’re right. But I don’t want to talk about it. I might explode.”
“Was it a-a-about m-me?” Todd asked, his face anxious.
“No, sugar. Why would it be about you?” Jesse replied as she cut a large wedge of pie and put it on his plate. “You’re the best nine-year-old, dirty, sassy, good-for-nothing boy I know.” He rewarded her teasing with a wide grin. “ ’Course sometimes you’re darn near perfect and at other times utterly revolting.”
“I’m a-a-lmost ten.”
“She rides Todd about his stuttering; that’s why he thinks it’s ’bout him. I heard her and I yelled for her to shut up. She said she’d tell Papa, but I guess she didn’t. He never said anything.”
Jesse’s eyes, sparking with angry lights, caught Pauline’s before they moved on to her sister. “Exactly what did she say to Todd, Susan?”
“Well, she said he could talk without stammering if he wanted to and it was his way of getting attention. She said only stupid people stammer when they talk. That’s when I told her to shut up.”
Although she was so angry that she was about to cry, Jesse struggled for something to say and was relieved when Pauline filled the void.
“That shows you how stupid she is,” Pauline said heatedly. “Todd is one of the smartest pupils in the school. Many great men in history stammered. For instance, Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The Bible says that Moses was slow in speech. Demosthenes, an Athenian statesman, stammered and he eventually became the greatest of ancient Greek orators.”
“Ichabod told us about him. He talked with stones in his mouth.”
“Just as you’re doing with pie in yours, dear little sister,” Jesse said drily.
“P-Papa says I’ll g-grow out of it.” Todd’s eyes clung to his teacher’s face.
“And you will. I’m sure of it. Some think that people who stammer are extra smart, that the brain works too fast for the tongue to keep up with it. Did you notice that you didn’t stammer as much today?” Pauline asked.
“I d-d-didn’t?”
“You didn’t because you didn’t think about it. If you think about your stammering, you’ll stammer even more. Just let the words flow out.”
Grateful for Pauline’s wise counseling, Jesse cut a wedge of pie for herself although she didn’t know if she would be able to eat it. The scene with the housekeeper had upset her to the extent that her stomach roiled and her head throbbed. It had been a wonderful day. Why did it have to end on such a sour note?
She looked up as her father pushed open the swinging door.
“I thought I heard voices in here.” He shoved the door back until it caught the latch and remained open. “I don’t know why this thing has to be closed.”
“I can tell you. It’s old—”
“—Come sit down Papa. Have some pie.” Jesse gave her sister a warning glance and got up to get a plate and the silverware caddy.
“We h-had fun, P-Papa. Jody’s dog’s got p-pups. Tell him, J-Jess.”
“You tell him, you’re doing a pretty good job of it. Sit here, Papa. Do you want me to heat the coffee?”
The doctor sat down. “No, thanks. I’ll just have some of that pie.” His smile included all at the table. “Looks to me like you all had a day in the sun. Sis, I do believe that you’ve got a hundred more freckles on your nose,” he said to Susan.
“I do! Oh, darn! Are you teasing, Papa?”
“What have you been in, Todd. I… smell something.”
“Dog do-do, more than likely,” Susan chortled happily. “He played with Delilah’s pups all day.”
“Delilah? I thought he said Jody’s pups.”
“Jody’s d-dog’s pups. It’s fun there, P-Papa. Mr. S-Simmer’s got some g-goats too.”
“You spent the day at Mr. Simmer’s? Did you change your mind about going to Granny Lester’s or staying at the store with Mrs. Froney?”
“Mr. Simmer met us on the road before we got to the store and we went to his house,” Susan explained.
“Is that so?” Hollis looked at his son and winked. Todd winked back, his eyes twinkling and his face split with a grin.
“Mr. Simmer cooked a turkey, Papa. When I said we only have turkey on special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas, he said it was a special occasion. I don’t know what he meant by that.” Susan looked knowingly at her elder sister, who threw her another warning glance. “I climbed up in the hayloft and that darkie threw a cow pie at me. Jody’s not so bad if you can stand his smart mouth.”
“That takes care of Susan and Todd. How about you, Pauline? What do you think of the hill country?” Hollis continued to eat his pie.
“It’s pretty up there. I thought the people all lived in shacks and hogs rooted in the yard and chickens wandered into the house. Mr. Simmer’s home is nice. It’s as modem as any house in town.”
Hollis winked at Jesse. “I take it you didn’t take her to the Merfelds’.”
“Mr. Simmer went with Jesse,” Susan announced. “We stayed at his house with Pauline… ah… Miss Anthony.”
“I-It was fun, P-Papa. Th-thank you for I-letting us go.”
“You’re welcome, son.” Hollis placed his hand on Todd’s shoulder and squeezed.
“Doctor. I didn’t know you were home.” Louella stood framed in the doorway. “I’ll make you some fresh coffee.”
“Don’t bother.” Jesse spoke quickly and somewhat crisply. “I asked him, and he doesn’t want coffee. We’ll not need you any more this evening, Mrs. Lindstrom. The girls and I will tidy up before we retire.”
“Well,” she hesitated and looked directly at Hollis. He glanced at her and turned his attention back to his plate. “I’m glad you got here before the pie was gone, Doctor. The other evening while we were sitting in the porch swing you told me among other things that blue was your favorite color and peach was your favorite pie.”
“It’s very tasty, Louella, especially after that train ride. Thank you.”
Louella glanced at Jesse. She wanted her to know that she and the doctor had had intimate conversations. Jesse was staring at her with icy blue eyes. Something would have to be done and soon, or the doctor’s elder daughter would spoil her plans. If she could get that girl married to Edsel Harper, she would be able to handle the other two. The boy would be easy. Susan would be easy too, after a while.
“Good night, Mrs. Lindstrom,” Jesse said pointedly. Her father looked at her sharply and then at the housekeeper.
“Well… good night.” Louella allowed Hollis to see the hurt look on her face. She smiled bravely and bowed her head before backing out the doorway.
“What was that all about?” Hollis looked directly at his older daughter. She shrugged.
“We like time alone with you, Papa.”
“Y-Yeah. Sh-She’s al-l-ways got her n-nose in.”
“We don’t like her,” Susan said bluntly and scooped up another piece of pie.
“You like her pie.”
“She cooks good, but… it’s not like it used to be around here.”
“And how was that?” Hollis asked.
“We didn’t have to walk around scared she’d pop out and accuse us of something. And we had a little time to do something besides work.” Susan’s resentment bubbled out unguardedly.
“And you, Todd. Do you feel the same?”
“Sh-she don’t l-l-like me.”
“That’s not true. She thinks you’re a fine lad—her words, not mine. I know how Jesse feels about Louella or any woman we would hire to take care of the house.” He looked straight at his elder daughter. “You resent her taking over what has been your domain for quite a few years. Louella understands that. You must admit, Jesse, she’s taken a load of work off your shoulders. It was unfair of me to allow you to work in the surgery, keep my home, raise my children.”
“I thought it was my home too, Papa.” Jesse fought to keep the tears at bay. “The children I have cared for are my brother and sister.”
“It is your home for as long as it stands.” Hollis saw the unshed tears in her eyes and wanted desperately to ease her pain. “I want you to have the freedom to enjoy your youth.”
“Are you embarrassed, Papa, to have a twenty-two-year-old, unmarried daughter still living in your house?”
“Jess! For God’s sake! Where in the world did you dig up such a crazy idea?”
“I… bet I know!”
“Hush, Susan,” Hollis said angrily and got to his feet. “Jesse, if anyone is embarrassed, it must be Pauline. I’m sorry, my dear, for filling your ears with family problems. We’ll talk about this later. Meanwhile, I want all of you to understand that Mrs. Lindstrom stays. She takes good care of the house, is a good cook and has refined ways. As for you two,”—he looked pointedly at Susan and Todd—“I want you to make more of an effort to get along with her. Discipline is what you need. She’s had experience with children who need direction.”
“Are you saying that I let them run wild, Papa?” Jesse, too, had stood. Her face was tight, her heart thudded with dread.
“I’m not saying that at all. You’re too close to them to see how they manipulate you.”
“Mrs. Lindstrom’s words, no doubt,” Jesse said drily.
“Regardless of who said it, it’s true.”
Jesse’s heart fell with a thud. “You won’t reconsider?”
“No. I suggest we all get a night’s sleep before we discuss this further. Good night.”
With a look of apology to Pauline, Jesse followed her father through the dining room and into the hall. She paused at his bedroom door while he turned on the gas light. She watched his face anxiously while he looked about the room. His hand was wrapped tightly around the bedpost. She saw the shock, grief, and finally resignation.
“Papa, I didn’t do it.”
“I know. I know, Good night, Jesse.”
When he was alone, Hollis sank down on the edge of the bed, rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands.
Dora, my love, I had a little something of you here where I could sit and dream… and now even that is gone.
CHAPTER
* 14 *
Ethan was taking lines of type out of the frame that made up the front page of the Gazette. The weekly paper was printed and stacked beside the door ready for delivery. The bold headline warned women to be careful because The Looker was still about. One more woman, whose name was not revealed, had reported to Marshal Wright that she had been stripped and looked at in her home. She reported that it had been a most humiliating experience.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Since a month before you got here.” The outspoken publisher of the paper was more comfortable now with the detective.
“That’s a relief. I think I’ll hang a sign around my neck saying I’ve only been here a couple of weeks.”
“Someone giving you trouble?”
“Every woman in town runs from me.” Ethan gave Ralph a cocky grin.
“Shows we got smart women in Harpersville.”
“People seem to think it’s a man who lives up in the hills.”
“Wade Simmer. They think that because the almighty Harpers sicced them on him. It isn’t Wade. I’d stake my life on it.”
“You know him?”
“Hell, yes, I know him. He’s a rough character. He minds his own business, but don’t push him. Get him in a corner and he’ll fight till hell freezes over, and he fights dirty. Must have picked it up in his travels.”
“Nothin’ wrong with that.”
“Wander down to Ike’s garage some Wednesday night and meet him.”
“They say he’s got plenty of money. Any idea where he got it?”
“No. He came back here about three years ago. He’d been away for quite a while. If he stole the money, it wasn’t from anyone around here. I don’t know where he got it or how much it is or where it is. It’s none of my business.”
“I’ll tell you one thing. He’d better watch his back. Some fellows from that bridge crew are laying for him. One has a girl that was molested. The man just heard about it and is out to hurt someone.”
“That’ll be Bertha Secory’s pa. When John gets some white lightning in him he’s got the brains of a pissant.”
“Someone should pass the word to Simmer.”
“I already have.”
Ethan looked up from the alphabetized boxes where he was filing the type. Ralph was cleaning the press.
“You don’t miss much, do you?”
“Not much to miss in this one-horse town. How did your interview go with the doctor last night?”
“I wondered when you’d ask.”
“On print day I don’t have time to go out back to the privy, much less make idle conversation.”
“It went well. He told me the Public Health people think they can stamp out smallpox here in the United States within twenty years if they can get people to come for vaccinations.”
“Hurrumpt!” Ralph grunted and carried the turpentine-soaked rags to a bucket that sat outside the back door. “See anything of the girls? That’s what you went for, wasn’t it?”
“How would you be knowin’ that?”
“I’m not blind. I’ve seen you eyeing Miss Anthony, and you know well as I do that she’s staying with the Forbeses this summer while Mrs. Poole is gone. Don’t blame her for not wanting to stay alone.”
“She’s an eyeful. And won’t give me the time of day.”
“Rankles, doesn’t it?”
“She and Miss Jesse were on the front porch when I got there. Miss Jesse is friendly enough, but Miss Pauline tilted her cute little nose and hardly spoke. Since I’ve not seen her with any man at all, I know she doesn’t have a steady beau. Something’s caused that girl to be man-shy.”
Pauline Anthony had intrigued him from the very first—a menace to his p
eace of mind. She was lovely with an innocent sensuality and was causing him to violate his long-standing prohibition against getting involved with anyone connected with a case while he was working on it.
“Doc Forbes has got that darkie doing some cleanup around the place. His new housekeeper will work the living daylights out of the kid. I can’t abide the woman myself. There’s something about her that doesn’t ring true.”
“Yeah?” Ethan’s hand, holding the large tweezers he used for lifting the small type, paused momentarily. “For instance?”
“Well, for one thing she calls herself ‘friend of the family.’ Miss Jesse calls her ‘housekeeper.’ Susan calls her ‘Ghost-face’ and Todd calls her ‘Poothead.’”
Ethan hooted. “I think I’d like those kids.”
“The old girl says she was mistress of a girls’ school. Then why is she here in this jerkwater town doing housework instead of getting another job at a school? And she tries to hobnob with the ‘elite.’ Doesn’t seem natural somehow.”
“Maybe she’s got her eye on the Doc?”
“Doc Forbes says he never set eyes on her till she knocked on the door. Seems she’s a girlhood friend of Dora Forbes, his deceased wife.”
“Does anyone in town remember her?”
“Dora was from Knoxville. She came here when she was a young woman and worked in the boarding house. That’s where she met the doc.”
Ethan mulled Ralph’s words over in his mind. He was tempted to take the publisher into his confidence but decided against it. It was too soon. He would wait until he found out if there was a connection between Pauline and Mrs. Lindstrom. Pauline had a convenient excuse for staying with the Forbeses this summer. God, he hoped it was just coincidence that she was there. When she had been pointed out to him as a teacher, his first thought was that she was someone Louella Lindstrom would gravitate to, having been connected with a school herself.
“That little darkie can run like a deer.” Ralph’s voice jarred Ethan back to the present.
“I heard he lives with Simmer.”
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