by Karine Green
Kathy flipped through a few more pages, "Oh here is one for the 'whores' he trafficked. She flipped a few more pages.
"Hey!" she turned the book to toward Jason, "It's a whole section he devoted to keeping notes on Mary. Isn't that the Dark Lady's name? It says book 2 here. He really kept her documented."
He nodded, but his thoughts were in another world. He wondered if she would marry him, regardless of any future with a baby. He didn't want her to be kissy-rumor girl, he wouldn't mind at all if the townies called her Mrs. Rose.
She pulled the book back. It wasn't a ledger, it was a hidden diary within the ledger. "I guess she was his unknown, unwilling operative."
She flipped through a few pages and found one with a title, 'Momma's Death'. She read it out loud, "June 12, 1846, Momma committed suicide. She drank the poison from the voodoo woman, and has not awakened. She looks blue, and smells of almonds. She left a note on her nightstand, but I hid it in the library. If she wants to call me a demon-spawned monster, may as well act as one! The old self-righteous, fen-sucked, hag was always nagging about how to treat people. This is also a fortunate opportunity to get rid of that uppity slave wench. Mary prepares Mother's meals, so I can talk father into thinking Mary poisoned her. He won't believe she did it on purpose. I'll have to make him think it was accidental. I should be able to convince everyone that she did it on purpose."
"Here is one from a week later," Kathy read on, "I spoke with father regarding Mary. I had no trouble making him believe she did it. He almost thought it was on purpose. Apparently the two had argued over mother backing out of some sort of agreement...Argue...with a slave! Mother was too kind hearted. I would have beaten her bloody if she spouted that forked tongue at me! Father is seeking advice from Blanc on the handling of the matter. Of course, Mary is set to be put down, but how to put her down? Father is furious, so he wants to drag it out. Personally, I would like to just take her into the bayou, shoot her, and then leave her for those hellish reptiles to eat just like Ridely. Be done with it, but father wants revenge, and will drag it out. Right now she staying in the barn at night, chained to the whipping post in a position that requires her to stand all night. She is starting to look, and smell, rather ragged."
Jason made a face, "So, Ridely the Whipper..."
"Ridely, the Whipper part was Blanc's doing. I am sure Ridely doesn't want to be remembered for that."
He grinned, "Ridely didn't get stuck in the mud. Percy took him out there and shot him, and left him for the gators. I'll bet as a favor to Blanc."
Kathy continued, "Here is one from a few weeks later: Father whipped the slave hag, Mary to death with that incredible whip of Blanc's. I had no idea he actually loved mother. I am happy to be rid of both of the old hags. Father married too far below his station with her. I cannot believe she is my mother. And, I will always relish the sound Mary made when Father thanked her for helping us to secure the slave trade to the islands! Stupid, frog of a woman had no idea that we were taking them off her so-called Railroad. Father seemed all too happy to simply beat her until he collapsed. Of course the last few lashes had been to a corpse, but who could tell, she only screamed the first time. After I killed Stable Boy in front of her, she went silent. Her face was slashed horribly. It looked like she was crying blood. Too bad about losing the stable help, but he was young, maybe I can get him replaced at the auction block next week?" She paused, "What a set of vicious bastards. No wonder Marissa wrote her suicide note condemning them." She picked up her water and took a drink.
Jason nodded, and offered a cocky grin. "I guess Lauren missed some facts in her book?"
Kathy almost snorted her water. "You think?"
She flipped a few more pages. "Father is being unreasonable with the money! He also says we have been moving too much inventory, and we need to slow down. My third child is starting school. He needs books. Father became angry, and said I should not have invested in the race horses. I hate to raid the whore house for island sales, but if I must, I must. There is a good crew working in there right now. I hate to bust them up, but I have to pick three to send to Jamaica. I'll send that one that thinks she is pregnant with my baby. That will shut the little harpie up. She isn't showing yet, so I can still fetch top dollar for her, and the Jamaicans will be none the wiser for at least two more months."
Jason snorted, "He really did kidnap and sell them further into slavery to…feed a gambling habit! I hope he is burning in Hell right now. Not only that, but one of them was his own unborn child." The thought was incomprehensible. He wanted a family so bad that he was almost like a second dad to his niece and nephews instead of an uncle.
"Jason," Kathy said, looking in his eyes, and dipping them.
He looked at her.
"Do you suppose Dark Lady is talking about Percy's baby?" she asked, looking back up at him.
He looked at her chest. "No."
"Did you just look down my shirt?"
He laughed a bit. "No, I looked at the veins in your chest. My sister-in-law always gets those big blue veins in her chest when she's pregnant. It is always the first thing that pops up." He traced the large blue veins on her chest.
She looked down at her chest. The veins did look more prominent. "I am going to ignore them for now."
He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "We should get a test on the way home."
"It's too early. Look, here is a confession by Percy that he murdered his father. It is dated almost twelve years later."
"Dodger." He wondered why she wouldn't talk to him about the possibility of a baby. Maybe she didn’t want one? That was a disappointing thought! What if she didn’t want him…no, she said love you first. He calmed his thoughts, he was being hysterical.
"Father has to go. He was worried the Marshals were gathering evidence to prosecute us. He recommended we just process the cane this year, and leave the other shipping business alone. The Marshals will get bored and refocus somewhere else. The money is too tight! So I am having Andrew convert some of it to gold and hid it from father, so he will see the need to keep our real trade open."
"Here is one for a month later," she said, "I staged father's death to make it look like Mary's ghost did it. The slaves bought it. I think it worked too well. They have barricaded themselves in their cabins and refuse to come out, even under the threat of the whip. The hard part was keeping Father's screams from being heard. He screamed like one of Blanc's little girls. Besides there is a war brewing, and gold will spend the same no matter who wins."
Jason twisted his straw in his water. "A year later, Percy died after being trampled by a Grey horse in the stable. Andrew and the middle son were about killed ten minutes into their service during the Civil War. No one else knew about the gold, so it went untouched. They lived hand-to-mouth with millions buried in their house."
The steaks came out, and they set aside the documents and ate, keeping the conversation contained to Kathy's landscaping. It was coming along very well. The house was looking really good; from the outside.
"Do you think it is safe for the landscapers to be there? Maybe I shouldn't have them come back until this suspect has been arrested?" Kathy asked.
"No, none of the other workers have been bothered, except for Phil's men, but they were inside the house. I'll have Mike and Regina make some extra passes to keep an eye on them."
"Thank you, I don't want anyone...else...hurt...because of me." She put her fork down.
"No one was hurt because of you in the first place. They were hurt by a lunatic acting of her own accord. You have no idea who it could be? Lee Wilson? Not from college, high school, a vice case, girlfriend of a rejected boyfriend who didn't want to lose you?" He wished she would stop taking responsibility for other people's bad decisions.
Kathy shook her head no, and then paused as something came to her. She pulled out her phone and looked at the photo of the library check-out cards. "Lee Wilson. Randy's wife left him. Carrie Lee Wilson-Bell. It could be Randy's wife."
"Randy's wife? Why would she come after you?"
Kathy shrugged. "Another interesting tidbit; she has my old uniform boots. She asked for them to work in the garden. That is why it has an inside step ware mark like mine on the soul, the pattern is overlapped, with the wearing on the ball. It couldn't be her, could it? Why would she come after Milton? She was born and raised on the Lower East Side. She doesn't know anyone south of New Jersey, let alone the real South. And, she wouldn't quilt if her life depended on it."
"Let's put out a bulletin, just in case. We only need to question her. We can release her if she isn't involved. Regardless, if she is within 500 miles of here, I want to know about it." He was having a hard time believing that a lone woman could do such a horrific thing as what happened to Milton. "That would have taken strength. She would have to beat Mil down first, because he surely didn't lie there and demand a whipping. She must be one burly-man of a bitch, to beat him down, whip him like that, tie him up, drag the post back to the scene, and then tie him up. It almost seems like a two person job."
"Burly-man of a bitch. I am having a bad influence on you." Kathy grinned and nodded. "Carrie's a Pratt. I never would have thought her capable of murder, but yes, she is rather stout."
On the way home it was all Kathy could do to stop him from getting a pregnancy test.
"It's too early."
Reluctantly he had agreed, but refused to change the subject. He wasn't going to let her dodge him again. "So...if there is a baby...and it is ours...would you like a boy or a girl?" He needed to know she wanted him, and the baby.
She smiled. "You are like a pit-bull with this."
He smile a large toothy grin. "Hey, the woman I love, said 'love you' first, and there is a possibility of a baby. Which are two things I desperately wanted, but had totally given up on. So yes, I am going to hang onto it, Dodger."
She smiled. "In that case, I would like a healthy baby. Now let's go inside and check out the rest of this Percy Caine stuff. Maybe, I could write a book, an actual historical one, on the Caine Plantation? We could make some extra money for my new foundation with it."
He led her upstairs, "You have firsthand sources there. Lauren would be insanely jealous."
"She already is. The crazy part is that I understand why she would be so desperate to have someone as incredible as you are."
He kissed her at the top of the stairs. "Love you too, Dodger." He melted when she looked at him like that. He was also thankful she wasn't another loon. If it weren't for the fact that a psycho killer was after her, his life would be perfect right now.
Kathy followed him inside and set the diaries and ledgers on the coffee table. "So, Dark Lady says an Angry One is after me? But how could it be Carrie," she wondered.
"Lauren still isn't off my list of suspects. Everything, except those boots have tied back to her." Jason frowned. There was something, other than Lauren's usual crazy antics going on. She had to be involved in this somehow. After all, she was crazy, not stupid. He had learned the difference between the two words long ago, the hard way.
"But the boots clear her from being at the crime scene. Could she hire someone?"
"She stole money from children, blew eight grand on that so-called historical guidebook, and lost her house...on purpose. She has no money or credit to hire anyone. What old cases do you have? Is there anyone getting out of prison who would have a grudge on you?"
"I don't think so, I'll go through some of my old files in the morning, but I am still young enough that most of the people I locked up for homicide are still in jail, and will be for quite some time. Meanwhile, I was thinking you might like some dessert, Kathy-style." She wrapped her arms around her neck, and ran the tip of her nose along his earlobe.
"Sounds delicious, Dodger." He smiled and picked her up, enjoying the fact that she wrapped her legs around his waist. This time he didn't mind that she changed the subject.
For You on Your Special Day
Two weeks later they both stood in Jason's bathroom as the pregnancy test indicated a positive result.
"We're pregnant," Jason said, hugging her from behind, and placing his hands over her lower abdomen. "I always imagined being terrified of pregnancy, especially an unplanned one, but I can't wait to meet our child." He kissed her neck.
She smiled, "I had given up on the idea of ever being a mother." His embrace felt so warm and safe that she could stand here forever as long he held her.
"My parents are back. I should take you to meet them."
Kathy nodded, "Ya think?" she said, wiggling around to kiss him.
"First we have to stop by a jewelry store."
"Jewelry store?" She didn't need any jewelry. She had her little platinum cross and diamond stud earrings her dad bought her for high school graduation, and that was perfect.
Yes, I need to get you a proper engagement ring, so I can properly ask you to marry me."
"Marry you?" She hadn't considered getting married, to anyone, ever. She had watched too many friends lose everything during a divorce. A baby didn't scare her anymore, but marriage was terrifying.
He stopped walking, and faced her, cradling her face in his hands. "Please don't say no. I have waited 39 years for you, and our child. I have wanted to be a father ever since I held my eldest nephew when he was born. I want you, I want our baby, please marry me, and be my family."
She smiled, he was perfect for her, and it would drive her father nuts if she married someone without checking with him first, so it was a win-win for both her and the baby. "Jason Rose. Your soul fits perfectly up against mine. I love you, and could not imagine being married to anyone, but you. Now where's my ring? Did you have a date in mind?"
"Tomorrow afternoon?"
"Tomorrow? What about guests?" She didn't think many people from New York would come, but the few who would make the trip would be hurt if they weren't invited.
"Yes tomorrow, then we can have the reception at next month's fish fry. Everyone will want to come anyway. The only thing we will have to manage is enough cake for anyone and everyone. This way no one will feel snubbed from the reception."
"Sounds perfect. Do you think your parents will want to come tomorrow?"
He nodded, yes, and smiled. "What about your parents? Maybe Friday would be better? Can they get a flight?"
She wasn't sure if hers would want to come. "I'll call my mother. If she really wants to come, we can delay it until the flight arrives. Otherwise, I will see you at the courthouse tomorrow mid-morning? Does the Judge take a recess for mid-morning?"
He nodded, and led her down the stairs and over to the jewelry store. They chose a ring and while Jason paid, she called her mother, who overacted in the wrong way. Kathy hung up on her, and waited for Jason, trying not to burst into tears. Why was everything she did a disappointment to her parents? For crying out loud, she is in her late thirties, it was time to have a baby or hang it up. It wasn’t she was sixteen. Why did they constantly complain about her future, never taking into consideration that perhaps the future she saw for herself wasn't the same as what they saw for her. And more importantly! It didn’t make her a knocked up hillbilly. She was feeling like she wanted to fly to New York and cuss them out…face to face.
Jason walked up with the box in one hand and the ring in the other. "Your finger, Madam."
She smiled, tempted to hold up the wrong finger, but instead, presented her left ring finger. She forced the thoughts of her pompous parents out of her mind. They weren’t even here, than meant they could only ruin her day if she allowed it.
He slid the ring on. "Will you marry me?"
She flung her arms around his neck. "Yes!" If felt so good to have someone love her and want her, warts and all, without judging her or trying to force her into a future she didn't want.
"Congratulations," The jewelry store owner said, clapping.
They went directly to his parents to tell them the news, but it was too late. Before they even got out of the jeep his
parents were on the porch. His mother, Janet, was tall with dark eyes like Jason's, and had salt and pepper shoulder length hair pulled back into a ponytail. His father, Perry, looked like an older version of Jason, except for the blue eyes. He also had salt and pepper hair that was close cut like Jason's. Both of them stood, with arms folded, on the front porch of their 1970's quad-level house.
"I believe we are missing a bit of information?" his mother said, in a scolding tone. She patted her lower abdomen.
Kathy leaned into Jason's shoulder, "Are they psychic?"
"No, someone must have overheard us at some point, probably at the diner. This is the super annoying part about living in a small town. Everyone knows your business before you do," he said, before turning his attention back to his parents. "No Mother, we only found out this morning. So in reality whatever you heard was just lucky gossip." He didn't get a chance to finish his entire thought before his dad interrupted.
"Well, you are marrying her! Aren't you? You can't just walk away and leave your child."
"Dad! I am not sixteen. We're getting married..."
"When!" Janet demanded.
"Tomorrow afternoon. Judge Adkins has an opening for us. Wanna come?" he said. Kathy had to smile at him, he sounded like he was offering a trip to the ice cream shop. Hey wanna get some ice cream, or a baby.
"Wanna come! Are you kidding! Wanna come?" Janet said, folding her arms.
"We will be there. We have been waiting forever for this. Late notice or not, we'll take it." Perry said, smiling.
Kathy smiled, and held up her ring for them to see.
"Ooohhh, come on in so we can see better," Janet said, leading them inside, "And properly meet you," she said, giving Jason a hard look over her shoulder, and mouthing "Your phone broke?"
He smiled and shrugged. "There was a really horrible murder. It was very distracting," he mouthed back.
She gave him a doubtful frown, "Murder or not, what could be more distracting than your lover being pregnant?"