“Sadie, what have you done?” Mr. Sullivan shouted.
She turned and gently pressed on the gas. The truck sputtered down the street like it did not have a care in the world.
CHAPTER THIRTY
LIBBY
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Bluestone, Virginia
Libby turned to the first page in Olivia’s journal and studied the face of the woman who was her great-grandmother. She traced her bright smile and tried to imagine her as an older woman sitting down and writing the letter to her. She could see now that the handwriting of the journal and letter matched. Clear, precise, it was a kind of old-world penmanship that had lost favor with the modern world.
After grabbing another handful of crackers, she ate several, wondering if she would feel this way for the remainder of her pregnancy. “If it means you make it into the world, spud, then I’ll do it.”
Libby stared at the young girl standing beside Olivia. Sadie Thompson. Elaine had said she hoped reading this journal would help Libby understand Olivia better. “The woman obviously loved plants but could also draw incredibly well. The journal mentioned the hire of a local girl to assist.”
Libby kept staring at young Sadie’s face. If the woman were still alive, she would be in her nineties. She closed the journal, and, after grabbing her car keys and a handful of crackers, she drove to Woodmont. Margaret was well into her seventies, and if there was someone who might have heard about the Thompson family, she would have.
She nibbled as she drove. Opening the car window, she breathed in the warm, humid air, willing it to chase away the nausea. As tempted as she was to ask Ginger for something to help with it, she did not want to risk anything that might impact the spud.
When she pulled into Woodmont’s long driveway, she was glad that Colton’s car was not there. Now was not the time to get into a discussion about her pregnancy or how she was feeling. Anything scraping the surface of emotion or commitment would have to wait.
She parked around back and was glad to see Margaret’s car. After grabbing the journal, she climbed the steps and knocked on the back door.
“Come on in!” Margaret shouted.
She pushed into the kitchen and found Margaret serving peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches to Jeff and Sam. For a moment she hesitated, not wanting to intrude.
“Hey, guys,” she said, smiling.
“Libby!” Jeff shouted.
“We’re eating lunch.” Sam sported a milk mustache.
“I can see that.” She set her purse and the journal on the table and eyed the sandwiches. For whatever reason, the idea of a PB&J sounded really good.
“I got plenty,” Margaret said. “Take one or two.”
“You would be a lifesaver.” Libby wondered if Colton had told his mother about the pregnancy.
Margaret set a sandwich before her. “What brings you out here? Elaine has taken Lofton back to Washington, and Colton is not here.”
“I came to see you, as a matter of fact.” She bit into the white bread, which meshed with the smooth peanut butter and grape jelly in a soft gooey mess that was the best thing this side of heaven. To her surprise, her stomach did not protest as she took another bite and then another.
“What can I do for you?” Margaret asked.
Libby set down the few remaining pieces of crust and wiped her fingers before she opened the journal. “Elaine loaned me Olivia’s journal.”
Margaret rested her hands on her hips. “Okay.”
The older woman did not look surprised, but then Margaret always played her cards close to her vest. She had been working at Woodmont when Elaine was pregnant, and she had guarded the secret closely.
Libby glanced at the boys, who were still preoccupied with their sandwiches. “You already know about Elaine and me?”
Margaret arched a brow and then nodded slowly. “I’ve known about your connection for a long time.”
“How long?” Libby asked.
“About as far back as it goes,” she said carefully.
“And my father.” Libby was now aware that the boys were quiet and staring.
“That too,” Margaret said.
“I like Elaine,” Sam said.
“I do too. She’s a nice lady,” Libby said.
Jeff grinned as he reached for a glass of milk. “She bought us Power Ranger costumes for Halloween. I’m the Black Ranger.”
“I’m the Red Ranger,” Sam said, sitting up straighter and grinning.
“You’re both going to be awesome Power Rangers,” Libby said.
“Boys, if you two have eaten, why don’t you have a Popsicle outside?”
“Can I have an orange one?” Sam asked.
Margaret moved to the freezer, pulled out two large Popsicles, and pointed to the door. “Outside.”
The boys scurried off their seats and, after grabbing their treats, ran out the side door toward the big oak tree. Margaret stood at the screen door, and when she was sure they were settled for at least the next few minutes, she turned toward Libby.
Libby removed the picture of Olivia and Sadie. “Did you ever hear of Sadie Thompson?”
Margaret took the photo from Libby and stared at it a long time. “I haven’t seen too many pictures of her from around this time. I heard she was a little wild, and I guess looking at this picture, I can see why folks might think that.”
“You knew her?”
“Her father and brothers were farmers. The father passed in the late thirties. The boys got work at the same machine shop, but neither lasted that long. The oldest, Danny, went into the army in ’38 and was shipped to North Africa and Italy. Johnny was army and landed in Europe.”
“Did they survive the war?”
“They did. Of course, no one came back the same.” Margaret was silent but finally said, “Sadie stayed behind with her mother. She always dreamed of leaving Bluestone, and there was a time when she had a job working for the Carter family. Miss Olivia told me Sadie drove her around, teaching her how to drive and helping her plant in the greenhouse.”
“What happened to Sadie?”
“Why do you want to know about Sadie so badly?”
“I think whatever happened to her influenced Olivia. And that dictated what happened with Elaine and ultimately me.”
Margaret continued to gaze at the picture of Sadie. “That poor girl didn’t have a chance.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
SADIE
Monday, March 15, 1943
Bluestone, Virginia
The truck’s radiator was spewing steam by the time Sadie pulled up to her mother’s house. Her heart hammered against her ribs, doing its best to rip right out of her body. She grabbed the supplies and hurried into the house.
“Mama!” She dumped the box of milk and syrup on the table. “Mama!”
Her mother hurried out of the side bedroom, holding her hands up. “Shh. I just got the baby to sleep. If she wakes up now, we’ll hear about it for the rest of the day.”
“Mama, I’m in trouble.” Sadie pressed her hand to her side, trying to calm the pain knotting her belly.
Her mother moved toward her as her face turned ashen. “What have you done, child?”
“I saw him in town. I saw him. And he treated me like I was nothing but dirt under his feet.”
“What do you mean by him?”
Sadie pointed to the bedroom where the child slept. “I mean the man that gave me that.”
“That is a child,” her mother said sternly.
Sadie turned back to her mother, unable to dig up any maternal feelings. “Well, it’s his child.”
“Please tell me you didn’t tell him about the baby.”
“No. I didn’t tell him. Fat lot it would have done. He’d have denied her and called me a whore for having her.”
“What did you do?” Her mother’s voice dropped to a bare whisper, as if the sheriff were standing right outside their doorstep.
When she looked back at what had happen
ed, it felt like a terrible dream. The devil himself had gotten in her brain and taken control for a split second. “I hit him with the truck.”
“What do you mean you hit him?” her mother demanded.
Sadie ran her hands through her hair, knowing they would lock her away for years whether he lived or died. “I hit him with the truck. I ran him down.”
“Is he dead?”
Images of the twisted body in the street rushed her, and even now she was not sorry for what she had done. She sure feared the consequences, but she was not sorry, even if it meant eternal hell for her soul. “He was in bad shape at best.”
“Who is he? Do you know his name?”
She swallowed the tightness banding her throat. “Malcolm Carter.”
Her mother’s face contorted with fear. “A Carter. Good Lord, you tangled with a Carter.”
“I should never have trusted him,” she rushed to say. “But he had been polite and acted like a complete gentleman when I met him at Woodmont. And I ran into him at the dance, where he was so nice at first. But when we were alone, he changed, Mama. He didn’t listen when I told him to stop.”
“I heard you sneak out that night, and I should have run after you. But I thought, what harm would it be for you to have a little fun?” Her mother’s mouth hardened into a grim line. “Did you kill him?”
Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I didn’t get out of the car and check on him. I kept on driving.”
“And folks saw this?”
“Mr. Sullivan for sure.”
Her mother curled her fingers into fists. She stared at her child as if she did not recognize her. “Get a bag packed.”
“What am I going to do? If Johnny or Danny were here, they would know what to do.”
“There’s nothing they could do for you now. You hurt, maybe killed, a Carter, and in this county there’s no coming back. They’ll see to it that you spend the rest of your life in jail.”
Her mother hurried into the kitchen, opened a cabinet, and fished around the back until she found a red, white, and blue tobacco tin. She pried off the top and pulled out several one-dollar bills. “You’re going to take this and get in that truck and drive, and you aren’t going to stop until you get to Charlottesville.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
Her mother pressed it into her hand and curled her fingers into a tight fist over the bills. “Yes, you will.”
“What about the baby?”
“She’ll stay with me. Maybe there’ll be a time when you can send for her. But for now, you can’t run with a screaming baby.”
Outside the distant roar of a car engine had her mother running to the window. “Whoever it is, is coming up the mountain. Go now! Don’t worry about clothes.”
“Mama, I’m scared.”
Her mother hugged her close. “Run!”
All her life she had dreamed of leaving Bluestone. But she had never figured she would be chased off like a rabid dog. “The sheriff will find me.”
Her mother pulled her out of the house, toward the truck. “Not if you go now and get on a train and go as far as this money will take you.”
“I can’t take that money. That’s all you got saved from the piecework.”
“You can. And you will.” Her mother hugged her close. “I love you, baby girl.”
Sadie drove as fast as the truck would manage, and it felt at times like she took some of the curves on two wheels. The truck was old and temperamental, especially now with the radiator leaking after slamming into Malcolm. But she could not afford to let up with the law so close behind.
The truck made it as far as the county line before the engine overheated and seized up. Sadie sat for a moment. “Please, just get me a little farther. Please.”
Out of the truck, she hurried to the engine and, after covering her hand with the edge of her coat, she opened the hot hood. Steam rose up, and there was a strong burning smell.
Given some water for the radiator, she might have been able to coax the truck to life, but she had no time for that. All that was left to do was walk. Her feet leaden and her mind still churning, she huddled under the folds of her coat and started walking. She recognized the rumble of an engine and knew it was Sheriff Boyd’s Dodge.
OLIVIA
Olivia tugged off her gloves and tossed them, along with her hat, onto the table in the foyer. She had planned this day to go so differently, knowing Malcolm was in town. He needed to be taught a lesson about responsibility.
Excitement rumbled in Olivia’s body as she thought about the news she had to share with him. She rushed into Edward’s study, finding him at his desk. He settled the phone’s receiver into the cradle and reached for the half glass of bourbon beside it.
Though her first instinct had been to tell him about the baby, their baby, his furrowed brow whispered caution. Had he somehow found out what Malcolm had done to Sadie? Surely Malcolm would not confess his sins, and if he did share the details, he would no doubt twist them to his advantage.
“Darling,” he said, looking up. His smile was tense. “I was beginning to worry.”
“Why would you worry? It’s still daylight outside.”
“Barely.”
She kissed him. “I’m fine. Has Malcolm arrived yet?”
“So you haven’t heard what happened in town?” he asked.
His ominous tone pushed her good news right out of her mind. “No.”
“Sadie Thompson purposely ran Malcolm down right in the center of Bluestone like a dog. I just got off the phone with the hospital. He’s in bad shape.”
Her heart sank as she thought about the impetuous girl, who had no doubt acted before she had thought. “Is he going to die?”
“The doctors aren’t sure. And if he does live, there’s no telling if he’ll lose his right leg or not.” Edward crossed to the bar and refilled his bourbon. “I just got off the phone with the sheriff, who just left the Thompson house. The girl’s mother swears she has not seen Sadie.”
“Did he believe her?”
“Of course not. The Thompsons have been lying and cheating the law for years. It’s a wonder they all didn’t end up in jail together. I’m just grateful that girl didn’t do more harm to you than she did.”
“She never hurt me.”
“Given more time, she might have! She tried to kill Malcolm!”
“Malcolm raped that girl.” Her voice was measured with a resolve that Dr. Carter was unaccustomed to hearing.
“What?”
“You heard me. The last time he was in town and left us for the dance. He found Sadie there, plied her with booze, and he raped her in the back of his car.”
Edward shook his head as he held up a hand. “Rape is a strong word.”
“It is, and it is very appropriate.”
“What proof do you have of this? Certainly not the girl’s word. I’ve not even seen her in town the last several months.”
“She’s not been to town,” Olivia said tightly.
Edward hesitated, and then a kind of realization hardened his features. “Was the girl pregnant?”
“She had a baby girl on Christmas Eve. Malcolm, at the very least, owes her financial compensation.”
“He owes her no such thing.”
“How can you say that? It’s his daughter!”
“There’s no proof. This all could be a story the girl made up because she knows she’ll need money.”
She could argue with him about the paternity of the baby, but no judge in this county would take Sadie Thompson’s word over a Carter’s.
“The girl is wild; she clearly has seen her share of men, and now she’s violent,” Edward said. “The best place for her is prison, where she can’t hurt anyone else. At the very least, she should never be allowed to have another child.”
“Sadie doesn’t deserve to be locked away. She deserves our help.”
“Are you insane? She tried to kill Malcolm!” He downed the bourbon.
“And don’t you dare blame this on their little peccadillo.” He fisted his fingers. “I warned you to not embarrass me in public. Stay away from Sadie Thompson, or I will punish you.”
“Don’t threaten me, Edward.”
“What will you do?”
She raised her chin. “I will leave you.”
“And go where?” he challenged.
Rage roiled inside Olivia, but now was not the time for her to indulge her emotions. Her aim now was to help Sadie. She would deal with Edward later.
Olivia took the glass from Edward. “You’re upset.”
“Damn right, I’m upset. I don’t know why you aren’t.”
She crossed the room and, in the hallway, removed the small bottle of laudanum she still carried with her. The vial gripped in her fist, she returned to the room and, with her back to Edward, refilled his glass with a healthy dose of bourbon and laudanum. Swirling the glass, she faced her husband, smiling. “I liked the girl. I thought I could help her.”
“Some people refuse to recognize the opportunities before them. Sadie is such a person,” Dr. Carter spat.
“Maybe you’re right, dear.”
“I don’t want to hear any more about Sadie Thompson.”
She handed him the glass. “I can see you’re upset.”
“I’m only looking out for you.”
“I understand. Come sit with me by the fire.”
She moved to the seat and patted the empty place beside her. He sat and wrapped one arm around her while holding his drink in the other.
“I thought the world of her brother Johnny, but now that he’s overseas, there’s no keeping her in check.”
“He’s fighting for us.” She snuggled close to him, feeling him relax.
“Damn right.” His breathing slowed, and his speech became more deliberate. “I’m not sure why I’m so tired,” he said.
“You work hard, darling.” Which of course was true. Edward could use a long, deep sleep.
When his head tipped forward, she took his glass and waited several more minutes. Certain he was out for the remainder of the night, she carefully eased him back on the couch.
Olivia covered him with a blanket and then kissed him on the cheek. “I love you, but you’re wrong about Sadie.”
Honeysuckle Season Page 29