by Marja McGraw
“By the way,” my aunt said, “Mama and Papa call me Beth, but everyone else, including Carrie, always calls me Elsbeth. I thought you should know that so you don’t start calling me Beth.”
We descended the stairs, and I studied them again trying to see if there was something that Elsbeth could have tripped over. I didn’t see a thing out of place.
Daniel stood just inside the doorway. “We wondered if you and Carrie would like to go for a stroll.” The look on his face made me feel that he wanted to talk privately.
Mama glanced out the window. “It’s starting to rain.”
“Then we’ll sit out on the porch.” Daniel opened the front door. “I just thought we’d have a nice visit.”
There was an old wooden table on the porch with four chairs surrounding it. There was also a rocker, which I claimed for myself. I loved to rock. Somehow it made me think more clearly. I’d never understood how that worked, but it did.
“Mama insisted Papa put the table and chairs out here. She said her daughters needed a place to visit with their friends. I think she meant boyfriends, because she’d like to see both of us get married before we become spinsters.” Elsbeth chuckled at her own little joke. “The rocking chair is for her. She says it clears her mind when she rocks.”
Apparently Mama and I were like-minded.
“Does she know you and Daniel are planning on getting married?” I asked.
“She does, but I think it’s one of those things she won’t believe until she sees me walk down the aisle.”
“Enough wedding talk,” Nathaniel said. “We have news to share with you.”
Daniel nodded. “We wandered around town and jawed with a few people. Like you asked, we were subtle with our questions.”
Nathaniel smiled the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. “Uh huh. Real subtle. Like Daniel asking, ‘Have you seen anyone watching the McFerrin house lately? That is, anyone suspicious?’”
Elsbeth chuckled.
“You have a lot to learn,” I said. “However, I hope you got some good answers.”
“He did.” Nathaniel turned to me, still grinning. “You have the prettiest blue eyes.”
Did I blush? I wasn’t sure, but my face felt warm. There was something quite different about receiving a compliment in 1909 as compared to the time I came from. It didn’t sound like a line, and I’d had plenty of those thrown my way.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Business first, Brother. You can flirt later.”
Nathaniel lowered his eyes and when he looked back at me he started to grin. “You betcha. Flirting comes later, but it does come.”
Was he more outspoken than the other men of his time? I had no idea, but I knew I was flustered. I needed to pull myself together. I cleared my throat. “What did you find out?”
Daniel turned to Elsbeth. “Before you came, when the real Elsbeth was herself, there was an actor named Eugene Hoover who moved to town and wanted to court her. She turned down his attentions. He was angry because he figured women would flock to an actor like a bunch of silly geese. He isn’t very good, by the way.”
Nathaniel interrupted to say, “Mother Possum from a few doors down says she saw him watching the house whenever he wasn’t doing his acting job.”
“Mother Possum? Uh, who the heck is that?”
“She’s an old lady who sits out on her porch with a lap rug across her knees and watches the neighborhood. Her last name really is Possum, and because of her age people call her Mother. Anyway, she doesn’t miss much unless she’s napping in her chair.”
“Huh. I’ll have to remember her for a character in a book. Mother Possum. I love it.”
Elsbeth added to the story. “Mama walks down and checks on her every day. She takes her lunch, too. That’s her excuse so Mother Possum doesn’t think Mama looks at her as an invalid. And Papa walks down to help her into her house in the afternoon or evening. She has problems with her knees and doesn’t walk too well. Papa lets her lean on him. Personally, I think she just likes the attention. She’s a little unsteady, but I’ve seen her walk by herself.”
Daniel squeezed his lips together and looked frustrated. “Okay, enough about Mother Possum. She’s seen Hoover standing in the shadows, watching the house, on several occasions. Her body may be infirm, but her vision is as good as mine.”
I had a feeling that this woman knew everything that went on in the neighborhood. “Did she mention anyone or anything else?”
“She said she heard about Elsbeth’s fall and she wanted to know if she was okay. I know she’s seen me ‘n Elsbeth walking together, so she was just being nosey. She also asked if Carrie was still being… How did she say it? Oh, she wanted to know if Carrie was still acting snooty.”
“Snooty?” I asked. “I wonder what she meant.”
Elsbeth glanced my way. “Like I said, Carrie is quiet and shy. Some people misinterpret that as her being snooty.” She paused for a moment. “What am I saying? Carrie is a mean-spirited woman who’s as moody as they come. Mama and Papa try to play her attitude down.”
“I wonder if I can act quiet and shy without being mean and start making friends around here. I have a feeling Mother Possum might be a good source of information. No offense, boys, but there are more questions to be asked.”
Daniel nodded.
Nathaniel raised his eyebrows. “What else would you ask?”
Mama stepped out on the porch with a plate in her hands.
“I’ll take that down to Mother Possum,” I said, taking it from her hands.
She looked surprised. “Why thank you, Carrie.”
Nathaniel stood and took the plate from me. “I repeat, what else would you ask?”
“Listen and learn. Come with me and we’ll go pay Mother Possum a visit. It’s time for me to start making new friends.”
Chapter Nine
Nathaniel and I walked down the street and crossed to the other side with purpose in our steps.
“Knowing you is going to be a lesson,” he said. “I’ve always had fun trying to solve things, and a mystery is just the ticket.”
“Don’t make light of it,” I replied. “Someone has tried to kill Original Elsbeth, as far as we can tell. The fact that my aunt has taken over Elsbeth means someone thinks she’s still alive and they’ll try again. This can be confusing – Old Elsbeth and New Elsbeth. It’s hard to keep track of the two when I’m talking.”
“I understand – old Carrie and new Carrie.”
“I don’t think whoever is doing this sees my aunt the way she really is, as we first thought. I believe they figure they didn’t knock Elsbeth off when they tried.”
“Knock off? Is that a modern term for murdering someone?”
I nodded.
Before we could discuss it further, we found ourselves standing in front of Mother Possum’s house. She sat on the porch, watching the neighborhood.
“Carrie, did you bring me my lunch?” Her voice sounded old and high-pitched, and there was a tone akin to surprise.
“I did.” There was a three foot fence surrounding her front yard. Nathaniel opened the gate and held it for me while balancing the plate on his other hand.
Approaching the porch, I watched the elderly, scrunched up face watching me.
“There’s something different about you.” She patted her thinning white hair. It was pulled up on top of her head and there were curly tendrils along her neck and in front of her ears. “Come here, child, and let me get a good look at you.” Her red-rimmed eyes looked me up and down. Her glasses slid down her nose and she shoved them back into place.
I had no idea how old she was, but in my day I would have guessed her to be at least in her nineties. If I could depend on photographs, people aged faster in the good ol’ days and as I recalled from talking to my aunt, their lifespans were shorter.
“Where’s your mother? She’s not sick, is she? She always brings me my vittles. It wouldn’t do for her to come down with the influenza or some other such sickne
ss.”
“Mama’s fine,” I replied. “I thought I’d be helpful today.”
That seemed to take her aback. “Well, will wonders never cease? That’s the sign of a good daughter. You’ll be in my prayers tonight, not that you aren’t always in my prayers, Missy.” Her smile showed a few missing teeth and her voice cracked. Actually, it was more like a crackle when she spoke.
She looked past me at Nathaniel. “Come here, boy. Bring me my plate. You were here with your brother earlier, and now you’re back. Well! Did you find something out about that rapscallion actor fella?”
Before he could answer I took the plate from him and pulled a cloth cover off of the food. I set it on a table next to her chair. She reached over and patted my arm. Her hand was as aged as an old oak tree. Wrinkles were prominent as were blue veins. Her fingers curled under slightly and I had a feeling she suffered from arthritis.
“You’re too quiet, young lady. You need to open yourself up and live life.” I had a feeling she was as wise as an owl sitting in that old oak tree. “I’ve been waiting for a long time for you to come talk to me.”
“I’m here now.” I sat down on her front step and turned toward her.
“Yes, indeedy, there’s something different about you.”
“No, I’m the same woman I’ve always been,” I lied. And what a lie that was. If she only knew the truth.
She looked from me to Nathaniel and grinned before dropping her head. After only a moment, she looked at me out of the corners of her eyes. “You got yourself a young fella, didn’t you? Don’t bother to tell me I’m wrong.”
She grinned and picked up a fork, eying the food with hunger guiding her hand. “Your mama is a good woman. She always makes sure I’m taken care of, yes she does.” She took a bite of meat and seemed to gnaw on it. She must have been missing more teeth than I realized.
She swallowed and shook her fork at me. “You want something, don’t you? Well, what is it? Come on girl, tell me what you want.”
I tried to put my thoughts in order. “I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead and ask, but I don’t know if you’ll get any answers.”
I clasped my hands together and set them in my lap. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, you see a lot of what goes on around here, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“You mentioned seeing that actor watching the McFerrin house. Was he watching on the day Elsbeth fell down the stairs?”
She set down her fork. “That wasn’t an accident, was it? I knew it. Just had a feeling in my belly. I can’t explain it though. My, my.”
I spoke quickly. “Oh, it could have been an accident. I’m just covering all the bases.”
“You’re doing what?”
I’d forgotten I was in 1909 for a moment. “Uh, that’s a baseball expression. I heard it somewhere, but I don’t remember where. It means I’m looking into the accident. Checking all the facts.”
“Aha! There is something different about you. I knew it.”
“No, there’s nothing unusual about me. I’m finally learning to speak up, that’s all.”
Her eyes slid to the corners again and she studied me closely. “Uh huh. I live across the street from you and I know you never have trouble speaking up. What do you want to know?”
Glancing at Nathaniel, I saw that he was watching us both closely, apparently waiting to see what would happen next.
I cleared my throat. “Have you noticed anything else, or heard anything unusual? You’re the only person I know who sits on her porch and watches the world go by, so you’re the most likely to notice things.”
“Little Missy, what exactly do you want to know?”
Little Missy? She should talk. She was about the size of a peanut.
“I’m trying to determine if anyone might want to harm Elsbeth. Some things just don’t add up.”
“Like what?” A suspicious expression swept across her face.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I just have a hunch about the accident.”
“A hunch. Why, Lordy, I’ve had a lifetime of hunches, and I’m usually right. I’ll trust you for now.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’ll want answers later on.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Call me Mother. You know that’s what people call me.” She narrowed those red-rimmed, watery eyes at me, blinked, and smiled.
I knew she had suspicions about me. I hoped she wouldn’t share her thoughts with Mama or Papa, or anyone else for that matter.
She picked up a piece of potato with her fork and chewed on it while rocking in her chair before answering me.
“Mother?”
“I’m thinking. I do my best thinking while I rock.”
“So do I.”
“Is that so?” She appeared thoughtful and I didn’t think she was listening to me.
I was wrong.
“I’ve never seen you rocking in that chair on your porch. Since you live across the road you’d think I’d of seen that. I sure hear a lot comin’ outta that mouth of yours.” She chuckled to herself. She was definitely outspoken, and in this case, I was glad.
I waited.
“I do recall hearing someone making a lot of noise out toward your barn one afternoon. I’d just seen your mama and papa walking into town with little Tess, so I knew it wasn’t your papa. I know he hired Freddy to help out at the house sometimes, but it wasn’t one of his working days. If I could walk better, I could have seen who was out there and what they were doing.”
“I’m sorry your knees bother you so much,” I said.
“Me, too, but it’s all a part of getting old. One of these days I’ll be off to meet my husband Joseph, God bless him, in heaven. But not today. Today you need my help.”
I wondered how much help she could actually be.
She tapped her upper lip. “You know, your sister is awfully popular with the boys around here. I see some of ‘em riding past your house when there’s no good reason. Their necks just about break while they try to see if she’s home.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Listen, Missy, if you’d take off that apron and wear some nicer dresses, you’d have boys at the door, too. Alls you need to do is iron your dresses, not that I’m complaining. You see, you’ve got what boys like, but you hide it too well.” She glanced at Nathaniel. “Mebbe you won’t need to worry about dresses. It looks like someone can see right past all of that.”
“Thank you for the advice.” I don’t know why, but I patted the cell phone in my apron pocket. When I finally took off the apron, I’d have to hide it somewhere.
She wiggled around in her rocker. “You know, I think my knees are more hurtful because my legs just hang off the chair. Mebbe if they touched the ground I’d be more comfortable.”
“Do you have a stool?” I asked.
“No, I don’t, and I wisht I’d a thought of that. I’d have had Joseph get me one of those.”
Nathaniel stood and looked at Mother Possum. “You’ll have a stool before the end of the day.”
He turned to me. “I’ll see you later, Carrie.”
He opened the gate and walked off whistling tunelessly.
“My, my. What a good boy. You could do a lot worse, you know.”
I smiled. “I know.”
“Yep. Like I said, there’s something different about you, Caroline. Mebbe you’re just growing up. Finally.”
“I hope so.”
She abruptly changed the subject.
“Joseph and me had a dawg named Spot. He died a couple of days after Joseph. My heart near about broke into little pieces. They’ve been gone a long time, but one of these days I’ll be with them again.”
While she told me a bit about her past, I watched the road to see who might pass by. So Elsbeth had a lot of admirers. Maybe one of them was a bit too jealous of Daniel.
Interesting.
Chapter Ten
Moth
er Possum told me she’d been a midwife in her younger days and that she’d delivered half the babies, now adults, in Little Creek. “Ol’ Doc Stratton, God rest his soul, let me help him from time to time, too, when there were injuries or sicknesses.”
She fascinated me. Her life had been eventful and interesting. Her one regret was that she only had one child, and he was gone. She didn’t elaborate.
“I taught school for a time, too, but just ‘til they found a proper teacher. I could do sums and such, but I wasn’t cut out for teaching. They’d ask questions I couldn’t answer. Well,” she said, “that’s enough about me. You probably heard all of this already anyways. Let’s get back to Elsbeth’s problem.” Her voice sounded crackly again. I couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.
I tried to put her thoughts back on track. “You said you heard a lot of noise out by our barn one day recently. What kind of noises did you hear?”
“Oh, like hammerin’ and sawin’ – like someone was building something, but the noise didn’t last more ‘n a minute or two. It just struck me because it didn’t look like anyone was to home.”
“I see.” I’d have to check out the barn and see if anything looked out of place. Although, how would I know if anything was wrong? I’d never been in the barn. Elsbeth would probably know. I’d take her with me.
“Does that help?” Mother asked.
“I won’t know until I do some checking. Will you keep your eyes and ears open in case anything else unusual happens?”
She grinned and picked up an old pipe. Striking a match against the side of the table, she lit it.
It struck me that the crackling in her voice was because she was slightly congested. I raised my eyebrows at her.
She puffed on the pipe. “I been smokin’ this ol’ girl for a lot of years. Joseph and me used to sit out here in the evenings just smokin’ and listenin’ to the frogs croak, or chirp, or whatever it is they do. I know the sounds bother some people, but I find their voices very soothing, like the rain. Besides, I do my best thinkin’ while I smoke my trusty pipe.”
She pointed toward the street and we watched the rain fall for a few minutes. Neither of us spoke a word. We simply enjoyed the sounds of nature.