Murder in the Marsh Read online

  The truth was Adam worried about where it would lead. In all his years growing up at the tavern, he’d seen many men take a destructive turn—to the point where Valentine had to ban some from the establishment. Never had any of those fellows gotten their acts together without some major tragedy happening to them first. Some never did get their acts together but ended up dead in a ditch—like Adam had warned Martin earlier—or something similar.

  Thing was, Adam didn’t think Martin’s worsening behavior could be entirely attributed to the influence of hanging around Ricky Jones, although that certainly exacerbated the situation. No. Adam felt certain something else was causing Martin to act this way, but it was anyone’s guess what it could be.

  Chapter Eleven

  FIRST THING THURSDAY MORNING, Adam took Emmanuel’s horse cart and headed over to the Martin estate to buy a pig for the barbecue. As he made the trip in the bitter cold, he amused himself thinking back on the livestock that he saw roaming through the streets in New Bern. He had heard stories about Beaufort from some of the old folks, who remembered when hogs used to run wild in the town. They actually had to pass a law that said any hogs found running loose could be killed on the spot, with half of the hog going to the person who rid the town of the porcine nuisance, and the other half going to the church for the benefit of the parish.

  Barbecuing a pig had been a social staple of the coastal region of the colony for as long as anybody could remember. There sure were plenty of pigs to go around, and the meat could feed nearly everyone in a small town.

  Adam did neglect to mention one thing to Emmanuel: while he knew all about eating barbecue, he knew next to nothing about buying a pig, transporting one, butchering one, or roasting one. Back at the tavern, barbecue was not on the menu, so there was no cause for Adam to have ever learned.

  That’s alright, he thought. I’m sure Cyrus will help me figure out what I’ll need. How hard can it be to buy a pig?

  When he arrived at the estate, he was surprised to find Will’s carriage there. Though he had planned to go straight to the servant’s cabin to talk to Cyrus, he instead went around to the riverfront side of the house and up on the porch to knock on the door.

  Laney answered it. “Oh, Adam! Good morning!”

  Adam’s brown eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. “What are y’all doing back?” He stood there shivering.

  “Come in,” Laney insisted, motioning for him to come inside. “It’s freezing out here.”

  Adam smiled and stepped into the house. “Thank you. It was a cold ride over here.” He looked around to see if anyone else was there. “When did you get here?”

  “We got in yesterday evening. There’s been another attack, and they think it might be one or both of the men responsible for attacking that couple last week.”

  “Another attack? Was it a murder?”

  Laney shook her head. “No, thank the Lord, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the girl didn’t wish she was dead.”

  Adam’s eyes grew large at that statement. He knew that must mean it was a particularly bad situation.

  “A young woman named Penelope Wilson was brutally attacked Monday night,” Laney explained. “Then she was left injured and shivering just down the road from the estate where she’s bound in service as a servant.”

  “What in the world!” Adam exclaimed. “And they think it’s the same men who did it?”

  “Mm-hmm—well, one of them, anyway. Of course it hasn’t been in the papers yet, but my brother took us out of New Bern just as soon as he heard about it. Obviously, he doesn’t want Catherine and their child at risk, or me, with violent men on the loose.”

  “Good Lord!” Adam was deeply concerned but relieved that Will hadn’t wasted time and brought them back to Beaufort right away, though the thought didn’t escape him that danger could have fallen upon them on the road south of the Trent, as that was where the first incident had taken place. “How’d your brother find out about it?” he asked.

  “Down at the courthouse early Tuesday morning.”

  “So all of you came in your brother’s carriage?” asked Adam.

  Laney shook her head. “No, Aunt Celie didn’t want to come back with us, since her son would be in New Bern. She wanted to stay there and look after him, I suppose, though I don’t know what she thinks she can do for him at her age.”

  “I don’t know”—Adam chuckled—“I’m guessing she might be a swift hand with a frying pan.”

  Laney smiled. “True.” After a couple of seconds she wrinkled her brow and said, “Wait, what are you doing here?”

  “Oh well, Emmanuel sent me to buy a pig from Cyrus. They’re having a citizen’s meeting here in town on Friday morning, and he wants to have a barbecue that afternoon and invite everyone.”

  “What’s the meeting about?”

  “The canal. I told him what I’d heard in New Bern, about them passing that law about the canal. He says it’s been a long time coming, and it’ll be a long time yet before it ever happens, but he wanted to get ‘civic-minded gentlemen’ together to discuss possible plans and everyone’s intentions for how they will be contributing to the effort.”

  “I see. Well, won’t you come sit down and have some breakfast?” Laney offered. “I can’t promise it’ll be as good as Aunt Celie’s cooking, but I suppose it’s hard to go wrong with hot grits and bacon, isn’t it?”

  Adam grinned. “I reckon it is.”

  He followed Laney into the dining room and half expected to see Catherine or Will sitting there, but the room was empty. Does this mean the two of us are completely alone? Adam smiled as he wondered.

  “Have a seat,” said Laney, motioning to the chair at the head of the table. Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

  Adam hesitated, then sat down. He still had his hat under his arm and looked around for where he could put it. He ended up quickly peeking under the table and deciding to stick his hat in the empty chair next to him. As he observed the room, Adam noticed the paintings on the wall above the room’s grand fireplace. One was of a man with medium-brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The other was a woman with blond hair—lighter than Laney’s—and striking green eyes. They had to be Laney’s mother and father. They were both very attractive people.

  Martin wasn’t joking when he said good looks ran in the family. Both Laney and Will, as well as their roguish cousin, were all… well… stunning. Their looks couldn’t be more different than those of Adam and his parents, who had dark features.

  On the adjacent interior wall there hung three more portraits, easily identifiable by the very large, very fancy powdered wigs as being from the early part of the century. Two of the portraits were of men, one was of a woman. Adam guessed they were likely to be the grandparents, although one of the grandmothers was obviously missing from the group. His mind wandered as he contemplated the many reasons why she might never have sat for a portrait, or why at the very least there wasn’t one of her displayed.

  Laney soon returned carrying a breakfast tray. She appeared a little unsteady—or maybe even nervous—as she brought it over and sat it down on the table near where Adam was seated. She placed in front of him a bowl of very stiff-looking grits and a plate with several thick pieces of bacon, which without question were overcooked.

  “Oh… my goodness!” said Adam. He was trying very hard to look enthusiastic about the meal, but without laughing. “You did cook grits and bacon. How about that?”

  Laney gave him a half smile. “Well, remember I said it won’t be as good as Aunt Celie makes it, but it’s cooked all the way anyhow.”

  Adam raised his eyebrows. “Yes, I see that it is! Well done. Very well done, Miss Laney.”

  He looked down and noticed he didn’t have any silverware yet. “You don’t happen to have a spoon, do you?”

  Laney glanced down and saw the silverware and linen napkin were still on the tray. “Oh gracious, yes.”

  She quickly placed
them in front of him and then gave a little nod as if to say, Go ahead. Try it.

  Adam looked at her and grinned. Oh Lord, she is beautiful, he thought, but I don’t have the foggiest idea what this is going to taste like. Just help me not to hurt her feelings.

  He picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. “Mmm… crispy!”

  Her eyes were anxiously fixed on him to see if he’d say anything else.

  “It’s good!” he added.

  He picked up his spoon and looked down at his bowl of grits, which formed very stiff peaks, and he wondered if they’d be edible. Grits didn’t usually hold a shape like that.

  “Laney,” he said, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I got awfully thirsty on the way over here. Do you happen to have anything I can wash this down with?”

  Her eyes grew large in embarrassment. “Oh! I completely forgot! Would you like tea, or cider, or water, or coffee?”

  “Hmm… cider would be good.” Can’t go wrong with cider, he thought.

  She gave him a quick nod and scurried back into the kitchen.

  Adam tentatively took a taste of the grits and realized they had no salt. He contemplated whether he should ask her for any salt, or whether he should just break up his bacon into the bowl like he’d normally do with grits and hope that seasoned them enough. He decided that would probably be the most gracious way to handle it.

  When Laney returned with a mug of cider, Adam was crumbling his bacon up into the grits and stirring them around.

  “I do that too!” she remarked.

  “It’s the only way to eat grits, I say,” said Adam.

  He loaded his spoon with a great mound of the stuff and quickly popped it into his mouth. This is terrible, he thought.

  “Oh, I meant to ask you if you’d like any salt or butter,” said Laney.

  Adam chewed up the mouthful of grits and bacon—which took longer than he would’ve liked, so that the bacon seemed to grow in his mouth—and he swallowed it, then said, “Oh well, sure. If you have any. I might have a little bit.”

  Laney went back into the kitchen and came out with a salt dish and the butter crock.

  As Adam dressed up the grits with the seasonings, he motioned for Laney to sit down, but she only raised her eyebrows. It occurred to Adam that he ought to get up and pull out a chair for her, so he did. Turned out he pulled out the chair that had his hat in it. He looked down and saw it, and just as she was about to take a seat he reached over into the chair and pulled his hat away. He knew she had to be wondering what he was doing.

  He showed her the hat in his hand and then moved it to the other chair. She sat down, as did he, and they just sat and smiled at each other for a moment. Adam was thinking it must have also occurred to her that this was their first time being completely alone.

  Finally, Laney spoke up and asked, “Well? Do you like it?”

  It took Adam a second to answer. “Oh… yes! It’s very good.” He started eating again. “Very good. I guess your brother and his wife have already eaten.”

  Laney tipped her head to the side in disappointment. “Well, they came down and had tea, but neither of them were very hungry yet, so they’ve gone for a walk on the grounds.”

  “They have?” Adam asked as he started to eat another spoonful of grits. He was thankful they at least were seasoned a little bit now, even if they were dry and overcooked. “But it’s so cold outside,” he said. “Why in the world would they want to go for a walk now?”

  “I know. I said the same thing, but Catherine just reminded me that she’s only ever been here once before, and she really didn’t remember the place very well. She wanted to see the improvements we’ve done over the last couple of years since her last visit.”

  Adam reckoned they might have sneaked off to eat something else.

  With seemingly perfect timing, Will and Catherine returned to the house and came into the dining room.

  “Adam!” Will exclaimed, crossing the room to greet him. “What brings you out here this morning?”

  Adam stood from his chair to shake hands with Will. “Good morning, Will, Catherine.”

  “Good morning, Adam. It’s nice to see you again so soon,” said Catherine.

  Adam sat back down to finish eating. “Well, Emmanuel sent me over here to buy a pig. We’re having a barbecue tomorrow after the citizen’s meeting about the new canal. Laney here invited me in to have something to eat before I went to talk to Cyrus, though.”

  Will looked at Adam’s bowl and then raised his eyebrows at Adam. “Oh, you’re sampling my sister’s culinary skills, are you?”

  A very small smile could be seen at the corners of Adam’s mouth, but he fought it hard so that it wouldn’t turn into a ridiculous grin or fit of laughter.

  “I sure am. She clearly has many undiscovered talents,” said Adam.

  Laney blushed and smiled, then looked at her brother as if to say, See, he doesn’t think my cooking is awful!

  “Well, when you’re done eating there,” said Will, “you come on outside, and we’ll have Cyrus help you select a pig.”

  “Won’t you sit down and join me?” Adam asked Will and his wife. “Laney said you hadn’t eaten yet. I guess your walk has helped you build up an appetite.”

  Will looked at Laney. He then turned and looked at his wife. Catherine made a face that indicated to Adam that this whole situation was very awkward.

  Will ended up responding, “We really weren’t that hungry, but you know, it’s a funny thing—when we were outside having our walk just now, Cyrus called to us from his cabin and told us that his wife was so happy to see we had arrived last night that she made a molasses cake and wanted to give us some.”

  “Hmph.” Adam smiled as he continued eating the stiff grits and overcooked bacon. “I see.” He pointed at the bowl with his spoon as he said with a mouthful, “Well, you are really missing something good here.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt it,” said Will.

  Catherine nodded in agreement.

  “But what could we do?” Will continued. “We barely even know Cyrus’s wife. They only married a short time ago. We could hardly say no to her.”

  Adam nodded. “I understand.” He grinned as he finished the last spoonful of grits and bacon in the bowl and then said to Laney, “That was delicious. I would love to sample anything you decide to make.”

  Laney smiled and took a deep breath in what looked very much like exhilaration.

  “Now,” said Adam, “let’s go get that pig.”

  Chapter Twelve

  LANEY AND CATHERINE OPTED TO stay behind while Will took Adam out to see a man about a pig.

  “Cyrus,” Will called out as he led Adam across the lawn to Cyrus’s cabin. “Our friend Adam Fletcher has some business to talk with you.”

  A young man in his twenties with a copper-brown complexion and closely cropped hair came over to greet them. Adam wasn’t sure what he had been doing, but apparently it had gotten his hands dirty, because he was wiping them on a rag as he came over to speak to them.

  “Yes, sir. What can I do for ya?” asked Cyrus.

  Just then Catherine called to Will from the house. Before Adam had a chance to answer Cyrus, Will said, “I’ll leave you to it, men. Cyrus, give him the family price, please.”

  He turned and started walking briskly back towards the house.

  “Happy to,” Cyrus called after him. Then he turned to Adam and said, “But I need to know what I’m giving you the family price for.”

  Adam chuckled. “I reckon you do. Well, Emmanuel Rogers sent me over here to buy a pig. We’re having a barbecue tomorrow.”

  Cyrus nodded and smiled as if he liked the sound of that. “Alright! Alright, come on then.”

  He started walking towards the barn and pig pen. Adam followed.

  “Just come on over here and see which one looks like it’ll suit you. I’ll tell you if it’s a good one.”

  Cyrus
’s wife came around that same time—presumably to feed scraps to the pigs—but Adam guessed it was really to see who he was.

  “What y’all doin?” said the diminutive young woman with a chipper, youthful voice.

  She was heavily pregnant and wore a lavender-colored dress and had her head wrapped in a cloth like a turban—like Aunt Celie often wore.

  “This here is Mr. Adam Fletcher. Emmanuel Rogers done sent him over to fetch a pig ’fore we do our hog killin. Mr. Adam, this is my wife, Violet.”

  Adam smiled at her. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “And you, sir,” she said with a little curtsey.

  Adam leaned over the fence and said, “Yep. I’m trying to decide on one right now.”

  He studied over the pigs in the pen—nearly all of which had different patterns of black and white spots—but he didn’t have the foggiest idea about how to choose one, so he decided to pick the one that looked best to him.

  “How about that one over there?” he said, pointing to a healthy-looking pig that seemed particularly energetic.

  Adam could hear Violet laugh. She didn’t even try to be subtle about it. Adam raised his eyebrows in confusion and looked over at Cyrus, unsure of what she meant.

  Cyrus did a much better job of maintaining a straight face.

  “No. No, I don’t think you want that one, Mr. Adam.”

  “Really? Why not?” said Adam. “It looks healthy to me.”

  “Oh she’s healthy alright,” said Violet. She snickered, then waved her hand dismissively at them and started walking towards an outdoor area where there was a giant tub positioned over a raised pile of wood. “You tell him, Cyrus. Ain’t gon’ do him no good if you don’t teach him nothin. I reckon I’ll go get the scaldin tub ready.”

  Adam noticed she was starting a fire under the tub. Cyrus stepped over and stood right next to Adam. “Well, ah, sir, that sow is in season.”

  Adam was thoroughly confused now. “In season?”

  “Ya see, ah well, she tryin to attract a boar hog—to make li’l pigs—but they ain’t any boar hogs out here right now. See, we take care of most of the boar hogs when they little.” He made a snipping motion with his fingers. “You understand?”