Page 137 of In These Hills

“I understand, but if you’ll only listen to—” She stilled, Miss Mary’s words circling back with force. “Attempted murder?”

Miss Mary exhaled. “I’m done with the lying, Miss Josephine Dunham. I will no longer abide your—”

Josephine grabbed the newspaper.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing? We’re in my house and—”

She read the headline. Atlanta Suffragist Sought for Attempted Murder. She looked up. “But I killed him. When I left him, he was dead.”

Miss Mary fell silent.

But Calla moved closer. “What do you mean you killed him, Josephine? This newspaper don’t say nothing about you killing a man. Only that you tried.”

“I didn’t try to kill him. I was just trying to stop him. He attacked me first. I was only defending myself.”

Miss Mary pointed to the newspaper. “This says nothing about self-defense, Josephine. They’re saying you acted with forethought!”

Josephine skimmed the front page and sure enough, the article painted a very different picture from the truth. One of a militant female suffragist who had lured a man into an alley under questionable intent but with the real goal of killing him, not only for retribution after he dared to interrupt her speech and publicly deride her opinions, but for revenge against his father’s efforts to protect the law-abiding citizens of Atlanta from this maniacal band of emotionally unstable women. But all Josephine could think about . . . “Clay Darden is alive.”

Calla touched her arm. “But why did you think he was dead?”

“Because once I hit him with that brick, he fell on top of me. Blood poured from his head. We couldn’t find a pulse and—”

“We?” Miss Mary’s eyes widened. “Someone else was in on this with you?”

“There was no this, Miss Mary, I promise. I—”

“Supper can wait,” Miss Mary announced and dragged a kitchen chair from beneath the table. “I want you to sit right down and tell us what happened. And I want the truth.”

Glimpsing cautious trust in Miss Mary’s eyes, Josephine did as asked and told them everything, same as she had Dodge. They asked questions, and she answered.

When she finally finished, Miss Mary’s hard stare portended the reaction Josephine had feared from her. Only, it hurt far more now that she cared so deeply about the woman.

“From the minute I took you into my home, Josephine Dunham, I feared you’d bring trouble. But I did it anyway because I felt the Lord telling me to. And here you did exactly what I thought you would. Only it was trouble bigger than I could ever imagine.”

Josephine bowed her head, just as Miss Mary’s hand covered hers.

“I’m not saying I agree with all the choices you’ve made,” Miss Mary continued. “All the lying specifically. But given the same circumstances, Lord help me, I reckon I would’ve done the same.”

Calla leaned close. “No wonder you were so scared those first few nights. I heard you in your bed crying, even though I know you didn’t mean for me to.”

Josephine lifted her gaze, squeezing both their hands. “All this time, I thought I’d killed him. I thought I was wanted for murder. But he’s alive.”

“Well, don’t start celebrating just yet, Josephine.” Miss Mary’s eyes darted to The Chattanooga Times on the table. “Did you read clear to the bottom? That last part? Since they haven’t been able to find you, the mayor of Atlanta just put out a reward for anybody who can bring you back to face justice.”

“And brace yourself,” Calla said. “It’s a lot of money!”

Josephine read the last paragraph and her stomach dropped.

“What’s a lot of money?”

Recognizing his voice, Josephine turned to see Dodge standing in the doorway.

Miss Mary quickly moved to cover the newspaper, but Josephine stopped her.

“It’s all right, he knows.”

“He knows?” Miss Mary asked.