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“James Nicholson?” Prescott inquired and Wade looked at him, wondering why a look of recognition crossed his face.
“That’s right.”
“Wade, wasn’t that the name of the man father had filed a lawsuit against before his death?”
He searched his mind but couldn’t recall the name, however, at the time he was consumed with the legalities of taking over his father’s inheritance. At the tender age of twenty it was far too overwhelming. In addition, a mother who became withdrawn and dependent on her eldest son. Looking back, he did recall just shortly before his death, his father was terribly displeased at discovering his mountain had been taken over by a community of drifters who refused to leave. One man in particular had crusaded for the people to remain on the mountain. If he recalled correctly, Prescott was right. His name was James Nicholson.
“I’m afraid you’re correct, Mr. Haddock,” the officer conceded before Wade could reply. “They were a sorry lot that came from the banks of the Red River, but were a decent Christian group. Ended up encountering far more hardships than they ever expected and were lucky to make it as far as they did. By the time they arrived at Mount Louis, they had sold or traded all their possessions. They were left with nothing. Only their prayers and faith in a higher power.”
Wade’s mind traveled back to the past and remembered his father had started court proceedings to have the people legally evicted when he died unexpectedly from a stroke. With everything else to concern himself with, the mountain people became a minor issue for Wade. The matter was put aside until eventually forgotten and no longer a concern. They lived quietly and without issue ever since. He found no solace knowing that his father’s death was the answer to a group of people’s prayers.
Wade looked at the woman lying lifeless on his bed. Heedless of the fact his mother brought him up a Christian, he wasn’t much of a religious man, but at that moment felt an anger fill his heart toward a merciless God. If ever there were a time for restitution, he believed it was now.
The officer turned toward the door to leave. “Let’s hope she survives and able to shed some light on what happened up on that mountain.”
Prescott shook his head. “She won’t be any help. She’s a mute.”
Wade had not offered the fact that what had alerted him to the incident down by the river was Anna screaming his name. The officer, however, was not in need of that detail as he proved to know more about Anna than Wade.
“Anna can very much speak. As a matter-of-fact, she has a very sweet and gentle voice and loves to sing, in particular every Sunday when the community gathered for worship.”
“That’s impossible,” Prescott declared. “She hasn’t spoken a word since she arrived at the Circle H.”
The doctor who had been listening, offered, “Many times when someone has witnessed an event so traumatic, it leaves them the inability to speak. Depending entirely on what she saw or the details of the situation she came from, could in fact have frightened her terribly to the point of not speaking.”
“Is it possible, she simply chose not to speak?” Wade quietly asked.
“How do you mean?” The doctor tiled his head to look at Wade. “As I said, she could have chosen not to talk born from a fear of speaking.”
“Yet, still had the ability?”
The doctor frowned. “A person who is incapable of speaking due to a fear of it, has the ability but lacks the power to talk. It’s as if something inside shuts down when they go to speak.”
Wade nodded and glanced at the woman on the bed. “How do you know for certain? I mean, how do you know when someone lacks the power to talk, or simply chooses not to.”
Again the doctor frowned, obviously confused by Wade’s questioning. “I’m not certain why anyone would purposely refuse to speak, however, the answer to your question is no. There is no physical or technical method to determine a person’s ability to speak.”
“Let me understand this,” the officer said. “Are you implying that Anna, who I assume has remained silent since the incident in the fall, has done so on her own free will?”
Wade released a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure. All I know is that if she hadn’t screamed my name today, I would have never known anything was wrong.”
Chapter 19
“Anna spoke?” Prescott was the first to react. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Considering all that happened, it seemed a minor detail.”
“Well, that’s wonderful.” Prescott’s face broke out into a bright smile.
Wade didn’t nearly see it the same way, considering what she had to endure before speaking for the first time.
“That still doesn’t prove anything.” The doctor told him as he packed up his black bag. “It can take something just as traumatic to jolt speech back.”
Like rape and brutal force. A bolt of anger shot up and down his spine.
“If I were to make a professional guess, I would determine that was the case.” He started to head for the exit and all four men parted the room at the same time. Wade could not look at Anna as he quietly shut the door. “This woman more than likely witnessed a very harrowing event that took not only the lives of her family but her community as well. She then fled with her life and found herself on a ranch full of men. If those two characters who did this to her had anything whatsoever to do with what happened on the mountain, then she more than likely had a fear of men. A very real and founded fear. Hence, her need for the disguise. In addition, she was hiding from the murderers who massacred the people on that mountain. With her identity concealed and her silence guaranteeing her anonymity she probably would have found sanctuary in her disguise.”
“Invisible,” Wade quietly stated.
