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“Are they worth anything now?”
“Not that I know of. They weren’t worth much during the war, either.”
She handed him the papers she’d found. “Not sure what these are but I think they’re IOUs?”
He read a few of them. “You’re right, and if they are still viable, Senator Stipe is up to his philandering eyeballs in debt.” He read another one. “I don’t believe Miss Helen is going to be pleased to learn he’s lost the deed to this place to someone named Sylvester Reed.”
“She really will take an ax to him.”
He read further. “According to this, the debt is from last winter, and he has until the end of this month to redeem the property. I wonder if he lost it gambling?”
Brax read through some of the other IOUs. “You aren’t going to believe this, but he’s promised the deed to three other people.”
She stared.
“This one has the name of a man named Warlock. This one, a man named Crenshaw, and this is signed by a Phillip Davidson. All are due between now and September.”
“Oh yes. She’s going to chop him up into tiny little pieces.”
“Are you going to share these with Welch?”
“No. My gut tells me the less she knows, the better. I do wish we knew if he still owes money to these men and who they might be.”
“Other government officials?”
“Maybe. I’ll give Mama the names and see if she can get some answers from the family members here. In the meantime, let’s get this box back to its hiding place. We’ll keep those four IOUs and our prize. I want to pass the cylinder on to Welch as soon as possible, then we can leave the city. We’ll hold on to the IOUs. I’m sure Renay can find a use for them.”
The mission was almost over. He was pleased, but not at the reality of heading home without her.
After returning the box to its hiding place, they locked up the house and walked back to the cabin to rid themselves of the ashes. Their work for the day done, they sat outside on the porch to relax. “When do you want to hand the cylinder over to Welch?”
“Tomorrow night before we disappear. The sooner she’s out of our hair, the better. I wish we could leave tonight, but that’s not possible. It’s already dark, and although I know where my cousins live, I’ve never driven there this late. The countryside is pitch black at night and I don’t want to chance getting lost or running into patrolling supremacists hunting for someone to practice their hatred on.”
He agreed. She quieted and seemed lost in thought, pulling together loose ends, he guessed, so he went inside to get the newspaper he’d purchased that morning after driving Helen to her sister. Returning, he sat on the porch and scanned it. A prominently placed item caught his attention. “The death count from yellow fever is rising in New Orleans,” he told her.
She looked his way. “Not something I wanted to hear. I wish a cure could be found. We’ve suffered through this every summer for as long as I can remember. I hope the family isn’t affected.”
“I hope not, either.”
“Anything else important in there?”
“Doesn’t look like it. Most of it pertains to local news like this piece about the Lost Cause Ball Helen wants your help with.”
“She’ll have to find someone else. We’ll go to the market in the morning and have Mama send someone for us. Leaving tomorrow night will give her time to get our train tickets home,too. I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”
“If your mother isn’t at the market, do you think we should drive out to where she and my father are staying to talk about our exit plan?”
“I’d like to avoid taking Helen’s carriage and have someone tell her they saw us driving in a certain location. If the location is traced to my cousins, they’ll wind up being questioned for whatever reason. Everyone seems to know everyone else here and people talk. And suppose Helen sends word that she’s decided to come home tomorrow while we’re gone? She’ll probably excuse you delaying to come and get her from her sister’s because we made a quick trip to the market, but we’ll have no excuse for not responding for an hour or more because we’ve driven to my cousin’s place. My cousin goes to the market daily, so we’ll pray Mama will be there.”
He hadn’t considered all the variables. “So many details to manage.”
“True.”
No wonder she had trouble sleeping.
Her face took on a seriousness that matched her tone. “You’re probably anxious to head home and be rid of all this, I imagine.”
He thought back to their conversation about cats and spots. “In some ways, I am. Others? Not so sure.” Based on their growing connection and the intimacies they’d shared, he sensed she understood his meaning.
