Chapter 9

“Roy, can’t you arrest her?”

“On what, Adam? A woman’s tracks leading to the house and away? Coal oil tins in the bedroom? How is that evidence that Margaret did anything?”

“You know she did it. There’s no one else who would hate Charlotte that much.”

“You forget that Andrew was in that house too. Now, ifn she wanted her daughter dead so bad, would she risk her only grandchild to do it? I don’t think so.”

“Well then, who else?”

“I don’t rightly know, but I do think you ought to get your lady back out to the Ponderosa where she’s safe, Andrew too, and let me do my job.”

Frustrated and angry, Adam let his father lead him from the sheriff’s office. The revelations from Joe and Hoss had only fueled the suspicion that he already had about Merry’s mother. His father tried to calm him down.

“Adam, Roy will do his best. Hoss and Joe are already taking more of a look at that house and seeing if they can follow those tracks and maybe find something else. But right now you have a woman and a boy who need you. Don’t forget, that if Charlotte was a target, then Merry probably is too and so are you. You need to get those two in that carriage and back home as soon as you can. Now we made all the arrangements for the funeral tomorrow. We’ll be back for that and you can talk to Roy again to see if he’s uncovered anything by tomorrow.”

Not wanting to give up but recognizing the wisdom of his father’s advice, Adam nodded. He and Ben walked back to the doctor’s office where Merry had been trying to console Andrew whom she hardly knew. When Adam entered the office, he stood and watched as Merry talked softly with the young boy. Drew could hardly be expected to understand what had happened to him. Adam thought back to the loss of Inger and then of Marie. He wondered how he would have reacted if his father had died too. He couldn’t even imagine that scenario because it was too difficult to contemplate. Yet he knew it happened fairly often out in the west to children just like Drew except living in Virginia City, no one had probably thought to prepare him for that possibility. No one would have expected murder. Once Drew stopped crying, Adam moved forward to sit beside him.

“Drew, we want you to come with us to the Ponderosa. We’ll be back in town tomorrow for funerals, but you have a place with us if you want it. I know that you wish your parents were still here for you, and it hurts like nothing else that they aren’t. But we will do our best for you. You need to tell us what you want to do.”

“Can I stay with grandma?”

Pausing for just a moment, Merry answered. “Your grandma is sick right now. This has been a big shock to her too, and she’s much older than you. She needs time to be by herself, and get things right in her mind.”

“Will she be at the funerals tomorrow?”

“I don’t think so, Drew. But Adam and I will be there, and so will his brothers and his father. Sheriff Coffee and the doctor will be there too probably.”

“Aunt Merry, I don’t have any clothes. They all got burnt up in the fire.”

“We’ll stop at the mercantile to get you some clothes. You can’t wear that nightshirt in this weather. We’ll get you everything you need.” Merry looked up at Adam to be sure she was saying the right thing. He nodded at her so she knew he supported her in that.

“Drew, you have some burns on your feet and hands, and the streets are rather muddy too. Would it be all right with you if I carried you over to the mercantile?”

“But everyone will see me in my nightshirt.”

“We have a blanket in the carriage. I could wrap that around you.”

“Thank you. That would be nice. I’m kinda cold anyway.”

Adam took off his coat and wrapped it around the boy as Ben went outside to get the blanket. When he returned, Drew asked if he could keep the coat around him because it made him feel so warm. Merry was going to say that Adam needed his coat, but Adam shook his head at her.

“You certainly can, Drew. I’ll let you wear it around you until we get to the store and get one for you. Will that work for you?”

“Yes, Uncle Adam, that would be nice.”

Wrapping the blanket around Drew so that he was covered from neck to toes, Adam picked him up and carried him to the mercantile. There, he ad Merry helped Drew pick out boots, pants, socks, long johns, shirts, coat, hat, and gloves. Adam had a small bag of hard candies added to the stack of goods on the counter. Merry selected items for Drew to wear that day, and the owner let him use the store room to dress. He came out carrying Adam’s coat and with a small smile.

“My feet don’t hardly hurt at all in these boots.”

“That’s why we got them a little big. You’ll grow into them anyway. Once your feet heal and the bandages come off, you can wear two pairs of socks until the boot fit you better.”

“Two pairs of socks will be warmer too. I like the way you think, Uncle Adam.”

Ben had gone to collect Hoss and Joe so that by the time Adam and Merry exited the store with Drew, they were there waiting for them. Adam put Drew in the carriage to sit between him and Merry with all of their purchases in the back. He handed Drew the bag of hard candy and told him he could have one piece, and then offer some to the others. Hoss leaned over to grab a peppermint stick when Drew offered him the candy. Once they were well out of town, Joe and Hoss rode ahead to alert Hop Sing and get a guest room ready for Drew.

After dinner that evening, Adam sat on the settee with Drew on one side and Merry on the other. He did his best to soothe each one and keep their minds off their losses. As it got late, he suggested that Drew might want to go to bed, but Drew countered that Adam should read to him to help him get to sleep. Taking the young boy by the hand, Adam walked up the stairs with him and grabbed a book from his room. As they had walked up the stairs, Ben had gotten a tear in his eye for so long he had wanted to see one of his sons walking up the stairs with a child. This was a very poignant moment for him. Adam came downstairs only briefly about an hour later to walk Merry to her room. She had been sitting very still and quiet on the settee ever since Adam had walked Drew upstairs. When she stood after taking Adam’s hand, she leaned into him for a hug. He walked her up the stairs with his arm around her waist.

As Hoss and Joe began turning down the lamps, Ben added two large logs to the fire and set up the fire screen in front of the fireplace. It was much too cold to let the fire go out. In addition each of them would have a small fire in the fireplaces in their bedrooms and Hop Sing would have the stove in the kitchen hot all night. For safety, Adam wanted to replace all of the fireplaces upstairs with small Franklin stoves. After what had happened the night before in town, Ben was thinking more and more that that was a good idea. He planned to talk to Adam about it after all the turmoil had calmed down.

Once again, Ben had trouble falling asleep and got out of bed to go get a cup of hot chocolate which always seemed to help him sleep. As he passed Adam’s door, he realized it was part way open. He looked inside and was amazed and quite surprised. Drew must have come into Adam’s room for comfort and was snuggled up against Adam who had his arm protectively around the boy. But on the other side of the bed, Merry was wrapped in a blanket and sleeping with her head on Adam’s shoulder. Polite society would have frowned on such a sleeping arrangement, but Adam always put the needs of his loved ones ahead of what anyone else would think. Ben pulled the door almost closed and went downstairs for his hot chocolate. The next morning at breakfast, he said nothing about what he had seen. Adam had come downstairs with Drew and Merry. By Adam’s furtive look at him, Ben suspected Adam knew he had seen the three in bed together. When Ben said nothing about it though, Adam relaxed. It was going to be a difficult enough day and Adam was relieved that he would not have to deal with any criticism from his father.

By nine, the whole family was dressed and ready to head to town for the funeral. Ben had paid some men extra to make sure that graves would be dug even with the snow and ice. He didn’t want any more problems for his son and his fiancée. Hopefully the funeral would proceed quickly and allow Merry and her nephew the closure that they needed without undue stress. The ride to town proceeded without mishap, and there were many friends at the funeral service which was a comfort to Merry and Drew. In the cold, they all walked to the cemetery and watched as the wooden caskets were lowered into the side-by-side graves. There was a large marker there which would be carved when the weather was warmer. Nearby was the grave of Merry’s father marked only by a simple wood plaque with his name. She looked up to heaven and prayed that there would be no more sadness for her and for Drew. She heard a gasp, and turned to see her mother staggering up to the cemetery. Roy moved to intercept her.

“Margaret, you shouldn’t be here in this condition.”

“Sheriff, I haven’t had a drink yet today. It’s just what I’ve been doing since my husband was killed makes me shake all over. Meredith, I just wanted to say I was sorry. I never meant for anything bad to happen to you or your sister. I was just so upset when he was killed, I didn’t know what I was saying. Please forgive me. I lost your sister already, and I don’t want to lose you.”

Surprised by what Margaret was saying, Adam looked to Merry who looked equally confused. This was not what they expected to hear from the woman they thought had set the fire. Seeing her unsteady walk also made them wonder how she could possibly have done it. Hoss and Joe had the same question. Whoever had walked up to Charlotte’s house had been purposeful and direct. This staggering woman could not have done it. Of course they didn’t know if she was like this over twenty-four hours previously, but it did seem quite odd. Merry had to respond for the whole crowd was silent and waiting.

“Mama, we can talk, but not today. Today I have to be most concerned with Drew, and I think this has been quite a lot for him to handle already. Go back home. I’ll try to come see you in the next day or two. Why don’t you let the sheriff walk you home now?”

“All right. I don’t want to cause any more trouble. I just had to pay my respects to my daughters. Please, remember to come see me so I can apologize proper.” With that, Roy led her away and Doctor Martin broke away from the crowd to go with them. Adam led Merry and Drew to the carriage and helped them up onto the seat. He drove out of town with all sorts of questions in his mind. His father and brothers rode out behind the carriage to make sure the three reached home safely.