18
Eight in the morning Jensen and Pauline arrived at Hartford House. Jo and Luther were eating and there were places made for their guest. Everyone but Luther was surprised at Pauline's action when she walked into the dining room and she went and gave Luther a kiss on the cheek.
"Good morning Luther."
"Good morning my love, I hope you are doing well on this lovely day."
"Now that we are back together Luther all our days will be lovely."
Both Jensen and Johanna rolled their eyes at all the romantic talk between the older couple. Jo had realized after they first saw each other last night there is a chance their love was forever true. She hoped Jensen and her could love each other so deeply. After all, all she really knew about him was he was in service to the crown and he was a bloody good kisser. She liked being around him and he made her heart do funny things when she saw him but was that love she was ten and seven did she even know. She shook the doubt of her feelings away and smiled at the happy couple.
Jensen waited until they were all finished eating and before the older couple started all the lovey dovey talk again.
"Aunt Pauline, I need to know a few things and I think you are the only one who can answer my questions."
She sat there looking at her nephew and smiled. Luther and she had talked last night it was time she told the authorities what she had witnessed when she was five, and the things she had overheard over the last thirty-four years. With Luther's encouragement she could tell them.
"When I was five I saw four boys while I was hidden in the buckthorn bush eating the sour berries."
She held up her hand to stop any questions she saw written all over Jo's face.
"To answer your question, I do not know why I ate sour buckthorn berries they are sour and very unpleasant as an adult. But that is what I was doing. It was while I was eating I heard loud laughter and peeked out to see who was interfering in my special time of the day. What I saw was Nesbit and three of his friends and a beautiful young girl. At the time I did not know who these people were but the girl I was later to find out was Genevieve Kingston, and the boys were Warren Landers, Richard Moss, and Thomas Canton."
She took a deep breath this was not easy to talk about and other than with Luther when they were younger and last night it was something she would have rather forgotten than ever talk about again.
"I could hear Nesbit taunting the girl about what a silly little thing she was for not following them down to the river."
Johanna could not help feeling the fear Genevieve must have felt down near the river just knowing how terrified she had been of water.
"I remember she was wearing a pretty creamy dress with a pale blue-ribbon sash which one of the boys started to pull at. Another boy started to grab at the sleeves of her dress, and it ripped. The boys seemed to change at that moment, and they seemed more frantic I guess you could say. That is when it went from playful to them wanting to hurt her. Nesbit took her hair and started to pull it. That was when the girl started to scream, she knew they were no longer playing, and she needed help. This was when Nesbit who still had a hold of her hair used it to throw her to the ground. Then one of the boys climbed up top her while the others held her down. I still hear her screams in my dreams."
Pauline was silent for a few moments, at first Jensen thought she had finished telling them what the group of boys did. He would realize that the horror of what they had done still weighed heavy upon her and it was worse than he imagined. She took a deep breath and let it out.
"They each took turns at her and after a while she stopped screaming. I guess she figured no one was coming to help her. When they finished with her the four boy's each took one of her limbs and carried her over to the water where they started to swing her. In my child's brain they were helping her clean up, but what they really did was toss her into the water. I remember the sound of the water splashing. Instead of helping her the four boys ran off towards the house laughing. I went to see if she was in the water. I knew how to swim my brothers taught me, so I was sure she knew how too but she was floating on the top of the water face down. Now I understand she was dead but at that time I just thought she was swimming away from the mean boys."
She stopped talking again and this time Luther got out of his chair and went over and pulled her out of hers and sat down and put her in his lap.
"It's alright you were five and no one would expect you to understand the levity of what you saw and heard. Go ahead and tell them what you heard when you got home."
"When I returned home I did not think any more of what I saw, and I went to my room for my nap. Nesbit's room was next to mine and his window was open as was mine. I heard them say that they were never to speak of this incident ever to anyone. They would see if things played out better with the others, but they were down one girl and would have to either find another one or one of them would have to do without. Then the other three girls went missing. It did not happen on our property again so I put what they said out of my mind until a couple of months ago when I was out for a walk I saw Nesbit and Richard Moss talking about It ripped me apart since now that I am older I knew what I had seen was them raping and murdering that poor child."
For Jensen and Jo that filled in most of the blanks but what happened to Trudy's baby was still not resolved.
"Did they say what happened to Trudy and the baby?"
"No, I never knew there was even a baby until Johanna found the room."
Johanna who was most eager to solve this mystery looked at Jensen and smiled. He was so deep in thought she could see the pain etched on his face from what he had just learned a close family member had done to four innocent girls it was then she had no doubt left. It was his caring for all the people she knew that was what made her love him.
"I think we need to go and tell the others and go to Mosses home to see what is hidden there. I also think Thomas Canton is the weakest link and might give up more information than we already have."
Jensen smiled at Johanna. He had to wonder why Wayne had not wanted her in service she was brilliant, and she was for the most part levelheaded. Jensen stood up and held his hand out to. When they left it was hand in hand she had never seen men be so affectionate and was glad he was. She like the closeness they shared together. She was surprised that today he did not bring a carriage but a barouche they were now an official couple and now they could be seen out in public after last night's announcement.