Death in Salem (15 page)

The two Coville men, both garbed in mourning, hurried down the gangplank. “Where is the gentleman who wished to see us?” asked the taller of the two. The mate tipped his head at Rees, who was waiting a few steps away. The two almost identical faces swiveled toward him.

“You wanted to speak to us?” They stepped off the gangplank and approached. “I am Adam Coville, this is my brother Edward.” Lines grooved Adam's forehead, and Rees could see the silver threading his light brown hair.

“How do you do?” Rees offered his hand. “My name is Will Rees. William Boothe hired me to look into his father's murder.”

“Ah,” said Adam Coville. “And after you spoke to my mother and to Dickie, you thought we might have something to do with it? You must understand that Dickie is…” He searched for the right word.

”Delicate,” his brother supplied. Unlike Adam, who held himself erect and very still, Edward shifted from foot to foot and seemed ready to bolt. Rees knew Edward must be in his forties, but he gave the appearance of a much younger man. “Dickie was much attached to Anstiss, and her death has devastated him.”

Adam nodded. “Indeed, he is mad with grief. I wouldn't take what Dickie said too seriously, if I were you.” Rees nodded but decided to reserve judgment.

“Do you know of anyone who might wish Mr. Boothe harm?”

Adam Coville turned to look at his brother. Edward shrugged and shook his head.

“Perhaps one of the investors in his ships?” Rees suggested. Both Covilles grinned and shook their heads.

“Even we are investors,” Adam said. “His last journey was a successful one and we turned a handsome profit.”

“They lost a few crewmen when the
Hindoo Queen
stopped for fresh water. One of the little islands, you know,” Edward said.

“But that happens regularly,” Adam said. “Surely no one could be angry at him for that.”

“Was Mr. Boothe involved in smuggling?” Rees asked, the image of Matthew in the sailors' tavern fresh in his mind.

Both men burst out laughing. “That old Puritan? You must understand, Jacob Boothe was a careful and rigid man of business. I can no more imagine him smuggling than sailing to the moon.” As Adam spoke, his brother Edward nodded in agreement.

“He was an old man,” Edward said. “Many years older than Anstiss. Never understood why she married him.” His words trailed away when his brother directed a stern look at him. Rees would not have described Jacob Boothe as “an old man,” but he didn't argue.

“He gave her a good life,” Adam said. “Everything she desired and more.” He did not sound approving.

“My mother said you told her Jacob met another woman.” Again, words burst from Edward's mouth. Adam frowned at his brother but Edward rushed on. “A Miss Foster. That explains why Anstiss didn't make him happy any more.”

“That's just gossip,” Adam said, shaking his head. “We don't know if it's true.”

“You know, don't you?” Edward demanded of Rees.

Rees recalled Georgianne. That prickly manner of hers seemed unlikely to cause such high passions. “I've met Mrs. Foster,” he said, choosing his words with care. “I believe they worked together on some committee that offers aid to indigent widows and orphans. I would describe her as plain and a bluestocking.”

“They were seen together,” Edward said, his mouth curling. “I asked around. From what I was told, she was clinging to his arm like a barnacle, and it looked as though they were more than acquaintances.” Rees thought that sounded more like Isabella than Georgianne, but he did not want to further enrage this man. “I only wonder,” Edward added in a soft, angry voice, “why cousin Matthew did not confide in me.”

Adam grasped his brother's arm. “Maybe he learned of his father's indiscretion only recently,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed upon Rees. “He can't have enjoyed seeing his father become a laughingstock all over town.”

“There's no fool like an old fool,” Edward said.

Rees did not speak, and for a few seconds the three men stood together in silence. A seagull glided down to the dock and pranced across it, looking for scraps.

“We know nothing and really can't help you,” Adam said at last. “In the last few years we saw Anstiss and her family only once in a great while. And almost never recently. Even our dealings with Jacob went through his supercargo. If Edward and Matthew hadn't both taken on playacting we'd have had no news of Anstiss at all.” His voice trailed away.

Rees nodded and gestured to the ship. “You preparing to sail soon?”

“Not me,” Adam said. “Edward will captain this voyage.”

“I plan to sail with the tide later this week,” Edward said, glancing over his shoulder.

“And now, if you have no more questions, we must return to work.” Adam turned toward the mate, still busily checking off the casks, although Rees fancied he could see the mate's ears flapping with curiosity.

Rees thanked the brothers and watched them ascend the gangplank. Adam called out to each of his crew, his voice fading as he crossed the deck. Rees began walking away, his feet taking him to the ropewalks at the top of the docks. He thought he might look in on Billy, see what he did. But mostly, Rees planned to wander the jetties looking for the black-haired sailor he'd seen talking to Matthew. Jacob Boothe may not have been involved in smuggling, but Matthew? Probably.

Rees walked back and forth across the docks for the rest of the morning, his frustration increasing with every step. He saw no sign of the sailor with the gold earrings or of Matthew Boothe. Were they hiding from him? Or was Rees looking in the wrong place entirely?

Finally, irritated—a whole morning gone and nothing to show for it—Rees walked back to Mrs. Baldwin's Emporium. As he passed the brothel, Annie, who was shaking rugs out from the back door, offered him a shy little flutter of her fingers. Rees returned the greeting and continued on, feeling a little better. Surely someone would know of that elusive sailor. Why, even Billy might know; Rees could ask him when he came home for dinner. Breaking into a whistle, he hurried down the last lane to the gate into Mrs. Baldwin's yard.

The gate was open and through it he saw a very familiar buggy. Amos was still between the traces. Twig had made much better time traveling to Maine on his horse than Rees would have in a wagon. Rees ran, first to the barn, and then, turning, to the back door leading into the house. As he sprinted across the dirt, Lydia stepped out, smiling. When Rees reached her, he snatched her into his arms and whirled her around. “I am so glad to see you,” he cried.

She laughed. “Put me down. Everyone is watching us.”

Rees obeyed, realizing as he did so that Mrs. Baldwin and Twig were standing in the open door. Mrs. Baldwin lifted her apron and dabbed at her teary eyes.

“Come in,” she said. “Finish your tea, Mrs. Rees. Come in and sit down.”

Lydia smiled at Rees. At six months pregnant, her belly swelled within her blue gown. With a twinge of guilt, Rees realized her eyes were shadowed with fatigue. “Are you hungry?” he asked her.

“Very,” she said. “I always seem to be, now.”

“Nothing for me,” said Twig. “I want to see…” His eyes sought out Rees's.

Xenobia. Of course. “We'll talk a little later,” Rees said to the undertaker. As Twig ran toward his rawboned chestnut, Rees took Lydia's arm and guided her to the house. Mrs. Baldwin had laid out tea and little cakes at the kitchen table. She left the doors into the hall and from the hall into the shop open so that she would hear any customer who entered. Lydia sat down and picked up her teacup. Rees pushed his chair as close as he could to her. Although he accepted a cake that he devoured in two bites, he did not want to sit here, exchanging pleasantries with Lydia and Mrs. Baldwin. He was desperate to spend some time alone with his wife.

“When is the baby due?” asked Mrs. Baldwin, picking up the thread of a previous conversation.

“Some time in the fall; late September, I think,” Lydia said, her eyes glancing away from Rees for only a second.

“Let me bring in your valise,” Rees said.

Lydia shook her head. “Your friend Mr. Eaton brought it in. My things are already upstairs.”

“Were you waiting long?”

“Less than an hour,” said Mrs. Baldwin briskly. “I'll ask Billy to unhitch the buggy and put the horse in the barn. Next to the other one,” she added with a smile.

“The Moon and Stars is nearby,” Rees said, never removing his gaze from Lydia's face. “The food isn't bad; we can eat our dinner there.”

She put her cup into its saucer with a little click. “Good.” Smiling at Mrs. Baldwin, Lydia added, “Mr. Eaton was so eager to return to Salem we barely stopped. Thank you so much for the tea.”

“You're very welcome. It will be nice to have another woman in the house, even if it's only for a little while,” Mrs. Baldwin said. She smiled at Lydia and Rees realized with a start that his landlady was only a few years older than his wife, and probably his younger by the same amount. He'd begun thinking of her as an old woman, since she was a widow and had a teenage son, but she wasn't.

He offered his arm to Lydia. She looked at the plates and cups upon the table as though she should gather them up.

“Don't worry about the dishes,” said Mrs. Baldwin, correctly interpreting Lydia's expression. “I'll take care of them. You go along with your husband. I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about.”

Lydia stood, leaning on Rees's arm. “Thank you, Mrs. Baldwin. I look forward to visiting with you.” Mrs. Baldwin nodded with a smile.

As Rees and Lydia walked arm in arm into the back yard, she reached up and rubbed her hand over his chin. “My goodness, look at these ginger whiskers. You're beginning to grow a beard.”

Rees laughed. “Without you, shaving seemed an unnecessary distraction. How are you?” He inspected her face. “You look tired. Are those children…?” He stopped, feeling his face stiffening. He'd thought little of the children. “I left you to care for them alone.” Regret silenced him.

“Don't worry,” Lydia said. “They were little trouble. Jerusha is quite strict.”

“Is David caring for them now?”

She laughed. “No. Sally Potter took Nancy, Joseph, and Judah into her house. Jerusha chose to stay at the farm.” Lydia glanced at Rees. “She takes her responsibility as my helper very seriously. And I couldn't separate Simon from David.”

Rees nodded. From the first, when eight-year-old Simon had met David and realized he was the one who knew about the farm, Simon had idolized the older boy. Simon had become David's shadow and his adoration had gone some way to easing David's anger. Rees thought David was fond of Simon, nicknaming him Squeaker and allowing him to tag along and help with chores. Relief soothed some of Rees's worry—he'd been more concerned than he'd wanted to admit—and he felt a spurt of cautious optimism about the future of his combined family.

“Suzanne promised to look in on them,” Lydia continued. “But Abby won't be there. Her parents refused to allow her to remain while I was absent.”

“I daresay David is unhappy about that,” Rees said. He suspected that the two young people would wed in a few years. Of course, her parents would hope it was not a forced marriage, and Rees did as well.

“But your sister Caroline haunted me,” Lydia's said. “I finally had to ask Constable Caldwell to speak to her and forbid her to visit the farm. You must come home after this, Will, and settle her.” A line formed between her brows. “Sam's condition is worse. He has no more sense than a little child and must be watched constantly. If he escapes the house, he wanders and can't remember how to find his way home. I do feel sorry for Caroline, but she is far too demanding. I was happy to leave for a little while.”

Rees did not speak. Sam's injury at Rees's hands had made Caroline even more insistent and difficult than before. He didn't know how to fix the issues between them but he promised himself one thing: he would treat Caroline with more respect and not with the condescension he'd witnessed in the behavior of the Boothe brothers toward Peggy.

“But let's not talk about that now,” Lydia said. She looked up at him, her eyes beginning to shine with excitement. “Tell me why you wanted me to join you. And about the murder.”

 

Chapter Fourteen

Rees guided Lydia into the Moon and Stars and, once they were seated, he embarked upon the story. He started from the very beginning, when he'd attended the averil after Mrs. Boothe's funeral. Lydia asked a few questions but mostly just listened, eating her way through her lobster pie. Rees ate as he talked, realizing when he scraped his plate that he had eaten it all without tasting it.

“Have you conferred with the men whose names Mr. Crowninshield gave you?” Lydia asked, when Rees finally took a breath.

“Not yet. Anyway,” Rees added, “I suspect they will tell me the same tale he did.”

Lydia nodded but said, “I would speak to them anyway. Just in case you hear something else, something, perhaps, not to his credit. I would like to meet Georgianne Foster and her cousin. It sounds as though they experienced a different side of Jacob Boothe. He may have confided in them, even if Georgianne elected not to share that with you. Besides, you may be wrong about her relationship with Jacob Boothe. Some men prefer a lively woman.” Rees grinned and took her hand in his. “And, of course, I must meet the Boothe family. It certainly sounds, from your description, like Matthew Boothe is involved in something. It might not be smuggling though. He seems entirely too indolent for that kind of profession.”

Rees considered Lydia's words. “Yes-s-s,” he said slowly. “But I saw him conferring with the sailor.”

“Could be other reasons for that,” Lydia said.