A White Room by Stephanie Carroll

Author:Stephanie Carroll
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Unhinged Books
Published: 2013-05-21T23:00:00+00:00

We lugged Mr. Turner, half-asleep and half-drunk, to Lottie’s. After dropping him onto a mattress, Oliver crouched to observe him and then looked at me. “Thank you, Mrs. Dorr, for this.”

“I am just glad I could help.” I moved to leave.

Lottie touched my shoulder to stop me. “Would you do it again?”

I turned. “Do what?”

“You know ’bout stuff not everyone know,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since that Coddington come to town, none of the poor folk been able to get any help with sickness and the like.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You know…”

I raised my eyebrows.

“He finds people who ain’t got a doctor’s license. People ’round here used to help one another out of kindness and God and such. They helped with stuff ain’t need no doctor for but stuff not everyone know ’bout. Like midwives, who knew things ’bout babies and helped with deliveries. Then that lawyer come down from the big ol’ city and gave them people papers and threw big bug words at ’em until they stopped or left.”

“Why?” I asked.

Oliver stood and walked to us.

Lottie gestured dramatically as she explained, circling her arms around and pointing. “He had the whole town talkin’ how dangerous it was havin’ anyone other than a doctor fix ’em, say people been killin’ people, say people been hackin’ people up left and right in the city, and it wouldn’t be long till they start hackin’ on us too.”

“Had they?”

She squeezed her lips into an uncertain pout and turned to Oliver.

Oliver folded his arms and clenched his shirt.

Lottie looked back at me. “We ain’t too sure, but the town was so convinced, damn near forced all them kind folk to stop or leave, except for—one tried to fight ’em, at a courthouse.”

The little shanty swelled with humidity and I shifted my weight.

“Matter a fact,” Oliver said, “Mr. Nelson used to live in the house you in now.”

“The man who lived in my house didn’t charge anything?” I asked. “He went against Mr. Coddington?”

“Was a good man,” Oliver said. “Most of the people who helped others with the little things were friends, family, and the like, but he helped anybody and knew city medicine.”

Lottie waved at a fly buzzing around her head. “He and his wife delivered several of our chillin.” She touched Oliver’s arm with a doleful expression. “His family helped with lots a stuff.”

“He said he wouldn’t bow out to Mr. Coddington,” Oliver said. “He was one of the few who knew some things, knew the law.”

“And…what happened?”

Lottie sighed and her husband lowered his chin.

“He didn’t know enough,” Lottie said in a quiet voice.

“The costs were too much,” Oliver said. “He lost his home to the bank, all the furnishin’s. Everythin’, gone. The whole town turned against him and his family, even people they helped. Mr. Coddington and the Bradbridges led the pack.”

“Just when things couldn’t get any worse, they did,” Lottie said.

“When Mr. Coddington attacked Mr. Nelson, he stopped offerin’ to help so easily,” Oliver said. “Too afraid it would get him in more trouble.

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