Murder in the Park by Jeanne M. Dams

Author:Jeanne M. Dams [M. Dams, Jeanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2021-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

The afternoon wore on. Elizabeth fetched and carried, peeled and sliced apples, cleaned rhubarb and cut it into pieces. She was not entrusted with the delicate, skilled job of making piecrust, but she observed while Lucy explained the fine points. The kitchen began to fill with mouthwatering aromas, and also with stifling heat. The respite brought by the storm had been brief; heat and humidity were building again. Through the open windows they could hear the faint sound of trains from Chicago arriving and departing again. With every train whistle, Elizabeth’s nerves tightened, and then sagged again as the sounds diminished into the distance.

Lucy was beginning to assemble the makings of a light supper when they heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. Elizabeth only then realized how tense she’d been.

The tension returned and mounted high when he came into the kitchen.

‘Fred!’ both woman cried.

His tie was askew, his jacket sleeve torn. One cheek was swollen and purple, and his nose looked like it had been bleeding. He sat down heavily.

‘Fred, what happened?’ Lucy had taken a small block of ice from the icebox and was breaking it up. ‘Did you get in a fight? Did someone hurt you?’

‘No, and yes. It wasn’t a fight, but I do hurt. Ouch!’

Lucy had carefully wrapped the ice in a towel and applied it to his cheek. ‘It’ll feel better soon, I promise. Would you like some coffee?’

‘Not right now. Hey, you’re right. It’s feeling better. Maybe some water? And an aspirin?’

When these remedies had been administered, Elizabeth said, ‘Fred. Tell us.’

‘It wasn’t anything, really. I was coming back from Tribune Tower, just minding my own business, when I ran into a melee just outside the train station. There must have been fifteen or twenty men having at it with fists and broken bottles and I don’t know what all. It was too confusing to see much.’

‘Guns? Was there shooting?’

‘No shooting that I heard, and I didn’t see any guns. But I wasn’t looking. I just wanted to get out of there, fast. I went around the block to come at the station from the other way, but there was a gang of toughs coming down the street there, too. It looked like turning into a full-scale riot, so I just tried to skirt the crowd and keep my head down. It didn’t work too well.’

‘I should say not!’ said Lucy indignantly. ‘Why did they start in on you?’

‘They didn’t, really. I was just in the way. At one point I got shoved into the wall of the station – that’s where the bruise came from – and I fell once. That was the worst part. I thought they would trample on me. But I managed to roll away, into the door of the station, and that was that. I’m sorry I’m such a sight. There wasn’t time to wash up before the next train left, and I just wanted to get home.’

‘But who were these people? What was it all about?’

‘I have no idea.

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