Murder at the Bellamy Mansion by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter

Author:Ellen Elizabeth Hunter [Hunter, Ellen Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 9780373267224
Publisher: Worldwide
Published: 2009-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

18

“During the Civil War, Union troops occupied the Bellamy home,” Binkie was saying. The microphone he spoke into was a small device called a lavaliere that was pinned to his jacket. A cord had been looped around his waist, attached to a power pack that was clipped onto his waist band. I had been hooked up with a similar device.

Cam was acting as the moderator, asking questions of a distinguished panel of local historians and preservationists. During the introduction, he had interviewed the executive director of the museum separately. Now he invited, “Tell us about those times, Dr. Higgins.”

In anticipation of The Bellamy Mansion’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, Cameron Jordan, as CEO of Gem Star Productions, was producing a special feature for Exploring North Carolina, the PBS show that aired on PBS stations around the state.

Binkie was in his element, as if he had prepared for this moment all of his career. His enthusiasm for the subject of the history of his hometown deflected whatever nervousness he may have felt.

Aunt Ruby had told me he had been practicing in front of the mirror for weeks. Plus, had tried on every bowtie he owned and finally sent her to Belk’s to buy a new one in a vivid red.

“He intends not to be outshined,” she had said with a chuckle. “How I love that man. I am so mighty grateful that we found each other so that we could share a few good years together. My stars, imagine how empty my life would be if I did not know this bliss.”

I had teared up when she told me that. As a nurse, Aunt Ruby had been trained to keep her feelings to herself, which made her heartfelt confidences all the more precious.

Our panel was seated in the front formal parlor of the mansion. Two of us sat on an antique deep red Duncan Phyfe sofa. A painting titled “Child with Dog” by Belle Bellamy, the family’s oldest daughter, and a most talented painter, hung on the wall behind us.

Binkie looked straight into the camera, not a mite hesitant. “This glorious antebellum mansion, of which Wilmington is justly proud, was under construction in 1859. But it wasn’t until early in 1861 that the Bellamy family moved into their residence. Two months later the war began when a Confederate militia attacked federal Fort Sumter. However, it was not the war that drove the Bellamys from their home. Rather, it was old Yellow Jack.”

“By old Yellow Jack, you are referring to the Yellow Fever epidemic, are you not, Dr. Higgins?” Cam asked.

“I am,” Binkie said. “In the late summer of 1862, the Yellow Fever epidemic hit this city and the results were fatal. Six hundred souls perished of the fever within three months. At that time it was not known that the fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. Sailors aboard a blockade runner, the Kate, brought the fever to Wilmington and this area; mosquitoes did the spreading. Villages further inland were spared. Later the steamers were quarantined before they could sail into port, but by then it was too late for many.

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