ON TUESDAY MORNING NO ONE was quite sure what they should be doing. Adam, Martin, and Jones had thought they’d be out surveying, but those plans obviously changed. Boaz, Elliot, and Joe had thought they’d be working in the warehouse—with Ed Willis—on the barrels for the Martin estate, but that also wasn’t happening, since Elliot and Joe had gone up to Portsmouth Island to inform his family of his death.
Adam was always the last one to wake up—and it was usually because of hearing Boaz and Emmanuel shuffling around. When he realized he’d slept in until eight o’clock, he was alarmed. It took a few seconds for the fog to clear out of his brain enough for him to remember the events of the previous day. Then he was even more worried. Emmanuel never did go see the constable the night before—in fact, he never came out of his room. And it wasn’t like Boaz to let him sleep in.
He quickly threw off the covers and got up out of bed. He went out of his room, through Boaz’s room and the kitchen, and then he saw Boaz at the table, writing something on a piece of paper.
“Where’s Emmanuel?” Adam asked.
“Still in bed,” said Boaz.
“Is he alright?”
Boaz shrugged but was still looking down at the paper in front of him. “Can’t really say. Haven’t been able to talk to him.”
“But you’ve checked on him, right?”
Boaz looked up, annoyed. “Of course. He ain’t dead or anything. He just don’t feel like gettin up, I reckon.”
Adam narrowed his eyes in frustration at Boaz and strode across the sitting area towards Emmanuel’s room. He gave the heavy oak door a light knock, but there was no answer. He slowly pushed the door open and peered into the room.
“Emmanuel?”
His grandfather made no answer. He was lying on his side, wrapped up tightly in his covers. Adam quietly entered the room and approached his bed.
He lightly tapped Emmanuel on the shoulder. “Emmanuel.”
Finally, the old man stirred a little bit. He opened his eyes and saw Adam standing in front of him.
“Are you alright?” asked Adam.
“Adam.” Emmanuel reached his arm across his body and took hold of his grandson’s hand. “Son, will you please prepare me a cup of willow bark tea?”
“Of course,” said Adam. “Can I bring you anything else?”
“Is there anything to eat?”
Adam shrugged. “I don’t even know. As soon as I woke up and saw you weren’t up yet, I came right in here. I can fix you something, though.”
Emmanuel gave him a weak smile. “Thank you, son. Any simple thing would be fine.”
“Are you hurting really bad?”
Emmanuel gave a slight nod. Adam could see that it was difficult for him to move his head. “The pain in my back is nearly unbearable.”
“I’ll go fix you something to eat and some of that tea. I’ll be back in just a little bit.”
As Adam started to leave the room, Emmanuel called out to him.
“Oh, Adam, one more thing. Please tell Boaz he must go see his cousin. I was too poorly to get out last night, and I’m afraid my condition isn’t much improved today.”
When Adam returned to the sitting room, he told Boaz what Emmanuel had said. His grandfather had been referring to Constable Lawson Squires, who just happened to be Boaz’s cousin.
“I was already figurin on doing that,” said Boaz. “I need to finish this first,” he added, pointing at the paper he had been scribbling on in front of him.
Adam wrinkled his brow in curiosity at Boaz as he crossed the room into the kitchen. “What is that?”
“I’m tryin to make a list of all the things y’all said yesterday. I don’t want to forget anything.”
Adam called back into the room, “Oh well, I guess I should have mentioned that I can get you some notes together about that. In fact I already have some, but I just need a few minutes before I can get them together. I’m making Emmanuel some food and willow bark tea right now.”
He could hear Boaz groan from the next room.
“I wish you’d have told us you had notes before I started writing all this,” Boaz complained.
Adam thought about the fact that he didn’t have the notebook. It was with Ben down at the tavern. He’d have to quickly go down there and get it from him and bring it back so that Boaz could take it to Constable Squires.
He quickly disappeared into his room and got dressed before he whipped up Emmanuel’s breakfast and took it in to him. No sooner had he done that, he left the warehouse and told Boaz he’d be back shortly with the notes.
Now he had to get to the tavern fast and just pray that Ben would be around.