Chapter 16

Shae finished stirring the lemonade just as the doorbell sounded. After placing the spoon into the sink, she dried her hands and raced out of the kitchen, heading for the door. She didn’t want to keep Isaac waiting after he finally accepted her invitation. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for this visit, she needed him here. The afternoon should prove interesting and she hoped, productive.

“Isaac!” she called out in greeting, “I’m so glad you’re here. Please, come in. I thought we’d go into the drawing room for our little visit, if that meets with your approval. Come on, it’s this way.” She gestured for him to follow her into the roomy hallway.

“Any place is fine,” Isaac said as his gaze traveled about the foyer.

“Can I get you anything before we get started? I have a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade if you’d like some, and I made some oatmeal cookies if I can tempt you with those. They are pretty good, if I do say so myself, and unfortunately most of the time I usually have to.” She smiled in an effort to put him at ease.

“The cookies do sound delicious, but I’m fine for the moment, thank you,” he replied.

“Well, if you don’t mind my bringing it to your attention, you don’t look fine. In fact, you look a bit pale. Or maybe ‘queasy’ would be the better word to describe that greenish hue attached to your face,” she teased.

“You have to forgive me. I’ve come not knowing what to expect. You must remember I know a bit of the history of this house, from not only my mother, but from other hapless victims—I mean visitors as well. They all say the same thing. Mortals are not welcome here, you being the one obvious exception.”

Shae only smiled in return. After all, what could she really say to that?

“Such being the case, should I anticipate the angry spirit of Tristan Jordahl to threaten my life inside the drawing room? Or will he merely pop through one of the walls once I sit down and thereby startle me out of my wits? Of course, for that matter I suppose he could plummet through the ceiling just as easily,” he said as his eyes twinkled with merriment.

Shae laughed over his various scenarios as they entered the drawing room. “I suppose he is capable of doing any one of those things. Lucky for you, though, today he won’t. I promise.”

“So this is the place where your guests are detained, I mean, entertained.” Isaac nudged her with his elbow and winked.

“You got it,” she answered in return.

Isaac leaned on his cane and pivoted a bit to the right. As his gaze lit on the photographs, he nodded toward them and asked, “Relatives of yours?”

“Most of them. The color portraits are of my parents, and my twin sisters along with their husbands and children. The solitary female is my baby sister, Nicole.” Shae folded her arms and tilted her head as her gaze wandered to the photo of the handsome Union captain. “However, the other two pictures you see there are of Captain Tristan Jordahl and his mother.”

The comment elicited his surprise. He switched his gaze from her face, to the photo of Tristan, and then met her gaze once more. Nevertheless, he remained silent and simply nodded.

“Have a seat and just make yourself at home,” she said, “and I’ll go get my file. I promise you don’t have to worry that the captain will plummet through the ceiling and land in your lap while I’m gone.”

She walked out of the drawing room and toward her office with the sound of Isaac’s gentle laughter echoing behind her. Tristan appeared at the bottom of the steps, just as she placed a hand against her office door. The grin on his face told her he listened in on the light-hearted conversation she and Isaac just shared.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to plummet through the ceiling?” he asked as he matched the stride of his steps with hers.

“Well, if I really thought you’d land in his lap, I might be tempted to take you up on that offer. The look on Isaac’s face would be priceless, I’m sure.” She grinned up at him and raised a mischievous brow. “However, I did promise. He is elderly and probably in delicate health, so—”

Tristan waited as she retrieved her file. Once she had it in her hands, they ambled into the kitchen to fetch her refreshment tray. On the way back to the drawing room she said, “Don’t forget. If something else occurs to you during our visit, bring it to my attention.”

“Will do.” Tristan gave her a little salute as they made their way toward the sofa.

Shae focused her attention on Isaac before she took her seat and gave him a smile. “All kidding aside, Isaac, I want to thank you again for coming today. I know you’re not really comfortable, but everything I have pertaining to the captain is here, and as I told you earlier on the phone, Reuben has asked me to keep all of my documents under lock and key, even the copies.”

“Think nothing of it. I am happy to do whatever I can to help resolve this issue, and I’m certain my grandfather would expect no less of me either,” he replied.

“Are you sure I can’t get you something before we get started?” she asked, noting his lingering discomfort.

“Perhaps some of that lemonade wouldn’t be such a bad idea, after all,” he said. “All of a sudden, I feel a bit dry.”

“I’m not surprised. We’ve enjoyed a rather warm day,” Shae replied. She poured Isaac a glass of lemonade, and then offered him the cookies. He grabbed one off the plate, took a bite, and slowly chewed it. He needed a moment of composure and used the cookie to obtain it. She understood and took a bit of time extracting her list of questions from the file. Only then did she take a seat next to Tristan.

After Isaac finished eating, he brushed the crumbs off his hands and said, “You mentioned you had a few questions you hoped I could answer?”

“Yes, I do. I thought we could begin by discussing the men who acted as witnesses to the summary report,” she began. “Do you happen to know why Nils chose these particular men for the assignment in the first place?”

“As time passed, my grandfather finally came to believe the major chose them at random,” Isaac replied as he dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “At first he thought otherwise. He said in the beginning his cockiness led him to believe the major sought men with special skills, and his captain noted him as such. However, much later he concluded that Adlundsen simply walked into their camp and randomly pointed to the four of them without knowing anything about them at all. His pride suffered a bit of a blow after the discovery.”

“I don’t suppose you know why they might have added the name of Forseth Ericksen as a witness to the incident?” she asked. “As you recall, he was the patient here at Starling who underwent surgery the day before.”

“You know, this part is hazy, so you will have to forgive me for my uncertainty.” Isaac hesitated as he cupped his hand around his chin and gave it a rub. “I tried to think back after you mentioned his name. I’m certain my grandfather never introduced that name during our conversation. Something occurred to me then. I wondered if Forseth Ericksen and the captain knew each other.”

“Yes, we knew each other. He served under my command,” Tristan whispered to her ears alone.

“Yes, in fact, Forseth Ericksen served under the captain’s command,” she repeated. All the while, she remembered to keep her focus solely on Isaac.

“Did he know any of the other men on the list?” asked Isaac.

“No, none of them,” the captain answered.

“No, he didn’t.” Shaelynn cleared her throat. Tristan could see that this was not as easy as she first anticipated, and he grinned.

“Then perhaps that’s why they wanted, maybe even needed, his name on the list of witnesses,” Isaac suggested.

As Tristan considered the idea, he found merit. Why not use the name of a man who knew him well enough to testify against him, yet was much too ill to refute the statement he supposedly signed, should one question him later.

“You know, he might be right at that,” Tristan acknowledged.

“Is there anything else?” asked Isaac.

“Yes,” she said, glancing down at her notes. “You told me that Nils briefed your grandfather along with the other three men, regarding the case he compiled against Tristan. Did he share any of his supposed facts with you?”

“As a matter of fact, he did share a few. My grandfather told me Major Adlundsen called a meeting with the group of men he assembled to assist in his arrest. After swearing them to secrecy, he confided that he only began to suspect Captain Jordahl as the person responsible for the defeat at Chickamauga, when a soldier he did not choose to identify, stepped forward several days after the battle.

“According to the major, this man said after the skirmish ended, he happened to see the captain on the field talking to one of the Confederate captains. After their brief conversation, it appeared to his eyes that Jordahl shook his hand in a most friendly manner, after which they both walked off the field in opposite directions. The informant went on to say, he didn’t witness any animosity between the two of them. He said that under those circumstances there should have been some hostility, at least on the captain’s part, given the outcome of the battle.

“Shortly thereafter, someone who again remained nameless, intercepted a note addressed to Jordahl by a Confederate commander, and that person gave it to the major. According to Adlundsen, the commander thanked Jordahl for his timely assistance on the battlefield at Chickamauga.”

Tristan could see that Isaac related the memory just as he remembered it and without any hesitation or uncertainty.

He glanced over at Shaelynn to gauge her reaction to this newest revelation. She steadily met his gaze, her faith in him unwavering. Although he personally never laid eyes on the referenced note, he could easily explain the matter, which held no great importance.

“We had a lot of casualties on that particular day,” Tristan said. “Thousands of bodies littered the field, both Union and Confederate. Neither side felt as if the current battle truly ended. Therefore, neither side moved to claim their wounded or dead. I walked out onto the open field then, and Captain Harris, commander of the Southern army, stepped out to meet me. During the course of our conversation, we agreed upon a short cease-fire, so that each side could tend to their injured and fallen.

“I’m sure the note expressing gratitude from the Confederates arrived because so many of their men fell very close to our line. Dispatching any Confederate soldier brave enough to collect their comrades wouldn’t have been at all difficult for us. Nevertheless, both Harris and I felt enough blood spilled into the ground that day. Neither of us wished to see any more good men die for their cause. I can tell you he desired an end to the war, just as much as I did,” he finished quietly.

Shaelynn paused for just a moment before she relayed the details to Isaac, just as he gave them to her.

Isaac merely nodded as if satisfied with the explanation.

“Did Nils say anything else?” she asked.

“No, he said those were the only details the major divulged concerning the captain’s actions. The major simply added that during the course of his investigation, his collection of evidence grew insomuch that he could no longer deny his guilt. He said that during Captain Jordahl’s court martial, he would most regrettably present the rest of his evidence,” Isaac replied.

“I see.” Shaelynn took a moment to gather the accumulated paperwork from her file and handed the documents off to Isaac. She patiently waited for him to sift through each of the pages. They discussed her findings, and then she shared some of the details relating to Tristan’s final day of mortality. Those details included portions of what Nils Adlundsen, in his madness, revealed before he made his attack.

Isaac remained thoughtful as their conversation ended and finally said, “I wonder if you can answer a question for me. The question has nagged me for decades. Perhaps you might now know the answer.”

Tristan had to smile over the carefully phrased question. Isaac suspected his presence. The man had stamina. He had to give him that.

“I’ll answer it if I can,” Shaelynn replied.

“As you recall, my grandfather mentioned that when his company arrived at the church, they found three horses tied at the post. Captain Berntsen sent him back inside the structure, feeling there must be one other person they needed to find. Of course, after a thorough search of the surrounding area, they discovered no one else. Have you discovered who the third horse belonged to?” Isaac took another sip of his lemonade and gazed pointedly in Shaelynn’s direction.

“Both horses belonged to Nils. He used the gray to carry his provisions whenever he traveled,” Tristan said, feeling he solved the mystery easily enough.

“Both horses belonged to Nils. He used one of them as his pack horse,” Shaelynn repeated.

“Why would he need a saddle on it then?” asked Isaac, as he shot a glance at the photograph. “And in case you have forgotten, the company of men removed a clean Union uniform inside the saddlebags. A small uniform, which couldn’t possibly have fit either Captain Jordahl or the major.”

Tristan stared at Isaac as he struggled to call the scene to memory. He shifted toward Shaelynn and said, “I must admit I never gave Nils’s horses a second thought, other than the fact they were getting a bit impatient. Nils left them tied to the post, instead of allowing them to graze. However, now that he brings those horses to my attention, I think he might be right. Both horses did wear saddles, just as his grandfather reported.”

Once again, Shaelynn repeated what he said.

“Well then perhaps you can understand my bewilderment. Logic would tell us there should be another rider around somewhere,” Isaac said. “Yet, they could find no one else on the premises.”

“And you’re certain he said the saddlebags contained nothing but the one uniform?” she asked for clarification.

Isaac nodded as he placed his glass on the coaster. “Yes and again, he said the uniform wouldn’t fit either of the men.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Nils carry a uniform that didn’t fit?” Tristan asked the question that Shaelynn in turn, repeated aloud.

“Well, that’s the very reason Berntsen sent my grandfather back inside the church. He said someone else surely needed assistance or a body needed recovering,” Isaac replied.

Tristan shook his head as he lifted his shoulders in bewilderment. “I didn’t see any evidence of anyone inside or outside of the church, other than Nils.”

Long after Isaac bade them goodbye, Tristan and Shae continued to discuss the mystery of the saddled horse and the small Union uniform.

“Putting a saddle on the horse just doesn’t make any sense, unless Nils intended for someone to ride him. But whom?” Tristan rubbed his fingers across his chin as he mulled over the quandary.

“Tristan,” Shaelynn began, with a hint of excitement in her voice. “When Adlundsen said ‘it was just too perfect an opportunity to ignore,’ could he have been referring to the meeting with Captain Harris and the note from the Confederate commander he intercepted?”

He considered the notion for a moment, and had to agree with the likelihood of such an occurrence. “You’re probably right. That may give us the reason he accused me of treason in the first place, but it still doesn’t explain the why of it. And it certainly doesn’t explain why he made the decision to forgo his presentation of fabricated evidence at my court martial and chose instead, to end my life at the church.”

Shaelynn sat quiet for a time, with her legs crossed on the sofa. She began playing with her bare toes as she shifted her gaze toward the window. The action made him smile.

“You know, I find it interesting you didn’t remember seeing saddles on both horses until Isaac brought it to your attention. Therefore, the possibility exists that you might have missed something else as well. A small detail that went unnoticed. A detail that might help us discover the identity of the rider. Maybe he’s the key to solving the whole mystery surrounding your death. Given the circumstances, I would say there’s at least a chance you might have overlooked something else, don’t you think?”

“That is possible.”

“I just wished that somehow we could know for sure.” She exhaled a sigh and settled a little deeper into the sofa.

Tristan caught and held her gaze as he considered her comment.

She tilted her head to the side as she regarded him. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

“There is a way, actually,” he replied.

“A way for what?” She raised a brow in confusion.

“A way to show you, in minute detail, exactly what happened after I arrived at the church, if you’ve the stomach for it, that is,” he added.

“Show me?” She shook her head as if still confused.

“There is a way for you to, ‘experience,’ shall we say, the events leading up to my death. You would see it, kind of like watching a movie.” He waited as his words inched their way toward understanding. At that moment, an involuntary shudder coursed through her body. Perhaps he should toss the idea altogether. He shouldn’t have mentioned it.

“I would have to watch you die?” She blanched over the very thought of such a thing.

“Bad idea.” He shrugged indifferently as he crossed his arms against his chest. “Sorry, I mentioned it.”