Chapter 19

Shae slowed the jeep as she drove through the impressive Point Park entrance to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

While eyeing the walls made of stone and castle turrets on either side of the road, Tristan raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t remember seeing anything like this before.”

“I suppose not. The Army Corp of Engineers built it in 1905. Just a little bit after your time, I think.”

“I wonder what possessed them to build something like that in the first place,” he murmured.

“I don’t know. All I know is they built it to memorialize the Battle Above the Clouds, a phrase the famous quartermaster general, Montgomery Cunningham Meigs coined in reference to the action that took place on Lookout Mountain. Seems that during the fight, a very thick fog rolled in on the battlefield. Neither army could see a thing in front of them. Nevertheless, both sides kept the guns blazing at each other in their quest to win the day. The good news, they say, is that very few men actually lost their lives during the battle.” She glanced over at him then as she wondered if he might have fought in that very battle and seen the fog himself.

“But then again, you probably already know all about that first hand.” She cleared her throat. “Did you happen to know him?”

“Know who? Meigs?” He shook his head and turned his gaze toward the window. “No, not intimately.”

Something in his tone made her search his face. Did Meigs do something to displease him? At once, she sought for an immediate change in subject. “We’re a little bit early. My dad is not set to arrive for another half an hour or so. We could wait for him at the visitor’s center and look at some of the displays, or if you’d rather, we could walk the grounds for a while. He’s supposed to call me when he gets here, so it doesn’t matter what we do in the meantime.”

“Well then I think maybe I would like to walk the grounds, if you don’t mind. Ever since you mentioned this little outing, I’ve anticipated seeing this place again,” he replied as his gaze swept over his surroundings. “If nothing else, just to see the changes.”

“We didn’t have to wait for my dad’s visit to come here, you know. Anytime you want to go somewhere or see something, all you have to do is ask. I’d be happy to take you.” She said as she signaled a left hand turn.

Tristan tossed her a lopsided grin. “I suppose if I really wanted to see something that bad, I could just take myself, Shaelynn.”

She shot him a glance. “Oh, right. Then how about, I’d be happy to accompany you?” Yet, now that he made the statement, she really wanted to know. “Exactly how do you get from one place to the other—at great distances, I mean.”

“Oh, I don’t know. For lack of a better explanation, I guess you could say we just sort of think our way there,” he replied.

“You think your way there. Hmm. Then, how long does it take you to ‘think’ yourself, to say, the east coast, and see the ocean if you want to visit it?” she asked.

“Probably not very long. We don’t keep track of time in the same manner you do, so it’s hard to say. The last time we visited the coast off North Carolina, it didn’t take us very long to get there,” he said. “We left well after sunset and returned home about dawn.”

Shae drew her brows together as she considered the statement. In all her time at Starling, she’d never seen the spirits leave the premises. Not that they couldn’t or didn’t while she slept or lost herself in her work. “When did you last see the ocean?”

“Probably decades.” He shrugged and then grinned. “Chauncey proposed a visit to England once. He thought it would be a great adventure to see far-off places. Beau put a damper on it, right away. Despite his love for the ocean while he lived, we discovered he’s afraid to go near it now that he’s without his physical body. For his sake, we stay away from them. He doesn’t seem to mind lakes and rivers, though.”

“Why is he afraid of the ocean?”

“He said he’s just not sure how a spirit and a large body of water might mix, and he’s not brave enough to want to find out. Although we told him we could remain above it easily enough, he still worried over the possibility of a giant wave shooting upward to grab hold of his form, and then mercilessly dragging him underneath the water. He said he didn’t want to reside down there for an infinite amount of time, with all the drowned pirates and sailors. They scare him, you know.” Tristan tapped the side of his head and laughed over his reasoning.

Shae still pondered Beau’s fears as she drove into the Chickamauga Visitor’s Center parking lot. At the same moment, her father and the members of his squad exited their rented SUV.

Her eyes lit up with excitement as she pointed toward the vehicle. “Well, it looks as if we’re going to have to hold off on that walk. That’s my dad right there in the white shirt. Apparently, they are early too.”

Tristan kept his gaze fastened on her as she bounded out of the jeep, leaving the door wide open. She rushed into the open arms of her father and received a crushing embrace. They looked truly happy to see each other. Their reunion made him smile. Once upon a time, he and his father enjoyed a relationship like that. He forced the painful thought aside, and instead, concentrated on Shaelynn as she greeted each of the men who gathered around her. They seemed happy to see her as well. But then again, she did mention that most of these men watched her grow from child to adult. A few minutes later, she shot a glance his way, excused herself from the group, and returned to the jeep.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you sitting here,” she said as she leaned inside and reached for the keys. “I guess I thought you would just follow me over.”

“I wanted you to have a private moment with your father,” he replied.

She rolled her eyes. “How private could it be with five other men crowding around us? I felt like a four-year-old again as they passed me from lap to lap.”

Tristan joined in her laughter. “I guess you have a point there. Are they planning on accompanying you and your father while you tour the grounds?” he asked.

“No, they’re going to allow us a private visit and I’m truly happy about that. I need his undivided attention when we show him the file. Anyway, they are arranging for a time and place to regroup, so my dad will wander over here in just a minute. Oh, here he comes now.”

“All right, Bret, have fun.” The short blond waved as her father started toward them. The man turned his gaze toward Shaelynn then and said, “Shae, it was good seeing you again.”

“You too, Woodrow.” She tossed him a smile as she grabbed her bag out of the jeep and slung it over her shoulder. Once she locked and closed the door, she faced her father and said, “All right, Dad, where to first? Do you want to start with the visitor’s center or would you rather walk the grounds? Unfortunately, you don’t have enough time to see everything inside the park, so we’ll need to pick the sites you really want to see, in the order you want to see them.”

“We might as well start with the visitor’s center since we’re already here,” Bret said as he took in his surroundings. “Is there a display with all of the records you’ve been working on yet?”

“No, not yet,” Shae said. “Reuben wants everything unveiled at the same time, during the opening ceremony, with the press in attendance. He’s been gathering all sorts of artifacts and photos to go along with the documents. I haven’t seen everything yet, but I hear it’s going to be spectacular. And of course, Professor Andersen will have a similar exhibit in Norway.”

“Sounds really interesting,” her father replied. “Have they settled on an opening date, then?”

“Yes, their target date is September,” she replied. “They would like to have the display coincide with the anniversary of the first battle of Chickamauga.”

“That makes good sense.” Bret shifted his gaze toward the building and tilted his head toward it. “Well, let’s go in, shall we?”

Once inside, they made their way to The War Comes to Chattanooga display, the first of many such displays that caught her father’s eye. As they walked along, Tristan shared his memories. Shae learned more at the center than she ever learned from him at Starling or from the displays themselves. Too bad Reuben and his team weren’t privy to the conversation.

After leaving the center, they toured the grounds. They stopped at each of the monuments, the historical tablets, and scenic vistas as they hiked along the historical trails. However, this time, Tristan said nothing. Shae wondered if he recalled the devastating battles he fought here or if something else bothered him. She would need to wait until after her father left for the airport, to ask.

“I think after all this walking, I’m getting a little hungry,” Bret said as he glanced down at his watch. “Is there some place we can get some lunch before I have to leave?”

“Yep, there is a restaurant just a few miles away. One of your favorites actually,” Shae said as they crossed the parking lot and headed toward the jeep.

Minutes later they entered the restaurant just as the rest of her father’s squad exited the same building. All of the men chatted amiably amongst themselves by the door. After taking note of the time, Victor paused, and asked him if they had taken the opportunity to visit the Cravens house.

“Yes, we did, on our way up the mountain,” Bret replied. “Did you guys get a chance to see it yet?”

“Not yet,” he said as he held the door open for the last member of his group. “But we are heading in that direction now, and time’s a-wasting. So, we’ll catch up with you at the Point Park Visitor Center and compare notes in a few hours. Shae, I really enjoyed seeing you again.”

“Likewise, Vic,” Shae replied as she then turned her attention to the hostess who awaited them with an armful of menus. “There’s just the two of us, but if you have one available, we would like a booth near a window.”

The pleasant woman nodded and motioned for them to follow her down the aisle. Tristan slid into the seat first, and she took a seat beside him. Her father sat opposite her, and wasted no time in perusing his menu.

“Let’s see what looks good today,” he said while taking his reading glasses out of his shirt pocket. “I’m starving and they sure don’t give you a whole lot to eat on the plane.”

As their lunch meal progressed to the dessert, Shae finally maneuvered the conversation toward her work. Her patience in discussing Tristan’s situation with her dad evaporated altogether and right now, she wanted to share her file and get his input.

“Well, I’m very pleased you could take some time off and spend it with me today. I really enjoyed your company. I’m just sorry your mom couldn’t be here. You should probably know she pouted for two full days over the slight,” he said.

Shae gave her dad a smile. “That sounds like Mom.”

“I promised her that I’d get her here for a long visit before you leave. She seemed satisfied enough with that,” Bret said. He leaned back a bit so the waitress could set his dessert plate in front of him and he wasted no time picking up his fork. “So, tell me, how is the work coming along anyway?”

“Well, as I said, the scanning of all known documents is finally complete, and as per Reuben’s request, I am focusing primarily on translating the Norwegian records into English. Reuben said he wants to have the exhibit at Chickamauga completed first. I think that’s mostly because they are still working everything out in Norway.”

“Have you found the translations at all difficult?” he asked as he shoved a bite of his strawberry cheesecake into his mouth.

“No, not really. The only problem I have encountered so far is the faded handwriting on some of the records. I can still read them well enough once I enlarge and sharpen them up a bit. And I think I can safely say that I have over two-thirds of the Norwegian to English documents completed. Unless, of course, they find something else they forgot to give me.” Shae moved her elbows off the table so the busboy could clear away the empty dinnerware. “Everyone seems very satisfied with my progress thus far.”

“Still, you’d be a lot further ahead if you didn’t focus so much of your attention on sorting through endless records, in the hope that one of them might mention my name,” Tristan whispered.

She turned her head and rolled her eyes in return.

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Bret said. “You have always taken your work very seriously. Even as a kid in school, you always got your assignments done well ahead of the due date. I can see that work ethic continues now, despite the quest you and Captain Jordahl have taken on.”

As if to say, “so there,” Shae stuck out a small portion of her tongue behind her hand and toward Tristan. He chuckled in return.

“Have you found anything new since the last time we spoke?” asked Bret, as he dabbed at his mouth with his napkin.

“No, not yet. There are still a lot of records, mostly written in English, that we haven’t read, so we are hopeful there is still more to find.” Shae took a sip of her water, set her glass on the table, and took hold of her bag. “Nevertheless, I would like you to read what we have gathered so far, if you don’t mind. Perhaps you can see something we might have missed.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Bret said as he tossed his napkin on the empty plate. The moment it landed, their waitress fluttered over and scooped up the remaining dishes. He glanced up, smiled, and said, “Thank you.”

As the woman retreated, Shae pulled the file out of the side pocket, and placed it on the table. She sorted through the documents, withdrew the sheets detailing her dream, and laid them off to the side. Once she organized the remainder of the records in order of importance, she handed her father the file.

“The record on top is a copy of the medical journal I told you about several weeks ago. Following that one, you’ll see the summary report, and then the letter from Colonel Moore. After you get those read, you’ll find his promotional records and papers that detail his command. Everything else that follows testifies as to his character.”

She leaned back in her seat and waited for him to read each document. As always, he took his time in assessing the facts. Every now and then, he glanced up and focused his gaze out the window.

“Very impressive,” Bret said as he pointed toward the current document. “I see here they promoted Tristan to a captain following his first battle as lieutenant.”

“He shouldn’t read too much into that. As I told you, they were simply shorthanded at the time,” Tristan said.

“Yes, I know,” said Shae. “Tristan believes they did it because they were shorthanded.”

“Not likely,” he said.

“You know, I had those very same thoughts.” Shae sniffed. Tristan chuckled.

Once Bret finished with his given task, he closed the file and gazed at Shae with approval. “Seems you’ve thought everything through on your own. I am proud of what you have accomplished so far. I take it the affidavit in support of the warrant, or the warrant itself, remains missing?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so, and I’m not sure we’re ever going to find them,” she lamented. “The national archives gave me everything they had in his file, and we’ve just about gone through all of the documents I’m working on. However, there is one more thing I would like to get your opinion on.”

“And what would that be?” He lifted a curious brow.

“Well, Tristan knew a way to show me in minute detail, what took place inside the church.” She swept the pages from off the table and held them up for him to see. “In a dream, actually. The minute I woke up, I wrote the experience exactly as I remembered it. I’d like you to hear it.”

Her father gave her his full attention as she began reading her notes. Therefore, it came as no surprise that he stopped her progress at the very same place Tristan did. In fact, she found herself waiting for the interruption.

“That can’t be right. There shouldn’t have been a pool of blood large enough to become a smear that quickly, especially since he never hit the floor. His clothing would have sopped up a great deal of the blood beforehand, anyway.” He pinched his brows in consternation. “Are you sure you were looking at blood?”

“Tristan asked me that very same question. I don’t know, Dad. I can only tell you the smear looked like blood. I have asked Tristan to show me the dream again so I can make sure. However, I didn’t want to repeat it until you gave me your observations as well as your suggestions.”

Bret nodded in approval as he propped his elbows on the table and clasped his hands. “Have you considered the possibility that if the suspicious smear is indeed blood, it might have come from another source?”

“Yes, we thought perhaps it might have come from the rider of the second horse,” Shae replied. “However, neither of us saw another body inside the building to corroborate the notion of a second rider, much less an injured one.”

“Did you happen to notice whether or not any blood appeared on the blade of the knife before Adlundsen attacked the captain?” her father asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.” Shae shook her head and shrugged.

“How about droplets of blood sprinkled on the floor?” he asked. “Did you see a trail of blood you could follow? Perhaps such a trail would lead you to the location of the mystery rider, if there is one and if he is the source of the blood.”

Shae drew in a sharp breath. The notion never once occurred to her. “Not that I remember, but believe me, I’m going to look for one when I experience the dream again.”

“The pattern of the droplets will tell you if the blood fell from an open knife wound or is the result of a projectile. Do you remember what I taught you about that?” he asked.

“Yes, you said a bullet will cause a splash pattern while blood coming from a knife wound would look more uniform,” she replied.

“Very good. You might possibly want to look for one more detail,” Bret added. “Check Major Adlundsen over carefully if you can. My experience in the field taught me the mentally impaired are not above self-inflicted wounds. Perhaps the blood comes from the major himself. He might have wanted to make sure no one doubted, but that Tristan attacked him first and wanted his wound as proof.”

Tristan and Shae exchanged glances. “That is a possibility,” she said. “I don’t recall seeing any blood on Nils, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have some. The whole event happened very quickly.”

“Yes, it usually does,” Bret replied.

“Thanks, Dad.” She smiled as she gave his hand a little squeeze. “I knew you would be able to come up with something helpful.”

“There is one last thing you might want to do, Shae,” Bret added as he rose to his feet and tossed some bills down on the table. “I know we are looking at a period of time when the majority of able-bodied men fought a brutal war. Still, if we are theoretically assuming the spot you noted is blood and came from the unknown rider, a record showing him to be missing in action might exist. However, if the man didn’t serve in the military, as the uniform inside the saddlebags might suggest, perhaps you may find something about a missing person in the local newspapers of the time. Either way, someone would surely have taken note of his absence.”