Mona returned to the car with a small bag in her hand with the teacup securely wrapped. Her talk with Mrs. Prather only heightened her suspicions and she decided to press Jamison for information on the drive home.
“Jamison, how many cars are there in the garage?”
“Five, Miss. The farm has ten vehicles, mostly trucks for various purposes.”
“Are you responsible for the farm trucks?”
“Mr. Beaumont has his own man for them.”
“Has there been any trouble with the vehicles in the past year?”
“How do you mean?”
“Accidents with Mr. Moon in the car?”
“We had one. The brakes went out, but I got the car to roll to a stop.” Jamison laughed. “A maple tree helped. Did a little damage to the chrome but not much.”
“Why did the brakes go out?”
“No brake fluid. I checked everything else. The line was good, but no fluid. I’ve never understood it either, because I check the oil, transmission and brake fluids every month. I couldn’t figure it out.”
“Did you always drive Uncle Manfred?”
“He liked to drive himself sometimes if the weather was good.”
“Did he drive the Daimler?”
“No Miss. He would take the Pontiac Roadster. He liked to drive with the top down.”
“Did you check the brake fluid in the Phaeton?”
“Yes, Miss. There was a little hole in the brake line. It was the darndest thing.”
“Did you report back to my uncle?”
“He got skittish. I could tell he was fretting about it.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. Didn’t say a word to me.”
“Did you keep driving him after the accident?”
“Yes, but I checked the oil and brake fluid every day thereafter.”
“Did he ever drive by himself again?”
“No. He said it gave him no pleasure to drive anymore.”
“Don’t you think it was odd the brakes didn’t work on two cars in which Mr. Moon was a regular passenger?”
“Not my place to say.”
“But you have thoughts about it, surely?”
“Not my place to say,” Jamison repeated.
Violet asked, “Why not?”
“Because it’s white folks business. Best for a man like me to keep his thoughts to himself.”
Mona understood Jamison’s reluctance. She had read in a history of Lexington there had been an attempted lynching of a black man by a drunken mob as recently as thirteen years ago. Apparently, the Civil War had done nothing to dismiss Kentucky’s social prejudices and Jim Crow laws made matters worse. Mona had been to many countries where people were oppressed by an unyielding ruling class, so she did not press the matter.
Believing Jamison was finished speaking, she let him help her out of the Daimler when he whispered, “Old Scratch has done his devil work with the Moon family ever since your father was cast out, and he’s fight’n to stay put. Beware, Miss Mona. Beware!”