Now Playing: The Silent Child
Episode Fifteen concluded with:
Both Bushrod brothers nodded at Dehner, who then
turned and crossed the street. As he entered the stable, a predawn sky
was providing enough light that Rance could easily find the lantern on the
rickety stool.
The saddle bag where Laszlo had found the
picture remained open. Dehner could find nothing else of interest in the saddle
bags or anywhere else. Still, he didn’t want to leave. The stable provided him
with a place to think. And he had a lot to think about.
Episode Sixteen
***
Enoch Harper began to close down Harper’s
Mercantile and, he hoped, the worst day of his life. That morning he had killed
Emory Logan, a young man who had never committed a crime in his life before
breaking into Harper’s Mercantile. He would never forget the pale, empty look
on Emory’s face as he looked down at him.
Maybe
he should have closed the store. But he desperately needed something to do and
there were customers who were dependent upon him.
Enoch
let out a caustic laugh as he rearranged items on the shelves which had been
scrambled by the Pickford kids a few hours before. His customers that day had
hardly been a comfort. Most of them wanted the whole story concerning Emory’s
death. A few men had even asked him where the bullet entered Emory Logan.
“What
gets into people?” Enoch asked in a low whisper.
As
he finished with the shelves, Enoch glanced backwards toward the door that led
to their living area. Kate was putting Pixie to bed. His wife had been…well…a
bit distant with him all day. Of course, Logan’s death also hit her hard. That could explain it.
Enoch
Harper walked back to the store’s counter where he kept the key to Harper’s
Mercantile. Did Kate suspect him of carrying on with Judy Thompson? How could
she? He had only seen Mrs. Thompson on one occasion, when she came to the store
with her husband.
The
store owner sighed deeply as he removed the key from a nail under the counter.
How did that picture of Mrs. Thompson end up in his saddle bag? He had told
Kate and Sheriff Bolger the truth. He had never seen the photograph before in
his life.
Both
had said they believed him. Enoch had detected a wave of doubt in both of their
faces.
As
Enoch approached the entrance to the store, two familiar gents appeared. Enoch
smiled and gestured for them to step inside. A few minutes with the Bushrod
Brothers might be just what the doctor ordered.
“We’ve
brung a white flag of surrender with us,” Rupert spoke as he and his brother
ambled into Harper’s Mercantile.
“What?”
Enoch chuckled.
“My
brother was speakin’ sym-bolically,” Clarence said.
“There
you go, usin’ big words,” Rupert responded. “Never shoulda bought you that
dictionary.”
“You
didn’t buy it for me!” Clarence fired back. “I borrowed it off the shelves. One
of many items we never sold.”
“Oh
yeah.” Rupert placed a hand on his coat and looked upwards in the style of an
orator. “What I means is, Rupert and
Clarence Bushrod are closin’ down the Bushrod Brothers’ General Store after
years of service to our fine community.”
Clarence
added, “Of course, our fine community preferred to be serviced by Harper’s
Mercantile.”
“I
am sorry,” Enoch’s words were sincere.
“You
should be!” Rupert declared. “Why, you didn’t play fair. You was always workin’
hard, orderin’ stuff on time, figurin’ out in advance what your customers would
be needin’, keepin’ the store neat and clean--”
“You
knowed we was no good at that sort of thing!” Clarence proclaimed with mock
piety.
Enoch
Harper laughed hard. It felt good.
“But
we’re not here for sympathy,” Clarence continued, “even though, in our opinion,
we deserve it.”
“We
were wonderin’ if maybe you’d be interested in buyin’ some of our inventory,” Rupert
explained. “Once you get the dust off, some of it is pretty decent.”
“Well,
maybe.” Enoch flipped the notion over in his mind. “What if I come over for a
moment and take a look at what you’ve got?”
“Took
the words right out of our mouths!” Clarence said.
“Just
give me a minute, I need to tell Kate what’s going on.” Enoch stepped quickly
toward the door to the living area. As he opened it, he saw Kate sitting beside
Pixie’s makeshift bed. His wife was talking in a low voice to the child.
For
a moment, the store owner became completely engrossed in the scene before him.
Pixie was nodding her head! The child seemed to understand what Kate said to
her and was responding to his wife’s words.
A
voice sounded behind him. “Move inside the room, Enoch. I have a gun pointed at
your head.”
Tomorrow:
Episode Seventeen of The Silent Child
