Lizzie Borden (41 page)

BOOK: Lizzie Borden

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She stood, and was surprised to notice that her knees shook. She gathered up the uneaten pears and took them outside, threw them back underneath the tree. She’d go to the hardware store for some sinkers.

She left the barn, washed her hands in the utility room and looked once again in the kitchen cupboards.

Maggie was just finishing up the windows in the kitchen.

Lizzie walked into the sitting room.

Andrew’s face was covered with blood. One half eyeball hung from where his cheek used to be.

Disbelief stunned Lizzie. She looked for a long moment. Blood still oozed from the massive wound and puddled on the floor. Her gold school ring glinted on his little finger.

She began to feel light headed. She turned around, and feeling her way toward the door, went out the kitchen door and leaned against the casing.

I didn’t do it
, she thought.
It was not my fault
.

As the truth of that sank in, she felt immense relief.

And Emma will be so pleased.

And then she remembered Abby. Abby and her feelings earlier. Abby. What of Abby? Something dropped heavily into her stomach. Again, her knees felt a bit weak.

“Lizzie?”

It was Mrs. Churchill, next door, looking out her window.

“Lizzie, what is the matter?”

“It’s hot,” Lizzie said.

“Isn’t it?”

Lizzie sat down on the step. She put her face in her hands.

“Lizzie?”

Lizzie smiled. Mrs. Churchill’s day in the sun at last. Lizzie lifted her head and looked straight into Mrs. Churchill’s eyes. “Oh, Mrs. Churchill,” she said. “Do come over. Someone has killed Father.”

Epilogue

The bodies of Abby and Andrew Borden lay on the dining room table in the sweltering August heat for three days while the police examined them. Then, finally, their heads and stomachs were removed and the remains buried.

On August 11, Lizzie was arrested for the murder of Andrew and Abby Borden. No murder weapon was ever found. No blood was found on Lizzie or her clothes immediately after the killing. The most damning testimony came from Alice Russell, who had seen Lizzie burn the paint-stained dress. The prosecution considered that destruction of evidence.

After a grueling trial, Lizzie was acquitted on June 20, 1893. The jury deliberated little more than an hour.

She and Emma bought a stylish 14-room house on the prestigious “Hill” of Fall River, and there they lived together until 1905, when Emma, unable to tolerate Lizzie’s lifestyle any longer, moved to Fairhaven.

Lizzie changed her name to Lisbeth, traveled and entertained quite lavishly, and carried on a flamboyant affair with actress Nance O’Neil.

But though the courts had acquitted her, Fall River had not. She lived in solitude, except for her servants, pets and out-of-town friends. She was an oddity, an embarrassment to the community, and her every move was dutifully noted in the local newspaper.

In 1927, she died as the result of complications from gall bladder surgery. She was sixty-eight.

~END~

Author's Notes

I’m delighted that IFD Publishing found fit to present this digital edition of one of my all-time bestselling books. As uncomfortable as it is for an author to revisit a work written twenty years ago, I went through the book with an editorial eye, retaining the text as originally written, except for a few minor edits that have only to do with style, not substance.

I am continually amazed at the fresh theories of the Borden murders that arise every year around the anniversary of the event, and hope that people continue to look into their hearts and souls for their own answers to the questions this case presents.

Elizabeth Engstrom

Eugene, Oregon

About the Author

Elizabeth Engstrom is the author of 13 books and more than 250 published short stories, articles and essays. Known as a writer of dark fantasy, her most recent book is
York’s Moon
, a critically acclaimed mystery. An author, teacher, editor and former publisher, she is a sought-after panelist, keynote speaker and instructor at writing conferences and conventions around the world. Since she completed her master’s degree in applied theology, she has begun a small interfaith ministry (
www.love-and-mercy-ministries.com
) and puts her pen to use for social justice. She is on faculty at the University of Phoenix.

Connect with Elizabeth Engstrom Online

You can email the author or find out more about her through her website:

www.elizabethengstrom.com

You can also connect with her through the publisher's website at the following URL:

http://www.ifdpublishing.com

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