Blessed are the Merciful (14 page)

Adam climbed the stairs in his apartment building and found Seth Coleman waiting for him at the top.

“Hello, Adam,” he said, smiling broadly. “I’m leaving for Washington in the morning and I wanted to tell you good-bye.”

“So soon? I thought you didn’t have to report in until Monday.”

“That’s right, but I want to get settled in a boardinghouse before then.”

“Oh, sure. I’m not thinking well tonight, am I? Come on inside, Seth.”

“I can only stay a few minutes.”

When they sat down, Adam said, “I know you’ll make a good federal lawman. Any idea where you’ll be placed once the training is over?”

“Not really. Could be anywhere in the country. How are your plans working out for going to Nebraska?”

“I’m working on them every day. As soon as Philipa and I can settle on a new wedding date, I’ll be able to work out the details.”

“I’m sure you will, Adam.” He paused for a few moments, then said, “Before I go I’d like to tell you what happened to me tonight. I … I’m sure you’ve heard about Jesus Christ dying on the cross.”

Adam’s brow furrowed. “Well, yes.”

“I was talking to … well, you remember Jack and Thelma Sheldon?”

“Of course. How could I forget them?”

“They came to my room the other evening to ask my forgiveness. When I told them I forgave them, they started talking to me
about the Lord and the forgiveness I needed for my sins against Him. I was raised in Sunday school and church, Adam, so what they were saying wasn’t foreign to my ears. But when they asked me if I’d ever repented and believed the gospel, I couldn’t say that I had. So I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into my heart and forgive me of my sins. I’m a Christian now.”

Adam was silent for a moment, then said, “Seth, if this makes your life happier, I’m really glad for you.”

Seth wanted to say more, but instead, he rose to his feet. “Well, my friend, I’ve got to be going. If I ever get near North Platte, I’ll drop in and see you.”

Adam grinned. “You do that, Seth.”

O
N
S
ATURDAY MORNING
, S
ETH
C
OLEMAN
stood in front of the boardinghouse with three trunks and a couple of pieces of hand luggage, waiting for his ride to the train station. When the buggy came around the corner and pulled up to where he stood, Seth helped the driver load the baggage and then climbed into the backseat. On impulse, he leaned forward and said to the driver, “Would you do me a favor?”

“Certainly, sir.”

“Would you swing down to Spring Street? Just follow Spring till you get to Eleventh, then you can cut south and go on down to the station. That be all right?”

“Sure. Did you want to stop somewhere on Spring?”

“Ah … no. I just want to go by a particular house for a last look.”

“Fine by me.”

When the Ralston house came into view, Seth felt his heart quicken. But there was no one in the yard or on the porch. He gazed longingly at the house while the buggy moved past.

At the station he boarded the train to Washington, D.C., and took a seat by a window. Tears filled his eyes, and a lump formed in his throat as the train chugged out of the depot.

“Good-bye, Bettieann,” he whispered.

That same afternoon, Adam Burke left the county courthouse after successfully defending a client against a lawsuit and headed back to
the office to finish some paperwork. He passed through the double doors of the Benson building and went up to the law offices. As he passed the reception desk, Jill Hawkins looked up and said, “Mr. Burke, Philipa was here about an hour ago. When I told her you were in court, she asked me to give you a message.”

“All right. What did she say?”

“That I should tell you she is going to Newark with her mother and won’t be able to take in the ballet with you tonight.”

“Newark? Oh, that’s right. She has an aunt who lives there.”

“Yes, her mother’s sister has taken ill, and Mrs. Conrad wanted Philipa to go with her.”

“That’s too bad. I met her Aunt Bertha once. Nice lady. Did Philipa say anything more?”

“No, sir. Only that they might be gone for several days and she’ll let you know when she arrives home.”

“All right, Jill. Thank you.”

Adam sat down at his desk and decided to postpone the paperwork until early the next morning. Right now he needed to send a wire to William Dauntt in North Platte.

The next morning, Adam was concentrating on some law briefs when Jill entered his office and laid an envelope on his desk. “A telegram just came for you, Mr. Burke.”

“Thank you. Is the messenger waiting in case I want to send a return wire?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll read this and be right out.”

As soon as Jill shut the door behind her, Adam ripped open the envelope. A smile spread across his face. He took out a sheet of paper, dipped his pen in the inkwell, and wrote a quick message to tell William Dauntt he would be coming to North Platte before the end of October. He would send another wire when he had a firm date of arrival.

Lillian Ralston awakened in the deep of the night and looked around the dark bedroom. Claude’s soft, even breathing was reassuring. She rolled over and started to go back to sleep. Then the sound came again. Lillian eased out of the bed, trying not to disturb her husband, and slipped into the hall. She moved across the hall to Bettieann’s room and went inside.

Bettieann tossed and turned and moaned in her sleep. Lillian groped her way to the bedstand and found the lantern and matches. She fumbled with the glass chimney, then laid it aside, struck a match, and fired the wick. She leaned over Bettieann and shook her daughter’s shoulder. “Bettieann! Bettieann! Wake up, honey.”

Bettieann gave a tremulous cry and opened her eyes. “Oh, Mother! I was having a horrible dream!”

“Seth?”

The girl began to cry and turned her head away.

“Honey, these nightmares seem to be getting worse.”

“They’re nightmares, all right. I can’t stand this any longer! I was dreaming that Seth had fallen in love with another woman and … Oh, Mother, what am I going to do?”

“Honey, you’ve been nothing but miserable ever since we learned that other man had confessed to killing Lawrence Sheldon. You’ve been eating your heart out over the way you treated Seth. I think you need to go to him. Tell him how wrong you were … that you still love him … and ask him to forgive you.”

Bettieann sniffed and shook her head. “I can’t. I just can’t, Mother! I couldn’t face him!”

“I think you’ll have to,” came Claude’s voice from the open door. “You’ll not have any peace until you talk to him.”

“Your father’s right, honey,” Lillian said. “You need to swallow your pride, go to Seth, and tell him how you feel. If he turns you away, at least you’ll know you did the right thing.”

“And at least you’ll know whether there’s any hope for the two of you to get back together,” Claude said. “If there isn’t, then you can
close that chapter of your life and get on with it. The way you’ve been moping around here, something’s got to be done.”

Bettieann wiped her tears with the corner of the bed sheet. “All right. I’ll go see him. If he’s still on the day shift he’ll be home about five-thirty.”

The next afternoon, Bettieann walked to the boardinghouse, her stomach churning. When she stepped inside the building, no one was in the hall, so she went to Seth’s door and stood there for a few moments, taking deep breaths. She raised a trembling fist and knocked on the door.

Seconds passed, but there was no sound of footsteps inside.

Bettieann knocked again.

When there was no response, she took a step back from the door and looked both directions down the hall. She thought about leaving a note but quickly dismissed the idea as too impersonal. She would have to catch him at another time.

On Tuesday morning, September 11, a wire came from Philipa Conrad to Adam Burke’s office. Her aunt had been through surgery and was doing better. Philipa and her mother would be home on Wednesday afternoon, and she would love to go out to dinner that evening. Unless she heard differently, she would be ready at seven o’clock.

On Wednesday evening, Delmar greeted Adam in his usual manner and invited him in. Philipa rushed into his arms the moment he stepped inside. She kissed him on the cheek and said, “Darling, we have a surprise for you. Mother and Daddy are taking us to dinner tonight. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“Why, of course,” he said, forcing a smile. “It’ll be delightful to dine with them.” He saw her parents at the top of the winding staircase
and whispered, “But could I take you to dinner tomorrow night? Just the two of us?”

“Oh, I can’t, darling. I’m already committed to Lorraine Bates and Barbara Mullins for tomorrow night. We’re going to a fashion show downtown.”

“The whole evening?”

“Well … yes. We have to leave about six o’clock to make it to the restaurant in time to eat before the fashion show starts at eight.”

“Friday, then?”

“Of course. Friday will be fine.”

Adam Burke awakened the next morning to a brilliant sunrise. He sat up in bed and stretched, opening his mouth in a wide yawn. He had slept fitfully, consumed with the need to talk with Philipa about their move to Nebraska. Tomorrow night the issue had to be settled so he could wire William Dauntt the next morning and tell him when they would arrive. Dauntt had offered to help locate space for his office and would need time to work on it.

Adam shaved and put on a clean white shirt and took a suit from the closet. He glanced at the photograph of his mother that stood on the dresser and picked it up. “Mama, if you were here I know you’d put your blessing on my decision to go to North Platte. You’d want your son to follow his dream and be happy.”

He thought of the terrible unhappiness his mother, sisters, and he had suffered when his father deserted them. Over the years Adam had tried to keep from thinking about Gordon Burke, but once in a while memories of his father crowded into his mind. Each time those memories came, his hatred for the man grew stronger. His loathing took a giant leap when his mother died, a broken-hearted woman.

He pushed thoughts of his father from his mind and kissed the picture. “I love you, Mama.”

It was just past one o’clock at the Mason home when Nancy stood before the full-length mirror in the master bedroom, dressing her dark, upswept hair.

She had gotten up at the normal time and enjoyed the breakfast Rachel fixed, since Millie was away for a few days to attend a family reunion. But Nancy had returned to the bedroom to lie down for a few hours afterward. The meeting today at Doris Krantz’s house was a vitally important one for the orphanage, and it was imperative that she be there.

Rachel had brought her a light lunch at noon, and by twelve-thirty she was feeling somewhat better. As she put finishing touches on her hair, she heard footsteps in the hall and saw her daughter’s reflection in the mirror. She pushed in the last hairpin and turned to face Rachel, putting on her best smile. “Do I look all right, honey?”

“You look positively beautiful, Mama. But you also look rather peaked. I think it would be best if I cancel my shopping date with Sylvia and go to the meeting with you.”