Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (22 page)

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Authors: Marcia Lynn McClure

BOOK: Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine
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Vivianna shook her head and explained,

I…I didn

t even see the man
,
but…but Justin told me…

She paused—afraid to continue—afraid to tell Mrs. Turner and Caleb how far more serious the situation was than it already seemed.


Justin told ya what, Viv?

Caleb urged, however.
He rose to his feet and strode to her.
Reaching out, he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
He was so kind
;
there was such a calming nature about him.
Caleb Turner made a body feel as if any secret could be revealed to him and kept safe—as if any worry or problem could be overcome.


He told me…the man out there in the woods was a guard at
Andersonville
prison,

she confessed.

Justin said his name is Powell…that he and Johnny both knew him
,
that this Powell man hated them both for some reason…especially Johnny.

Even as
Savannah
gasped and began sobbing—even as Vivianna felt the icy fingers of dread and doom encircling her throat—still Caleb

s deep blue eyes comforted her.
Caleb did not shout or yell or growl.
He only nodded
,
as if the information she

d just offered was of little consequence.


Caleb!
Caleb!

Savannah
cried.

They

ll hang your brother for certain if it

s known!
You know they will!
They

ll lynch him if nothin

else!


Calm down, Mama,

Caleb said, going to his mother and gathering her in his arms.

Just settle yourself.
We

ll work this out.


Work it out?

Savannah
cried.

There won

t be any workin

this out!
People are too angry about the war
.
We

re fortunate you weren

t beaten to death when you returned!
Oh, Caleb…we can

t tell anybody.
We can

t!

Vivianna turned when she heard the door open.
Justin and Johnny stepped into the house looking grave, weary
,
somehow defeated.


Oh, Justin!

Savannah
gasped, collapsing into Justin

s embrace as he approached.

What is all this, Justin?
How can this be?


Let

s sit down, Mama,

Justin said.

Let

s all just sit down and do some thinkin

.

But
Savannah
was overcome.

We can

t tell anybody, Justin!
We can

t!
You know we can

t.


Please, Mama,

Caleb said.

Let

s just sit down a spell and do some talkin

on it.
Everythin

will be fine
. W
e just need to decide what to do.

As Caleb led his mother to the kitchen table, Vivianna watched as Justin turned to Johnny.


You can run, Johnny,

Justin said.

There ain

t no need for you to linger and find yourself hanged just because
—”


I ain

t a coward, Justin,

Johnny growled.

I ain

t runnin

from this.
Chances are it was me Powell was lookin

for anyway…and you know it.

Justin nodded.

Come on then, boy,

he said, following his mother and brother to the table.

We better work this out as best we can.

Vivianna looked to Johnny.
He

d been standing near the front door
,
supporting himself by leaning on the back of a chair to one side of it.
As he took a step forward, however, he lost his balance and stumbled to one side.
Instinctively, Vivianna reached out, taking hold of his arm in an effort to steady him—but she wasn

t strong enough to keep the weight of his body from toppling over.
In the next moment, she found herself in a heap on the floor—Johnny Tabor on his hands and knees as he hovered over her.


You need some rest, John!

Caleb scolded as he and Justin helped Johnny to stand.


I need some backbone!

Johnny growled as Justin helped him to the table.

Caleb offered Vivianna his hand and pulled her to her feet.


You all right?

he asked.
Vivianna smiled at him and nodded.
Taking her hand, he led her to the table as well.

Once they were all seated, it was Johnny Tabor who spoke first.


Zachary Powell was a devil, Mrs. Turner.
One of the worst men I have ever in my life come across.
And he

s lyin

dead out there in your woods,

he began.

It looks to me and Justin as if he just simply fell down and cracked his head on a rock.
But the fact is
he

s a Johnny Reb
. A
nd me, Justin, and Caleb…

H
e paused
,
shaking his head with something akin to disbelief.

Me and your boys will be the first ones the folks in
Florence
look to blame.


No bullet?
No stabbin

?

Caleb asked.

He

s just lyin

out there dead?

Johnny nodded
,
and Justin said,

The back of his head looks to be bashed in…and there

s a big rock right there under him.


Blood on the rock?

Caleb asked.

Justin and Johnny both nodded.


Mm
-
hmm,

Johnny said.

It would seem he just fell down and cracked his head open.
Somethin

chewed him up pretty bad since though.


Well then
,
that

s what we tell the sheriff!

Savannah
suggested.

We just tell the sheriff the truth…that Nate and Willy found him out there and…and we just leave out the part about you boys knowin

him.

Vivianna felt her heart lighten—lighten as much as
Savannah

s hopeful expression lightened.
Surely if they simply told the truth
,
surely then there would be no danger to Justin and his friend
or
to
Caleb.


Yes!

Vivianna said.

Certainly no one would find suspicion with you boys if we just tell them the truth and they see the rock and
—”


Johnny said it
looks
like he hit his head on the rock,

Justin interrupted.

It could just as easy be someone bashed his head in with the rock and then put it out there in the woods under him.

He shook his head.

No…no.
Folks would still be pointin

their fingers at us.


Then we don

t tell anyone,

Savannah
suggested.

We just bury him proper in our own little cemetery
,
and no one ever has to know we found him.


Pardon me, Mrs. Turner,

Johnny began,

but I

m sure the boy has family.
It wouldn

t be right not to let them know what happened to him
,
to let a family go for eternity without knowing if he was alive or dead…where he was planted.

Johnny paused
,
glanced to Vivianna
,
and continued,

It seems to me that too many folks are already livin

with those kinds of ghosts.

Vivianna wondered how much Justin had told Johnny about Sam and Augie
. S
he wondered if he knew they hadn

t been heard from in over two years—that she would never know where they were buried or how they had died.


You

d want to know about your boys, ma

am,

he added.

I don

t think we can simply bury the boy and not tell a soul.


And what if someone did kill him?

Caleb asked.

If we bury him and don

t tell anybody

and someone around these parts is the one who killed him

we

d be askin

for danger to come knockin

on our own door.

Justin nodded.

I say we tell the sheriff,

he suggested.

Mama, Sheriff Pidwell…he

s known me and Caleb since we were born.
Surely, if we just went to him and explained
—”


Maybe he

d pretend he found the body,

Caleb suggested.

Maybe we could just tell the sheriff we found the body
but explain why we don

t feel safe about comin

forward
. A
nd maybe he

ll just find the Reb
,
and we

ll be done with it.

Vivianna felt hope rising in her for a moment.
Yet
Savannah
shook her head.


No.
No,

she said.

I don

t trust Sheriff Pidwell.
He lost three boys in the war…three boys who fought for the Confederacy.
I don

t trust that his heart is as soft as it once was.

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